Mississippi RiverFishing News

2016

Great Alma Fishing FloatS1667 State Rd 35Alma, WI 54610

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Vol. 26 #1 w w w . a l m a f i s h i n g f l o a t . c o m Fishing Report 608-685-FISH (3474)

Tim: 651-380-5322 almafloat@yahoo.com Jim: 651-380-7296

THE GREAT

Alma Fishing FloatF R E E

FLOAT OPENS FRIDAY

MARCH 25 2016

FISH ALLDAY

FOR ONLY$1800

Hours 6:00 A.M.

to6:00 P.M.

Noreservations

needed.

C h e c k o u t o u r f a c e b o o k s i t e f o r l a t e s t r e p o r t s a n d p h o t o s .

Need a place where the whole family can fish together? Spend a day at the Great Alma Fishing Float! Plenty of space to move around, different water depths and conditions for many species of fish, bait, tackle, snacks available on site, and a great view!

When you need a place to take a break from work or the daily grind gets you down it’s time to put your troubles aside and get to Alma for a day or two of relaxation on the Alma Fishing Float. You can be a professional or a first time fisherman and have a great time catching and learning to catch a huge variety of fish. Fish for 12 hours or 2 it’s up to you which is what you get for the $18 fee. This fee includes a boat ride to and from the fishing float and Alma and also includes the use of nets, buckets, benches, restrooms, and our 30 years of float fishing expertise. Daytime hours are 6am to

6pm with no reservations needed. If you’re up for a bit more adventure try booking an overnight stay on the Alma Float and enjoy a beautiful evening on the Mississippi. Call for details.

You never know what you’re going to catch when fishing below the dams on the Mississippi river. There are many, many species and a lot of them grow big. Chuck Girtman from Osseo makes it over to the float sever-al times a month to wet a line, and on this day at the end of March while fishing for “fish”, Chuck battled this big smallie to the net, got a quick pic, and let her go back!

A beautiful blue sunny day and catching a big northern on the Alma Fishing Float. It doesn’t get any better than this!

More than just a boat ride!

2 – The Great Alma Fishing Float 2016

While the daytime fishing is a lot of fun, the Great Alma Fishing Float also offers an exciting nighttime fishing experience! We have 3 separate rooms that can accommodate 10 people. Our rooms are equipped with mattresses, electric lights, heat and AC. Bring your own bedding, necessary clothing, fishing gear, food and drinks. You can also bring charcoal and use our grills if you want.

Spending a night on the Float is great for families or a group of friends who want to spend time together fishing the mighty Mississippi. You can make reservations right on the float, or call us anytime.

Night Fishing RatesMarch, April, October - 4 bunk rooms - $152/night,

+ $38 per each extra person2 bunk room - $ 72/night, +$38 per each extra person

May thru September - $38 per person.Check in - 3pm till 6pm, when we close for the day.

Check out - 9am.NOTE - The regular $18 fishing fee will be charged if you plan on

fishing during the day.

Spend a night on the Float!

Dave Blodgett joined his brother Pat for their annual night fishing get together in late March. These guys are all experienced float fisherman and this was Dave’s first time, but that didn’t stop him from catching the largest walleye of the trip, a 10-plus pounder!

For this group of overnighters every year they swing in for a few nights of fun on the Alma Fishing Float. Out come the crock pots full of homemade venison stew or chili. The coolers of their favorite cocktails.(mostly milk and Kool-Aid) and an ap-

petite for fishing, and fish they do. Big walleye are always a favorite but anything that bites is part of the fun being it perch, northern, or suckers. This year the perch came in force all spring and into the sum-mer and as usual the girls came through with the jumbo walleye.

We are fortunate to see a lot of large northern pike caught on the Alma Float which is due to the location we are on, on the Mississippi. Located 300 feet below the #4 lock and dam and in or on the edge of the main current flow makes it ideal for varieties of fish species, and when you have small fish around it’s dinner time for the big ones.

