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St. Croix River Fishing Reports


Joe

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do any of u guys think i could sneak a boat underneath the taylor falls bridge? have a 14 ft v hull with a 25. if nothing else is there room to drag a boat along the shore for a ways til things calm down? have never took to close a look at that passage.

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I don't think you can get above the bridge with a boat. The rock face is slick with current and there is a 4-5' falls coming over the sheer rock. I have been to the point just below where the falls plunges and looked it over and looks very risky. The current is extreme;ly fast in that area so I wouldn't attempt dragging a boat along either.

Tunrevir~

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Had a good day on the river last night. Me and my friend went from 4:30 to 6. Managed to get a total of 14 fish. We got 11 sheephead (drums), 1 red horse, 1 sturgeon, and 1 walleye. Between 14-17 FOW.

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Had a great Saturday in the osceola area. Me and my wife had quite the adventure in the backwaters. Had to drag my boat over sandbars and through logjams, even had to take my outboard off and and "carry" my boat around a huge logjam. It was man, woman, wild to the fullest! But we did catch 29 northerns (all small), 2 smallies, a largemouth, small walleye, and a sunfish. A pike tried to have that sunny for lunch as I was reeling him in, and I was able to catch him a couple casts later. Then we got stuck in the storm 3 miles downstream. But was one the funnest outings I've had in a long time!

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JB-Thats why I love the Croix, never know what your going to get yourself into! Glad you had a blast...

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go to william O brien

NotSureIfSerious.jpg

O'brien State Park is my childhood/family park but I end up doing more wishing than fishing everytime I go there for 2 decades now. The occassional bass on the St.Croix canoe launch backwater and carp otherwise not much action despite a nice looking spot, main channel must be too shallow?

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Serious you just have to know where you goin but, yes its been pretty good there for white bass so far with the water that was up.FLOODED area

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Serious you just have to know where you goin but, yes its been pretty good there for white bass so far with the water that was up.FLOODED area

Any tips then? I assume one must get there by boat/canoe? Location? Time of day?

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  • 3 weeks later...

Beautiful day out on the river yesterday morning before the wind picked up. My son and I fished from about 8:30 - 1:00, and caught the usual mixed bag, with the fish of the day being this 22" walleye my son caught on a crawler:

photo.jpg

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I've had really good results at dawn and dusk shore fishing for walleyes in the Stillwater and Hudson area the last few weeks due to high water. The fiasco at Stillwater with Police tape and block off did lessen opportunities from shore but at Hudson found the eyes willing to bite from shore. Water has been receeding fast which has decreased the action but the fish are still hitting if ones looking to enjoy some shore fishing.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Has anyone been out after smallies in the stretch from Hudson down to Afton?

Thanks,

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Randy,

I have been out and doing fair to good not great though, I would like the water to drop to bring them more on the breaklines...

Happy 4th,

Turk

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Thanks Turk,

By the way -- to the rest of the board -- if you ever need a guide, I have used Turk and it was a great experience.

Randy

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Randyfish,

Okay sorry I did to match up your online name with you. I emailed you about bass today. I am seeing lots of 14 " ers and smaller...I think the big ones are down low and deep OR the exact opposite and chasing shad up high off structure now that the schools are forming up...

Though there are always some shallower, ya we did get a 18.5 two days ago in 5 feet, but that was early...rambling here. I would not over think it like I am doing...ha, so hit shallow spots first and then go deep if you do not connect in 10 to 22 feet. Or work current that always is a game changer.

Keep Catchin'

Turk

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Smallies had their feedbags on this morning and a few walters were hungry for leeches, was off the water at 8am, very nice morning to be out

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was leadcoring for walleyes today and i picked up a carpsucker on a jointed rapala that was not anywhere near the bottom. It was hooked in the mouth with the rear hook. pretty weird. picked up a couple walleyes too. hot colors were fire tiger and purple/white. anyone picks up a large fish with a fire tiger salmo hornet in its mouth let me know what species it was. i have never seen a fish bury a planer board like that before. what a fun day.

