SCSU dam

[City_Slicker]

I cant wait to get out there. I have tried to fish crappies out of the river. But if is as good as you guys say it is I will for sure try it this year.

[Captain B.R.K]

Was just down there for the first time. Decided to see what the hype was on this little part of the river. Quite a bit of water being pushed through the dam.

Guys have said you could use waders and walk out a ways....not so certain of that seeing the water today??

So you would target fish in the eddies above the pier and below it

Otherwise there is a couple of landings south of the pier that looked like it could produce fish?!?!

[Knute78]

I'd say the best spot is in the slack water area on the SCSU side of the river just below the dam near the public pier. Most fish I see caught are on eddies below the pier. It got pretty busy in that area later on in April and May as the weather got nice.

Waders, I would say, would be better during the summer when water levels are lower and you can fish both walleyes and smallies legally and might need to get in the current a bit and get out of the shallow snag areas. I know during the summer you can walk out to that island below the dam on the SCSU side of the river fairly easily with waders.

As far as now goes, I'd leave the wades at home and claim your shore spot near the eddes. I have tried down river a bit by the boat launches and have walked the shore but haven't really had much luck beyound snags, I really don't think it is that deep (correct me if I am wrong)but haven't fished down that far much either.

I don't know if Cats are open now, but I have a buddy who fishes those on the shore across from campus and below the dam occasionally and seems to do fairly well, not my thing though.

Keep Castin',

Chad

P.S. If you are not bobber fishing be prepared to lose a few jigs.

[Captain B.R.K]

I think and wait until the water recedes a bit. A guy was fishing by the launch area and every cast had a snag. I left the river and sat in the car soakin' up rays and reading the regs. He walked into his car and left. Must have had enough fun in snag city

[tonyjor]

Captain-

Above the dam where the telephone poles are is pretty good for smallmouths and walleyes after the opener. You can also walk down the shoreline about 1/2 mile into the Beaver Islands area and that's pretty good for crappies and an occasional walleye coming up pretty soon here. I'm guessing by the 22nd they should be in there pretty good. I usually use a small jig with a white or chartreuse twister tail or small beetle spins. You can do pretty good on bass and walleye with a leech or fathead under a slip-bobber above the dam when the logs are out (to slow the current). Good luck if you try it. It's a good spot and it's VERY convenient, just watch out for the crowds

[poutpro]

I went down below the dam on the peir today to check out the water. There was one guy fishing down there with a big rapala crank bait. Hopefully there was no COs in the area for his sake. Do you fish crappies right in that backwater right next to the peir on either side? I also walked above the dam and the water was very peaceful.

[Knute78]

I also went down there today, I saw a total of 3 people fishing. One was obviously crappie fishing, but the other 2 had mighty big rod and fairly good sized lures the way it looked, definately not for crappies, just my opinion.

Yeah, fish the backwater slack areas, I prefer the area to the bottom side of the pier where the water goes from fast moving to slower slack water.

From what tonyjor says I might have to make the walk down to the Beaver Island area a few times and try crappies away from the dam especially if it gets busy by the dam.

Is the Beaver Island area accessible on the SCSU side of the river(down the trail near Q-lot) or is it across the riveron those trails behind that park (Riverside or Talahi Park)?

Chad

[tonyjor]

Just walk down the bank on the SCSU side. Be careful you don't twist an ankle on the rocks or scratch an eye out on the trees/bushes. You'll see some promising looking spots a little ways downstream.

[Crappeye]

I have been fishing down there for the past seven years and have not seen the water get this high over the past few. I am hoping it is a good thing because I used to do much better for crappies and walleyes down there when the water would start high in the early spring like this. I was down there fishing on sunday for a few hours, bobber fishing for crappies with two buddies and none of us got a bite. I think the water is a little to chilly for the fish to start stackin up in there. If any of you guys would like to go down there sometime and try our luck for some crappies I would be willing. I would not mind walking down the river a little bit if the crowds are bad and someone has some knowledge of where to go downstream. post it or drop me an email at [email protected].

[poutpro]

what does the water temp need to be for the fish to start moving in? what is the temp there now?

[poutpro]

how hard is it to handle a small boat if I were to put in at that beaver island access? I would be only running a 9.9 HP motor on a 12 foot boat if I were to do it. Would I be in for a ride? or would i be OK?

