Probably going to get out there Tuesday to find a few for the frying pan. I don’t fish the Croix a ton but I assume guys are pulling crawlers on rigs and/or cranks in lead core?
Will the fish be pushing deeper now? I’m assuming they are in 25-30 feet with the water warming?
Don’t need or want spots but any tactics you guys have luck with would be appreciated.
Actually…..send me spots, too! 
I had a hard time finding them on electronics yesterday. There were some groups fishing either side of the Kinni but I didn’t but it to see what they were looking at. It wasn’t until I was on my way back from Afton that I marked a lot of fish in a wind blown bay with a sandy bottom? Marking fish from 15 up to 10 FOW. One pass through I pulled up two trolling with cranks. Weather was about to turn and like an idiot I was woefully unprepared, that and my boat started hating me with a non functioning bulge pump in a leaky Lund and a bad battery or connections somewhere preventing it from starting without a jump from my booster pack (thank goodness for that) so I headed for home.
Jigs and Rapala jerks in the same area did nothing for me.
Pulled crawlers Saturday and managed 4 keepers and allot of shorts. 15 – 20 fow.
Also talked to another guy that was working the shoreline on the top side of the west Kinni narrows that snagged a few eyes casting with black and silver #5 shad raps
Friday morning I put in at Stillwater and fished the lake to Hudson without success. Lots on boats out, but didn’t see anyone catch anything. I meet a friend at the landing at 12:00. My friend is a Karen refugee from Burma. As a kid fishing was essential to their culture and livelihood after 10 years in refugee camps he came to America and was really excited to go fishing. I really had minimal expectations after the morning and just wanted him to catch some fish. so I decided to get out of the wind and head up river. Found a current seam off an island, never fished it before but had to start someplace.
Put a crawler on his jig and gave a basic overview.The first drift he got bit and I thought well the sheppies are biting. Went upriver and went down again, he got bit set the hook and pulled in a really nice 18 inch walleye. We stayed on the same area all day and had great success. About half way through the day I realized he was just kicking my butt for numbers. We ended up with some really nice walleyes and the usual sheep-head which he wanted to keep and with great joy! We got to talking about life in Burma and his families struggles and hopes for the future.
For myself it was the best walleye fishing I’ve ever had on the Croix with really nice size. I was thrilled to be able to share my boat with someone who so appreciated the experience. Presentation was simple- 3/16 jig with a crawler fishing slow on the current breaks.
Good karma helped.
Probably going to get out there Tuesday to find a few for the frying pan. I don’t fish the Croix a ton but I assume guys are pulling crawlers on rigs and/or cranks in lead core?
Will the fish be pushing deeper now? I’m assuming they are in 25-30 feet with the water warming?
Don’t need or want spots but any tactics you guys have luck with would be appreciated.
Actually…..send me spots, too!
Probably going to get out there Tuesday to find a few for the frying pan. I don’t fish the Croix a ton but I assume guys are pulling crawlers on rigs and/or cranks in lead core?
Will the fish be pushing deeper now? I’m assuming they are in 25-30 feet with the water warming?
Don’t need or want spots but any tactics you guys have luck with would be appreciated.
Actually…..send me spots, too!
Hey Matt, was out there last week and had the best luck with crawlers, 15-20’. Don’t know what this rain will do to the bite, but will be out there again this week. Will give you a shout if I see you. 
I’ve been fishing the Hudson channel the last week (along with tons of other boats). Definitely no secret spot, but understandable why so many ppl fish it. There are tons of fish in there. Saturday we did a mix of cranks and crawler harnesses. Caught tons of short fish, (And sheepshead) but did manage 7 keepers including throwing back a 22” eye.
We did alright going with simple jig and minnow, jig and crawler… best luck was slow dragging them over some flats and on the edge of drop-offs – fish seemed to be spread out. Had a multi-species weekend – starting with hooking up a big musky (that was a fun fight! Three-footer plus on a jigging pole with 6lb mono!) and then a big northern was hooked up. Plenty of sheephead, as usual on the Croix. Saturday was smallmouth bass day, along with some sauger and walleye (and, course, sheephead). Even caught a perch on a slip-weight rig dragging a crawler. Next time out, might try trolling some cranks. Who knows, might even break out the dipsy divers! 
Never got out today. Battery for the trolling took a dump so that killed my plans. Ended up on p2 using the talon.
Appreciate all the tips and hopefully get out next week.
… Had a multi-species weekend – starting with hooking up a big musky (that was a fun fight! Three-footer plus on a jigging pole with 6lb mono!) and then a big northern was hooked up. …
thought I’d post a pic of the musky…
musky.jpg
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