St. Croix Smallies

  • outdoors4life
    Stillwater, MN
    Posts: 1500
    #587689

    Try the rocky shores anywhere fronts and backs of the islands and one thing I alsoways look for is baitfish fleeing. I mostly fish in the stillwater area weekends are not the best time to be out there and expect peace and quiet. it doesn’t matter where you go it will be busy. I also suggest going to a pay launch or you will not be able to launch due to parking on the weekdays it is not too bad.

    steve-demars
    Stillwater, Minnesota
    Posts: 1906
    #587738

    The St Croix is not as intimidating as you may think. Break the river down into workable stretches and get a good map, start with a Fishing Hot Spots map. Start doing some scouting based on the map guidance and you can find fish. Fishing upstream from Taylor Falls to north of Stillwater is good smallie small river type fishing. From Stillwater to Prescott is a whole different ballgame but you will find plenty of good smallie fishing.

    If you want to speed up your learning curve, hire a good guide – consider it tuition on your fishing education. One day with a good guide can save you one or two seasons of personal effort. One of the best St Croix guides is Turk – here is the link to his guide service: Croixsippi Guide Service

    As was previously mentioned the big boat traffic on the St Croix can be a pain. I find getting out early and getting off the water about 11:00 to 12:00pm is one way to avoid most of the boat traffic frustration. There are good private, for pay launches at Bayport, Hudson, Beanies, Afton and St Croix Bluffs, Prescott, Hastings – you will find these launches can put you close to where you want to fish and save you some time.

    Good Luck!!

    G_Smitty
    New Richmond, WI
    Posts: 1359
    #587791

    Hey Falcon,

    Don’t think I’v ever gone out on the Croix to specifically target smallies but have, on occation, had a few bite my walleye hooks .

    Think deep… sure, you’ll catch some nice fighters in the shallows, look for typical spots – weeds, rocks, depth changes, but I’ve hooked into some nice sized fish while dragging live-bait on the bottom in typical ‘walleye’ locations – deeper humps with edges dropping to the main channel, shallow flats with drop-off edges, etc.

    As for safety concerns, get out early and get off early if you’re going out on a weekend. That, or be prepared to rock-n-roll as the cruisers and tuna boats stir it up pretty well. From Stillwater down to Hudson down to the Kinni, there really aren’t many ‘hazards’ and those that are out there are pretty well marked with green and red channel markers. There are a few shallow spots but they’re where you might expect them – between/near the islands in the Hudson Channel, off of points, etc.

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