River Rat Results

[Turk]

River Rat 2006 weights (though conducted under a 60’x40’ tarp, amidst tornado warnings) final tally.

This tourney finishes the weigh in and then hits the grill with a brat and burger feed with picnic tables and chairs all around, folks smiling and rubbing shoulders. Then the raffles start. This year was all under a monster tarp and reminded of a great big sogged out camping trip.

Results:

Heaviest Stringer walleye top 10:

Blumer/Jochum 13.45

Gierke/Hankes 10.65

Luett/Perkins 10.35

Team Issac 8.65

Team Hale 7.85

Team Farr 7.61

Philpot/Prendergast 6.9

McCoy/ Durand 6.8

Jaroszeski/Peterson 5.55

Severson 4.75

Heaviest walleye

Jeff partridge 6.9 pounds

Biggest Ugly Fish

Bob Issac 28-pound Mudcat

See you next year!!!

[rgoi812]

looking forward to next year,my son and I had a good time and learned alot about the river while chatting with others,helps us first timers get started.Thanks

[tunrevir]

Hey Turk, I fished this weekend and found it to be a tough bite on my spots. I caught one fish about 2:30 that was 16+ but no big fish and couldn't turn a sauger. We caught a Gar right of the bat 15 minutes in and then we decided well, maybe an ugly fish so we put it in the well. No one ever told me that a gar in the well was like bringing bananas aboard! Had a few bites on jigs and chubs but boated nothing then when we were making jokes about getting skunked and so forth lo and behold a Walleye latches on. Leadcore 30'. We had a tough day but it was alot of fun. I will prefish the area a bit more next year. The downriver areas seemed to produce better then upriver. A well run tourney! I loved the extra large tarp! Man they must know someone at fleetfarm! I'll be back next year. Congrats goes out to the winners and the rest who participated! I don't know who actually runs the tourney but they must have some connections with the man upstairs, what a beautiful day for fishing, and it finished off with a whirl(or close to it). Couldn't stay for the drawings but maybe next year.

Tunrevir~

[Walli1]

Well got back from up north yesterday,I'm happy to here everything went well for the tournament, maybe next year I can get in it. Sounds like a great time!

[Turk]

Tunrevir,

Sorry to miss you at the raffle, it wasn't a good bite really, we worked for our fish. There were a lot of folks there, it was like a big party under the tarp! Happy you enjoyed the time! The event is unique in my opinion, and I fish it every year if I'm on fish or not prior to the event. Cool of you to come down from your regular spots up north! Hats of too you!

Keep Catchin'

Turk

[croixeyes]

Tunrevir...As Turk stated,it wasnt a consistant bite out there Saturday.We really had to work to find fish that would cooperate.Hope you had a good time out there and will be back next year.Also hope to see more fmers testing their skills against some of the best fishermen on the Croix.If you aint in it, you cant win it.On a side note,if anyone saw Turk putting lead weights in his fish to kick me out of a 2nd place finish please contact me.Secret photos of this will be shown to the beanies review board and my sources will not be mentioned.

[tunrevir]

Hey guys!, I looked for a few of you(really didn't know who to look for except for the Turkman) I did look for the blue ranger tiller though. Might have crossed paths with y'all but didn't get to say hello. I will definately be back next year. I also will have done a bit more homework in the area! Maybe the tough bite is only for those of us who don't get down that way to often. I think I could change my luck a bit, if I fished the area a bit more often.(which with the time of year, I'm planning on doing). I have a few trips planned to Mille Lacs and then the river untill ice up. My upriver areas are going to get going good in the next few weeks and the crappies are starting to stage in their usual haunts. I will however be hitting the lower Croix as well to start getting fimiliar with some of the habitat. Nice to know the big boats are getting put to bed for the winter, I only saw 2-3 big boats last weekend. To you gentlemen, my hat is off, I hope to actually compete next year with you guys. Hard to compete when you only boat 1 fish but it is a start. Now just where are those pesky sauger hiding anyway? Good luck fishing and thanks for all of your info on the forum guys, maybe see you out this fall.(tan crestliner/90 yahmaha).

Tunrevir~

[Turk]

Quote:

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if anyone saw Turk putting lead weights in his fish to kick me out of a 2nd place finish please contact me.Secret photos of this will be shown to the beanies review board and my sources will not be mentioned.

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My fish were actually lead weights painted very very well to look like walleye! the trick is to get them to move...

[Cbreeze]

Turk, I have a question... I have been fishing the Croix mostly Kinni south...until this summer. I spent much more time fishing/learning the river from Kinni to Hudson Bridge. Several times I caught HUGE crappies while pulling bottom bouncers w/spinners & crawlers north of Afton and the 94 bridge. Mostly in 22-30' of water. I never think of the Croix for crappies but after catching the slabs I did, I may rethink things a bit!! My question is, this time of year I would think they would be schooling up and chasing minnows along the steeper rocky dropoffs/shelves. Am I right? If so, with the current and such, how do you fish the consistantly? Casting jig/minnow or slip bobbering and letting it drift? Maybe I'm answering my own question but I've never really spent ANY time fishing crappies on the St Croix and don't want to waste my time if what I caught was just a fluke. Thanks in advance for any help...from anyone!

Tuna

[croixeyes]

Cbreeze......You are not wasting your time with crappies on the Croix.Although I havent done much searching in the section you mentioned,they are fairly common and large on the river.I hope to be doing a little searching for some slabbers tomorrow morn,so Ill post results when I return.......Good luck out there...........

[tunrevir]

Crappies on the upriver side of the croix also run large. Cbreeze, if you hook some fish while fishing the eyes then mark the spot as best you can and go back and work the area hard with jigs and minnows. You might be experiencing an open water bite with a few large fish that are roamers but chances are that where there is one there are more. I like a 1/16th jig and fathead or crappie minnow. The depths you are talking might require a bit more weight though. Pink and white, purple, green and chartruesse all have been good search colors in feather jigs. If you are picking them up on spinners then I wouldn't hesitate to trying a 1/8-1/4 oz beetle spin fished slowly as well. I find that feather jigs turn a few more fish due to the slow fall on the drop. When the fish are aggressive they will pick up a 3/8th jig and minnow but when they are not think light and slow. I had a dead rod pick up more fish for me last Oct then an actively jigged rod. The key was put the jig and minnow on the bottom on the shallow side of the break and then gently let it fall into the deeper water. This rod outproduced 6:1 versus the rod I was actively jigging. The current down that way is almost negligeable right now so 1/8th oz should definately get you bit. Small spoons might also attract a few fish if you think ice fishing and jigging for perch, the same applies for crappies. Again, this is a more aggressive appraoch when the fish are biting readily. Slow is often the key for these fish, feather jigs tipped with small minnows often produces when the bite is tough. Hope this helps!

Tunrevir~

[Cbreeze]

Croixeyes,

Thanks for the reply. I was amazed at the quality of the crappies but, other than this summer, have never bumped into any where I usually fish. I will be excited to here what you find out and how you did!

Tuna

[croixeyes]

Cbreeze...Well today didnt goes as planned for the crappies.I took a neighbor out to the Croix this morning,and we started by rigging some chub minnows.Nothing much hittin on them so I packed up and headed for a couple of crappie spots I know of.We fished these areas for about an hour but only managed three crappys,not that big.Decided to move and set up for some trolling.That was the ticket at least for the eyes.We managed to pull 7or 8 descent fish between 16 and 20 inches in a couple of hours.The crappies we did pull came from 18 to 21 feet,Ill be checking those areas again soon .....Good luck out there...