friday, tough bite

fished the croix today from 6:30 to 1:30 pm. only a few sheepies and one smallie to show for my effort today. Tried fishing for bass some early on with one small one on a silver rapala. Tried minnows and crawlers in some usual spots between stillwater and the girl scout camp looking for walleyes and sauger. Trying to get used to my new reel and stren superbraid line. I think I set the hook to hard on one fish by the rocks in front of the girlscout camp and broke my line due to having a snell of 8 lb line after my spinner rig to connect to the barrel swivel to the stren. Not sure how I should be connecting the spinner rig to the barrel swivel and stren? Not sure if I like the superline yet or not. Should I be using a snap swivel instead? Sometimes it is nice to have your line break instead of trying to get the superline out of the snag. I did break the line today too trying to get a sinker out of snag. It must have been one heavy snag. Anybody have any luck out there today?

Hey FtA!
Can’t help you much with the other stuff… but I carry a wooden dowl with me…about 1 1/2 in dia. I use this to pull 80 lbs test out of snags…or the snags out of the water. An ol’ catman trick. Some people tie their line to the cleats on the side of their boat to brake it of…I found that kinda risky to the fingers.

I’m not sure what’s working out there right now….(TURK! Where are you?) But I think I’m going to try sometype of blue cranks around the “humps” south of 94. One deep diver and one with a 3 way style bottom bounce 6 feet or so ahead of a floating blue rap.

It doesn’t take much to set the hook with a no streach line…however, unless you are pulling in lips on the hooks, I wouldn’t worry too much.

Hi, I was out there on Friday as well. Couldn’t buy a walleye! Worked up and down from the bluffs landing to Kinne with no luck. Plastic, live bait, slow, fast, deep, shallow. Made it back down to Prescott and found a couple real nice crappies. Between the bridges 14-20 feet. Also had one serious hit I wasn’t ready for. I have a habit of not closing the bale and leaving the line resting on my index finger and was not able to set the hook when I really should have. Live and learn I suppose. Next time?

I snuck out for a couple hours Sunday morning. I worked the sunken islands and a sand point…with a couple of raps. One deep diver and one on a three way…Zippo!

I did pick up a couple over 15 in the Afton area with the three way…

Not many small receational boats out…just the big ones …with heated cabins… and BIG wakes!

Brian,

Thanks for the idea of the wooden dowel and the report. I’m not working again tomorow and will be hitting the lower part of the croix and maybe some wingdams on pool 3. Hopefully this warmer steady weather this week will help.

I did not make it to the croix until 2:30 yesterday and decided to go down to pool 3 instead. Fished the wingdams and caught a mixed bag of sheepies, smallies, catfish and one walleye on crawlers.