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.

St. Croix River Fishing Reports


Joe

Recommended Posts

I went out on the St Croix for the first time today with my dad. Launched from the boom site north of Stillwater and mostly fished the WI side from just south of the high bridge. I got a sheephead and a small channel cat and my dad got a small walleye. We were throwing various color #7 shadraps at the shoreline trying to stay in ~10-15 feet of water.

Question though. I saw postings on the high bridge saying no upstream travel allowed past that point, anyone know why? I tried checking the DNR website to see why and didn't really find a clearly stated reason. I could clearly see boats beached well upstream of the bridge. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Question though. I saw postings on the high bridge saying no upstream travel allowed past that point, anyone know why? I tried checking the DNR website to see why and didn't really find a clearly stated reason. I could clearly see boats beached well upstream of the bridge. 

I've heard from various other fishermen on the river that it's to prevent zebra mussels and other invasive species from gaining a foothold in the upper Saint Croix. Of course, I may be wrong.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Question though. I saw postings on the high bridge saying no upstream travel allowed past that point, anyone know why? I tried checking the DNR website to see why and didn't really find a clearly stated reason. I could clearly see boats beached well upstream of the bridge. 

Yep, Gelu is right. It's a weak attempt at stopping the spread of Zebra Mussels.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hit the upper St. Croix last evening for a bit and found the panfish active.  Caught crappies, rock bass and some really nice gills from 4-18' working 1/16th oz jigs tipped with crappie minnows and pieces of night crawler.  Biggest gills were 10.5 inches.  Also caught a couple channel cats, 1 small flathead, a 17" eye and 3 short eyes, smallmouth and some perch. All fish were caught and released. Beautiful night to be on the water!

Tunrevir~

  • Thumbs Up 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I spent the evening from about 630p to dark fishing the lower Croix for anything that would bite!  I ended up hooking into about a half dozen sauger, a white bass, and a stout smallie in the few hours I was out.  All fish were caught on blue/white original floating rapalas in approximately 18-24 fow.  I marked a lot of fish on the humminbird, but I have to think if I had some live bait and did some rigging I would have done better.  Anyways, that is a strategy for next time.  I do have a question for anyone willing to share, and maybe I am going about this all wrong.  When jigging, do you only concentrate on shorelines and slack water?  I have found myself trying to vertical jig at times (20-30 fow), but it seems like my jig ends up swinging downstream up into the water column.  I have been using 3/8 ounce jigs, do I need heavier?  Do I need to add inline weights, say above a swivel?  I know this sounds like a dumb question, but I am NOT a seasoned river fisherman and quite green on this as a matter of fact.  Any tips are appreciated!  

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  I have found myself trying to vertical jig at times (20-30 fow), but it seems like my jig ends up swinging downstream up into the water column.  I have been using 3/8 ounce jigs, do I need heavier? 

Yep, with the depth and current, a heavier jig is probably called for. Use whatever it takes to be able to feel and remain in contact with the bottom.

  • Thumbs Up 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Took the boat out for the 1st time in 2 months...hit the osceola area. Was hoping to find some white bass, but didn't find much of anything at all. Just a few smallies and 1 pike. Kids had a blast when we beached at a sandbar and swam. Was a good time for me to practice my patience, as that was time that could have been well spent on fishing. They want to do that all the time now, so maybe we'll give Franconia a try next week...could very well be the last chance to swim for the summer. Hmmm, was more of a swimming report, as opposed to fishing :crazy:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Went out this morning above and below the Kinni from about 8-1p.  Fishing was slow in my boat, however, I saw a few other boats land a few along with some hootin' & hollerin'!  Not sure what they caught but it sounded exciting!  We ended up catching a couple drum and I latched into a healthy 30 inch pike right before we left.  We did a variety of methods today ranging from pulling cranks, to casting swimbaits, to pulling rigs.  I marked bait fish all over the place but struggled to present the right meal this time (I'm told that's why it's fishing, not catching!)  I ended up catching the pike in about 15 fow, which was a nice way to end the day on the water.  Oh yeah, it was hotter than hell out there too so if you plan to hit the water soon wear your swimming suit so you can cool off!

