St. Croix River Fishing Reports

[metro fisherman]

Ive had the same action as above. Marking lots but few bites and very light. People are out of their minds driving on the ice how it is, i cant believe nobody put one in the drink last weekend...

[Brand717]

What depth would you guys recommend for bluegill and is there a good amount of them?

[Tdubbers]

I've found bluegills in 14 FOW but they can be hard to find consistently as they are there one day and gone the next.  I fished Tuesday morning before the snow and got 4 small crappies in 37 FOW on plastics. Like the others said a lot of marks, few will commit.  

[magic_minnow]

hey all, haven't been out this year...i'm guessing people are driving on.  Any spots to avoid?  I remember hearing something about mndot barges going in and out?  Thanks in advance!

[Graves83]

Fished from 1-3pm straight out from the ferry landing on Wisconsin side in 34'.  Got into a couple crappies right as we were leaving.  Walked out as shoreline is thin ice.  Used white jig with red larva.  Might be last week to get out there!

[DonBo]

With the water levels back near normal, anyone been out yet?

[GeluNumber1]

Suckers are biting well. Caught 10 yesterday, along with a Mooneye. Mostly Golden Redhorses, with a few Silvers tossed in.

[Gimp]

Was out last Saturday doing a little scouting. We were fishing for white bass, but using same set up as we will for opener (bottom bouncing and 3-ways). Caught several large white bass, a 26" northern and a drum. No walleye or sauger.

[Sunfish110]

17 hours ago, Gimp said:

Was out last Saturday doing a little scouting. We were fishing for white bass, but using same set up as we will for opener (bottom bouncing and 3-ways). Caught several large white bass, a 26" northern and a drum. No walleye or sauger.

Looking forward to Saturday.  Launching out of Stillwater, and rookie campaign on the St. Croix.  I've read a lot about pulling crankbaits to find active fish, and then jigging/rigging if you can get a few.  Do you have any "hints" on spots/areas of the river this early?  Planning to just work shorelines/breaks and where I can find current.  I've been out a few times earlier, near the lift bridge and south of new bridge scouting, but no bites, and I assume fish are shallow so spending a lot of time graphing for them is counter productive.

Thanks

[BRB]

Follow the boats to the community spots. That should be easy enough and a good starting point. From there I would venture off and fish anything that looks good. People are not going to give up their spots over the internet so everyone can see. 

[Gimp]

With all the recent rain, SCR will be about 5' higher than just a week ago, so trolling cranks could be frustrating (a lot of fouling due to debris). If you're new to the SCR, I'd recommend buying the Fishing Hot Spots map for the area you'll be primarily fishing. I think Fleet sells them as do most large tackle shops (also available online). BRB is right, people work very hard to find productive haunts and will not easily give them up on a public forum.

Good luck. Don't let a bad outing on Saturday deter you - it takes awhile to figure the SCR out.

[fivebelow]

Join the crowds and slow troll/drift between the rail road bridge and I-94 bridge.  Be sure to have your running lights on.  

[Sunfish110]

19 hours ago, fivebelow said:

Join the crowds and slow troll/drift between the rail road bridge and I-94 bridge.  Be sure to have your running lights on.  

Appreciate the feedback guys. 

[Gimp]

Curious as to how everyone did over the weekend? We went out Saturday and it was generally miserable. North wind + strong current + high water = few fish. We caught two small walleye (well under the 15" limit) and basically were glad to get off the water at 6:30 pm. Water levels are supposed to decrease by a foot by next weekend (according to NOAA), so that should help.

We fished 3-ways with Rapalas and tried bottom bouncing with spinner rigs + minnows, but didn't have heavy enough BB to keep them on the bottom, so gave that up rather quickly. Just ordered some 3 oz BB so that won't happen again!

Good luck!

 

[Sunfish110]

17 hours ago, Gimp said:

Curious as to how everyone did over the weekend? We went out Saturday and it was generally miserable. North wind + strong current + high water = few fish. We caught two small walleye (well under the 15" limit) and basically were glad to get off the water at 6:30 pm. Water levels are supposed to decrease by a foot by next weekend (according to NOAA), so that should help.

We fished 3-ways with Rapalas and tried bottom bouncing with spinner rigs + minnows, but didn't have heavy enough BB to keep them on the bottom, so gave that up rather quickly. Just ordered some 3 oz BB so that won't happen again!

Good luck!

 

Tough sledding for our party as well Gimp.  Pulled some rapalas on shorelines resulting in nothing.  Caught three walleye, largest 14.5 which was a bit frustrating and some multi-species action with a few nice Perch and what I believe are Buffalo.  Ultimately everyone got to feel a fish pull back, so it could have been worse.

[JBMasterAngler]

Did anyone hook into some white bass? I'm planning on hitting the Prescott area on Saturday, and I'll be after them. 

