St.Croix River

I am just wondering how everyone did on opener out there? Lets hear the stories and see some pics

Here’s what I caught:

1. caught up with a couple dozen fishin buddies and had at least one beer with most of them.
2. caught some rays
3. caught a buzz
4. caught hell from my wife for being gone all day
5. caught one sheephead

Very successful outing in my book.

Nothing wrong with that sounds like a good time to me except the catching hell from the wife part, the things we put up with.

NICE!!!

Hope the picture doesn’t give away my spot All came on plastics and I was done by 11AM. Someone explain to me again why I go out on St. Croix opener—-what a zoo!

4 shorts and a few silvers. looks like we have a few different year classes going. with the breeze on sat. mostly trolled cranks.fished from 3:30-7:30 in the afternoon.

Two for the box tonight,17″ males. What a great night to be on the croix.

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Hope the picture doesn’t give away my spot All came on plastics and I was done by 11AM. Someone explain to me again why I go out on St. Croix opener—-what a zoo!

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Rich were those sauger pre-spawn ? I like how well your spot produced I may have to hit it later this week were you in 10-20FOW ?

Jesse,
Several of the saugers had eggs in them but with a water temperature of almost 53 I think they missed their window. I have heard if conditions aren’t right for them to spawn their body absorbs the eggs but not sure if that is true or not. These didn’t come out of the same spot as the last few times but fairly close

plastics, I couldn’t get anything to go on plastic this weekend. last year opening weekend thats all I used and did good. nice bunch of saugers.

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Hope the picture doesn’t give away my spot All came on plastics and I was done by 11AM. Someone explain to me again why I go out on St. Croix opener—-what a zoo!

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not even your boat,good pic

Saugers? God I feel much better now. From your other picture I thought you got a limit of eyes.

My boat got got 2 keeper eyes Sat then 2 on Sunday along with 2 saugers. Decent number of shorts. 1 sheep, 1 silver and an impressive 18″ smallie.

I fished the St Croix and pool 3 sunday ending up with 3 keepers, one walleye and 2 sauger. On the croix all 4 walleyes I boated were short, but one sauger that hit a jig n minnow was 16″s. Also rounding out the mix was a lone sheepshead and a couple 14-15″ smallmouth. On pool 3 I boated a 17″ walleye and a nice white bass trolling cranks. Pool 3 also helped put another sauger in the box for me bringing my total to 3 fish for the grease.

We fished Sunday am from 6:30 – noon. First 1.5 hours we boated 5 short walleyes, all cookie cutter 14 – 14.5″. Trolling leadcore. Perch flavored shad raps.

The rest of the day yielded just two more shorts (really short) a couple of silvers and a smallmouth. First time I’ve not caught a sheepshead on the Croix.

ET

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First time I’ve not caught a sheepshead on the Croix.

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Well that makes for a darn good day except for the smallies, on the Croix you could probably consider the smallies in the same class as a sheepshead

Fished Saturday from 5:45-2:30. Boated 6 legal walleyes(24″,23″,3 19.5″er’s, 18″) and a 16″ Sauger. Probably 6 shorts as well. Fish were caught on Leadcore and Live Bait rigs.

I should also mention the 24″ and the 23″ were released IMMEDIATLY!! I witnessed a boat with a livewell full of fish over 20″. Some as big as 27″!! All were cleaned.

My son and I got out later than planned and fished just 3 hours from 9:30-12:30. 1 17″er 5 14″er’s, a 16″ white bass, 30″ sturgeon,a and a few sheepies thrown in the mix.
All but one caught on crawlers and phelps floater.

Has!!!Ill bet those big fish that you witnessed tasted great.Some people never learn,puttin the knife to a big fish is a shame .We boated 10 legals on Saturday,a ton of shorts,smallies,silvers a couple of sheepies and a bonus 40lb flathead.One legal came on jig and minnow,the rest came on plastics and rigging crawlers.

I’ve never heard of a Phelps floater … is that a floating jighead on the back of a lindy rig? Or is it some type of crank?

Phelps floaters are a cigar shaped floating jig head used on a Lindy Rig, three way rig, or bottom bouncer. True Phelps Floaters are no longer available but Northland Tackle makes a floating jig head called the Gum Drop Floater that is similar.