Disclaimer

Calculator results are estimates

Every calculator on this site runs a published equation against numbers you typed. The fish weight tools use standard-weight equations fitted to tens of thousands of measured fish, which makes them a good predictor of a population and a poor predictor of an individual. A walleye full of eggs and the same fish three weeks later can differ by a substantial fraction of its body weight at an identical length.

Where a tournament, a state record application, a citation or any other official determination is involved, use a certified scale and the measurement protocol the organisers specify. Do not submit a number from this site.

The line capacity results carry a tolerance band because published line diameters are rounded before they reach you and diameter is squared in the calculation. The best fishing time tool produces a qualitative verdict rather than a percentage, because no validated model exists that we would be willing to cite for one.

Regulation figures are dated snapshots

License prices, bag limits, size limits, season dates and boundary-water rules change, sometimes mid season and sometimes at short notice. What we publish is what a specific document said on a specific date, with a link to that document and the date shown on the page.

Our fact-checking policy means no figure here can be more than 180 days past its last check, because the build fails otherwise. That is a guarantee about how recently we looked. It is not a guarantee that nothing changed yesterday.

Boundary water is genuinely complicated

Pools 8 and 9 sit between three states, and which state's rules apply depends on where you are, where you live and which license you hold. Pool 9 is covered by two different chapters of Wisconsin administrative code because a state line crosses the middle of it, with nothing marking the crossing on the water.

Our license finder applies the reciprocity rules as published, and theriver guide lays out where the limits change. Neither is legal advice, and neither will be standing next to you when a warden asks.

Nothing here makes the river safe

The Upper Mississippi is a working navigation channel carrying commercial barge traffic. The current below each lock and dam is strong enough to pull a boat under, and it is strongest exactly where the fish concentrate. Water levels rise quickly after upstream rain, and the gauge readings on our pool pages are observations from a point in the past, not forecasts.

Check the current gauge reading and the National Weather Service forecast before you launch, tell someone where you are going, and wear a life jacket. We publish river conditions as information. Judging whether it is safe to go out is yours alone.

Fish consumption

We publish no fish consumption advice and no guidance on contaminants. Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa each publish their own consumption advisories for Mississippi River fish, including species-specific and population-specific limits. Consult the health or natural resources department for the state whose water you fished before eating your catch.

No commercial relationships behind recommendations

We take no affiliate commission, no sponsored placement and no payment for any mention of a product, brand, park or business on this site. Where a tackle brand appears it is because a manufacturer specification table was the primary source for a number, as explained in ourresearch methodology. Advertising is served programmatically and is kept out of editorial entirely, as set out in oureditorial policy.

Formal position

The information and tools on this site are provided for general informational purposes and without warranty of any kind. Use of the site is at your own risk, and the operators of Big River Fishing accept no liability for loss, injury, penalty or damage arising from reliance on anything published here. The full position is in our terms of use, of which this disclaimer forms part.