Jump to content
  • GUESTS

    If You  want access  to member only forums on FM, You will need to Sign-in or  Sign-Up now .

    This box will disappear once you are signed in as a member.

Report for 1/20 1/21


croixeyes

Recommended Posts

Hey guys and gals.Sounds like some folks had a pretty good crappie bite going this weekend.Well I didnt happen to be one of them .A friend of mine and I started out Saturday afternoon working about 33fow I blanked on crappie but my buddy caught 5 real nice fish 10 to 12inches.This was from 2:30 to 3:30pm.We then moved shallower to try our luck on walleye,once again this was not my night for fish.I managed 2 shorts and my friend pulled 1 legal 16incher and 4 shorts.Sunday morning we got a late start as I wanted to keep my last three fingers from falling off from Saturday night.

We threw every thing we had at the crappie but could only muster 1 nice fish.Late afternoon and walleye time was upon us again,But not for me .My friend caught 5 fish with 2 legals,a 16 and a 19 both very fat for males.This evening the fish gods were kind to me.I set up on a small point in 17fow and had good action for about an hour and a half.Kept 4 fish for fryin and pu 2 back,4 were sauger and 2 walleyes all 16 to 18inches.Fish were caught on a variety of jiggin raps and rattle spoons.I think the bite held up longer due to the cloud cover,Its usually about a 45minute window of activity when im out there.Oh yea,welcome to the forum uwleagle......

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Croixeyes I think you meant to type down 1/20 and 1/21, because at first I thought wow is it really September already. Well here is my report for 1/21, I didn't fare as well as you. I threw everything for the crappies today and only came up with 2-10 inchers. I feel like I failed this weekend. It seem like the fish were super picky today I had a few that would rise up almost 10 feet and take a look at my bait and just go down as fast as they rose. Again the ticket for me was live bait jigging. Only crappie minnows worked, tried wax worms but nothing wanted to bite them. C-yalls and good luck.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 Originally Posted By: croixeyes
I set up on a small point in 17fow and had good action

Croixeyes, I was going to email and ask how deep you were setup - looked like you were practically on shore from where I was! Glad to hear you got some action. We found lots of lookers throughout the day, as hondavxr said, they were pretty finicky. We managed 8 decent crappie with a handful of dinks, a tiny walleye and a couple silvers out of 36'. Most were caught on green genz bugs with smallish crappie minnows. Thanks for the tip on the color, seemed to help.

LB

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Croixeyes, thanks for the welcome. I want to head out there early Wed morning. Is their a decent morning bite for walleyes and if I just go fairly close to where most of the shacks are and head closer to shore and find 15 to 20 feet would that be a decent place to set up for some walleye? I have a hand auger so its pretty hard for me to drill alot of holes looking for fish. I'll be in a tiny blue shack next to a silver SUV, feel free to stop by and say hi if anyone wants.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Uwleagle...First off if you have a map of the river or have a mapping chip of the river this will help you alot.Next,If possible try to pour some water on the ice and take a depth reading with your flasher If you have one,this saves on the arms for drilling.You have to get to bare ice to get a decent reading and it maybe difficult to do because of the cloudy ice on the top,clear ice is best for a depth check.I havent fished mornings for eyes yet but dusk is usually the longest time frame for activity,get there early though cause youll want to be setup and fishing before it gets light.

There are walleye and sauger in the area where most of the shacks are,but its is a huge breakline and some parts are gonna be used by eyes more than others.I try to look for areas on points and breaklines that will kinda funnel fish up on a flat.Most all the shacks up there across from the bayport park are out in the deep,off the edge of the breakline fishing crappie.There are alot of other points along the wisconsin side that arent fished at all and may be gold mines waiting for someone to strike it rich.Hope this helps,let us know how you do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Croixeyes are you tipping your lures with any kind of bait or are you just jiggin them plain? Recently bought some new jiggin raps called chubby darters, is anybody havin luck with those or even tried them. I have orange/gold and "hot perch" similar to fire-tiger i think. Also if im finding cigar sized eyes is this a good spot to keep fishing and hope for bigger ones or should i move to a different depth/location. Any more info would be greatly appreciated!! I am getting impatient and anxious to catch some eyes through the ice!! I'll just keep pluggin away and reading here. Hope to make it out again some night this week and definitly this weekend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tip my jigging raps and spoons with a fathead minnow head.Jigging raps are made by rapala,and come in a variety of sizes and colors.I pretty much stick with number 5s and 7s in those.Ive also got some chubby darters and have pulled one small sauger with them,but I havent given them an honest effort yet.I dont tip the chubby darters with bait though,IMO it impedes the action of the bait.Alot of times the small eyes will come in first to feed followed by bigger fish hopefully.Put in your time out there and fish the primetimes,you will catch fish.GOOD LUCK OUT THERE..........

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the help. I'll work on getting a map of the river asap. I've never tried reading through the ice with my vexilar. I'll give it a try tomorow. I have most of my luck for eyes with a jiggin rap or buckshot spoon tipped with a minnow head. Have some chubby darters but have never actually caught a fish on them. Honestly thought the only time I have tried them is when jiggin raps or spoons werent working so the fishing probably just wasnt good. The chubby darters do have some pretty nice action in the water though. My work schedule changed so I will be goin out around noon tomorow instead of in the morning. Going to try for crappies and then move for some walleyes before dark. Will post a report tomorow night when I get home. I appreciate the help.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was out on Monday, 1/21, from 3:30-5:30. My buddy and I pulled up 13 crappies, all around 10 inches. They were biting really light--I had spring bobbers on my poles, and they were barely moving. Used green demon jigs with crappie minnows in about 34 feet of water. Wish I had time to get out the rest of the week!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How is the night bite on the St Croix for Crappie and Walleye???

