07-10-09 St. Croix River walleye fishing is productive in deeper depths now and 15 to 25 feet of water is a great place to locate walleyes in. Popular presentations have been Lindy rigging with livebait (crawlers and leeches), trolling spinners on three ways or on lindy weights, trolling crankbaits, also casting jigs with bait from an anchored boat position.
Walleyes are nice sized with 16 to 18 inch fish being caught and many smaller ones as well, the bite is not as good as the spring time but good enough to bring home a half dozen or more (including saugers). Saugers have shown themselves lately and these fine fish pad the catch totals and the fillet count if you choose. Normally if you catch a few legal walleye (15 inch and over is legal for walleye) you can get the as many nice eating sized saugers as walleye. Saugers hit the same walleye presentations. Lure colors for Spinners have been red and gold or chartreuse is especially good with crawlers. Crankbaits remain the Rapala raps, minnow raps, deep tail dancers, and RS raps. Storm Thundersticks are also working.
Smallmouth bass are definitely moving deeper, where jigs from 1/8 to ¼ are in order to take these bronze brawlers. Tubes, grubs, lizards, and worms on jigs are turning fish. The shallow near suicide smallie bite is looking over and they are making you work for them now in deeper water. Rapala DTs will quickly cover ground to catch and locate active smallies. Best depths are now from 6 to 20 feet (btw – we turned a nice smallie a bit deeper fishing for walleye today – shallow is always more enjoyable and easier, but you have to fish them where they are.
White bass, still little surface action. Sheepheads have been moderately active and caught on walleye presentations. Believe it or not – sheeps are decent eating fish, firm white meat, don’t believe me? Sneak on home and try it, make sure nobody sees you because heaven forbid you got expose as a sheephead eater. Client Steve Benke calls sheeps – a real mans fish! -. Prepared blackened Cajun style, sheeps (freshwater drum) are a tasty meal.
The river itself has a slight algae bloom, my water filled livewell for weeks has been as clear as a mountain streams water, but today it had a slight green tint. You will also notice that the fish themselves have taken a bronze hue. Our first walleye today had a bronze coloring where I initially mistook it for a sauger…Also the smallies have taken on this coloring too. The river is still 675.3 with light amounts of floating grass. Forgot the water temp but I would guess surface water was 75 degrees.
Keep Catchin’
Turk
I’d like to get out there and ply the depths with you and my LCSE83MLF…sounds like its time 