Another professional spring walleye fisherman shows us how its done.

Chuck Nichols brings his friends and family a few times each year from the Milwaukee area and enjoys some relaxing and exciting days. Here he holds up a big northern he caught usually fishing with a sucker minnow on the bottom.

Check out the fishing forecast any time at

www.almafishingfloat.com

The Great Alma Fishing Float 2016 – 3

Name __________________________________________________

Address ________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

Send to:The Great Alma Fishing Float • S1647 State Rd 35, Alma, WI 54610

The Great…

NEWS 2016Alma Fishing Float

FREEYes, put me on your mailing list.

Senior Discount Every Thursday!This year, seniors that are 60

and over will get a$3.00 discountevery Thursday that we’re open.

KNOW THELAWS!

We get asked many times through the year about limits, lengths, and what rules apply to anglers on the float. We are located on the Minnesota-Wisconsin boundary waters.

If you’re a resident of either state and are 16 or older, you need a license from that state.

If you’re a non- MN-WI resident, you can use a fishing license from either state. Now, that being said, because we are located on the MN side of the main Mississippi chan-nel, only the MN laws and rules apply. Here are some of the main differences:

• No more than 2 rods can be used per person in Minnesota, 3 rods per person in Wisconsin.

• Bluegill/sunfish have a 25 fish daily limit.• You cannot use gamefish for bait (bluegill, bass, sau-

ger, etc.)• Walleye/sauger daily limit is 6 combined. Walleye have

to be 15” or more. No size limit on sauger.• Large & smallmouth bass daily limit is 5, and they need

to be 14” or more.• Fish have to be hooked in the mouth. Snagged fish

need to be released.If you have any questions, please feel free to ask, better

safe than sorry!

Great Alma Fishing Float owners Tim and Jim Lodermeier are looking for someone to take over a great fishing business. The Alma Float has been around since 1947 and still going strong. The Lodermeiers have owned the business for 30 years and are ready to pass it on. This is a great op-portunity to become your own boss and meet people from all over the country. This is not your normal daily grind of a job. You will start early, enjoy a great sunrise over Alma, operate a shuttle boat to pick up cus-tomers thru the day, grab a pole and check out the bite (this is called guiding). Sell some bait, tackle, and food. grab a pole again, and so on. The season goes from the end of March to the end of October or when you choose. If you are interested call us at 651-380-5322 or 651-380-7296

BUSINESSOPPORTUNITY

4 – The Great Alma Fishing Float 2016

While spring means big, prespawn wall-eyes to many anglers, another species has been taking some of the spotlight. For the last 5 or 6 years, fishing for early sea-son perch has been coming on strong, and many are big. We see 13- to 14-inch fish every spring, with an average of 10 to 11 inches. Make sure to check the Alma Float face book page for the most recent fishing reports once we open.

When the bite is on, the bite is on! The post spawn pike were hungry and in good numbers last year from mid April all the way through May. These guys got serious using sucker minnows and ended up with a nice limit.

This we will call “Steve’s Northern Slayers”. A fair name for these fair weather float fellows from the Racine-Milwaukee area. A great showing of a days catch of northern pike they captured on a adventure they partook in last summer.

Northern pike can be caught most any time of year, but April and May seem to be the best months to really get into them. You may not see as many in April, but some real hogs can be caught then before the spawn. In May, after spawning, the pike will move back in, and can be very ag-gressive. Using sucker minnows on river rigs works great, but casting lures also works well. Here’s a real dandy Mississippi river pike!

“Hey, nice fish Delbert!” Nothing to it, he says. Along with his big northern, blue-gills, perch, bass, and saugers made up the catch for Delbert and crew.

Iowegions have been immigrating to Alma since the discovery of worms and Greg Anderson shows here the success they’ve accomplished along the way, displaying a beautiful smallmouth bass.

Now there’s a fish that’s tempting to put on the wall! Duane Skov and his buddies swing by the float often throughout the year to watch the river go by and the stringer fill up. Here is Duane’s best pike of the year. I can’t remember the exact length, but I know it was getting close to 40”.

