St. Croix Bow Fishing

Top of page headline in Stillwater Gazette 5/28/09:
RULE CHANGE COULD OPEN ST. CROIX TO BOW FISHING
OPPONENTS SAY SPORT IS DETRIMENTAL TO THE TRANQUILITY
OF THE RIVER.
So are high speed multi lane BIDGES that your tax money will waste bigtime in 2013 in exchange for some magic beans — access parking that will increase overcrowding and help kill off the last of the local bait shop/launches unless we wake up and say St. Paul, nufs enuf!

View the virtual satellite map webbsite that carries local landmark photos to see the architect’s vision of the new monster crossing that strongly suggests it’s already there. And then drive up Beach Rd. at Co. 36 to Oak Park Heights where flowers and a toilet seat on MT lots tell the story of taxable homes condemned for the new high-noise bridge to nowhere. Yes, the Stillwater crossing needs replacing SOON but without ruining our national scenic waterway with the kind of brain-bashing noise the I-94 bridge generates.
Speak up for solitude…then come talk to us about bowfishing at night.

You can get away from a bridge.

Try to fish in the peaceful waters north of Stillwater and have that loud generator with blinding lights come up near you shooting the fish that are sniffing at your bait.

I will take the bridge!
The bridge will benefit thousands and the bowfishing will benefit…..100? That bridge is needed and what local business will be hurt? Downtown Stillwater will benefit! All the peeps that live in WI just travel through downtown making locals and visitors avoid downtown. The bridge has been in the plans longer than I have been alive! Times change and towns grow. If you don’t like the noise of the bridge fish away from it. I don’t know how to fish at night without having to listen to those generators and blinding lights. It is like shooting deer in the headlights!

Camping would really suffer too with the addition of bowfishing. Definitely a cool place right now to camp out for the night on a sandbar and get the feeling you’re in the middle of nowhere.

I’d be ok for bowfishing south of the stillwater lift bridge.

Generator and lights? Please explain.

check out a flat bottom rig decked out for bow fishing….looks like a crab fishing vessle coming at ya.

ahh. I didnt know that was done at night.

Oh boy I got stated on bowfishing……..

I can live with bowfishing for carp but……… when it comes to the native fish that help balace our river systems and they care jst shot for the sake of being shot that is horrible. There are many things that get me in a huff about the “Mass” of bowfishing and not everyone does this but leaving the carcasses of these fish on the shore or in the water to smell up the waters and such. I have taken pics of carp and bigmouth buffalo and bowfin all shot just to rot away on shore at one of my “peaceful” fishing spots that has been destroyed by bowfishing. In the spring the fish are get stopped by an electronic barrier making them easy to shoot.

There is a guide that guides bowfishing trips on the croix and you don’t have to be close to see or hear them in the backwaters. It is much more common than most believe that muskies, pike, bass ect get shot because of a swirl or shadow. It happens but it is kept quiet.

Most people don’t even know that the bowfishing is going on because it happens late at night. I’m surprised it is just now coming to people’s attention because they have been doing it for years north of Stillwater. Those of us that primarily fish at night have had to put up with it. You cannot believe how much noise and light is put out by one boat. They run a generator in the back of the boat and run a large grouping of floodlights off the bow of the boat. They stand on a big platform at the front of the boat to see and shoot from. You can hear it and see it from a long ways away as they work up and down a shoreline.

If there was some kind of referendum on allowing it or not I personally would vote against it. I’m a night time fisherman and on the water 4 to 5 nights a week. I’m trying to fish and listen to a Twins game and night time bowfishing is a big disturbance in the area that they are working. But I don’t get to vote – so I do my best to stay away from them and hope it doesn’t affect my nights fishing.

Arnt we all sportsman and in this together?? just the thing anti- hunting, fishing and trapping groups love to see, sportman bickering..

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Arnt we all sportsman and in this together?? just the thing anti- hunting, fishing and trapping groups love to see, sportman bickering..

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Well, I don’t claim to be a paid subscriber to the Bowfishing Club of the St Croix – I’m not into running a generator in the back of my boat and running enough floodlights to have a baseball game under and then trolling a shoreline at night with a total disregard for other fisherman in the same area.

If you have seen it or heard it, I think your support might waiver after you have. But it only affects a few of us that like to fish at night so what the HECK – let’s support our Sportsman Brothers. Maybe we could get them to do it early in the morning and in the early evening on Pool 4 near the dam – I’m all signed up to support that.

Sportsmen? I’m sorry I can’t call night bowfishermen sportsmen. Day bowfishermen maybe. Should we make ground swatting ducks and spotlight shooting deer legal? Then it’d be easier to be a “sporting” deer hunter or waterfowler. Maybe open up a snagging season for walleyes, those @#$@ things are always stealing my bait…

Don’t get many chances to fish nites — and don’t bowfish anymore, day or dark–but I do agree that the tranquility of the river cited in the Gazette headline should be preserved.
Like last week one evening when a brightly blazing excursion paddleboat rolled down from Stillwater crowded with equally lit-up women for an onboard male stip show. The frequent raucus screams and loud whistles could be heard for miles and definitely disturbed those of us lubbers with kids trying to enjoy the peace of Lakeside Park that night.
Generally, those birthday cake boats are actually quite relaxing to watch.
Incidently, the two-blink red WI nav lite across from Bayport is now back up and winking. Still wondering about the green blinker that used to lend ambiance to MN side. Along with our church bells & small-town curfew fire whiste, we haven’t yet dealt away all the benefits of life on the river.

Really guys i am extremely dissappointed in your reaction to bowfishing on the St. Croix especially at night. i would like to let you know that one should not lob all bowfishermen into the group with the obsessive ones with generators and what not. Trust me sir i spend an way more time on the St. croix due to my job and love of fishing it. I have grown up on this river and only seen maybe a handful of boats with generators. Also what about the campers who get drunk and fly up and down the river screaming? isn’t that just as bad, in my opinion its worse because they are the ones who are destroying the beautiful landscape, not a few bowfisherman runnin a generator. and if a generator is such a big deal you’ve never been to Mile long island north of stillwater where the rich folk constanly fly around in there houseboats and speed boats, so much for a peaceful river.

And also i would like to address the comment of that we might as well be snagging walleyes. Have you ever bowfished? its not as easy as you seem to think even at night you only get about ten seconds max to spot, draw, and shoot. i bowfish the St. Croix with my friend in a non-motorized jon boat with a battery operated spotlight and you’ll never know where are there except for the shouts of joy when we land a fish.

Just remember let he who is without sin cast the first stone. and dont scrutinize one man for how he enjoys the outdoors just because you don’t do the same and/or agree with it. for if you do, you really need to take a step back and see how much of a real “sportsman” you really are.

couldn’t agree more Nuge!!

I hear all of you. I am a bow fishermen. Love the sport. Support it fully. I do have a problem though. We recently had a boat come through just like most complain about. Bright lights and loud generator. Angered all our neighbors. Made us look bad. Cruised 10ft off shore. Lit up their homes at midnight. I know from experience most of the fish we shoot is out a bit farther. Are some in tight to shore yes. But we hit the best out around 50 or so feet. We shoot well out of people’s home range and sight, we do quite well. I would ask that people, please take care in fishing. Not to allow others to have ammo to fight against us. Keep on keeping on. Good luck guys!