January 26th, 2009 Bayport area St. Croix River ice time crappie fishing has slowed down and after a good start to the season. The Crappie bite is now spotty with a decent day followed by a slow outing, the bite is hard to predict. The morning bite still appears to be the best though, from a half hour after sun up till 8:30, with an ok bite from 3:00 till sun down. Same techniques are catching crappies as earlier in the season, crappie minnow and bobber on a light wire hook or small jig. Space out your lines in terms of depth above bottom as these crappies suspend up to 18 feet of the bottom, though four to ten feet above bottom is common. Smaller crappie minnows are working better than the larger ones for numbers of caught crappies; minnow heads have been productive on jigs (for anglers actively jigging) instead of a whole minnow when the bite is slow. Crappies always roam the basin; this soft fluffy bottom covers the majority of the Bayport pool, and the majority of the basin is 33 to 36 fow, look for deeper spots in 40 feet of water to produce better (it is no coincidence that these are the places where the largest community shanty towns are). Also the shallower basin (the north part of the pool) in 26 to 30 feet can also be productive. Without a doubt these crappie roam and a mobile angler does better.
Walleye and sauger catches remain fair, and a few being taken constitutes a good day (15” minimum size for walleye), Jigging Rap’s are a best bet to tangle with river walleyes and saug dogs (glow green tiger, clown, and rainbow trout colors in sizes W3, W5, and W7) either tipped with a minnow head or plain.
Trucks have been driving on the ice for weeks now. Please be aware that there is open water on the river. Because of currents and historically anglers do not go there, I would not drive within a mile of the train bridge (swing bridge) near Hudson or the Stillwater lift bridge. The NSP plant also has a warm water discharge. The Malileau Dam also flows into the Bayport pool. Learn the river in the day and stay on the beaten path until you are experienced enough to trail blaze. Keep Catchin’ Turk
January 26, 2009 at 9:59 pm
#1228395
Thankfully nobody has been hurt… to my knowledge.
? There is a spring on the MN side down there that I noticed somebody drove rite over, they really got lucky. I made my way down there after drilling 100+ holes. The ice IS NOT consistent so I do not advice you make poor decisions like me.
frustrating as it is I manage to catch 2 crappie, pigs but were sent down the hole again to live another day. not enough to make a meal…