St. Croix River Fishing Reports

[JBMasterAngler]

Whities were biting on silver or green mepps spinners. Best fishing is yet to come...might go back on monday.

[daveluke]

Launched (the green kayak) out of the Boom Site today at 9:30am. Fished and paddled all around the area. Ended up with 10 white bass, 2 small pike, a 19" walleye, 3 smallmouth, and my first largemouth on the St. Croix. It was fat and almost 18". The rain was on and off but the fishing was pretty consistent. A great varied species day.

[Stratosman]

Got out for 3 hours this afternoon caught about 12-15, kept 4 from 16-19" for the pan.. crawlers and leeches from 12-16'.

[WalleyeChaser]

Great reports everyone! Sounds like it will be time for me to hit the home waters this weekend. Hopefully the bite keeps up, I've been fishing P4 and Pepin the last couple of weekends for pigs but with the no wake lifted I'm ready to get out and find some on the Croix!

[tunrevir]

Hit the river this am with my son and we caught a mixed bag of fish, walleye, white bass and sauger. A couple really nice sauger running 18 inches, a couple of 15-16 inch sauger and some 16-19 in walleyes to round out the limit. Hit the water at 6 and were off the river by 1030. White bass are getting ready to spawn as the males were milting and the females were plump with eggs. Weather was a bit foul but the fish didn't seem to mind.

Tunrevir~

[fisherman-andy]

Me and a couple buddies hit the St Croix shore fishing late night 10pm-2am, yeap you heard it. Shore fishing the Croix and managed over 2 dozen Walleyes. Most fish were 14"-17" with about a half dozen all being 19"-20". Lotsa cigars sizes too. Kept a few of the 19"s for a meal and the rest all went back.

None of the fish were caught on live bait or plastics. All husky jerks or rapala X's. Key to catch was fishing slower moving water.

[WalleyeChaser]

My dad and I hit it hard this weekend! Sat we fished from 7:00 till 2:30 and ended up with 6 eyes 16-18" and threw a few that were just 15" back and about dozen shorts. Today we fished from 6:30 till 12:00 couldn't find a legal eye to save our butts(another dozen or so shorts), but ended up with 5 15.5-17" sauger! By noon the wind was super tough and there wasn't a spot that wasn't in the wind so we called it early. All fish were caught Hudson to Bayport area 15-32 fow, jig and minnow and lindys w/ fresh picked crawlers. With all the wind we blew past alot of fish on the finder that I couldn't relocate to finess them. My best outings in the area for a couple years!! Hopefully the weather will cooperate one of these weekends! Good luck to those that are lucky enough to get out this week with the nice weather that is predicted.

[JBMasterAngler]

Made it back to william o'brien today. Water level didn't drop anywhere near as much as I had hoped since 10 days ago (maybe a foot at most). Caught 10 white bass, 4 small pike, and the highlight of the day was a 1.5 pound pot bellied largemouth bass.

[Fazerfish]

JB - where were you fishing at the park? I'm heading there this weekend with the family, and the kids love to fish (only if they are catching something)...

Last time I was there, we just threw out some crawlers at the point by the launch....

[JBMasterAngler]

I launched my boat there and fished the backwaters immediately downstream from the park and some on the WI side. Honestly, I think shorefishing within the park is a waste of time And right now the current is really moving through there with the water being so high.

The copas access just upstream from william o'brien is a good shorfishing spot, but right now it wouldn't be accessible to shore anglers.

[tunrevir]

I'd work the area where the boat channel meets the river down at the park. Like JB said with the higher water fishing from along the banks right now would be tough but where the eddy is formed where the boat channel meets the river would be a good bet for some fish right now.

Tunrevir~

[jloomis]

hey tunrevir! have you been out lately? hows the bite going up there in that stretch of the river? i havent been there for like 2 weeks now and was thinkin maybe sometime this week i wanna try for them whities.

[tunrevir]

The whities are on up and down the river right now. Males were milting last weekend so you should be running into them in the usual areas. I was on the river Friday, Sat and Sunday last week

Tunrevir~

[LeeWarrior]

My brother and I went out yesterday for our first time this year at O'brien state park and did well. Caught 15 whites, 2 short eyes, 3 pikes, 1 smallie, and a few drums. Majority of the fish were caught in shallow waters using roostertails and fishing out of the current.

