Any one fish the upper Missippi river system have a patern for cathing smallies this time of year,I was doing good in July along riprap and wingdams using cranks and tubes but for the last mounth they seem to have vanished.With duck hunters in the backwaters we like to stay on the channel so they can have there fun.The water temp last weekend was 64 deg.

I don't fish the Mississippi but do fish a river here.

This time of year the smallies will gang up and chase bait. They too will migrate toward their wintering areas. If you can find the bait you'll find the smallies. What's really different is that now you can find schools of fish and catch em good, as opposed to one here, one there, like summer.

I would try mouths of creeks, sand/gravel bars, above and below islands, anywhere that bait is present.  64 degrees is good, they should be on the feed, wish it was that cool here, our rivers are still close to 70 and with 80 projected for the next couple days I don't see it dropping much....

Thanks for the help but the baitfish seem to be staying in the grass on  the flats and I can pull out some lg. mouth but no small mouth.