St.Croix

Hi guys,
I’m a novice when it comes to fishing rivers, and new to the Croix, but plan on fishing it a bunch this spring. Any tips or what to lookf for would be appreciated, not asking for specifics or spots, but a general idea on how to put a few fish in the boat. I have fished down by the Kinny a few times with minimal luck at best. I’ll be launching out of Beanies the majority of the time, a buddy of mine lives in Lakeland and will share my boat. Thanks for any advice!

Once you spend some time on the Croix, you will have a tough time fishing anywhere else. If you’re targeting Walleye, you can catch them using a variety of techniques. Live bait rigging (snells) with crawlers, leeches and minnows is by far my favorite way to fish. If your launching at Beanies, try fishing the Hudson channel from the train bridge to 94. Jigging, trolling cranks, and live bait rigging all will produce fish. There are thousands of “spots” on the river, get a hot spots map of the Croix. You also might consider hiring a guide to learn the river.

I started fishing the Croix just last year with mixed success. Did better on the smallies than with the walleyes. Don’t be afraid to use crawlers early, even on the opener. Get a good map, mark some spots, and don’t be afraid to do different things than what the crowd is doing. The crowd is often catching more sheepshead than anything else.

I did pick up a Hot Spots map last year and highlighted a couple of areas that looked good. I guess my biggest question is how deep will the eyes generally be come May?? I see some guys jigging deep in front of the Kinny, and other guys pitching shoreline, and still others trolling cranks, it seemed to me everyone was looking for em too!

Since you are fishing a body of water that has rising and falling water levels this will dictate fish location along with structure. I have caught walleyes in 5 – 24 feet of water in May. If the water is still high next weekend I would think the fish will be shallow more than deep. You mention lots of techniques being used and that is because they all may work. Luckily there is a lot of water to fish so you can fish in groups or by yourself, if you want to, and still catch fish.

I suggest you start small. Since your landing at Beanies you could probaly spend the day in the Hudson channel on opener. From 94 up to black bridge. Plenty of water there to work hard but not so much you cant find fish. UNLESS its a summer-like day. Then the boat traffic may hinder you, but at least no wakes. Another manageable approach would be to fish only within sight of 94 bridge. That gives you tons of water but not so overwhelming and there is plenty of good water within sight. Trust your electronics. I would avoid spreading yourself thin right away. The Croix is seldon easy pickins. You usually have to work for your eyes. Take some crawlers.

I have had my luck with spinner rigs, silver spinner rigs for me, though I don’t fish the croix much anymore, sadly gas prices slow me down a bit, said it wasn’t going to happen but…

I’ve had the majority of my luck in the stretch from Bayport to Afton. (Not that others don’t produce fish) Current Seams and Shallow Flats are usally a decent place to start your search during spring. There’s normally alot of pressure out there the first few weekends, so don’t be afraid to try a presentation a little different from everyone else.

Good Luck!

Thanks for the reply’s fellas!

Remember the river is still on the fall right now. This is usually the best time for some shallow water action just pay attention to what the wind has been doing and you should be able to find some eyes up shallow… Possably thru the whole day!

My best year on the Croix last year when it was pretty tough for many… the key for me was electronics… we would go from protruding sand bar to the next and check with electronics, fish for 10 minutes (or more if walleyes / sauger) then onto next spot… we used bright (orange) power bait minnows for sauger and live minnows / crawler for eyes… later in the spring to all plastic…
It 100% called for using electronics… more so than any given year for me and mine… they werent where they “should” have been and were in some pretty strange places….