There are two kinds of largemouth bass anglers in Iowa: those who love fishing for bass in the Mississippi River -- and those who've never fished for bass in the Mississippi River.

"I've never met a serious bass fisherman who has fished on the Mississippi who didn't love it," said Iowa City resident and Hawkeye Bass Fishing Club member Mike Burcham. "There are so many places to fish, so many different kinds of habitat, and such a strong population of bass, that you could fish only on the Mississippi and never need to go anyplace else. Until you've fished there, you can't understand the potential it has."

Bob Hutchcroft agrees. The owner of Bob's Marine in Belleview, he has fished the big river for over 40 years and regularly scores well in bass tournaments on the Mississippi and other locations around the Midwest.

"The Mississippi River has better bass fishing than any lake I've ever been on," Hutchcroft asserted. "The sheer numbers of bass you can get into when conditions are right are amazing. My partners and I have had days when we caught 50 to 75 fish.

"And: The average size of bass in the Mississippi seems to be increasing. We used to figure the average bass in the river was a 2- to 2 1/2-pounder, but we're seeing a lot more bass in the 4- to 4 1/2-pound range. The biggest river bass I've had in my boat was 6 1/4 pounds -- but I've heard of guys pulling in 7-pounders.

"It may be because more guys are doing catch-and-release," continued Hutchcroft. "Or maybe it's just a cyclical thing, and we're on the good side of the cycle. I'd never say the Mississippi is the place to go if you're after a trophy bass, because I think the current and other conditions don't favor a lot of the bass getting real big. But what they don't have in sheer size, they make up for in numbers.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's Iowa's No. 1 fishery for largemouth bass."

WHERE AND HOW ON THE MISSISSIPPI
Burcham seconds Hutchcroft's assessment of bassin' on the Mississippi, but warns that the learning curve can appear steep for anglers unfamiliar with its uncounted islands, channels, cuts, backwaters, chutes, lakes, ponds and sloughs.

"The first time I fished the Mississippi, it was like a foreign land to me," Burcham said with a laugh. "So much water, so much habitat -- so many places to look! And then you add in the extra challenge of having to consider the river's current, and it was overwhelming.

"But when you think about it, bass fishing is bass fishing -- you just have to figure out on a given day where they are, and what they're biting on. Don't be intimidated because the river is so big and there are so many places to look for bass; focus on one small area that looks 'bassy' to you, do what catches bass for you in other places, and you'll eventually put bass in the boat."

Bertram and Hutchcroft agree that backwaters should be the first focus of anglers in search of Mississippi River bass in late spring/early summer. Water levels are stabilizing after winter and spring run-off, and bass are in search of shallow waters for spawning and for summer post-spawn habitat.