The Next Day
July 22
It was midday Sunday, July 22, the previous day was a long 16 hour washout walleye and flathead trip, with only three legal eyes coming in, and numerous missed flatheads the night before. A night where we could not plant the hook into flatheads mouths -eight missed hook sets was enough to drive me nuts.
The previous Saturday was so hot we ended up anchoring under the lift bridge for rest, I also burned my legs bad enough I had to where jeans. On this day, I needed to get out catch and some fish. Hearing about a decent bite in Bayport on the rocks I decided go and get the monkey off my back.
The landing at Beanies has seen my fender less trailer and “old man Grumman”, my trusty 16’ guide boat as often a packer fan reaches for a beer. The St. Croix’s magic waters that flow around Beanies at Maui’s Landing in Lakeland is always a welcoming sight.
Beanies was as busy as always with fisherman carrying minnow buckets and blue colored nightcrawler containers from the baitshop to the awaiting fishing boats. Boat trailers coming and going. Renters were busy snapping on life jackets and bustling to be ready and hop on their jetski’s. I said hello to the faces that looked friendly and let the other gruff exteriors be, including the dogs.
Cruising north through the channel, I opened up the Johnson just past the slow no wake buoys, I motored to an area just south of Anderson Point, and was shortly feeling better I caught a legal walleye on the first pass, and limited out shortly on saugers and walleye. The main depth was on the rocks in 18-21 feet using Lindy rigs and nightcrawlers. Nothing too fancy just worked slow and let them run for a few seconds then reel in the slack line and upon feeling weight set the hook.
Big Louie Contest
Upon returning to the dock, I checked the Big Louie contest board to see who’s in first place for the annual contest that has been in existence since 1972. The contest runs from June 1 until October 31 each year and has five categories – walleye, sauger, channel cat, flathead cat, and sturgeon. At 12:01 am each November the contest ends and the current leader is declared the winner and their name is inked on the card table sized plaque for all eternity or until the big flood takes it.
The information that is on the Big Louie board includes weight and date; with five categories and 29 years running there is around 145 individual entries. It’s plain to see when the big fish come in each year and that alone is incredibly valuable. Many of the Croix’s fishing greats that fish the lower Croix are on the board including Bob Hill, Harry Stiles, Steve Herte, Don Gordon, and Jim Merimonte.
The contest is great fun and is only fifteen dollars, one entry allows an angler to “weigh in” or enter any of the five categories, so even if you are fishing for walleyes and you tangle with a big channel cat (and land it), that fish can be entered and possibly win. In theory it’s possible to win all five. A single category winner pays out 100.00.
I mentioned earlier that the contest ends at 12:01 November first because the last weekend there are anglers fishing up to the wire to get that win. For instance I remember in 1999 seeing a one Ed Philpot desperately trying to land a big walleye for four nights straight in that October. Ed was particularly motivated, as he didn’t want to be edged out twice that same year by me. In the 99’ River Rat Tournament, my team beat his by a pound of walleye for the tournament win, and then a week latter I topped his big 7.5 pound walleye with a 8.0 pound walleye for the Big Louie winner of 1999.
Side Order
Beanies is often a place to discuss tactics with the old salts, and a place to show off a stringer of fish, something I’m guilty of doing when the opportunity arises.
The docks are also a great place to catch fish. I remember Saturday the 14th of July witnessing a middle aged woman yank out ten 9-11 inch crappies in about five minutes right from below the docks, My customers arrived early and so we departed but she was on her way to a limit of crappies no doubt. Keep catchin’
