St. Croix River

Pretty quiet in here. Anyone been out on the Croix lately? How’s the walleye bite going? Any action out there at all?

what up Jesse. I haven’t heard anything either.

Rumor has it once OneStout quit fishing the river all the walleye were so sad they left the Croix and went to Pool’s 2, 3 and 4

try to get out at least once per week… Did some exploring this last weekend, trying a few new spots. Caught some bass, white-bass, something long and skinny that came unglued just before getting to the boat (might have been a gar?), and some short walleyes. Usually get into some sauger/hybrids but not this time. Time was spent between the ‘new’ Stillwater bridge and Hudson, mostly on the MN side.

I’ve seen a number of boat working with WI ledge just South of the 94 bridge weekday mornings. I don’t think they are after sheephead though Jesse.

I’ve been to the beach a couple times working on my tan, that is what probably scared the walleyes away. Still haven’t gotten the boat wet yet though.

Slow for us the last two weekends. Caught 3 fisg yesterday. No real pattern. 1 walleye, 1 smallmouth, 1 pike.

Weekend before we might of caught 6 fish total.

bzzsw you been out lately?

Jesse Krook wrote:

bzzsw you been out lately?

Fishing has been hit and miss. I’ve only caught 2 walleyes bigger than 20 inches this year on the Croix. Lots of short fish. Just cleaned out the freezer and had a big fish fry for the wifes family at the cabin yesterday. It is time to resupply. Ready to give em hell tomorrow night?

Jesse Krook wrote:

Rumor has it once OneStout quit fishing the river all the <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleye were so sad they left the Croix and went to Pool’s 2, 3 and 4

Can confirm they stayed clear of pool 3, for the most part.

On the lower end, thermocline has all the action

bzzsaw wrote:

Ready to give em hell tomorrow night?

You know it Jack !!!!

I have been doing fairly well on the croix. But I fish up in the taylors falls area down to osceola. In the last few outings we have done very well on walleyes and what seem to be a equal number of smallies. It has been slow starts and multiple presentations before figuring out bites.

the smallmouth and channel cat bite has been good for me. channel cats by accident but some nice ones. i did see smaller runabout absolutely crush that rockpile on the st croix side of the mallileau dam. took out a lower unit. be careful if you are in there. the DNR should really put a buoy on that spot.

steveo wrote:

i did see smaller runabout absolutely crush that rockpile on the st croix side of the mallileau dam. took out a lower unit. be careful if you are in there. the DNR should really put a buoy on that spot.

I found that pile last time I was in that area… luckily, just clinked it a bit with the prop – no damage but I could see how some serious damage could occur if that was hit full-on! Agree about the marker…

It was crazy. Small fiberglass with an I/O. I had my back turned to that pile. I was about 400 feet to the west and I heard this awful sound. They were pulling kids on a tube. They were able to limp the boat back to that beach to the south. Maybe they didn’t tear the whole thing off but there had to be some severe damage.

steveo wrote:

the smallmouth and channel cat bite has been good for me. channel cats by accident but some nice ones. i did see smaller runabout absolutely crush that rockpile on the st croix side of the mallileau dam. took out a lower unit. be careful if you are in there. the DNR should really put a buoy on that spot.

Where is that at? Just out from the damn?

onestout wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>steveo wrote:</div>
the smallmouth and channel cat bite has been good for me. channel cats by accident but some nice ones. i did see smaller runabout absolutely crush that rockpile on the st croix side of the mallileau dam. took out a lower unit. be careful if you are in there. the DNR should really put a buoy on that spot.

Where is that at? Just out from the damn?

I assume what I clinked with my prop was the rockpile SteveO mentioned… it was straight out from the dam. I usually stay north if going over to that spot and then turn down to the dam but for some reason, I decided to go straight across when leaving. My autochart now has a big red spot at that location!

Thanks, I may actually get the boat out soon….but normally stay south and don’t venture into that area.

Try to get out once per week between Afton and Prescott. Channel cats, sheepshead, and saugers on live bait with the occasional sauger to keep. A few walleyes every evening on cranks with leadcore. Interestingly recently it seems it’s either a 10 in walleye or 20+ trolling cranks (and not very many of those) Not much in between. Earlier in the year it was all 12-14 inch males.

spent some time last night, trolling over some humps… all shorts – between 10 and 14 inches… weather was fantastic and not a bad way to spend a few hours in the evening… The sheriff boats were busy in the Hudson channel when I was heading in around 9pm.

onestout wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>steveo wrote:</div>
the smallmouth and channel cat bite has been good for me. channel cats by accident but some nice ones. i did see smaller runabout absolutely crush that rockpile on the st croix side of the mallileau dam. took out a lower unit. be careful if you are in there. the DNR should really put a buoy on that spot.

Where is that at? Just out from the damn?

That whole WI side from the train bridge up to the dam (main channel is marked with buoys on or near the break) is full of huge boulders and rocks That entire flat is roughly 2 FOW to 5 FOW. Very dangerous area to be in. I cringe when I see people flying around inside the buoys oblivious to what lurks below. I learned the area the hard way…luckily I didn’t damage anything.

Hey Bzzsw are the Smallie’s biting? Any run ins with sailboats lately?

I’ve gotten out twice in the last week. Been getting decent numbers of walleye (especially for this time of year) trolling cranks between afton and bayport. Most are short but always getting enough to bring a few home; largest 20”.

Also got this bonus 41.5” gator yesterday!

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Phoyem, were you trolling along Minnesota side.And how deep.Just wondering.
Thanks
Steve

Caught the pike on a 10” sucker on a bobber. About 7 ft of water on the MN side. Released it.

Most of my walleye trolling is in the hudson channel, anderson pt, or the flats below the 94 bridge.

Do walleye or sauger on the St Croix ever suspend over some of the basin areas during later summer? I just spent a weekend fishing suspended walleye on Lake of the Woods over the main basin in 30′-35′ of water, and we did quite well. So I guess I’m curious if the fish are present in a similarly here, or if they stay more oriented to structure. Thanks!

Brady Walter wrote:

Do walleye or sauger on the St Croix ever suspend over some of the basin areas during later summer? I just spent a weekend fishing suspended walleye on Lake of the Woods over the main basin in 30′-35′ of water, and we did quite well. So I guess I’m curious if the fish are present in a similarly here, or if they stay more oriented to structure. Thanks!

Yes, So do the gar, catfish and smallies

Pretty quiet in here again. Anyone been out lately?