Croix report-sat.

What a difference a week can make. Turk and I fished for 24 hrs hard last weekend and only caught one fish that was over 20″, today we went out about 1:30 and caught 7 fish over 23 ” and two that were over 25″. This was in one spot that Turk and I caught most of our fish on thur.It still amazes me when one week passes and the eaters are no where to be found but the fall hogs start snappin !The bite should get better siince the water temp. is still warm(60-61). The croix really heats up for cranks when the water temp hits the 50-55 range.FISH ON!!!

Croix River Rat

Hey there. I was just wondering about your post about cranks being the best this time of year. I was just wondering if you troll the steep drops with cranks instead of jigging or do you just pick a bank and start trolling up and down? I have never fished during the fall and would appreciate any help. Thanks.

I like spots where the really deep water meets a steep drop off. I know this may sound vague , bit if you look at a map of the croix you’ll find the area of afton, the neckdown area before the kinni narrows, and the break out front of beanies. These spots at this time of year hold fish and as time passes and the water cools more fish will move into these areas to winter and to EAT!! Methods that have proven effective are heavy bottom bouncers(4-6oz.) and snap weights. Jigging can be effective, but the fish are uasually so spread out along these breaks that trolling with 4 lines covers a lot ofground and can be very effective.Trolling speed should be around 2.0 – 2.5. This might not be the norm, but a good way to start, let the fish dictate what they want and dont be afraid to try a spot leave and then come back later these fish tend to have hot periods and are constantly moving along these breaks. Ihope this helps and good luck.FISH ON!!!

I fished the Croix on Saturday morning & caught two 17-19″ eyes, three 15″ sauger, and lost a real pig eye trolling leadcore in 28 to 40′ of water. Only two sheepies.