Post deleted by FTR Webstaff

I would say that right now would be a good time to start fishing the wingies as James said a couple of days ago the fish are pulling out of the back water areas on the lower end of the pool right now and starting to hold on the dams with low flow. As far as the fishing on the upper end I have not been out since thurs but the bay city flats should be hot right now the fish are there just figuring out what they will hit is the hard part give it some time with a few presentations then move on to some other spots periodicaly checking back now and again the fish are doing a lot of moving around right now they will come and go. The last few days I was out the bite seemed to be the best from 9:00am to 3:00 pm and then again a couple of hrs before dark I have not had a good early morning bite all summer but that should change as the water clarity increases.

See ya on the water!

Dustin

I fished the flats and fishermans cut thurs. not much going on a lot traffic but did manage a few.On crawlers nothing on spinners jigs or cranks w/ the biggest fish (eye) 16in and a dandy 12lb cat. mid lake was slow also with reports of a few sauger. The water was really murky mid lake compared to 2 weeks ago.Good luck

Jigger2001

Hey,

On Tuesday(July 3) We trolled shallow running Rapalas, in the perch and chartruese colors, on the Bay City flats. There is a dead head off the point on the opposite side of Cathrene, where we managed to catch nine eyes, with six keepers. the size varied from 15 1/4-18″. Others were trolling some spinners with bottom bounders with leeches,(i think). Best bet is to troll right around the small dead head, in about 5-7′ of water.

Hope this works for you.

Ryan

Haven’t fished since wed. but did real good, Many boats up in the vermillion were catching nice eaters. A few words of warning though. One, Be careful going in from the main channel cause it is starting to shallow and the current is beginning to slow so the fish may start to move out. Two, if you go under the tracks remember only one rod per person. I’m the stupid guy who fishes the river four days a week and should have known that but was daydreaming when I trolled right under the bridge with an extra line out. Luckily the MN DNR who stopped me ten yds in front of the bridge was very conciderate and let me keep my rods. I am a guy who tries to abide all laws of fishing whether it be written in the books or just a general rule appreciated by all who use the water, so I am sorry to anyone who I may have offended. On a good note, I caught one real nice fish on Wed up in the fourth cut. Measured 30.5″, and an educated guess tells me it was about 10.5 lbs. We also caught a half a dozen 15-19 inch fish on the very top side of the cut where the current slows. Goog fishin’

JJW

Hey,

what’s this about using 2 rods, is that legal in some spots?

Two rods are legal on Mn/Wi border water

You can use 2 rods in MN/WI border waters, with a MN license. The WI guys still get to use 3. The water is considered “borderwater” up to the first dam or RR bridge on most tributary waters that flow into the “actual border water”. There are some other special circumstances for specific areas so always refer to your license regulations handbook.

Does this mean it’s time to go shopping?

No, No, No……

Never heard of the 3 rod rule for cheesheads. Yes, SOME lakes in Wi allow 3 rods, not the Croix or Miss.

I’d bet my new Taildancer on that!!

J.

Ok……………..who’s got the regs on them? All WI waters qualify for 3 lines with a resident WI license. There is talk about being on the MN side, in which your rules have to be respected, but I can fish the Croix with 3. Why not the Miss.?

My source was a DNR official at a pre-opener Fleet Farm seminar/promotion. He said I get 3 on the river with my WI “resident” license.

What color is that TailDancer…………………..I don’t have one yet! LOL!

the regs seem to agree with you, but are I think written poorly because they could be interpreted as allowing the use of 3 rods on the Wisconsin side of the river….?

in the Mn 2001 regs on page 47 it states

“when regulations differ between bordering states, anglers must comply with the regulations of the state for which they are licensed and can only exercise more liberal fishing privileges in the waters of the state where they are licensed.”

this would include the discrepancy between 2 rods for MN and 3 for Wis…… personally I why cant the just say in both sets of regs… you can use 2 and only 2 rods on the Miss…. but I have the Wisconsin regs and they NEVER mention anything about how many lines you can use….. not even in the front.. they only say you can use 3 lures…. and they DONT restrict you to ONE line like Mn does….. so you can infer that you can use 3……

A couple of weeks ago the comment was made at a tournament premeeting that one of the participants had been told by a warden, that they did not honor the Wisconsin rule on the Mississippi on the Minnesota side. It is kind of a tradition on pool four to only allow two rods per angler , but the info could make it mandatory. Unfortunately I have not been able to verify it. The Information did come from a dependable source. Lawrence

Stillakid,

There are portions of the Croix that are not considered border water. Maybe the DNR guy was thinking along those lines??? Regs on Border Waters can be confusing….even for guys who spend a lot of time on the water. The MN regs have a seperate section for border waters.

I’m hoping Warden Stone may shed some light on this topic. RiverEyes, can you shoot him a message?

I have a couple of the Shad color Taildancers. Hope that color works if I’m wrong!!

