This is a question I recently replied to, I thought to post it here to help some anglers out…
Hi, My son-in-law and I are interested in fishing the
St. Croix Rriver up by Stillwater. We have never been on the river and would like some information about where to start and what to use. I think we are going to try after the weekend, probably not so much traffic. We sure would like some help. Thank You very much.
Bruce Garay.
Bruce,
First off I suggest buying a Fishing Hot Spots brand map for the river section you are most interested in. Get acquainted with the map before your trip so you can have some background on what to expect when you hit the water.
If you plan on fishing the river just a few times over the years then I would just target the places that have been holding fish as reported in bait shops, web sites, and fishing periodicals. Generally the St. Croix has sand shorelines but rocky bottoms are present south of Stillwater on the Minnesota side. When you’ve settled on sand or rock,then target the depths you have heard about producing fish (the fish can be on both sand and rock but sometimes one substrate is better.).
Generally points and shorelines very close to shoreline points are great places to start. If you have the patience to find fish first with the depth finder that is a plus then you’ll have confidence that where you are fishing is holding amounts of fish. However don’t expect to mark many fish in depths 10 feet or less; the fish are down there but rarely marked.
For the treasured walleye, I would start using a search presentation, meaning a troll of either spinner rigs or crankbaits to cover ground and find fish faster. If concentrations of fish are found live bait jig or rig from the area they are holding. Nightcrawlers are the favorite river bait.
If you plan on turning into a river rat I would spend a half day just learning all the depths and structure in the area to get a real feel for what is down there. Find the current flows where they are strong and weak, play the current to your advantage, and this time of year when the flow is low on the Lower St. Croix as much current as you can get is very helpful to attract fish.
The beauty of the river is its multi specie bounty; anglers commonly catch 6 species or more a day, especially in the summer when the catfish pick up. A classic St. Croix bite happens from 8:30 to 1:30, many years 9:30 to 11:30 is is a time frame that is hard to beat. Some early mornings in the late summer are better than the mid day bite and the dusk bite is not anywhere as good on the St. Croix as on classic walleye lake such as Lake Mille Lacs for example.
Hope this helps and as we all know patience is a virtue so slowly raise your expectations with experience. Keep catchin’.
Turk Gierke
