“NO FISHING” on the Stillwater Lift Bridge

I found this in the Stillwater Gazette, Wednesday, 16 June Issue:

In other business, the council . . .

– heard about a plan to put signs on the Stillwater Lift Bridge that say “No Fishing”. Fishermen have been tossing lines off the bridge, causing many boaters to complain about hooks flying down while they are passing beneath the structure.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation had signs up in the past, but took them down when the bridge was repainted. The department will be putting signs back up this month.

I thought I would pass this along to any shore fishermen that wanted to fish off the Stillwater bridge.

I guess I can’t blame’m. I’ve seen lawn chairs parked on the walkway so thick that pedestrians have to step out in the traffic lane to get around. It didn’t look like the occupants had a lot of desire to move jerr

It is too bad they are stopping that! Shore fishermen are losing so much land to fish from and it is horrid. Most of the time they are fishing at night. Whitebass is the hot bite down there and it is fun. The guys I have talked to down there are so nice and move for pedestrians, and really how many people use the bridge for walking? It is also a more early season spot before the traffic gets bad on the river. With this high water we can’t fish from the dike either. MMMM why are we losing so many young people from fishing. NEED A BOAT! As always there are the pills that have no respect for others but there are boaters like that too and most likely it is the pleasure boaters complaining.

Thanks for posting this Steve I had no idea.

As a boater and a shore fisherman of the Croix it makes 100% sense to NOT have lines dangling from the bridge as boaters use pretty much the entire span of the bridge to cross below, seems like it would be kind of dangerous on any body of water.

Jesse I do agree with part of it but you guys got my first reaction. Hot topic I see too! One of the big reasons I was Whiny about it right away is I fish the other side of the bridge parking in MN and I stop and talk to the people fishing and on more than one occasion unpleasant words of racism have been yelled out car windows. Most of the fishing is done at night in the spring. Now the night thing could be bad combined with a boat coming through. When I do fish from the bridge I fish on the current break of the supports for the beam so I know nobody would run into my lines. Sometimes I forget that we have to watch out for that one person without common sense and fish on a busy day and right in the middle of the boat traffic.

In a short way of saying it there are better place to fish but I always hate more signs with no fishing.

Yeah I did it when I was a kid. Before I knew better. It’s potentially dangerous no matter were you hang your line. Who knows where that fish is going to go. Really it’s insane to fish off a bridge with boats going underneath. And no place to fish off shore? Not to be combative but I have thousands of shore spots within 50 miles of home if I need them. People who say there’s no shore spots just aren’t happy with the ”one” they are at and want ”that one” over there that’s private. When there’s probly no fish ”there” either. Besides, catching fish is only part of the overall experience of fishing. Unless it’s for a daily food supply for your family and nothing else.

I wouldnt even think this world would be dumb enough to have to be told not to fish off a bridge i mean come on theres millions of shore spots we live in the land of 10,000 lakes and somebodys gonna complain because they cant dangle hooks in boaters faces

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I wouldnt even think this world would be dumb enough to have to be told not to fish off a bridge i mean come on theres millions of shore spots we live in the land of 10,000 lakes and somebodys gonna complain because they cant dangle hooks in boaters faces

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Really?

So because you feel there there is sufficient other places to go we are dumb?

I will tell you a little about fishing off the bridge early in the year before the precious walleye is open. There are some people who like to catch the white bass at night. You do not catch them from shore yet at this point. It lasts for a couple weeks and is a blast. I tried from shore nothing. Now remember this is before the pleasure crafts are out and the waterfront in Stillwater is flooded so you are not able to fish the waterfront because you will snag the chain. Areas around stillwater now even public owned properties do not allow you to be on the property and is posted clearly “No Trespassing” So where yo go The powerplant…..it sucks the fishing is really slow. Anderson Bay….Nope the residents complain about fishermen and the police kick you out. These are the places by my house. I like to fish near home. The problem is so many fishing access points are disappearing and this is one more loss. Did you realize that you could fish directly behind a pillar and not effect boat travel? I know of many good shore spots but one by one they are disappearing and when we need kids to get out and fish it is easier for them to have a shore spot and not need a parent to take a boat out. I do have a boat but I prefer shore for a quick trip. I am not that upset about the fact that I can not fish off the bridge since I only have a few times. (Guess I am dumb for that)More about the fact that your only part of the post was to say how stupid people are for fishing off the bridge. I grew up fishing off bridges all the time with my Grandpa. Crappies were killer at night with a few guys having lanterns to light up the sky. Not everyone fishing the same. Pleasure boating is a big deal on the croix and I rarely complain about it because it is a fact of life. When a pleasure craft or fisherman becomes dangerous on the water then I complain. Everyone has different viewpoints and the ones from shore are becoming a thing of the past.

Shore spots are hard to come by. My husband and I catfish and before this year had not had much luck. Things have improved a bit, we bought a little john boat for $1000 on impulse and stupidity with a desire to actually get out there and have more options. My dad loaned us the money. Our options for fishing are more than they once were, we now fish out of Somerset Landing in WI. My husband is weary of going towards Hudson, WI because of the large boats and most of them being careless and not caring about other boaters/fishermen. I dont understand why we cant all just respect eachothers desire to fish, we all share a passion here.

As for the bridge thing, never done it never seen it. I would be concerned about dangling the fish in the air by its lip for so long on its trip up. Especially if it was a sizable one…

-Mallory