Early season St. Croix and lame fisherman.

Ended up getting out for a camping trip this weekend on the river with the girlfriend and her kids. Have never been able to do it so early in the season and don’t fish the river normally until after Muskie opener.. On the plus side, we had a great trip with some great memories. Soaked some crawlers off the campsite and kids were able to tangle with a few species including some mudpuppies, which ended up being the favorite slimy creature of the weekend.. Searched for some Crappies and White Bass with very limited results as well. Down side for me was the amount of anglers out there targeting out of season fish..Many boats fishing Sturgeon under the guise of “catfishing” and just as many blatantly targeting Smallmouth Bass. I would assume this is a pretty common practice out there judging by what we witnessed this weekend. For those of you that do fish the Croix early season more frequently than myself…Just curious about your opinions on the subject??

It happns everywhere. I literally seen a guide last weekend on the Mississippi up in anoka guiding a group for smallmouth bass fishing

IMO if they’re not keeping fish what’s the big deal, you can CPR P2 year around, fish the Rainy river during the spawn and keep a few, with the cold water mortality is extremely low.. Just my .02

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IMO if they’re not keeping fish what’s the big deal, you can CPR P2 year around, fish the Rainy river during the spawn and keep a few, with the cold water mortality is extremely low.. Just my .02

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it’s not open season above pool 2 where I’m at and I’m sorry but your statement is… Well I’ll just leave out what I think of your “beliefs” on targeting fish out of season.

Well talkin about the Rainy, i have never fished it but is it in season all year? That’s what I always thought anyways. Also I know the mississippi where it touches wisconsin has no season for bass or walleye so idk what that means for other fish. Is that the same for the St. Croix? I rarely fish these rivers so I have no idea.

Closed season. Just have to turn them in. There are plenty of areas on the miss to fish year round. To bad a few have to break the law.

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it’s not open season above pool 2 where I’m at and I’m sorry but your statement is… Well I’ll just leave out what I think of your “beliefs” on targeting fish out of season.

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To each their own, the original post was directed at others opinions… I referenced P2 as an example of a fishery with a year round season that doesn’t seem to negatively effect the fishery. The question is why are some fisheries open and some not for CPR year round? I agree with protecting spawning fish, why not on the river???

Jeremy, I saw you on Sunday evening. I was pitching small white twister tails targeting white bass exclusively. This is a touchy subject because the lures can easily be used to fish for walleyes or smallies. Fact is, I caught none of the above.

It’s a well known fact that this time of year the whities are spawning are very easy to catch. There are many people doing this as well as many targeting walleyes with minnows saying they are fishing for white bass. I would actually never carry minnows until after the walleye season opens for fear of being accused of walleye fishing.

Now here’s the big question for the guys that think that targeting white bass and only white bass this time of year is illegal. If you were fishing the river with small lindy rigs with crawlers catching several smallmouth, would that be wrong as well?

I too was pitching some small grubs, beetle spins, etc. Also targeting White Bass to no avail..Actually pretty surprised to not find any real concentrations of them yet?? What I’m referring to here is multiple boats I witnessed throwing topwaters, frogs, and other larger sized bass lures. Just a matter of angler ethics and “sportsmanship” I guess.

There’s an old saying…

“The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he never would be found out.”

It’s common practice and they are called poachers. The criminals know there will be no law enforcement until seasons open.

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There’s an old saying…

“The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he never would be found out.”

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Right on.

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it’s not open season above pool 2 where I’m at and I’m sorry but your statement is… Well I’ll just leave out what I think of your “beliefs” on targeting fish out of season.

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To each their own, the original post was directed at others opinions… I referenced P2 as an example of a fishery with a year round season that doesn’t seem to negatively effect the fishery. The question is why are some fisheries open and some not for CPR year round? I agree with protecting spawning fish, why not on the river???

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This thought process is flawed because you can’t compare pool 2 to the Croix which has an open season. The compare would only be valid if the Croix was C&R year round. C&R year around is the reason fishing is good on that pool.

-J.

Jon,
Let’s say the Croix or any body of water for that matter was CR after the season closes. What negative impact would it have on the “fishing”? Be a good question for a biologist to find out the intent for not allowing CR fishing during the off season. If it doesnt negatively impact the fish and their survival why not allow it. Be a win win for everyone IMO if it doesnt hurt the fish. I understand the law of targeting fish out of season. These observations/ speculations come up every year. Brings the old saying of mind “watch your own bobber”. If you witness people keeping fish report them, too easy….