Quick question, does anyone have any insight on night fishing on the Croix?  I'm just curious if it is worth giving a shot sometime.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Went out this morning above and below the Kinni from about 8-1p.  Fishing was slow in my boat, however, I saw a few other boats land a few along with some hootin' & hollerin'!  Not sure what they caught but it sounded exciting!  We ended up catching a couple drum and I latched into a healthy 30 inch pike right before we left.  We did a variety of methods today ranging from pulling cranks, to casting swimbaits, to pulling rigs.  I marked bait fish all over the place but struggled to present the right meal this time (I'm told that's why it's fishing, not catching!)  I ended up catching the pike in about 15 fow, which was a nice way to end the day on the water.  Oh yeah, it was hotter than hell out there too so if you plan to hit the water soon wear your swimming suit so you can cool off!

Quick question, does anyone have any insight on night fishing on the Croix?  I'm just curious if it is worth giving a shot sometime.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, today was the start of the sturgeon season, so there will be lot's of night fishing going on for the next few weeks. But even during the summer, it's certainly worth a try, as you can catch walleyes, catfish, eels, etc. I've been able to catch lot's of white bass in late evening, into dark.

Edited by JBMasterAngler
  • Thumbs Up 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Late summer (now) there are areas where casting cranks from shore at dusk & into the night can yeild some dandy whitetips. I haven't  fished these areas for a while & don't  hit'em regularly, these ain't the most peaceful spots on the river! Don't expect 2 pound'em either, few here or 1 there, maybe a skunk. But the size has been good, I don't recall many shorts. East & south east are the stretches I like.

  • Thumbs Up 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Went out yesterday evening in the Prescott area from 4ish to dark.  Pulled cranks for a while and picked up a couple sauger, then tried working those areas with a fathead lindy rigged.  Caught a few more sauger and one drum.  Not fast and furious but had some action.  The weather was perfect, the sunset was beautiful, and we didn't get skunked!  Hope to get out a few more times before it gets cold out, will report back after my next outing.  

  • Thumbs Up 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Got out on the Croix last Thursday & yesterday, 10/6. Nice to see Turk out there both days!

 

Picked up a River Monster.  A 9 Lb. Walleye -- 29 1/4" Long!!  Got her near the Kinnickinnic.

Also got some HUGE Carp & Buffalo, Sauger, Crappie, Sunfish, Mooneye, White Bass.

 

That 9 Lb Walleye was a catch of a lifetime on the Croix!  :)

 

 

 

 

  • Thumbs Up 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice to hear a good report.  That 9 lb'r is a catch of a lifetime for most of us no matter where it was taken. Congrats!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Got out on the Croix last Thursday & yesterday, 10/6. Nice to see Turk out there both days!

 

Picked up a River Monster.  A 9 Lb. Walleye -- 29 1/4" Long!!  Got her near the Kinnickinnic.

Also got some HUGE Carp & Buffalo, Sauger, Crappie, Sunfish, Mooneye, White Bass.

 

That 9 Lb Walleye was a catch of a lifetime on the Croix!  :)

Sounds awesome! Let's see some pictures of them!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Got my personal best Croix walleye this morning! 20 inches, no river monster but was a blast to catch.  Caught on a crankbait in 25 FOW, water temp 61, cold and windy this morning but had the water to myself for the most part.   

20- walleye .jpg

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Got out from 6:30am to 4pm Wednesday 10/14. Water Temp = 60-61F.


Picked up nice Saugers & Walleyes, along with Sunfish, BIG White Bass and of course Buffalo.