Scheel’s pro staffer Frank Herald decided to treat the boys to an overnight trip on the float looking to catch a few cats. Fishing for cats is a lot of fun, with pretty good action throughout the summer. Cast out a rubber cat worm cov-ered with stink bait on a heavy river rig, put the pole in a holder, then wait for the bite. As you can see, the boys did their job well and are all smiles!

Make sure to check the Alma Float Facebook

page to see the latest fishing reports!

The Great Alma Fishing Float 2016 – 5

The Jerry Johnson crew visits the float sever-al times a year, fishing for whatever’s biting. Saugers, walleye, panfish, and this time, lots of northern pike!

Our studies show that it’s not the fishing that has improved it’s the fishermen. Big bass are hard to fool but not for this guy as he gives us a peek at his success.

Summer’s here and catfish are on the prowl! There are good numbers of both channel and flathead cats in the Mississippi river, and both are attracted to the waters below the dams. But that’s where the similarities end. Chan-nel cats are more ”bottom” feeders, so using smelly stuff works best for them, like “stink bait” smeared on rubber cat worms. Flathead cats are predators, and mainly eat live fish, so big suck-ers work well for them. Here’s a big flathead Bob caught last July.

A nice mixed bag of fish these buddies caught in mid summer is a familiar site around the Alma Float.

If you want a real fight on your hands hook into one of these with a medium pole. A large channel cat has the pow-er like a underwater bulldozer so hang on and enjoy.

A beautiful summer day on the Great Alma Fishing Float! While spring and fall seem to get the most attention from anglers, summer fishing can be terrific! With all the species in the river, there always seems to be something biting, like this nice largemouth bass that Ken caught in mid-July.

Every year we see familiar faces from the past and enjoy a reunion of sorts with them. Last summer Donna and her husband Dan enjoyed some great fishing at Alma and this day catching a nice bunch of big bluegills.

This happy young couple show their catch of bluegill, catfish and drum.

While looking in the river you spot a long spotted fish surface for just a sec-ond and disappear and the first thought is it was a big northern and maybe it was or maybe it was a jumbo gar like this. Gar prowl along the surface looking for a easy meal and are often spotted. Getting one hooked is tough especially with their long bony nose and mouth full of needle sharp teeth.

Lisa and Joe like to take a day off their busy schedule to do some float fishing for catfish and sturgeon. They have really got this sturgeon catching down pat. I’ll toast to that.

Tell Bar & Grill

Burgers

Pizza

Spirits(608) 685-3202

6 – The Great Alma Fishing Float 2016

207 North Main StreetAlma, Wisconsin • 685-4144

BURGERS & MORE!

The

& Lodging3 Lodges - Sleeps 7 (Weekly)

On The Mississippi River& Great River Road

OPEN YEAR ‘ROUND• Cable TV & Air Conditioning• Enclosed Cooking & Game Room• Enclosed Fish Cleaning Facilities• WE NOW HAVE WI FI

1 Mile North of AlmaHwy. 35 North, Alma, WI 54610

1-608-685-3511

Hillcrest Motel Reidt’s Motel& Cabins

• Cable TV• Air Conditioned• Fish Cleaning & Freezer Facilities • With or Without Cooking Facilities • Newly Remodeled

OPEN YEAR ‘ROUNDDaily & Weekly RatesMastercard or VISA

3 Miles North of Alma on Hwy. 35Phone or write the Reidt’s

S1638 St., Rd. 35, Alma, WI 54610608-685-4843

reidtsmotel.com | reditsmotel@yahoo.com

1110 Hiawatha Drive E., Wabasha651-565-9932 | www.BigRiverResort.com

ROOMS: Charming river town resort. Our specialty is clean, comfortable rooms at a very good value! Free shuttle from marinas to resort. One block from city pool. Free wireless internet!RV: 25 spacious sites with full hookups - 30/50 amp electric, city water and sewer, cable TV, and wireless internet!CABIN: Luxurious one bedroom cabin with full kitchen and patio.