[fivebelow]

Pitched jigs and plastics into some shoreline structure that was protected from current and found some fish holding tight to rip rap.  A few keepers and quite five times as many shorts along with a few incidental smb. 

 

I did find a nice mess of perch also shallow in protected bay.

 

Got swamped by boats a few times when I found a small school of fish. Get the landing net out and soon the crowd was there. That's opener for you. 

[Gimp]

Went out with the dog tonight for a few hours. Two nice keepers and a couple of shorts. Water is down about a foot from last weekend. 

[Steelhead Chaser]

Fished the Hudson area for this first time this year yesterday morning solo from 7:30 am to around 1:00.  Water temp between 52 and 53 degrees.  Total of 12 walleyes.  All shorts with the exception of one 16.  No other species caught.  Crank baits with snap weights.  Nothing too big, but some action anyways.  Good luck out there.

[JBMasterAngler]

Picked a bad day to fish Prescott with that wind coming from the north. Was also a pain in the butt to load the boat at the Hastings launch with the high water and heavy current. Caught a nice 20 inch walleye up the croix, but nothing else. On the Mississippi, was able to catch 3 little eyes, and a few smallies. Also caught a nasty sun burn.

[Steelhead Chaser]

Fished the Hudson area with a buddy yesterday from 6:30 am to around 12:30.  Water temp 59 degrees.  Total of 11 eyes and saugers and missed a few others.  Mostly shorts with the exception of one keeper eye and a nice 18 sauger.  Crank baits with snap weights.  Did not do any live bait rigging.  Good luck out there.

[Gimp]

Fished north of Stillwater for a couple hours Thursday night and caught a bunch of large white bass, one 14" eye and several sheepshead. Trolling cranks on 3-ways. 

[Steelhead Chaser]

Fished the Hudson area again with a buddy yesterday evening from 3 pm to 8 pm.  Water temp 56-57 degrees.  Total of 13 eyes and saugers and missed a few others.  All the eyes were shorts 12-14 inches.  Buddy kept 5 saugers between 13 and 15 inches fro the frying plan.  As usual, no other species caught.  Same program of Crank baits (Scatter Raps) with snap weights.  Did not do any live bait rigging.  The pleasure boaters are increasing in numbers.  Have any questions, shoot me a PM.  Good luck out there.

[Gimp]

My son & I went out last evening as well. North of Stillwater. Caught three keepers, but misnetted one and lost him. 9-10 shorts as well. Similar to SC, we had all the success on cranks. 

[Steelhead Chaser]

Fished the Hudson area again with a buddy yesterday evening from 2:30 pm to 8 pm.  Water temp 61-62 degrees.  Same program of cranks and snap weights with similar results of past trips.  12 eyes/saugers and one surprise smallie.  Two biggest fish were a 16 eye and 17 sauger.  Buddy kept some from the frying pan.  Did not do any live bait rigging but by the looks of out and by talking to people the live bait rigging was decent.  Good luck out there.

 

[JBMasterAngler]

Late report, but I was on the croix out of Stillwater on Saturday. I was surprised there wasn't that many boats out, considering the hot weather. I mean, it was busy, but nothing like I thought it would be. Anyway, fishing wasn't that good. Caught a few white bass, a few smallies, couple small pike, and a sheephead. My 5 year old son caught a 12 inch perch, which was pretty cool. He did everything possible to try and lose it, but luckily it was hooked good.

[Gimp]

Went out this morning with a buddy and we kept these two and released two shorts. Water temp was down to 66 degrees. 

[Steelhead Chaser]

Made it out yesterday morning and fished the Hudson area again solo this time.  Same program of snap weights and cranks with similar results.  Around 10 eyes and one sauger.  Biggest eyes were 18 and 19 inches.  The rest were shorts.  Water temp was right around 58 degrees.  Catch and release.  Good luck out there.

 

[Gimp]

Hey Steelhead! Just transitioning into snap weights and wondering what works best for you? How long of lead, how much weight, speed for 12-18 FOW using Shad Raps?

[Steelhead Chaser]

 

Fished the Hudson area solo yesterday morning from 6:00 to around 12:30 or so.  Water temp around 74 degrees.  About a dozen or so eyes/saugers.  Early morning was better.  Biggest eye was around 20 in and the biggest sauger around 16 in.  Fish have definitely moved to pre-summer/summer spots.  Fish caught in 19 – 23 feet of water.  2.2 to 2.6 for speed.  All trolling  - Snap weights w/scatter raps.  Even picked-up my first tiny muskie on the croix trolling to the launch in about 12 feet of water.  No other species caught.  ALL fished returned to fight another day.   Good luck out there.

 

Sent a PM to you Gimp about snap weights.