Think of this. How difficult would it be to enforce a catch and release season on Mille Lacs? All those anglers out fishing and no walleyes can come off the lake. It much more likely you’ll have violators in that situation than if you would during the open season.

Valid point. Odds are a poacher is gonna keep whatever whenever if thats their forte, and at some point will get busted… Keeps the DNR auctions stocked

Well my go to whitebass lures this year are sold as “bass lures”… For instance Cranks. Now on Pool 4 I’ve been doing good off pitching moxies but would never bring those out on the Croix because it would never slide with a C.O.. I have been cranking on the croix this year with success. In fact the only way we were able to land a whitebass was to crank. Topwater poppers will produce like no other when the whitebass are running. I guess when the C.O. comes by and accuses us of targeting fish that are out of season. We’ll just open our livewell

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Well my go to whitebass lures this year are sold as “bass lures”… For instance Cranks. Now on Pool 4 I’ve been doing good off pitching moxies but would never bring those out on the Croix because it would never slide with a C.O.. I have been cranking on the croix this year with success. In fact the only way we were able to land a whitebass was to crank. Topwater poppers will produce like no other when the whitebass are running. I guess when the C.O. comes by and accuses us of targeting fish that are out of season. We’ll just open our livewell

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Its simple. If you continually catch an out of season fish, regardless of the presentation, you now have a reasonable expectation of catching another. At that point you are targeting and breaking the law.

I haven’t been in a boat this season….but I do throw top water lures to catch white bass.

i agree, if you continue to catch out of season fish only, then its against the law… But what if you are catching 10 whitebass/crappie to 1 northern/largemouth?

I believe the OP was trying to raise awareness of illegal activities that does run rapid.
Though, I do and I am sure the OP understands there are those out there legally targeting fish in season and it is appreciated that this is pointed out.
This does not discount the fact there are those that do target out of season fish for their own selfish needs.

Out of season catch rates and the detrimental consequences are irrelevant as this is against the law. You don’t like the law petition to change it otherwise fallow it.

If not, next time I take a right turn and apposing traffic takes a left cutting me off I’m ramming them.

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i agree, if you continue to catch out of season fish only, then its against the law… But what if you are catching 10 whitebass/crappie to 1 northern/largemouth?

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Individual choice. Boils down to respecting the law and resource. In your example I would probaby keep fishing but be extra carefule handling the out of season game fish. Assuming I dont catch too many. And I wouldnt post it online.

I was out on saturday with the family on P3 and the Croix and I was shocked at all the fishing. You’d never know the season was closed by watching boats. Lot’s of people trolling. I also saw a dead floating sturgeon.

Just a little effort by the DNR and this could be resolved.

Weekend before last the Sconnie Game warden was out checking in their big racer type boat with 2 200hp on the back.
Nice guy to.
Funny where we were fishing we had to go through 2 ft of water to get to a whole and he was coming in with that boat. I felt bad so I went to him to make it easier for him. I did not know it was game warden at first until my bud told me it was their new boat they got last year. Looks like a fun boat and I hope with the size of it they do more checking of the pleasure boaters with it.

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I was out on saturday with the family on P3 and the Croix and I was shocked at all the fishing. You’d never know the season was closed by watching boats. Lot’s of people trolling. I also saw a dead floating sturgeon.

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Part of Pool 3 is open not the Croix

i was out on Saturday. it was sunny and 75 degrees. i saw a handful of boats fishing the columns of the I94 bridge. most had bobbers and kids so I am sure they were panfishing. i was throwing a beetle spin up to rip rap in areas that I have always caught pre season crappie. I caught one 12″ smallie which was released unharmed. even went into marina and not a crappie to be found but i didn’t have minners. biggest violation i saw was people not observing the no wake areas. even if the buoys are not out it’s still no wake between the bridges, folks!

i really had a great day. nice to get the boat out and run it up and down between hudson and stillsville. really nice that everything worked after being in storage for 5 months

Not sure what to think of the crappies Steve. Its still early by the calendar but wonder what the warm March did to things? I am on crappie watch along with morel watch.

54 degrees on main water. 60 in the marina. I think they are done spawning? My lilacs are starting to bloom

I know if I was a warden yesterday I would of left with 3 boats and 13 anglers gear, all jigging for walleyes in front of the spillways less than 10 feet from shore plain as day.