1-608-685-3380210 Main Street, Alma

Restaurant & BarALMA HOTEL

Cable T.V. & A/C • Critter Cleaning HouseFull Kitchens/Baths • Docking available

8 Miles south of Alma…Just off Hwy 35 ~~ FOLLOW THE SIGNS

By Boat: Enter Channelat Marker 746.6, then go southwww.wardsriversidecabins.com

mmward2005@yahoo.com608-248-3702

email:rooms@fountain citymotel.com

Fountain City MotelClean Rooms • Affordable Rates • Free WiFi

We’re located on scenic Highway 35,only 20 minutes from Alma and

10 minutes from Winona

Call Today…608-687-3111fountaincitymotel.com

“Wings Over Alma” is a multi-purpose center downtown Alma. Located across the street from the Alma Hotel and Mississippi River Pearl. The center offers a 50 foot viewing platform overlooking the upper Mississippi River Fish and Wildlife Refuge and equipped with spotting scopes and binoculars to view a variety of wildlife year-around, river activities and the Great Alma Fishing Float. The Mississippi Flyway bring hundreds of migrating birds past the deck, and dozens of winter-feeding eagles can be viewed below Lock and Dam #4. Inside the center is a rotating art exhibit. Museum displays and a small gift shop are also available, and a visitor information center. The center is open 7 days a week all year around from 10 am-5 pm and some evenings when there are special programs. You are welcome to browse, have a cup of coffee, linger and enjoy the views! For more information: 608-685-3303 or wingsoveralma@yahoo.com, www.wingsoveralma.org or center@wingsoveralma.org.

In Downtown Alma

Mississippi RiverPearl Jewelry

Company and Gallery“We specialize in

designing jewelry from pearls of the Mississippi.”

River Museum displaywww.Nadineleo.com

125 North Main St.Alma, WI 54610

651-301-1204

GROCERIESMEAT BEER WINE

AND MUCH MORE!100 N. Main St. • Downtown Alma

608-685-2652

• Est. 2011 •

ALMAGENERAL STORE

Serving great food & spirits in a comfortable atmosphere.Broasted chicken, fish fry, homemade soups & pies!

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK!

Blue Door InnWalking Distance to GREAT ALMA FISHING FLOATOne of Alma’s oldest 19th century buildings, easy Main street locationBeautiful bluff & Mississippi River viewsNightly and weekly rentalsChoice of suites or apartmentsGreat for groups & familiesContinental breakfastWIFI services20% Mid-Week Discount331 S Main Street, Alma, WisconsinWEB www.bluedoorinnalma.comEMAIL lodging@bluedoorinnalma.comRESERVATIONS 608-685-4067

In HistoricAlma, Wisconsin

• Broasted Chicken

• Homemade Pizza

• Sandwiches• Friday Fish & Shrimp

Fry

NorthEnd Pub & Grill214 N. Main Street

Cochrane, WI • 608-248-3773 Open 7 days a week at 11 a.m.

The Great Alma Fishing Float 2016 – 7

River Realty211 S. Main St.Alma, WI 54610riverrealtyinc.com

Call Paul at608-685-4461

“Catch a good deal on cabins,hunting land and homes.”

Located in the Bank of Alma

JIM & TIM LODERMEIER

Cell: 651-380-5322Bring in Your Trophies

NATURETAXIDERMY

Seasonal Hours(Starting March 1- November 30)Monday-Thursday 10 A.M.-5 P.M.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday 9 A.M.-6 P.M.

National Eagle CenterAmerica’s Eagle Education Destination

Wabasha, Minnesota877-332-4537651-565-4989

Overlooking Mississippi River fromatop the Alma Bluff

Free Wine Tastings 10-5 dailyTours by appointment

Event Center accepting reservations

S2015 Grapeview Ln. • Alma, WI 54610608-685-6000

www.danzingervineyards.com

Danzinger VineyardsD V

Dock yourself at. . .

