Hey there, anglers! Artificial Lure here with your Mississippi River fishing report for March 12, 2025. Let me tell ya, spring is in the air and the fish are startin' to wake up!

Weather-wise, we're lookin' at partly cloudy skies with highs around 52°F and lows dipping to 38°F overnight. Winds are light from the southeast at 5-10 mph. Sunrise is at 6:32 AM and sunset at 6:15 PM, so we've got plenty of daylight to work with.

Now, onto the fishing! Water temps are hovering around 45-48°F, which means the walleye and sauger are really starting to get active. We've been seeing some nice catches coming in from the tailwaters below the locks and dams. Jig and minnow combos have been the ticket, with chartreuse and orange being hot colors.

Speaking of walleye, the spring run is just kicking off. Anglers have been having good luck trolling crankbaits like Rapala Shad Raps or Flicker Shads in the main channel. If you're shore fishing, try casting jigs tipped with soft plastics or live bait near current breaks.

Bass fishing has been picking up too. Smallmouth are starting to move into shallower water, especially on sunny days. Throw suspending jerkbaits or small swimbaits around rocky points and you might just hook into a chunky bronzeback.

For you catfish enthusiasts, channel cats are biting well on cut bait or stinkbaits fished in deeper holes. We've even heard reports of a few flatheads being caught by anglers using live bait in snaggy areas.

As for hot spots, I'd recommend trying the area around Boom Island Park or the stretch near the Stone Arch Bridge. The river structure there holds a lot of fish this time of year.

Remember, folks, the bite can be a bit finicky with these transitional temperatures, so don't be afraid to slow down your presentation and experiment with different retrieves.

That's all for now, anglers. Get out there and tight lines to ya!