coon rapids dam

[reinhard1]

i go in the middle of the day usualy, just for a couple of hours or so. i'm going there saturday afternoon to meet up with some people for awhile. i dont know if i'll be up by the landing but somewhere in than area. depends where they want to fish but it will be in the afternoon. i'm going to bring some corn this time also. i'm getting more suckers on the crawlers. so i'll try some of each. lots of fun when you get into them. good luck.

[reinhard1]

went down by the coon rapids dam for a couple of hours today to meet up with some friends. after our get together i stoped by the west side of the dam [the slow side]. there were some folks fishing off the cement ramp there and some were having luck and some of course it's been slow. i talked with a nice young man and he told me the guy next to us had a big fish on that he lost that bent his rod like a horse shoe. later the same guy got a eater channel cat. he was using chicken liver the whole time. the water levels are going down finaly. this time of the year people are fishing off the sand bar directly in front of the slow side but it is still under water with only the brush showing. but the action is picking up so if you want to have some fun at wondering what you will get next go down there and try it. good luck.

[Dylan33]

Thanks for the report RH1. As always, it's much appreciated.

I'm staying home over Labor Day weekend, hopefully I can get my son (almost 3 years old) and my dad (who retired last year) out to the dam to spend some time by the river.

[reinhard1]

stopped by the dam yesterday on the way to pick up my grandkids. the cement ramp on the slow side had a few people and some were getting eater channel cats. 2 pounds was about the biggest i seen in the buckets. some crappie also around in the 8 to 9 inch class. water is receeding a bit. good luck.

[reinhard1]

i drove down to the dam area today to take a look. Lake Cenaiko was wet but still froze over with 2 portables out there. i think that lake will soon be ice free with the shorelines starting to open a little.

the back water area is completly open with low water levels and people fishing and fish being caught. i watched for about one hour by the cement walkway on the quiet side and saw 4 pike [small],1 walleye, and some fish lost while i was there. all fish were released quickly of course.

so with this weather people are starting to get out and having some fun there. good luck.

[Ryan84*]

Thanks for the update. Staring to get the itch.

[reinhard1]

no problem, in the short time i was there i thought those were good results. all the guy's were using bobbers and crappie minnows that i seen. good luck.

[cloneskull]

Any musky or pike biting there now? Appreciate the report.

[mainbutter]

Well I had a few bonus pike pre-opener that took a liking to carp flies, but I've been skunked two times last week purposefully throwing stuff for predators.

[POE]

I googled the coon rapids dam and found this thread.

I just moved and my front door is less than a mile from the dam (I'm on the BP side. I went there last night at sun down for about 20 minutes and threw a 3" twist tail grub and only had a couple tail biters that felt like sunfish.

I'll probably be packin a cooler of beer and crawlers here pretty soon to stake out for some cats. I haven't fished cats since I lived in TX about 14 years ago. I wasn't of age then, so the addition of beer to this equation should make it that much better.

At this area of the Mississippi is fishing with two lines legal? Or is that just south of the cities somewhere?

Also, for cats, what's your opinion: Crawlers, chicken livers or cut bait?

[mainbutter]

1) Go ahead and give the regulations a read: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/regulations/fishing/index.html

2) Two lines are not legal on the Mississippi.

2) I've caught more cats on cut bait at the CRD than I've caught on anything else. I usually use crawlers because the rough fish are more likely to pick that up from my experience, and I like to fish multiple species there.

[itchmesir]

2 lines are only legal on border waters

[MedBoy]

any updates at the dam?

[EBass]

Any one know when the water will be dropped to winter levels or is that not happening?

[Slabasaurus]

I don't think they're going to lower it this year.

Here's an article from the city of Anoka site:

Quote:

Coon Rapids Dam

Coon Rapids Dam Pool Level will not be Lowered

The Park District is continuing to work with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to facilitate the rehabilitation of the Coon Rapids Dam to serve as an invasive fish bar­rier on the Mississippi River. As a reminder, this means that the pool level will be maintained at the normal summer pool level ~830.1 MSL indefinitely and will no longer be lowered in the fall and raised in the spring. At the direction of the DNR, the pool will be at or near this normal summer pool level year-round in order to maximize the dam’s effectiveness as an invasive species barrier, in particular, a barrier to Asian carp.

Planning and design of the CRD improvements are underway and the DNR has stated that the construction is planned to occur over two construction seasons (2013-2014). A temporary cofferdam will be used to maintain the pool elevation during the two construction seasons.

[EBass]

Interesting, thank you!

[masoct3]

P. 63 shows a 9 inch max for multiple hooks.

What page is it saying you cannot use this rig on the mississippi please?

Thanks!

1) Go ahead and give the regulations a read: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/regulations/fishing/index.html

2) Two lines are not legal on the Mississippi.

2) I've caught more cats on cut bait at the CRD than I've caught on anything else. I usually use crawlers because the rough fish are more likely to pick that up from my experience, and I like to fish multiple species there.

[MedBoy]

how's the fishing been?

[Nhamm]

Havent been there for at least a week, but the water is at its summer stage if you will, and most gamefish have left the vicinity. Catch some suckers and carp here and there but don't go looking for anything decent. Might pick up a 12" SMB but that is pretty much anywhere on the river. During the "supermoon" last month or whenever it is was caught a nice 10# channel right before closing time but got to wait till after dark. The amount of fishing pressure that dam gets is nuts. Those fish see hundreds of lures, baits and hooks a day so got to wait till the smart ones show up later to eat. Cut bait has been producing for cats lately.

[MedBoy]

Thanks for the tips. Anybody know when the dam picks up again? Thinking about going next week. Are the dam gates reopened?

[Phantasy_Fishing]

My fishing update on the dam.

Fishing at the dam this year hasn't been as good as previous years. Its mostly due to the construction on the dam. Some of the best spots are closed off. Smallmouth bass can still be found if you know where to look for them. Walleyes numbers are down. Northern pike seem to be about the same from last year. The only difference is, only 2 pike surpassed the 30" mark. Although this year had an usually higher then normal population of largemouth bass under the dam. With the low water now, and heavy fishing pressure, fishing is tough.

An interesting fish story. During the walleye opener this year, I saw two big muskies under the dam. They were displaying spawning behavior as they were swimming side by side. The male was big but the female was huge. The female has to be at least high 40"s. Wow, what a sight to behold. Fast forward to this past weekend. I had the pleasure catching a 48" muskie at the dam. Whether it was the muskies I saw on opener, or the 45" muskie I caught in 2010. It was amazing.

[tolle141]

Had no idea there were muskies at CRD??

[Nhamm]

Had no idea there were muskies at CRD??

Heard many stories of these phantom muskies getting caught, but haven't seen a pix of a single one. Some would say if no photos it didn't happen

[crappie king 42]

People still fishing here at the dam? Moving to coon rapids tomorro and have all weekend off always been curious of this place wondering if it's worth checking out?

[KidMoe]

Oh yeah there's fishing to be done but there will be plenty of competition. My advice is bring your walking shoes and keeping moving till you find fish or at least a quiet place with not many people around. 

[monstermoose78]

Where the coon creek enters the ssippi is a good spot.

 

the coon creek is a good fishery as well. I have caught large mouth, crappies, sunnies, small mouth, walleyes, pike, rough fish, catfish around egret blvd in the coon creek.