Felice PatraInn

Walking distance from float pier.

609 N. Main, Alma, WI608-685-4512

Cell: 715-579-4483

Alma Home Style

LodgingOPEN YEAR ’ROUND

3 Bedroom, 2 Bath, Full Kitchen Riverview, Deck, BBQ

Walking distance to fishing floatDirecTV • Air Conditioning

WI-FI Available RESERVATIONS

608-685-4557 • 715-495-2568

ALMA TOWNHOUSE VACATION HOUSE

104 South Main StreetAlma, Wisconsin 54610

Night and weekly rates: two bedrooms, sleeps seven; full kitchen, sun porch (overlooking the Mississippi River),

living room and bathroom; located walking distance from downtown and the fishing

float dock; no need for a vehicle. Cater to fishermen and hunters.

Call for Reservations: 715-926-4782 (business office)715-926-3139 (home phone)or 715-579-6843 (cell phone)

Lil’sCOCHRANE INN

111 N Main StCochrane, WI(608)248-2999

Thanks to Kerry Carter our web

master for keeping our

website new & improved!

www.almafishingfloat.com

B&S EXPRESS

• L.P.• Diesel• Gas• Bait

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK126 S. Belvidere St.

Buffalo City, WI(608) 248-2575

~ 2013 Winery of the Year ~from the Wisconsin Grape Growers

Bring this coupon in for a free beer or rail drink or $2.00 off any appetizer.

Open 7 days a week, year ’round,7am ’til bar close

Great Food & Daily Specials,Cold Drinks & Live Entertainment!Stop for by our famous Bloody Marys!

Check out our full menuwww.buffalocitycove.comBeautiful patio/deck area, big screen TVs for watching your

favorite teams. Come by boat, car, cycle or bicycle.

175 S River RoadBuffalo City, WI

608-247-COVE (2683)

On the banks of the Mississippi!Enter channel at marker 746.6 and go south - large dock area.

8 – The Great Alma Fishing Float 2016

After being on the river for 30 years, we’ve seen many ups and downs in fish populations, changes in the river from flooding, with various fishing condi-tions. 2015 will go down as the year of the sturgeon. I think there were more sturgeon caught last year than in the other 29 years combined! At one time I read that they(whoever “they” are) weren’t sure how well the sturgeon were spawning after the dams were built and possibly losing spawning habitat. Well I can tell you that the fish have figured it out as we caught fish from 12 inches, to over 70 inches, and all sizes in between. The bite started in mid April, then kept improving throughout May. It then slowed

some during the summer and fall, but still getting some until we closed. Both the big lake sturgeon and the smaller shovelnose sturgeon were caught. While there is no open season on the lake sturgeon and must be released, you can keep up to 10 shovelnose, with no size limit. If you’re interested in fishing for these monsters, bring your heaviest gear you have. We use a river rig with a 3 to 6 ounce sinker, de-pending on the current, with a stout hook, then bait it with a minnow and a crawler. It’s always exiting when someone hooks a big one, as these fish are very powerful and tend to jump when hooked.

A wild year for sturgeon in 20 1 5!

Another “average” sturgeon from 2015.

Wow! It takes 2 to handle that monster!

It was a heck of a fight, but the boy did a great job wrestling this 52 incher into the net!

Big Fish Bill Haggerty with a nice one!

It all started on a raining Sunday afternoon. With only a few fishing that day this young Rochester man hooks onto a fish that gave him a fight to remember. After over 45 minutes and more than a few hurling jumps he got this monster sturgeon into a net only to have the net rip through as his helpers tried to lift it onto the deck, so after somehow getting his pole thru the broken net and back to the job of fighting the fish he managed to get it close to netting, again only this time it took 2 nets and a bit of luck to bring it in.

Make sure to check the Alma Float Facebook

page to see the latest fishing reports!