Darn nice day to be out & nice to see lots of other fishermen out as well!  :)

 

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Was out on Wenesday had good luck with jigging rapalas in 17-22 fotw.  Chartuese was the key could not get a bite on any other color.  Boated 12 eyes and saugers.  Lot of dinks but was great to be out in the fall.

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Went out yesterday from 3-630p for unfortunately my last outing on the St. Croix for the fall.  Fished an area just south of the Kinni and boated a few sauger and walleye with jigging raps and trolling cranks in anywhere from 15-27 fow.  I noted the water temp to be 59 degrees.  Talked to another guy on the water and said he was doing about the same, and the first thing he shared was that it was pretty slow that particular evening.  Like always though, anytime out on the water is not a waste of time!  The colors were spectacular and the weather couldn't be beat in my opinion.  Also saw a pair of bald eagles perched up in a tree less than a hundred yards away from my boat, which was a great "catch" by my standards!  I will be heading up north this weekend to try for some crappies at my families cabin near Squaw Lake and may take an opportunity to hit up the gap on Big Winnie for some fall walleye before winterizing the boat.  Good luck to those still putting in time on the water and too those who are getting ready to hit the deer stands if they haven't already.  

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

So other than my rod box falling off my portable half way up the access hill on my way back to the truck and a fellow angler picking it up less than 5 minutes later and driving off with it, had a really nice afternoon on the ice on Saturday.  8.5" of ice and I brought home these four beaut's for a meal.  They ranged from 10.5"-12.5" and all were well fed.  Lot of lookers, fewer takers.image.thumb.jpeg.a72c1e901ce5f295bc1dc58

  • Thumbs Up 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great afternoon on the river!  With 6-7 inches of ice where we were.  Ended up landing 4, and loosing one at the hole while trying to grab it.  Big fish went 46".

569c5381df9e7_20160117_1852321.thumb.jpg

569c53368b9b4_20160117_1620241.thumb.jpg

569c530caf10d_20160117_1737221.thumb.jpg

569c541e5d8e0_20160117_1512431.thumb.jpg

  • Thumbs Up 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/18/2016 at 8:57 PM, Bass Whacker said:

Great afternoon on the river!  With 6-7 inches of ice where we were.  Ended up landing 4, and loosing one at the hole while trying to grab it.  Big fish went 46".

 

Woah! More like Sturgeon Whacker! If you don't mind sharing, what bait did you use? I'm considering going down by the powerplant this weekend and use dead shiners on the bottom for a chance at one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All of the fish came on fat heads.  We had a couple shiners down when we started and they never got touched.  Also 3 fat heads seemed to be the magic number Sunday, weird I know.  It's such a fun bite, I can't believe we weren't allowed to do this for so long.  I will be out for most of the weekend myself to try and hook into a giant.  Good luck out there!

  • Thumbs Up 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Impressive Sturgeon and a nice meal of crappie guys! Does the Sturgeon action take place in about the same depths as the crappie action? Ill be out tomorrow, hopefully returning with a couple pics to share! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We fished Saturday afternoon from about 2pm to a bit after sunset.  Marked plenty, but only caught one crappie.  Slow bite.  Too windy to hole hop, lines iced up and holes drifted in super fast.  Tried minnows, euro and waxies and a variety of tackle that has produced in the past out there.   We were straight out from the MN side park in 34fow.  I saw two or three small cars over at the WI side shanty town, I only say 8 or 9 inches of ice where we were though.   Probably going to give it another shot again today since it will be nicer weather.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was out today for a short period of time. I had a max of 8" of ice and people were driving full size trucks everywhere. The guy right next to me in a car claimed he had 13" but I put a tape to mine and had 7.5 maybe 8" max. Someone is bound to go down out there! CRAZY!

btw fishing was very slow

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




  • Similar Content

  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • leech~~
      Nope not me.  May want to go nextdoor and ask around?  
    • smurfy
      Looks to me like Leech brought his chair home!!😅😆
    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
    • SkunkedAgain
      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
×
×
  • 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.