Coon Rapids Dam

I am wondering how the fishing has been down below the dam recently. Have never been there but have heard good things. Planing on heading up soon. Any info is appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Chris

Last time there, there were about one fisherman every 10yds down for about 10 guys worth. Few small bass here and there.

It gets packed. The snarls of broken off line gets very snaggy and annoying.

Good luck. Should be some good cattin around there this time of year. Most the bigger smallies are gone by now, and walleyes might be one out of 100 fish down there.

That is what i am looking to get into the cats and the carp mostly, just looking for a fun time fishing on the river.

Stick to the main channel. Go 3 way with light line to sinker, easy to break off on snag or if a fish pulls you into one.

Cutbait is always good, worms will get destroyed by bullies and small bass.

Thanks for the advice I was leaning towards the smaller channel on the coon rapids side but I will go father down then. What would be a good cut bait to use? I have used bullheads and suckers in the past and it sounds like the bull heads are easy to get.

suckers

Forget that spillway channel. Main channel is where it’s at.

I’ve caught big channels on live bullheads. Cut bullhead is just as good, bullies are a main forage in that pool. Shad aren’t that populated up there, if at all.

Farther down is shallow. Get a 4-6oz sinker and chuck it 50 yds out from fence area 20yds south of dam. That’s where the deeper water is they hold in during the day. Big sinkers. I’ll stick my pole right in the fence to get line angle right to help from snagging. Big sinkers.

If ya catch anything do yourself a favor and don’t report it, enough people fish that area

So your saying right on the platforms that are raised up from the main area?

I grew up fishing the CRD. For the most part nhamm is right, but I’ve hade some phenomenal cat fishing in the backwater early in the year. They weren’t huge, 2-3 lbs, but it was constant action. It may have been some kind of fluke too. I had a hard time getting on that bite again.

I used to wade into the main channel below the dam too. Used to catch all kinds of fish in the current breaks. Walleye, cats, pike and everything else you can think of.

I have plenty of secrets, I may give up a couple. My dad used to fish and hunt deer there when it was the old NSP plant. Lots of memories there.

Unfortunately in the last 10 I’ve onlt fished there a handful of times. I still think about heading down there to check out my old haunts.

Just checked out your profile. Do you live in shakopee? That’s quite a drive to fish there.

It is a hike, but I think it would be worth fishing at least once. I have seen decent carp fishing from there and I guess I have my head around carp fishing there just from how fun it is. I have seen videos of ppl catching them in multiple places around the dam, making me think that I could get away from the crowd a bit. Just really looking for a consistent bite thats a good fight. I am used to fishing the river down by me with some action.

Another dam that is not talked about much on that stretch of the river is the one off east river road where the rice creek meets the Mississippi river. Lots of carp below that dam. Nice park with plenty of shore spots to fish. The mouth of Rice creek used to be one of my favorites back in the dam. Lots of suckers, walleyes and cats there.

When I was a kid I used to go right up to the dam and see hundreds of thousands of carp swimming right along the dam where the gates were closed. Trying to snag them was tempting, I’m not gonna lie.

It might still be like that today. Only problem is that there is no access to get to water level so you’d have to hoist the fish up 20’ to unhook them.

Mike W wrote:

Another dam that is not talked about much on that stretch of the river is the one off east river road where the rice creek meets the Mississippi river. Lots of carp below that dam. Nice park with plenty of shore spots to fish. The mouth of Rice creek used to be one of my favorites back in the dam. Lots of suckers, <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleyes and cats there.

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I fish here at least once a week but after 9pm. I live up the road and like others also grew up fishing this location. If you are trying to catch carp id suggest going early in the am, that is usually when the carp guys are there. Once the crowds show up around 9-10am the fishing really drops off and it does get packed on nice days.

As Nhamm said the main channel is usually best for channels if you can get your line out that far, the first crest gate on the Coon rapids side is open more than the others now so current there is a bit extreme. It is also shallow around 2-3′ atleast half way out, about 3/4 the way to the second gate is a rock pile from the road the construction crews built while reconstructing the dam, past that it drops off but not much. Don’t completely rule out the power plant channel, that spillway can produce big channels.

If fishing deep is your preference, the deepest spots in this section are the eddies across from the Gazebos by the trout lake specifically the last one.

Also an umbrella net with about 25′ of rope attached will solve the problem with the wall…

watisituya wrote:

If fishing deep is your preference, the deepest spots in this section are the eddies across from the Gazebos by the trout lake specifically the last one.

Yeah but it’s all muck bottom in that deeper Eddy. And it wasn’t that deep on opener. Did catch a small flattie there couple years ago.
Lots of big carp and cats all over the river. It’s a good spot for a newbie, but there are alot of others where there aren’t a thousand people.
You’re so close to the MN I’d be finding spots on there personally.

Pick a crappy, misty, rainy calm day. You’ll have pretty much any place to yourself.

Ok you’re already driving so if you go a bit farther you can get big carp just south of the Monticello power plant. Can’t remember the park-you can look it up.
hike as far as you can ’till you get to the power plant signs that tell you to stop or get arrested-fish the 2 closest points with crawlers and you will get fish with a shot at a biggun’. Have to walk a bit so that should keep most away but you will have some company.
Good Luck