I think people tend to over think the location thing. I’ve caught them everywhere on the croix from 10’ to 40’ deep. One of our very best spots was a simple random “let’s try here, toss the anchor” thing. No rhyme or reason whatsoever and low and behold we caught something like 77 fish that night (several over 50”). I tend to think you will have more luck trying to locate a school of fish and fishing in that general vicinity rather than trying to decipher structural patterns of the river and getting set up on the spot on the spot. I’ve seen guys motor back and forth and back and forth round and round trying to anchor perfectly on a breakline, meanwhile all the boats around them are catching fish. I would recommend instead to use your sonar to either find pods of bait (shad) or pods of fish. Both are key to getting bit. Sometimes you don’t need your sonar at all and its as simple as seeing the fish jumping out of the water and just fishing right there. HA
Oh and yes ditch those no rolls. IMO, they are one of the most overrated pieces of gear in the sport. I don’t know where the fad started, but I fell for it too and even recommended them myself. But, spend enough time on the water and you will easily find several disadvantages to using them. Sure you can make em work, but why when there are better alternatives? I say melting those no rolls into bank, flat bank, or pyramid shape will solve a lot of your problems. Still keep in mind that it helps a lot to keep a tight line while the rig is sinking, its just that some sinkers helicopter more than others.
I think one of the biggest mistakes people make is using too heavy of a sinker. You don’t want it dragging around, but you also don’t want it buried in the silt. Do a search on YT and watch videos of Sturgeon eating. They suck and blow. LOL That is the tap tap tap you see on the rod, if they are not happy with what they feel (excess pressure from a sinker or waves pulling on the line, foreign materials, bad taste,etc) they will blow it out and move on. If however they like it, they will keep it in their mouth and swim away. These are the no brainer rod doubled over type bites. Most everyone can catch these fish, grab the rod and start reeling, but those fish you hook up with while they are tasting it and before they blow it out can make the difference between a 2 fish night and a 20 fish night. Bite detection is crucial in putting numbers of fish in the boat. It’s fairly easy to catch those few no brainer fish, but when conditions are worse you have to adapt. This why a lot of us prefer calm still nights and also why the guy holding the rod straight vertical during windy days will out fish everyone else.
On a side note, I’ve seen some guys do very well on the Croix just tossing out a 1oz jig with a piece of meat on it or even using a drop shot type setup (bait above the sinker). I’ve seen sturgeon caught on Barbie poles, fly rods, and slip bobbers. When you get on em out there it’s a lot of fun to experiment and you might be surprised as to some non traditional tactics that will work well (obviously not the Barbie pole, that was more irresponsible than anything). However, one day I watched a guy put a smackdown on the fish with a super long fly rod off the back off the boat straight down. It was super windy and the noodly pole just absorbed every wave. He would simply watch the rhythm of the rod tip like a hawk and as soon as that rhythm was broken by a single tap he would grab the rod and set the hook. I think he caught like 30 fish himself that day.