I'm only able to get on the river about the time the sun is setting. sausage

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My experience with the crappie night bite has not been very good. I haven't tried it this year, but in past years It hasn't produced at all for me. I've been out 4 times this week, and it's been very sporadic. Monday, all I caught were very small fish, Tuesday I caught 8 pretty good fish with no small crappies, and thursday, I did real well, c & r about 16 nice 10 - 13" crappies. Sometimes 4 ft off and other 10 to 12 ft off the bottom. Thursday around noon, had a flurry of fish come in about 14 ft off bottom. Just when you think you have them figured out, they do something different. I guess that's why they call it fishing and not catching!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

are you guys fishing right on the river or in some back bays? I've never fished the lower part of the croix and have only fished the part b/t taylor's falls and o'brian park in the summer, and I never thought driving a truck on river ice to be a good idea. But, i am a lake fisherman mostly, so what would i know?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Everyone is fishing right on the river. There is about 20 inches of ice everywhere I have been.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Where's most folks been going? As stated earlier I'm a rookie when it comes to river ice fishing, but it sounds like I should start. These metro lakes just don't consistently put out decent pans. I guess the only thing I would need to know is where everyone's accessing. I've read the other posts and I think I might be able to figure things out with some time on the ice, just need a bit of a starting point!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.


  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • mulefarm
      With the early ice out, how is the curlyleaf pondweed doing?
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   The big basin, otherwise known as Big Traverse Bay, is ice free.  Zippel Bay and Four Mile Bay are ice free as well.  Everything is shaping up nicely for the MN Fishing Opener on May 11th. With the walleye / sauger season currently closed, most anglers are targeting sturgeon and pike.  Some sturgeon anglers are fishing at the mouth of the Rainy River, but most sturgeon are targeted in Four Mile Bay or the Rainy River.  Hence, pike are the targeted species on the south shore and various bays currently.   Pike fishing this time of year is a unique opportunity, as LOW is border water with Canada, the pike season is open year round. The limit is 3 pike per day with one being able to be more than 40 inches. All fish 30 - 40 inches must be released. Back bays hold pike as they go through the various stages of the spawn.  Deadbait under a bobber, spinners, spoons and shallow diving crankbaits are all viable options.   Four Mile Bay, Bostic Bay and Zippel Bay are all small water and boats of various sizes work well. On the Rainy River...  Great news this week as we learned sturgeon will not be placed on the endangered species list by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.     The organization had to make a decision by June 30 and listing sturgeon could have ended sturgeon fishing.  Thankfully, after looking at the many success stories across the nation, including LOW and the Rainy River, sturgeon fishing and successful sturgeon management continues.   A good week sturgeon fishing on the Rainy River.  Speaking to some sturgeon aficionados, fishing will actually get even better as water temps rise.     Four Mile Bay at the mouth of the Rainy River near the Wheeler's Point Boat Ramp is still producing good numbers of fish, as are various holes along the 42 miles of navigable Rainy River from the mouth to Birchdale.   The sturgeon season continues through May 15th and resumes again July 1st.   Oct 1 - April 23, Catch and Release April 24 - May 7, Harvest Season May 8 - May 15, Catch and Release May 16 - June 30, Sturgeon Fishing Closed July 1 - Sep 30, Harvest Season If you fish during the sturgeon harvest season and you want to keep a sturgeon, you must purchase a sturgeon tag for $5 prior to fishing.    One sturgeon per calendar year (45 - 50" inclusive, or over 75"). Most sturgeon anglers are either a glob of crawlers or a combo of crawlers and frozen emerald shiners on a sturgeon rig, which is an 18" leader with a 4/0 circle hook combined with a no roll sinker.  Local bait shops have all of the gear and bait. Up at the NW Angle...  A few spots with rotten ice, but as a rule, most of the Angle is showing off open water.  In these parts, most are looking ahead to the MN Fishing Opener.  Based on late ice fishing success, it should be a good one.  
    • leech~~
      Nice fish. I moved to the Sartell area last summer and just thought it was windy like this everyday up here? 🤭
    • Rick G
      Crazy windy again today.... This is has been the norm this spring. Between the wind and the cold fronts, fishing has been more challenging for me than most years.  Panfish have been moving in and out of the shallows quite a bit. One day they are up in the slop, the next they are out relating to cabbage or the newly sprouting lilly pads.  Today eye guy and I found them in 4-5 ft of water, hanging close to any tree branches that happened to be laying in the water.  Bigger fish were liking a 1/32 head and a Bobby Garland baby shad.   Highlight of the day way this healthy 15incher
    • monstermoose78
    • monstermoose78
      As I typed that here came a hen.  IMG_7032.mov   IMG_7032.mov
    • monstermoose78
      So far this morning nothing but non turkeys. 
    • monstermoose78
      Well yesterday I got a little excited and let a turkey get to close and I hit the blind!!
    • smurfy
      good......you?? living the dream..in my basement playing internet thug right now!!!!!! 🤣 working on getting the boat ready.......bought a new cheatmaster locator for the boat so working on that.   waiting for warmer weather to start my garden!!!
    • monstermoose78
      How is everyone doing? Holy moly it’s chilly this morning I stayed in bed and will hunt later today when it warms up.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.