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I've been getting skunked by Prescott the last few days. I've been trolling different depths with Rapalas, crawler spinners, and snap weights. I was marking a lot of fish in the 18-24' range but no strikes.

Any Suggestions?

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I have not been out by Prescott lately but when the surface water temps get up in the 80's you may need to target fish in the 25' to 30' foot range.

Fishing the St. Croix:

If you can see where the thermocline is try fishing around that depth. Also if you are only trying to fish around the bridges at Prescott you may need to move up to the shorelines or some of the points to the North on the Croix.

Fishing the Mississippi:

If fishing South of Prescott, the target depths will vary depending on the water clarity but generally 15 to 25 is a good place to start. If the water clarity is really low you will need to go a lot shallower.

Another consideration is the speed you are trolling at. I would recommend 2mph or higher for crankbaits this time of year.

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Thanks for the reply. I've been starting by the bridge and working up the western (MN) shoreline. Last night I was trolling as slow as my 40 hp merc would let me (no spedometer.) I'll try bumping the speed up to see if that gets any strikes.

What type of weights do you use to get down to 30' deep?

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Went out near Bayport last night, fished from 6 pm - 9:30 pm.

Worked 9-13 FOW with a jig/leech and a slip bobber/leech.

Caught about 15 smallies (biggest at 18", with quite a few around 17"), 3 channel cats (18-20"), and a 15" walleye.

Slip bobber was more productive than the jig.

Good luck out there!

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What type of weights do you use to get down to 30' deep?

3 to 4 oz Snap Weights will easily get to 30'.

A 3-way rig or handline will work better if you are not able to maintain a constant depth or speed.

3-way rigs (and handlines) have the distinct advantage of not being speed sensitive and can easily follow the depth changes.

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Can't find anyone around here that carries snap weights. (or even knows what they are crazy ) Where do you get them?

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I picked up a set of snap weights at the Man Mall (AKA Fleet Farm) in Hudson last year. They should still have them.

@Dale Ruber: Thanks a lot. I'll give a 3-way rig a whirl.

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Can't find anyone around here that carries snap weights. (or even knows what they are crazy ) Where do you get them?

If you can't find them locally you can order them directly from Off Shore Tackle. All you really need is the "Off Shore Tackle OR16 Pro Snap Weight Clip" and a few different sizes of bell sinkers. I mostly use 3oz weights but if you want to run multiple lines on the same side of the boat get 2oz and 4oz weights. Clip the 4oz about 10' up from the crankbait and you can deploy the 2oz over (behind) it and not have to worry about getting tangled. These weights are what I use on the Croix, when on the Mississippi in shallower water I will run 1.5oz over 3oz. Less weight makes it easier to see the action from the crankbaits.

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Snapweights can be found at the Man Mall. I picked my set up at thornes during the big sale.

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Donbo, you can find them all over you just gotta look for the planer boards and they are usually nearby. Your oakdale Farm store, glamor hill and Joes all carry them. The OR15 snaps are the best in my opinion because they are high tension and have a small nub in the middle of the pad that you can put your line past to prevent the weight from dropping off when you catch a fish. Simple pinch pads will often fly off during the battle and that can get spendy when your dropping 3-4 dollar a pop weights off, with a 3-5 dollar release. If your thinking for square,let me know and I'll give you some to try out after next weeks salmon trip.

Tunrevir~

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Fished out of the Osceola Landing this morning from 7:30-Noon. Landed 4 walleye (2 eaters), a pike, and a bunch of smallmouth (one 18.5"). Walleye were in quick moving water coming of logs etc. Schools of baitfish were pinched up against shore in lots of places and were nice tells as to where fish were feeding. I haven't fished the river in over a month and was surprised to find fish in a fairly shallow part of the river. A good morning overall.

Dave (in the little green kayak)

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