St. Cloud dam fishing help

[weisert]

I am a student at SCSU and my roomate and I are looking to pull out a few fish, anyone with any tips on what/where to fish that would be willing to share?

Thanks,

Weisert

[Tippman]

The 10th street dam is a great place to fish, especially if you get away from the pier in a canoe out in front of the dam area. This is the best time of year to fish it and you should catch a mixed bag of smallies, walleyes, crappies, cats, and who knows what else.

[Stick in Mud]

If I remember correctly, right underneath the dam is a hole that's been dug out by the water rolling over the dam. Then maybe....15 feet or so there's a hump where all the soil has been deposited. It's a good spot.

If my memory of the spot is a bit spotty (pardon the pun), my memory of catching fish down there on shad raps isn't! Just get out there; there are tons and tons of spots to catch fish. And with this water as high as it is, you can do awesome from shore as well. A friend and I got 15 chunker walleyes down there last week using pretty much every bait in the tackle box: jig/minnows, cranks, swimbaits, raps, ripsticks, mister twisters and sassy shads, even a senko!. They are all working now!

Carl

[UncleKes]

Try casting hardbaints and cranks (like a big Husky Jerk or anything like that.)at night during the full moon period. When I was a stundet at SCSU I used to walk down stream about a 1/4 mile and do that. I used to catch waleyes, smallies, crappies, etc. If it swims int he river it eventualy turns up arouund the dam. Also you might try the Dam at Sartell at night

I would advise using the larger cranks or jerks, say 7 inches or more. It was my experience that this time of year they like the larger baits. Let us know how you do! Good Luck! Tight Lines!

[Stick in Mud]

Those giant long-bodied crankbaits traditionally seem to have been the best baits this late in the fall, as the water temperatures drop. This year, for whatever reason, I've been doing much better on shad raps than on Husky jerks, original floaters, rattlin rogues, ripsticks, or even minnow raps. They have seemed to like the shorter bodies, for whatever reason.

I have no idea if anybody else has had this experience either, but I know that I'm outcatching them on shadraps probably 15 - 1 .

Carl

[mrklean]

Prepare to lose some lures. The rocks are killers around the dams. My fav is a jighead and twister tail with a minnow just roll them over the rocks, caught lots of smallies doin that and some eyes

[gopher_nation]

I agree with mrklean. I always just hit up sportsmans warehouse and get their 4/ $1 jig heads. Twister tails, sassy shads, gulp power minnows, and tubes are my favorite plastics for the river. I never use live bait, and very rarely will I use cranks, I'd rather lose 50 cents to a rock than $5. The amount of fish caught is about the same anyways. The biggest tip is to reel it in slow so the current will wash it behind rocks where the fish are hiding, but dont set the hook as soon as you feel a tap, you'll find yourself setting the hook on a rock a lot, give it a second to make sure its a fish then rip it. Don't get discouraged if you snag up a lot, it takes a while to "get the feel" for it. Water is brown like Lake of the Woods right now and I've had real good luck with these colors, orange, yellow, white, gold. Really like the orange twisters, or yellow gulp minnows.

Good Luck

[UncleKes]

Carmike: Shad Raps, huh? I never used them in the fall. I was thinking more of a floating Husky Jerk or original rapala retrieved just under the surface so it glides over the rocks. I agree with what the others say about lure eating rocks, though. I always found that an erratic retrieve with a Husky Jerk, fast then slow then fast or a straight retrieve then a side to side retrieve first fast then slow then slow again always put the meat on the table for me.

[gopher_nation]

UncleKes, Good point on keeping it just below the surface as I have had success with the huskyjerks and floaters, but I wouldn't recommend to a newbie to try cranks from shore on the river unless they have experience, surely not shadraps which would surely be stolen by the rocks. Now if its summer and the river is low and you're wading try it all, you get snagged walk above it and pull it out, but right now with the water levels I like to keep it simple with a jig and some sort of plastic. The fish have the feed bags on and are not picky!!!

[Stick in Mud]

I should have been more specific. I meant shallow shad raps, not the deep divers. Shallow shad raps run even shallower than Husky Jerks, rogues, and you can make them darn near topwater lures by reeling in slow or reeling fast with the rod high in the air.

I've been fishing them almost every day for the last three weeks and haven't lost one!!!!

[weisert]

Thanks for all of the tips, i will give them a try and let you guys know how i do.

Thanks,

Weisert

[UncleKes]

Carmike: Thanks for the tip about the shallow running Shad Raps. I was unaware they even made them? It just shows you need to come off the water once in awhile and read some of the fishing magazines or go shopping and see what is new out there. I will head over to the Sportsmands Warehouse in Coon Rapids this week and see if they have any? Any of you ever vertical jig a Shad Rap? I was thinking of trying one ice fishing this year? I thought I woud try one just to see how they work? I will let you guys know later this year after first ice? What color Shad Raps you using, Carmike? What colors work best for you?

