I just put all the important dates in my calendar for this year and it’s gotten me all excited. Just thought I would try to get some chatter going here on the Croix forum so:
what’s your favorite way to fish on the St. Croix?
and
What’s your best catch on the St. Croix (biggest or best story?)
Look forward to hearing the stories and I’ll add mine here shortly.
Cant wait to get back over there,,,,,,,,,in the boat. Lazy fishing is what I enjoy the best. Hot summer days, lawn chair in the sand, toes in the water, and either a bobber or some live bait on the bottom waiting for the fish to come to me. Which being the croix usually does not take to long.
There are lots of ways to fish the croix but a day of swimming and fishing with the kids mid summer is by far the best.
by boat is my favorite also although did pretty well from shore before owning. it’s a different fishery upnort. lots of rigging and jigging with livebait down Hudson way. not a ton of luck on plastics with the walleye. fantastic smallie bite when the weather warms up. catfish are very prevalent. muskie have been showing themselves down here but I have never caught a pike north of Prescott. fantastic fishery
About this time of year the cabin fever gets a St Croix fisherman pretty restless. I just checked my Fishing Journal to see what the earliest time was for getting my boat back into the St Croix. In 2006 I was on the water on 4 April; in 2005 I was on the water upstream of stillwater on 2 April but it was still iced in from Sunnyside on down; in 2004 it was 2 April; and in 2003 I was on the water for the first time on 25 April. I usually start fishing the outlet at the Allen S. King Excel Energy Plant in March as the weather warms but this year the plant is shut down and the river is froze tight so we probably won’t have the early season fun down there chasing carp.
I’ve only been fishing the Croix three years now, and my best success has been on the smallies. Plastics for them, cast to the rocks, rattle tubes, I’ve even had some modest success using a wacky worm under a bobber.
This is my breakout year on the Croix for walleyes/sauger, I can feel it. Just need to put in some more time.
Eric
Can’t wait to get back on the Croix 
I had a lot of success last year pulling spinner rigs and bottom bouncers on the flats and many points between Hudson and Afton. Had a great year last year for numbers and size down there for walleyes. Didn’t find too many sauger or white bass like in years past.
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what’s your favorite way to fish on the St. Croix?
Alone – and without posting about it afterwords. 
Tim
Personaly, Pitchin & Rigging up north early, & Live Bait rigging down south on Flats in the summer cant be beat. Last year was an unbelievable year out there!
Seemed like one of the better years i’ve had on the croix in some time. Lets hope it repeats itself soon 
In the boat, pullin lead.
Going out at 8 pm until 2 am fishing for flathead cats and channel cats! it was the greatest fishing last summer w/ some double digits up to the boat…but then they jumped off 
Can’t beat it!!!
Love pulling a three way and a firetiger, clown or anything blue rap. I just don’t get out there enough for eyes…I really want to…and start…but always end up dragging some cutbait around for cats. 
<sigh> I’m a lost cause. 
great mystery. where did the whities go this Summer?
My favorite way to fish to fish on the St Croix. I love the warm summer nights that have a full moon and a late night Twins game on the schedule. I like to anchor off one of my favorite flathead spots and tune in the game. Put out a couple of frisky bullheads for bait and sit back and listen to the game. By 11:00pm I’m usually the only boat on the river. The Hoot owls start talking back and forth and the beavers are all swimming up and down the river. It is such a peaceful, tranquil way to spend an evening. I could go out every night during the summer and never get bored.
Pulling the boat out in the middle of the river and throwing the anchor out in front of the biggest paddle boat you can find in the fall gets my vote!
Hard to beat drowning shad for sturgeon!
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It is such a peaceful, tranquil way to spend an evening.
They don’t call the Croix “healing waters” for nothing!
It’s amazing where Steve fishes..just a couple miles away is so peaceful..then we have the lake area that can be down right dangerous day or night.
My favorite way to fish the Croix is ‘everyday’ until my wife says I cant 
Has the ice melted yet?
I like Mikes idea. Its fun chasing eyes around in the boat but sitting back at camp for an evening on the upper Croix and drowning crawlers can still be about the funnest!! We have caught about everything doing it and its about as layed back and enjoyable as it can be on the Croix now a days!!! Plus its a good way to enjoy the company, food and a few Still couldnt live without a boat though!
I love to troll, I wish there was a way to keep the pleasure boats off until noon.
Surprised nobody said it, but my favorite is whatever is working. If I had to pick it would be a split shot rigs with bait for walleye (number six red Gamie). Though I have the most fun hooking white bass (white Worden’s Rooster tails-though I learn a few years ago from a customer (Rivereyes)that poppers will also take them and that’s too fun).
I will say though icing the white tips from the from the Croix is very satisfying (swimming lures black top /silver bottom).
