LA CROSSE, Wis. — To catch fish, you have to know where they are. But looking past that obvious truth, knowing where they are often requires an understanding of where they’re going.

Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series pro Pat Schlapper said that principle will factor keenly into the Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite at Upper Mississippi River.

Competition days will be August 21-24 with daily takeoffs from the Loggers Baseball Stadium at Copeland Park at 7 a.m. CT and weigh-ins each day back at the park at 3 p.m.

“It’s the time of year when mornings are starting to get cool and fish are probably going to transition into fall stuff,” Schlapper said. “In my opinion, it’s probably going to be at the early stages of (the transition).

“I think you’ll see the main channel play. I think you’ll see backwaters play. A little bit of everything will be going on. I think it should be a good tournament.”

As Schlapper explained, the fall transition finds fish heading toward the sites that they’ll use to ride out winter’s harshness. The fish move gradually, but steadily, and they do their best to fill their bellies along that course.

“Both smallmouth and largemouth want to feed, but they’ll typically set up on different places depending on where they’re moving to,” Schlapper said. “In certain areas, you will catch a mix of fish off a spot; or one day, it’ll be smallmouth on a spot, and the next day, it’ll be largemouth.

“That happened the last time we were at La Crosse, and that’s all about those fish migrating. You could definitely catch both on the same type of (main-river) stuff, but you’re not gonna go find a school of smallmouth way in a backwater on a patch of duckweed.”

In terms of calculating the course to those cold-season destinations, Schlapper said smallmouth typically winter on slackwater areas of the main-river channel. Largemouth tend to hunker down in heavily vegetated areas close to deep water.

The last time the Elite Series visited La Crosse in 2022, heavy rains sent muddy plumes into the Mississippi. Finding ribbons and pools of cleaner water proved essential to many anglers’ success, and Schlapper’s looking for the same importance this year.

“That’s always a major factor on the river,” he said. “That’s what the vegetation does, especially the eelgrass; it’ll really help filter out the water. Current, vegetation and clean water — those are the biggest things that dictate where fish are going to be.”

Wing dams, the rock walls positioned along the river to direct current inward and prevent siltation of the navigational channel, will be a popular target.

As Schlapper notes, these structures create prime feeding opportunities for fall fish, so some anglers will likely base at least some of their game plan on running several wing dams until they find active fish.

Another of the Upper Mississippi’s distinctive habitat scenarios comprises deeper water edging up to a shallow sandy ledge. These “sand breaks” offer prime feeding spots for fish — especially smallmouth bass — to run up and gobble the local forage, but it’s all about timing.

“Sand is always a factor down there, but it’s one of the more difficult things to figure out,” Schlapper said. “You could win on sand if you found the right deal, but unless you know where the good stuff is, it’s really hard to find that stuff.

“Somebody might be fishing down a stretch of vegetation and the fish come up busting and they find a spot like that. I’ve fished (the Upper Mississippi) for over 20 years and that’s one of the hardest things to find, because there’s so much of it and so much of it looks good, but the fish are not always there.”

Having closely monitored water levels, Schlapper said: “Overall, the water has been higher than normal pretty much all summer. It’s been dropping, but then all of a sudden, it’ll rain a bunch and then it’ll come back up. Unless something crazy happens, I think it’s gonna be a little higher than the last time we were there.”

Schlapper said a high river will expand opportunities, as fish — mostly largemouth — push farther into shoreline cover. That’s particularly relevant, as this year’s flourishing vegetation offers expansive habitat.

Top largemouth baits include frogs, swim jigs, bladed jigs, Texas-rigged flipping baits and Carolina rigs. Smallmouth anglers typically throw a mix of topwater walkers or poppers, swimbaits, Fluke-style baits and lipless baits.

The Upper Mississippi usually delivers plenty of fish, and most anglers will catch their limit, but those bigger fish of 3-plus pounds are the difference-makers. Hefty largemouth and smallmouth roam this fishery, but finding such kickers can prove challenging.

At the 2022 event, Maryland pro Bryan Schmitt found just enough to edge out 2024 Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year Chris Johnston by just 4 ounces, winning the event with a total of 63-4. Schlapper said he expects this year’s weights to be tight at the top of the leaderboard.

“I’ve been following the weights for local tournaments pretty closely this year, and I think if you can stay in that 16 1/2 to 16 3/4 pounds a day (range), I think you would have a chance at winning,” Schlapper said. “As far as making the cut, I really think that 13 (pounds) a day will do it.”

Those that excel in this final Elite event of the 2025 season will do so by figuring out those seasonal movements, finding ways to tempt bigger-than-average fish and capitalizing on every bite.

Live coverage of the Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite at Upper Mississippi River will be available on Bassmaster.com Thursday and Friday beginning at 8 a.m. ET and running until 3 p.m. Roku will have coverage on Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and Noon to 3 p.m. Coverage on Saturday will be available on FS1 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. before moving to Bassmaster.com from Noon to 3 p.m. Championship Sunday coverage can be found on FS1 from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. with afternoon action to follow on Bassmaster.com.

This event is being hosted by Explore La Crosse.