Don Rich and his son Don Jr. doubled on these bass just below Winneshiek's east channel bridge. Photo by Ted Peck.

Hiding in plain sight on the mighty Mississippi River in northeast Iowa is a world-class bass factory -- the vast Winneshiek neck on Pool 9, a maze of running sloughs, side channels, woody cover and foliage that offers ideal habitat for largemouth bass and myriad other species.

You have no doubt that you're beholding a very special place when you look down on the Winneshiek from the heights of Mt. Hosmer City Park in Lansing. You can see for miles from atop the cliff on a clear day -- beyond to the far northeastern border to the north and downstream past Ferryville, Wis., across the river.

Although the Winneshiek is generally considered to be those waters lying south of Highway 82 which links the Hawkeye State with the Land of Cheese, habitat from the Winneshiek matrix continues upstream on back channels on both sides of the river up to about mile marker 666 -- the first almost easy access to the Winneshiek's east channel above Highway 82.

Getting to the east channel is almost easy from this entry point, because boaters need to navigate through a narrow, uncharted opening in a rocky closing dam, which spans the entire east channel here.

About a mile downstream, there's a shortcut where a wing dam blocks only part of a running slough leading to the lower Winneshiek. But this neck needs to be navigated with even greater caution, owing to the unseen dragon's teeth of stubs and stumps hiding ominously just below the river's serene surface.

Other side channels beckon boaters from the main channel along both sides of the river throughout the entire Winneshiek, at first glance appearing navigable with the promise of a pleasant visual feast on a leisurely cruise downstream.

Savvy river rats know that some of these routes are akin to terrestrial hoop nets, drawing unsuspecting victims in until escape to safety through the mudflats and wood back to the navigation buoys which mark the relative safety of the main channel turn a pleasure boating experience into a mission of considerable desperation -- causing many to venture here to swear that they will never return.

These natural barriers are a strong deterrent to the casual basser. Especially with so many less hazardous options on the unequaled fishery found in Old Man River. But those with a Tom-'n'-Huck sense of adventure, and others chasing the dream of cashing a fat tournament check, can realize some of the best bass action imaginable -- if you're willing to enter the Winneshiek with the knowledge that nature, not a 200-horsepower Yamaha, Mercury or Evinrude, calls the tune.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist Scott Gritters said that he hasn't had the opportunity to conduct baseline studies on the bass population in the Winneshiek, conceding "harvest by both tournament and regular anglers probably has some impact on the fishery. This is a complex and hard to understand issue which is also compounded by other factors like water levels, temperature, baitfish patterns and habitat use changes.

"The Winneshiek bottoms is one of our premier natural resources, clearly illustrating the adage 'If you want quality fishing you have to have quality habitat.' This neck of the river is a veritable poster for bass habitat."

According to Gritters, several massive multijurisdictional habitat projects designed to restore lost islands and, thus, to inhibit erosion are on tap in the near future for Pool 9. One of these projects is Capoli Slough at the lower end of the Winneshiek.