Turk
I have only two years (really a year and half as I got my boat midseason two years ago) on the Croix so I’m still a new-bee. Last year, concentrated on the area between the I-94 bridge and Afton. Nothing better than a live bait jig, bouncing the bottom. Never sure what you’re going to pull up! Picked up walleye, sauger, sheephead, flatheads, channels, sturgeon, carp, and even a few jumbo perch (never hear them mentioned – wonder why?). When the jig bite was dead, worked on lindy-rigging techniques pulling either fatheads or leeches or crawler rigs. Still don’t have the timing down (too anxious – probably tried hook-setting too soon) but was able to put a few fish in the boat with this technique.
As Steve said, I love going out late, when the boat traffic has died down a bit, the water tends to calm down, and you can hear the night birds – flip on the radio, listen to a game or country music, pop a cold one and relax. For these outings, I don’t even really care if catch a fish – this is my ‘mental health restoration’ time.
This year, I think I’ll pick up an entry-level cattin’ rig and try for some of the big girls on the bottom, maybe even target sturgeon when that’s open. We ended last year’s open-water season by tieing into something huge that we lost boatside after a 2.5 hour fight. There are some huge flatheads and sturgeons in there!
Only threw musky baits a few times last year – didn’t hook into any but had a few nice follows. I’ve vowed to spend a bit more time trying to learn those skills this year.
Man, I really can’t wait for open-water!
My go to would have to be crankin with core! 
Live bait rigging is right behind that. Last year I started playing with the split shot rig, have to continue ot work on that.
Jami
I have got to say cutbait or shad on the bottom waiting for a big channel or sturgeon or eel to pick it up and burn some line off the reel.
This past year I had some of the greatest fishing thanks to Fisherdave, Aquajoe, and BrianK…You guys are the greatest. I cant wait to do it again real soon!
Gotta love those 100 ft pleasure boats with a bunch of fools driving in between 2 anchored boats at 1 am with 1000 yrds of open water on the other side of ya!
Here is my largest sturgeon caught on the last day of Sturgeon season 46 inch sturgeon
Man, I thought I was havin’ the severe itch before I read this post! My favorite times are both the late nights or the early mornings, when the water is like glass and no one else (but maybe a few other fishermen) are around. It’s my solitude. I’m also happy any time I can be out on the river, but those top the list. I’m still a rookie on the Croix, only about 2 yrs now, I’m thinking about hiring a guide in the spring for some guidance. I have found that the river is consistently inconsistent, which is probably why it’s called fishing, not catching! See ya’ll when the river thaws!
Bemma,
If I could recommend a good guy/guide?
Check out Turk http://www.croixsippi.com he knows the St Croix and it’s Walleyes better than anyone I’ve met…well except for Wally maybe (inside humor).
Not only will he get you on fish, he teaches his customers about the Croix. I know, because I hired him many moons ago.
PS how did you come up with your display name? 
wow, that’s some good stuff to get you excited about being on the river this spring and summer. Sorry for the late weigh on the question I posed, but my wife surprised me with a birthday trip so I’m writing from 5280 ft in the mile high city of Denver.
In reading this, I realized there are so many ways to fish any particular body of water. I fish the St. Croix quite a bit but I have never trolled it with lead core, live baited it south of Afton, or cut bait/bullheads for bottom feeders (j/k to those who love these species.) Though I will say a couple of you cat guys ought to start writing poetry with all those late night, quiet summer evenings where the birds are calling. You nearly have me wanting to join you for a night.
I fish the Croix well north of most people I think and so it really yeilds two main tactics for two species. I absolutely love the collosal smallmouth that inhabit the northern parts of this river and I have taken a liking to wading it with a 6 1/2 foot spinning rod casting hair jigs, tubes, dingers, xraps, zara spooks, floaters just below the surface, and few other baits. I guess my time in Denver for school flyfishing has me a bit partial to waders and being in the water. Every now and again, especially right around opener, we’ll find walleyes up in the rocks with the smallies still hanging around after the spawn which is fun.
My other favorite way to fish it is still in waders, but chucking muskie baits for large amounts of big muskie that live up there. I think it’s an underrated fishery for muskie and we have a blast watching 45 inch muskies charging at baits that are six feet from my shins.
Looking forward to another good season and maybe I’ll get down to the lower stretches with some of you guys draggin bait or maybe I’ll just crash MikeW’s party by sending some big waves over to his lawn chair on the sand bars.
Here,s my 2 cents worth. Early season launching from Beanies 3 am and casting rattin rogues or Husky Jerks to my favorite spots till sunup. Guarateed to get some hawgs. Then I’ll troll shad raps till about 10 and get off the river before the idiots take over.
Thanks for the referral. I have been leaning towards hiring him after reading all the posts on this site. My name is a combo of mine, my wife’s and my daughter’s names and my daughter’s b-day. I was feeling creative that day, which is very rare!
I would also highly recommend Turk. Learn the river and take a few fish home for dinner.
You better slow them waders down Micah if you throwing a wake ff of them. 
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