J.

Hey River Eyes….. They would have to write them regs to be very specific. I get a chuckle when I see guys jigging with 2 rods on Pool 2 within sight of downtown. Then I get PO’ed when they don’t believe me when I tell them they are basically breaking the law. Pool 2 is inland water – Not border water!!

J.

yeah… I will write Warden Stone….. and see what his take is….. I was NOT aware that you could use 3 rods! if your from Wisconsin… and if you can.. then it would ONLY be on the Wi side of the river…..

and yeah.. Ive seen those pool 2 guys with 2 rods….

In regard to the area he was referring, it was definitely border water…………………the Kinikinnic convergeance. The seminar was in Hudson and the majority of the Q&A was for fishing Stillwater to Prescott, but he mentioned a Red Wing tournament a couple years ago where the winner was disqualified for using more than 2 rods on the Minnesota side. The disqualified entry was an Illinios resident but I don’t know what license he possessed.

I think the Wisconsin regs say you must obey the regs of the state you are fishing in.I want someone to draw a line down the river.. Two rods for me is one too many a lot of the time.Just remember in Wisconsin waters it looks like you can only have three baits or lures and it doesn,t matter how many

rods. 1 rod,1 large drop sinker,three floating raps on leaders you could cover a lot of depth like that.Three rods 1 lure per rod it all would equal

the same large tangled mess for me.

Where it comes in handy is when you’re hunting for action or trying to experiment with an application or two. 2 weeks ago I had a circle hook and leech from a rod holder on one side of the boat and a jig/plastic combo on the other side in another rod holder. I stuck to a certain depth as I drifted the shoreline and cast a bucktail inline spinner down the shore drop. No tangled lines, and quite often, a fish to reel in! Twice I had a double but I’d always keep the rod holder drag levels low and just let those fish run until I could get to them. It’s not that hard or inconvenient if used with a little fore thought. Now holding more than one rod? That’s a trick I’d rather avoid!

I got home and read through both regulation handbooks. Nowhere in the WI handbook does it mention anything about not exercising the 3 line, bait, lure rule on the Mississippi or the St. Croix. But the MN handbook, as quoted by Rivereyes, certainly puts a stamp on that question. but I’m quite certain that if I stood on the WI shoreline with rod holders that there wouldn’t be anything said about the 3rd rod. Otherwise, I would’ve been nailed already this year on the MN regular season opener. The watercraft ban was still in effect but I was on the shore with 3 rods and approached by the DNR for a checking over. He asked what rods belonged to who, checked our licenses and began to shoot the breeze. But I don’t think I can go over to Beanies and try the same stunt. That would be “exercising a more liberal priviledge” on MN turf, which is clearly illegal by the print. If it’s not allowed, 1) I got lucky and 2) the WI handbook needs an update.

Stillakid,

With over 400 hits to this thread, I’m very surprised that none of the seasoned “Rats” and “Guides” have not jumped on the topic one way or the other!!!

Honestly, with all the time I’ve been on the river, I have never even seen someone with 3 lines out!! I’ve been out to Petenwell a few time where most everyone has 3 boards out to the side of the boat. I would have figured if it was legal, there would be a bunch of trollers out there doing it.

Anyway, I’m sure warden Stone knows the rule off the top of his head. I’ll go with what ever he says.

The Taildancer is sitting on the dash of my boat!! (I got to admit it don’t look good for my side of the argument!!)

J.

Could it be that everyone else is just as confused? I don’t know about you but that’s unusual for me. Usually I’m like “a confused elite” because I’m the only dunce not absorbing what’s at hand! LOL! Anywho, I too will have to agree with what a paid…………………err, I mean trained professional has to say. :O) Is that taildancer looking to be an ornament or do you actually intend to fish with it? LOL! Limited Edition you know! :O)

this one could go down to the “wire”… Ive not heard from Mr Stone yet… but I spoke with someone in the Mn DNR… they were insistant that TWO and ONLY TWO rods can be used on the Miss, regardless of what liscense you are using or what side you fished, and they would write a ticket for anything more than TWO….. so thats what Mn says… wonder what Wi thinks?… they also said that Wi intentionally rights the rules to be vague… and I asked why that was… the answer was a bit vague as well…. I dunno… for sure the RULES are vague… dont know if its intentional….

Well, just to set Jon at ease, I don’t want his lure………………..keeps it fun but I’m not after it. I just want to make sure I’m steering clear of the illegal stuff……………might be funny for you guys but the kids wouldn’t understand and my wife would volunteer that “I’ve got more stuff at home they can have”! LOL! By comparison, no offense Jon, I’ll stick to protecting my puppy hide!

hmmmmm in my above post… I guess right makes write!…. just to correct myself so that Im write…. errrrrrr right… oh for heavens sake…… correct!! yeah… thats the ticket…. (for having more than 2 rods out!)