Here comes the St Croix No Wake water levels

St Croix River is coming up – I had the boat out Sunday out of Boomsite DNR launch north of Stillwater. The islands are just about under water and there is a lot of grass and debris in the water. On Sunday the water level was 678 feet and water temp was 33 degrees.

Water level forecast is for 683 feet on Mar 28 and 684.5 feet on March 30th. When it hits 683 feet the river is declared “No Wake”. Looks like we are in for some high water for a while.

River is clear of ice from Stillwater north and it is starting to break up south of the Stillwater bridge. This wind and rain and rising water could finish off the ice between Stillwater and Hudson pretty quickly.

I dont know wether to be happy or

No Wake is my favorite time of the year!

The water is rising fast too. Fishing changes each and every day now.

still iced up from afton to prescott but it won’t last

Prescott ice is all but gone, its just skim ice now and with today’s wind it was rippling all day. Even with the no wake being in place and no water patrol there are always people that refuse to observe the ordinace because they saw others not doing it…..No, it doesn’t make it right, its just some people’s kids.

Here we go. Complaints about running on the no wake 6 weeks before the season opens.
Sounds about normal for this forum.

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Here we go. Complaints about running on the no wake 6 weeks before the season opens.
Sounds about normal for this forum.

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Hey! I go wide open in ALL the no wake zones.

I would be very surprised if the water stays this high all the way until the walleye opener. The walleye opener is at least four weeks away…

I bet the river is 679.0 at opener – four feet under the slow no wake.

I hope you’re right Turk. Too much hassle with no-wake and two years in a row would be a bit much. Though it does open uniquie fishing opportunities.

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I would be very surprised if the water stays this high all the way until the walleye opener. The walleye opener is at least four weeks away…

I bet the river is 679.0 at opener – four feet under the slow no wake.

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I went back and looked at some of the historical river level plots for the March to July timeframes. In several years we have had this first high water period in March / April and then it comes back down to about 679 or so but it seems like most years we get another river level spike in May that lasts into June with water levels rising to the 682 range. I guess it all depends on those April / May showers and how much rain we get.

I hope Turk is right and we get back to the 679 foot level by early May and slowly come down from there. At 679′ / 678′ the waters are just coming off the islands and the waters are at the front end of stabilizing for the summer. The water temps are coming up then and the fish seem to turn on.

No wake as of today…..

Pioneer Press

Updated: 03/27/2009 10:27:22 AM CDT

The St. Croix River at Stillwater is expected to reach 683 feet above sea level today, triggering a no-wake restriction for boats.

The river is forecast to be above 683 feet for at least one week, said Molly Shodeen, area hydrologist for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The river is forecast to reach 685.2 feet, Shodeen said.

Wisconsin, Minnesota and National Park Service officials will post signs today at all public accesses on the river, and the rule will remain in effect until the level drops below 683 feet. Lower speeds minimize shoreline erosion, Shodeen said.

“We don’t think it’s going to be a very big issue, but there are always boats anxious to get out,” Shodeen said. “And there’s so much floating debris. People need to be reminded it’s very dangerous out there.”

The Mississippi River is going up 9 feet, which backs up the St. Croix and leads to the prolonged crest, Shodeen said.

The high water, caused by spring snowmelt and recent rainfall, also means many islands in the St. Croix will be flooded and unusable for recreation. Shodeen said boaters should watch for debris floating just below the river’s surface that can pose serious hazards.

WOW – There sure is still a lot of ice from Bayport to Hudson. The river is clear of ice from Hudson to Prescott but that stretch of ice from just south of the King Plant to Hudson is still hanging on. I was hoping to be able to put my boat in at Beach House Marina and fish that stretch of water but she is iced in. Andersen Bay is all iced in. I guess I will have to come up with a Plan B. Chase cat either upstream of Stillwater or launch out of Beanies’s. With the No Wake in effect it kind of limits how far you can run unless you want to take all day to get there. I want to get on the water.