st louis river on the opener

[hawksguy]

hi. i would like to try the river on the opener. we have never fished there. where is the best place to put in and any other help would be appreciated. thanks alot.

[outdoor ran]

Northlanders eyes are wide open and hes grinning from ear to ear. Have at it, its all yours.

[Northlander]

Depending on your boat I would land at Boyscout and work up river from there. Once you get within 1/3 mile of the 23 bridge go past the 1st island and then cut across to the Wi.side and take your time going up and hug the shoreline. Once to the last dock on your left hug tight to shore, trim your motor and slowly work up to the bridge area. You will see TONS of boats. If you dont want to fish boat to boat stay down around the 131st ave area and below. Fish will be scattered all over the river this year. All the way from the 23 bridge to the Wi. entry.
Cover ground with spinners, drift etc. When you find fish anchor and drift jigs or drag them back to you from behind the boat.
If you want more detail e-mail me at walleyes4me32 at aol dot com

[outdoor ran]

Northlander have you been down there to take a look at the water levels or up to the dam to see how the spawners are doing? Also you mention that the dnr has seen 3 walleyes up there over the years that would break the record. Do you know their stats and what years. Thanks

[Northlander]

Im not sure what stats your looking for. It dont matter anyway I dont have them. This was word of mouth from DNR guys.
The fish are still real firm right now. They are having to flush the eggs out. This is good. Maybe some big females will still be in the uper river for opener.
Water levels are normal and yes there are a lot of fish up there as usual.

[This message has been edited by Northlander (edited 04-28-2004).]

[hawksguy]

do you guys keep any walleyes from the river? my friend says they are 'tainted' fish. whats the story?

[outdoor ran]

Theres nothing wrong with keeping a few smaller ones to eat out of there. Most of them are out of LK Superior. You can tell by looking at them if they are river eyes or lake eyes. I wouldn't eat them all the time but a meal won't hurt.

[Northlander]

90% of fish caught the first 3-4 weeks will be lake run fish and they are as good as getting them from the lake itself. After that they are still good fish. I dont eat big ones and only keep "Clean" fish. Yellow Bellys will be noticed right away. Every year more fish stay in the river and late last fall I was catching lake run fish up high on the river. Keep what ya want but they dont bother me and Im FAIRLY nnnnnormal!