Haven’t done it for a few years, but I used to do it alot. Pulled original shallow thundersticks 25-100′ back with my boards as close to shore as I could. Most productive run was the WI side between Cat Fish and Black Bass. Fairly consistent bit, but the times varied. Sometimes it was hot right at dark, other times they didn’t bite until midnight. Be patient.
Was there Sunday. 52 degrees. Very slow. Flipped at the Hasting’s dam. One small Sauger. Pulled cranks just north of Prescott, one White Bass. Temp is perfect, but no flow.
Haven’t used hammered, all smooth.(Kinda like Favre’s back!) 6-8 foot back. Nice Picture!
Any thing with silver and pink.
I pull lead on the Croix all year. Lately we’ve been picking most of our fish up in 20′ to 30′ of water. Fast is best this time of year( 2.5-3.5MPG), with 180′ to 210′ of lead out. Been another stellar year on the Croix. Last Sunday we put 12 fish between 16″ and 20″ in about 2 hours. Mixed saugers and eyes. There are some great breaks on pool 4 that produce all summer with the same program. Not a lot of big fish, but good for numbers.
Started using clear
17# XT on the great lakes. Seemed to handle the Zeebs best. Just stuck with it.
Love to fish the Croix after dark, or maybe I just hate the traffic during the day. Pull shallow cranks right up next to the rocks. I put lights on the flags on my boards, and run them as close to shore as I can get. My favorite crank is the old shallow jrTS, chartreuse is my best color. I usually run it about 100ft behind the board. Kind of a pain gong around the docks and anchored boats. Some nights the bite starts right at dusk, other times it doesn’t turn on until after mid night. the fish really come up in the column after dark, even above the deep stucture, (I’ve caught fish at night 2-4ft down over the sunken island). Nothing more serene than the Croix after dark, even when the fish are off. [email protected]
Just be glad it wasn’t the dogs wrestling, and Mavz and Steve ……….! Go Pack!
Most have been under 16″, since the deep jig bite started. We have picked up one fish over 20 each of the last two times out. Mostly small saugers. Haven’t been out late enough to try the shallow eye bite.
Got out three days this week, including yesterday. Fish are in the usual places. Moving deeper everytime out. We’ve been using Nils Masters and Northland Rattling Spoons, along with jigs, tails, and minnows. Earlier in the week, we caught eyes and saugers in 17-25′, yesterday we only picked up one eye in 20′, but lots of deeper sauger, 30-35′. Incredible year on the Croix. Hate to see ice up! Water was 38 degrees, so we still have a few days left.
Also pulled cranks all day Sunday. Lead core with Yozuris and jointed shad raps. Pretty much same results. Lots of fish in 18-23′. All healthy eyes. Didn’t catch one sauger. One over 24″, lots of small eaters. It’s been an awesome year on the Croix! Can hardly wait for the fall piggy season!
I don’t profess to be an expert, but I believe the reason for the lower rating on tillers has to do with handling the boat. Warrior has a hydraulic steering system on their big tillers, which enables them to put 175, and even bigger, tiller motors on their boats. I have been told, by a fairly reliable source, that the coast guard determines how big a motor can be put on boats. The Pro Tiller Steering System on the Warriors are really awesome. I have a 2090 with a 175 Merc tiller. It runs 54 on my GPS, but speed doesn’t catch fish, boat control does! Can’t beat a tiller for boat control in rough conditions. Keep it vertical.
Came home with no fish last night and my wife informed me I had to go back out today and get some for dinner! Bummer!! Went to pool 4, fished south of Hay Creek. Made 5 passes in about a half mile strech. Caught at least 6 on every pass. Thanks Honey! Brought her a few for dinner. There are alot of fish south. Home by 3:30 to work on the honey do list. See you on the river in the morning. Keep it vertical.
Yes. There is some very distinct rip-rap over there. Different size rocks. Real nice cup in those rocks. The nice eyes were in that cup.
Fished Pool 3 and the Croix at Prescott for a few hours today. Started at the Hastings Dam about 2:00. Fished the north side until about 3:30. Took about half an hour to find any fish, they were really bunched up. Caught some small saugers at 26′, moved shallow and caught 3 nice eyes. Went out to 30-33′ and found a mess of small eyes. Go figure. Got up to Prescott about 3:45. Stayed until 5:00, never got bit. See you on Pool 4 Thursday!
8 0z, and believe it or not, 2lbs. I was introduced to this method at the Detroit River. Very effective. I have never handlined, but this is as close as you can get. I make my own spreader wires, and run two lures off of each rod. Works any time that 3 ways are working.
