Fished Pool 3 near the Dam by Treasure Island and had a blast. 31 fish by noon with 8 in the 20-23in. range, 15 in the 16-18in. range, 9 in the 15-8in. range. Trolling shad raps(#7 orange Shad Rap took the best fish) with fireline 6-9ft of water. Trolling upstream 2.2-2.5 and downstream 3.0. Zigin,Zagin,Stoppen and going. Lost several fish througout the day.
Trollforit-
We’re you fishing near the main channel of the river or the backwaters? Sounds like you pounded them pretty good. I went out on Monday and tried some of the backwater areas with minimal success. Some larger fish have been caught lately, but they are few and far between. Seems similar to last year, when the water flows are too fast (not necessarily too high), the fish seem to stick more to the main channel areas. Did you try any of the wing dams? They should be producing well.
Where is a good place to put in on Pool 3?
Hastings has a free launch, but it is on the very North end of the pool. Treasure Island also has a launch on the south end of the pool. There also is a launch in Prescott, Wisconsin at the St.croix/Mississippi confluence, but you have to pay $10 (I think).
Prescott has a sticker you can buy at the court house for $10 or I think you can still pay in the honor box. Hastings has Hubs Marina on the North end of the Hiway 61 bridge, and I think they charge about $6, and Hastings Marina (Plan’s) they charge about $10, and the minicipal launch on the road to the lock and dam is free, but closes at 10:30 PM. As mentioned, North Lake and Treasure Island have launches in the southern part of the pool.
Tuck
FYI. Be careful if you use the access at North Lake. The ramp is sand only and shallow, which may be a problem if you have a heavy boat. Plus, a buddy of mine had his pickup broken into twice while parked there. If you want to fish the lower end of the pool, use the public access below Treasure Island.
Good point. Treasure Island is not much safer. There have been many break ins there as well. Just to be safe, do not keep valuables in the truck/car, or at least not in plain view.
Tuck
Since we are all talking about the landings, has anybody been out fishing lately? The last month has been really sporadic at best for me. I’ve been mostly trolling the backwater areas, but have also tried trolling the main channel and the wing dams. Size has been great in backwaters, but some days I’m lucky to catch one fish in 4 hours. Tuck, have you been trying these spots at all. Has live bait been better than cranks? The wing dams have been very good early and late, but the size has not been as good. Anyways, just wondering how people are doing. I just hope the flow will some day get below 20,000 cfs, put that together with fall temps and things should get active.
dont get your hopes up about the water dropping anytime soon.. as we got blasted with rain on Sunday… right here where I live we got 4.5 inches over night… if you have ever been to Osceola there is a small pond right by the Dairy Queen… the water washed the dam out!….. anyway… the St Croix well be getting a nice fresh supply of flood water…. and the areas around the upper miss got hit pretty good too I think…. goody.. for us this must have been at LEAST the 5th rain of the summer where we got more than 2 inches at ONCE!… and the second one where we got more than FOUR!…. needless to say the croix up around here is still way higher than normal…. and I dont see it dropping anytime soon…. normally September is great in the holes because the flow is low and clear…. but this year… who knows?
We will be on the River in force this weekend trying to establish a pattern that will work. Crawlers are the better bet from what I am hearing. Wingies have been doing the same for me as of late. My most consistent fish catching has been above the Prescott bridge, pulling deep cranks. I have noticed that the bite in the backwaters has fish more concentrated than in low water. You can tighten up your fishing area pretty quickly if you get on a few fish.
Tuck
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