[Stick in Mud]

UncleKes,

The shadraps won't work for vertical jigging, but the jigging raps do work wonders through the ice. Just make sure to change the treble hook, as the packaged hook is waaay too small. And another tip: cut off the nose and tail hooks on the jigging rap--you don't need them and they really like to get hooked on the bottom of the hole. Just snip them off, and the lure and fish will come right through the hole.

For colors: It only really matters about 50% of the time. Sometimes they'll hit a pop can with a treble hoook attached, and at others they'll be picky. My favorites in the shad rap are the silver/blue (though they don't make this in the shallow runners anymore), shad, silver/black, hot steel, and blue/silver. Some people like firetiger but I haven't had consistent luck with it.

I hope that helps. If you make it out, let me know how you do.

This weekend was another scorcher, with fish coming in bunches if you could find them. Most came on the shad raps (#7, by the way), but they finally started hitting the long-bodied baits like HJs and rogues. Just get out there and throw 'em!

Carl

[UncleKes]

Carmike! Yeah, I thought so too about the Shad Raps but I had sort of a wild hair idea and thought I would bounce it off some of you berore I wnet out and amde an (Contact Us Please) of myslef ont he ice. After all, it is better to make a fool out of yourself with people who already know you are one than to let others know you are one, right???

Seropis;y, thanks for the info about the Shad Raps. I always wondered why the put the hooks fore and aft on the jigging raps. It always seemed a bit redundant. Good idea about cahnging the hoos size on the treble though. I buy the super large size jigging raps from Thorne Brothers in Fridley and they have a larger treble on the bottom than the little raps. I might change the treble to a sixe 6 or possible 8 and see if it works better. Food for thought! Thanks once again!

I live in Fridley but I am thinking I might drive up to St. Cloud one day soon and get in a few hours on the water. Maybe I give you a call and we can meet on the water somewhere? Take care! Tight Lines!

[Stick in Mud]

UncleKes,

I am probably going to be up north building a fishhouse for the next few weekends. Still, give me a call; if I'm around, I'll come on out.

My cell is 610 457 6977.

Carl

[Stick in Mud]

UncleKes,

Not to scare you away , but there has to be some good fishing closer to home...The river is hot right now; just go find some slack water and chuck some raps!

[UncleKes]

Carmike: If you need a hand with the fish house. Give me a call and I will drive over with my hammer. My cell phone number is 612-839-0426. My name is Gary Vant. Otherwise, I would be happy to have you along ANYTIME you want to go out! Tight Lines!

[JBMasterAngler]

Will I be able to cover alot of water below the dam with hip boots? I'd love to hook into some of the fish all you guys have been talking about on saturday. Plus I have lot's of minnows to use up yet.

[Tippman]

You'll be able to cover water, don't know if I would say alot. The river is still very high for this time of year.

I was out in the kayak below the dam fishing the other day and did well. I only had about an hour but caught smallies, walleyes, and catfish just using a jig and a fathead.

[UncleKes]

There is excellent fishing this time of year at the dam but the water is way too high for wading unless you want to walk downstream about a 1/4 mile. I think you could cover a lot of water just by walking along the shore and pitching a jig and minnow or jig and plastic into the water. I know from others that they have been doing wel with Shad Raps or floating Rapalas or at the Dam but beware that the rocks will eat them like popcorn if you don't know what you are doing. My advice is to stick with jigs. Easier to work and less expensive too.

I would also advise you NOT to wade the dam area. TOO DANGEROUS.

[Stick in Mud]

I wouldn't go wading now if you paid me! The water is too high to make it efficient, and the water is too cold in case you go in over your boots. If you have a canoe, the water has slowed down enough to make paddling in the current safe and easy. If you have a jonboat or a smaller, shallower running boat, you can access down at Riverside Park in Sauk Rapids and make the run that way. I'm pretty sure there's enough water to make it through now, but I wouldn't try it with a bigger boat or a boat you don't want to get dinged up.

Carl

[JBMasterAngler]

Ok, well I'll stick to the shoreline then...thanks for the heads up. I'll just goof around with baits/tactics until I find something that works.

[gopher_nation]

i have seen people in the spring wade out when the water is high. on the east side of the dam they just wade out a little bit to get full range of casting w/o having to worry about the branches and lean up against "the rock".

[Stick in Mud]

That wasn't me!

I've stepped off little dropoffs or big rocks too many times in that river to have any confidence fishing in cold, high water. In the summer, it's kind of fun to wiggle around in the waders all full of water, but now I imagine it would be pretty dangerous.

Carl