Just a $10.00 shipping fee. I was amazed at how easy it was! St. Croix rods only from now on. Let me know when you can get out Dirk. I’m going to fish Pool 3 and the Croix tomorrow. Probably launch about 10:00 and stay out until dark. I’m not real familiar with Pool 3 north of Prescott. I figured its about time to get that way. Mavz said you work in Hastings. Let me know if we can hook up after you get off work. Keep it vertical
I broke 2 avids this summer. My 5 yr. old closed one in the rod locker, and I muscled one on a snag. Sent them to Croix, got the new ones back within 10 days. Great service.Keep it vertical.
Actually Troy, right across the Croix from Afton. I am blessed with a very understanding wife, and a flexible work scheadule, so I get out at least 3 times a week. Just let me know when you can go.
Sure enjoyed our day on the river Mavz! That “thing” was a Nils Master Shad, designed to be used through the ice, but very effective at other times as well. Also catching alot of fish on the Northland rattling spoon. Sure is fun using different things. Yes Mike, the PWT west. Keep it vertical.
Can’t beat the service at Everts! They keep the ramps is good shape, even help you launch if you need it! Nice people too.
A Dubuque rig is a 3 way rig, but instead of a sinker for the drop, a lead jig is used. You get to cover 2 zones. Also have a chance for a double. Keep it vertical.
Jim, the lake will have ice on it soon, but there are fish to be caught all the way to the ice. Last year Mavsner and I caught some of the biggest saugers of the year well past Collville park. Personally I would rather have 20 fish to myself than share 200 with 9 other boats. Just tougher finding the 20 sometimes. There are some great places to pull cranks all winter away from the dam. Also great places to throw plastics for the occasional piggy eye. But on really tough days, that dam sure is inviting! Keep it vertical.
Has anybody seen that thing float? I’m not sure how much shade there would be under it! Set a house in it and fish through the holes without using an auger! 
Launched out of Everts at about 12:00. Headed south away from the flotilla. Fished just south of haycreek. Caugt small walleyes in 21-24′, lots of saugers in 25-31′. I used a chartruese 3″ power grub and a bladebait. The guy I was fishing with used a fathead. Never got within 50 yards of another boat and caught fish all day. Didn’t count, but I know we caught plenty! Had planned on throwing jigs and ringworms, but the wind scared us out of that idea. Keep it vertical.
Another powerbait to add to your arsenal is the 3″ and 5″ power shad. Hasn’t replaced the ringworm as my favorite, but its worming its way in. Gold has really worked well this fall. Keep it vertical.
Another awesome day! My son had a blast. At 5 he’s not good at much but netting fish. It’s so “smokin”, as James put it, that he definately didn’t get bored today! We were only out for a couple of hours. Nothing changed since yesterday. Lots of fish, lots of fun. Keep it vertical.
I was in the 2025 Warrior. Sure was nice to see that several guys had their kids out with them! I am going to take my 5 yr old down there for a couple of hours today. This bite spoils everybody!!
Start by getting the most current issue of Precision Trolling.Closest thing to the trollers bible that you can have. Then go practice! There are so many variables to getting depth out of a crank bait, starting with line. I’m a devoted fan of fireline. I use 10# on my 27LCs. I have heard that you can get anywhere from 10-25% more depth out of fireline then mono due to the smaller diamater. I believe that is different with every crankbait. For example, I won’t leave home without Thunder Stick Jrs. Precision trolling says with 10# Trilene XT, you can get this lure 18′ deep with 220′ of line out. You can achieve this same depth with 180′ of fireline out, but you can’t gain much more depth, regardless of how much fireline you let out, ( at 1.7-2.0 mph). I use fireline because I believe I get more hook sets than with mono. Just have to leave your drag light so you don’t pull out. Next consideration is speed. Once again, each bait is different. Some reach max depth at 1.5, (and start coming up), some at 4.0. Some “spin out” at certain speeds.
There are lots of “trick” ways to get crankbaits down to where the fish are. A lot of guys on this site love lead core. My experience is limited, although I have been using it more and more. This summer I fished Erie and caught fish over 70′ of water using 10 colors of lead core with 1/2 oz rattle tots at 2 mph. I figure the lure was running about 50′ deep, right where we were marking fish.
Personally, I like three ways and snap weights to get cranks down. Just the methods I’ve used alot and feel comfortable with. I find large flats, deep and shallow, and spend hours just running different cranks over them. Thats the only way I know to get familiar with the many variables. Like so many things, the more you do it, the better you’ll get. Hope that helps. Keep it vertical.