[tunrevir]

Leewarrior, thanks for the report and welcome to the forums!

Tunrevir~

[Fisherman For a Lifetime]

Got out with my wife Thursday.

Prescott to Hudson. We caught 3 short walleyes, a rock & white bass.

Pretty slow...

[tunrevir]

Go out yesterday from 2-7 with my son and had a blast catching a wide variety of fish! We caught walleye, sauger, whitebass, black and white crappies, rockbass, smallmouth, a small pike, sheepshead and even caught a small brown trout while trolling on a #5 shadrap. Great variety of fish caught. We trolled cranks, cast cranks, cast jigs, dragged jigs. Sheepshead were active and if you left your jig on the bottom in any one spot for to long they would attack it. The brown trout was the first trout caught in the boat in my 25 plus years of fishing the river. My son said, "This was the best fishing trip ever!" on the way home.

Tunrevir~

[Lee2Lund]

Does anyone have some tips for using lead core on the river around Stillwater? I tried the last 2 days with no luck.

[Fisherman For a Lifetime]

Go out yesterday from 2-7 with my son and had a blast catching a wide variety of fish! We caught walleye, sauger, whitebass, black and white crappies, rockbass, smallmouth, a small pike, sheepshead and even caught a small brown trout while trolling on a #5 shadrap. Great variety of fish caught. We trolled cranks, cast cranks, cast jigs, dragged jigs. Sheepshead were active and if you left your jig on the bottom in any one spot for to long they would attack it. The brown trout was the first trout caught in the boat in my 25 plus years of fishing the river. My son said, "This was the best fishing trip ever!" on the way home.

Tunrevir~

Man, I gotta get out with ya or something. I don't do well on the Croix anymore... and I get more than other boats around me. I saw 1 other fish caught all day every where I went.

Three years ago was the last time I did ok. So, where did they go?? This continuation of low walleye catch rates baffle me.

[Moses2531]

Was out Friday before the rain and caught all the drum and whities I wanted, but couldnt find and 'eye or Sauger... I was fishing north of the Boom Site and tried trolling, jigging, and rigging. Hope I can find them sometime this week. Thats why I fish the river though and have so much fun, always seem to have action!!

[abcnerdd]

I just got back from the St. Croix river with the little brothers, 5 and 7. Walleyes and saugers are biting. No luck for me, since my two little brothers were catching a lot and I help took the walleyes off their hook. Was very fun watching them catch walleyes and sheepheads. All walleyes were released.

[vanddelor]

Last time out to obrien last week the water level was already getting down. How's the water level this week? Did they put the dock in yet at obrien yet? My brother, dad and i are planning to head out this weekend for some whitties and eyes. Thanks for the reports.

[Stratosman]

Fished from 2-6 last evening. Fished 4 or 5 different spots, caught fish on all of them with a dozen or so sub 15"ers one 26" and two 18"s for the belly.

A 20" smallie of course a sheephead and a big white bass on a crawler/lindy (a first for me).

[LeeWarrior]

Went to Obrien on Monday and water level actually went up a little. As for the dock it is not in yet. And about the bite we managed to find the whites in the same location we caught them in before only this time they were more scattered in the flooded islands. We caught 33 whites, a short eye, and a few small pikes.

[croix walleye 6]

walleye's were on a tare today 2 man limit with in 2 hrs 25 1/2 being the biggest with a fare # of fish in the 20 to 22 inch range with all fish over 18" being released. great day on the water

[tunrevir]

CW6, great report! Any depth ranges we should be targeting or methods that might help put a fish or two in the boat? Wish I could have been out there but work has spoiled many a good fishing trip I'll get my chance Friday to get out if I get the honey do list done before the weekend.

Tunrevir~

[croix walleye 6]

said the heck with the honey do list and went out. most of the fish have been at 18 to 21 feet in the last 3 weeks. i noticed today that all the small fish were in 16 to 20 feet and they were gangbuster's they would rip the line right out of your finger!!! rigging has been the best for me!!!! today all the bigger fish were between 22 to 27 feet and there is a big difference between crawlers and leech's!!! experiment. one is out doing the other 10 fish to 1. just ask my father

[WALLEYENUTZ]

which one?

[MidCoast]

Crawlers are good right now

[Stratosman]

They are good, but I have gotten all my big ones on leeches so far...