Opener

Well this high water has got me all pumped up for the opener, I was starting to think we may get a low flow dud!

I do prefer the big flow where the water stays high for a long spell, but this recent push will be nice if it doesn’t drop too fast…

It’s still hard to tell but we may get an opener where 3-4 legal fish per two anglers is better than 85% of the boats! Some years it happens.

But its all fun…anyway the qoute having “a hard day on the water”, should be an oxymoron, maybe it is! I say save the hard days for work!!

http://www.croixsippi.com

Keep Catchin’
Turk

Turk,
save some walleye for us “weekend warriors”
Is opener this weekend or the 3rd?

It’s the 3rd Steve, but I’ve been fishing it in my mind for a few weeks now.

I haven’t checked out the level, but with the recent rain, aren’t we at the normal level? When crossing the bridge it appears to be at the normal level.

I thought it was the 3rd. Water should be back down if’n we don’t get anymore rain.

Hey Turk, From the sounds of it your a Hudson area guy. Where do you do opener typically? We always seen to start North of Stillsville in the skinny water and do OK. I guess it’s more of my comfort zone. I’ve never tried Hudson or South of there as early as opener. What’s your starter tactic? Rigs, jigs, cranks?

It looks like the river has came up 5 feet so far from the rain last week so hopefully it’ll be like a normal opener?

Later,

Ferny

Ferny,
are those fish from the Croix?

YEP Suzuki, they’re from the Croix last years opener

Some don’t look like they’re 15″. Must be the angle of picture.

Trust me they’re legals. I don’t leave anything to change on the Croix with all the law around! Remember the 15″ minimum is for walleye’s only not saugers.

Ferny.

No harm intended. Nice stringer. Hope we duplicate this Saturday. yeeeehaaaa

Anybody know how the slot works for saugeyes? I catch them fairly often and have always treated them as walleyes.

No slot on Saugeye. Same as saugers. Gotta be sure though.

I always thought that a sauger is a sauger. But a saugeye is a walleye for slots and limit purposes.

I have been told that if it has walleye markings, it is a walleye.

Good point. Regs only say it counts as part of walleye limit. “A walleye/sauger (saugeye) hybrid fillets are counted as part of a walleye possession limit
during transportation.”
I always thought they did not fall under the 15″ limit on St. Croix. I can’t remember where I saw this and can’t prove it. Maybe someone else will know?

I called the MN DNR a year or so ago and their response was that the regulations say WALLEYE must be 15, since saugeye are a hybred they do not have to be. I have been going by that ever since and have been checked a few times—that’s hard to believe, checked on the St. Croix—and have never had a problem. I know the question does come up periodicly.

What’s the best way to tell a saugeye?
I’m sure I’ve boated my fair share but if I see spots on the dorsal fin I just consider it a sauger.

Thanks,

Ferny.

The only tell tale sign I know is the missing white spot on the tail.

[url=http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/regulations/fishing/fishing.pdf

check this out(I hope it works, this is the first time I have tried to insert a link). It shows fish ID and explains saugeye ID per law. It is in the regulation book, 2003

OK so I looked at the regs “A walleye/sauger (saugeye) hybrid fillets are counted as part of a walleye possession limit during transportation.”

It looks to me saugeye are not considered walleye unless they are fillets. So until you get them home there’s no length limit on them.

What do you think?

Ferny.

Ferny,

I’ll go with you on this one….if it has spots on the dorsal fin, it’s a sauger! Period.

Saugeyes are rare. I believe most people who think they have a saugeye have a sauger. Most every DNR guy will tell you that it’s very hard to ID a saugeye…..Maybe Rivereyes or fishsqzr can chime in here.

J.

to truly identify a saugeye I think is a matter of dissection…. something to do with pyloric caece I think….. or is it otoliths? cant remember for sure….. most people think if there is any white on the tip of the caudal fin like a walleye (the tail) and the spotted fins of a sauger then it is a saugeye…. this is not true as many sauger can also display this feature…

in a natural population such as the mississippi you can expect around 3-4% of the sauger to actually be saugeye…. they are relatively rare….

Oh, yeah… The pyloric caece/otolith thingies….

I guess I’ll just stick to the 15″ deal!

Walleyes don’t have scales on their cheeks, saugers and saugeyes do have scales on their cheeks.

I learn more on this board by accident than…..

Like the picture, I guided on the opener last year and it was so cold it almost snowed, notice the dandelions in the background and there all walleyes, don’t believe the story completely. As far as the river the water is down, bring some boots for the landings and,I would guess the walleyes where done long ago in early April, this would put them just North of Stillwater to Hudson in my view, Crank and jig the holes and flats. Good luck to all and catch a big one. Picture looks like June on a lake to me.

According to the Army Corp of Engineers the river level is up.
I was out on the river for the opener last year. From what I can remember it was chilly in the morning(like 38) and in the mid 50’s in the afternoon.

I went down to the Bluffs last night and its way down, early summer levels. You will need to use boots if a low rider is not used. The Mississippi is at normal summer levels. I will fish the Croix tomorrow and confirm, plus pick up some bait tonite and will look over Hudson and Stillwater bridge water levels. If the islands and ramps are above at Hudson the water will not be considered as up.

As far as last year it was blowing 20-25 out of the south in the morning and switched out of the North at 11:00. Afternoon as temps dropped with scattered rain and snow in the west and northern suburbs. Fishing was considered slow for the opening weekend. I drove home in the rain at 3:00pm from Osceola with the heater on.

Hey Whitetip, here’s some more of the pic.
Pay particular attention to the date
The weather was kind of chilly on the water but the afternoon was excellent off the water, note no jacket and the dandelions. Snow…rain???

Later,

Ferny.

Check it out Whitetips.

Here’s the historical data from Intellicast.com.
Kinda cool. They have weather for every day back to 1996.

http://www.intellicast.com/Local/USLocalStd.asp?loc=usmnct22725&seg=LocalWeather&prodgrp=HistoricWeather&product=DailyReports&pid=none&prodnav=20020505

Warmer than I thought. It made it to 76 on opener last year.

In Hudson the water is up. Not as much as the last couple of years but definitely not at summer level.