St. Croix River Fishing Reports

[KS Cranker]

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. 

[GeluNumber1]

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.

[DonBo]

 

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.

[tunrevir]

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~

[DonBo]

@tunrevir. Sounds like a great night's fishing for this late in the season.

[tunrevir]

Fished the River twice this past weekend and targeted panfish in the 4-20' depths.  The areas I found most productive had a couple things in common, rock rubble, current breaks causing a deflection of current along the shore and rock to sand transitions.  I did not catch any monster panfish but had respectable gills to 9 inches and crappies to 12 inches.  As usual there were other species caught including smallmouth, walleye, rockbass, pike and a couple small catfish.  My fishing partner hooked into something large on Friday night and fought the fish for 20 minutes but eventually the hook worked free and we were never able to see the fish to get an ID.  At one point I dropped the net and fired up the motor to stay with the fish as it moved upriver and then returned downriver.  It did not make any long runs or short bursts like a pike or sturgeon.  No head shakes like a big eye so I am thinking big catfish.  On the bright side later in the evening my partner hooked and landed a Nice 23" eye!  You just never know what is gonna bite on the river and that is why I love to fish it!

Tunrevir~

[CranktheTank]

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!  

[DonBo]

  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.

[JBMasterAngler]

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 

[CranktheTank]

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.  

[CranktheTank]

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.  

[JBMasterAngler]

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 September 5, 2015 by JBMasterAngler

[NBK14]

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.

[CranktheTank]

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.  

[Fisherman For a Lifetime]

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! 

 

 

 

 

[DonBo]

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!

[Fisherman For a Lifetime]

Thanks DonBo, my PB Walleye is a 11 1/2 Lb. on Big Winnie.

 

 

[Rugbyguy]

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!

[Tdubbers]

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.   

[DonBo]

[Fisherman For a Lifetime]

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! 

 

[partyonpine]

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.

[CranktheTank]

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.  

[RiverChuckNorris]

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.

[Bass Whacker]

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".

[GeluNumber1]

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.

[Bass Whacker]

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!

[metro fisherman]

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! 

[Cheetah]

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.  

[BrdHunter01]

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