[Captain B.R.K]

I would venture to say you'll want a heavy anchor if you are lookin' to bobber fish in one spot. You'll drift to fast jiggin' or you'll run out of gas FAST trying to stay in one spot with the motor going.

I was down there Sunday and lots of water coming through.

[poutpro]

I will for sure use anchors. I usually use 1 anchor on front and 1 on back at home. I may need to get heavier ones. I would probably not come until walleye opener. Will they flow be faster or slower or can't you tell until the time comes?

[Mark Christianson]

What kind of fish are you looking for pout?

You cant predict flows at all on the river. One day is gonna be totally different than the next. You just gotta check it out.

[poutpro]

I'll come and try to catch whatever will bite. I suppose we'll try and target walleyes for a while, then maybe try to get some cats. I would try for smallmouth, but there are enough of those back home to catch. I have never really fished cats, so that would be a fun new experience.

[Mark Christianson]

Well, either I dont understand your post or you are targeting fish that are not in season.

good luck young man.

[poutpro]

You arent reading all of the post. I said I wouldn't be going until opener.

[Mark Christianson]

Walleye opener or bass opener?

You are right. I did not read the entire post.

[poutpro]

walleye opener. is catfish open year round on the miss?

[Dean Schellinger]

Poutpro,

I put my 14' boat with a 9.9 hp motor in at the beaver islands access last summer. It was a totally different time of the year but it was a challage. There are A LOT of rocks down there, and the current was pretty strong and you need to be careful. It was incredibly low this summer but the current pushes you around alot and I would be will to bet you would get owned down there this time of the year. Just be careful, and wear a lifejacket man. But if you had the courage go for it. Prolly will catch alot of fish.

We waded and paddled alot and were able to get our boat all the way up underneath the dam this summer. Prolly not wise to try that now anyways. We also anchored out deep and caught a lot of walleyes and bass. Good luck.

[Royce Aardahl]

Big gamble putting in below scsu dam. With you boat and motor I would suggest you put in at wilson park or north of the paper mill in sartell. great fishing areas. from wilson park you can fish from the scsu dam to the sauk rapids bridge. this was the first area I fished when I moved here in 1990. lots of good fishing north of the sartell dam also. the access is north of the paper mill a mile or 2. the stretch from the sauk rapids bridge to the sartell dam can be a challenge with your setup. tons of rock and bolders.

[Sartell Angler]

Me and Flowage were down there in early August when the water was low, but there was still a lot of current. We had to be careful not to hit the motor on the rocks. This time of year you would obviously have no chance with anything less than a RiverPro but I would say that barring any torrential rains, you could do well on opener. Just go out a ways from the landing and anchor alongside an eddy created by a large boulder and dance a jig and minnow down there...guarantee that you will hook up with enough 'eyes to make it worth your while.

Yes, there are easier places on the river to fish (ie, above the St. Cloud or Sartell dams) but sometimes you just have to balls up and go for it. I've found that by not being a pear, my success in the hunting/fishing worlds has improved ten-fold.

I hate pears!

SA/wdw

[poutpro]

Thanks for the heads up flowage. I know you can never underestimate the power of this Miss. I know it would be a blast bringing a boat there for walleyes though. We'll have to see what the water does from now until then.

[Royce Aardahl]

Plenty of places in town that will fix your prop for around 50 bucks

[Sartell Angler]

Quote:

---

Plenty of places in town that will fix your prop for around 50 bucks

---

yeah I believe it...I watched a guy completely annihilate his because he didn't know what he was doing. You just need to be careful. I'm proud to say that I've never hit a rock...if it looks like I could hit one, I lift the motor up and run on shallow drive...one nice thing about short-shafts.

SA/wdw

[Royce Aardahl]

I've hit em all .................. twice!

[Sartell Angler]

eyeguy...nice smallie in your avatar...the location looks quite familiar...

sa/wdw

[Royce Aardahl]

thanks, lottsa nice fish around monti

[poutpro]

I've got that riverrunner prob guard from Cabelas on my 2 10 HP motors. I do most fishing on rivers, so I thought it would be a wise investment.

[poutpro]

has anyone been having any luck here? I was out for a really little bit this afternoon and didn't catch anything, but didn't expect to for how long I was down there. I think I'll go try tomorrow night after class.