Hey there Suzuki. Nice Cat! Since I am a renowned expert at catfish handling , I would say you are handling it just fine unless your fingernails are not well trimmed.

Say, why do you call yourself Suzuki and where did you catch that fish? Rock on you Cat-lover

It will be BLQ for sure out there tomorrow. Good luck to all you fellow Ham Warriors. Whom ever walks away with the hardware – I’ll be drinking Summit IPA.

Here’s what I caught:

1. caught up with a couple dozen fishin buddies and had at least one beer with most of them.
2. caught some rays
3. caught a buzz
4. caught hell from my wife for being gone all day
5. caught one sheephead

Very successful outing in my book.

I just find out what Buckslayer is using and then go with something totally different. Usually works out pretty good.

Big Pike Mike, I’ll say thats a Freak in that picture. And the fish is pretty big too.

Hi Has,

I may have missed it elsewhere in this board, but what are the specifics of the tournament – times, major rules, etc.?

I wouldn’t be so certain that we will employ the statue of Liberty strategy again this year. Although, it did pay off for a victory a couple of years ago. I will leave that part of the deal up to my partner as he always seems to pull a different rabbit out of his hat each year. He finds ’em and I catcth ’em.

Turk, you definitly have your priorties straight. See you on the water.

Say, does anyone have the scoop on the winning team in the Beach Bar tournament last weekend? 40 lbs in ten fish is quite impressive.

Dude has been pretty quiet, almost too quiet. And rumor has it that Turk has been pre-fishing incognito with a fake beard, trench coat and a cowboy hat. But my kiss of death goes out to Bleaker and Carl. They are due to take the championship belt after several near misses.

Good luck on Saturday

I agree Sandbar. I find it interesting that none of the suggested solutions have been attempted. They have been talking about this threat for at least 3 years now and even at the beggining their were suggestions of installing an electrostatic or an aeration barrier. I wonder why neither of these have been tried. Probably the usual suspects: lack of funding or lack of agreement about the technology. It may already be too late.

And pack a lunch too boys. The Hale/Klund team will be loaded for bear again this year.

Hey Turk – did you fish it last year? (That’s a joke) Big Pike Mike T. and Fritzy – set your alarm clock this year. Mr. Bleaker – get that boat fixed.

So there you have it. Let the trash talkin begin. Actually, its a great tournament for a great cause. Gary and the crew put on a very nice show. See ya on the 24th!

Don’t they typically post no-wake on the river at 681?

Hey Buzzsaw, don’t worry if you can’t fish until the 7th. I will be glad to email you pictures of the fish I catch out there the first week.

I had a feeling this might be the case. However, it is both a blessing and a curse. You get to get out a week earlier, but you have too put up with all the other yahoos who are chomping at the bit to get out also and the Croix is the only place for them to go. But then again, at this point I think I will focus on the postive.

Earl of “Eye”

Thanks for the note Turk. Unfortunatly it looks like my Croix fishing is done for the season. Going for one last muskie on Saturday (I’ve retired from deer hunting). It’s been a very good season – I think I won the Big Louie Sauger division – I haven’t heard from Beanies yet, but I have heard that no one topped my fish. It’s an honor to have my name along side all the legends that have won that contest over the years.

Later,

I got out on the water on Wednesday night right after the front blew through. I was targeting muskies and thought the front might put the fish off. I was right. I didn’t see a fish. I fished the same areas I fished on Sunday where I had some very good action. I talked to a couple of other guys who were fishing for ski’s also. They said they boated one right after it quit raining and had another nice follow, but then they didn’t see a fish the rest of the night.

This seems to follow what I have seen in the past. Fishing is great right up until the wind changes direction after the front blows through, then nothing. Unfortunatly I don’t get out on a consistent enough basis to get a feel for how long after a front blows through that the fishing will be slow. I think thats a good question for Turk.

One other note. If you see a warm day where the front just kind of hangs around and rains on and off all day long – look for me out there. The fishing can be pretty good and best of all, it keeps the goons in the power boats off the river. But thats another story.

-The Fisherman pretty close to again being known as Muskie Earl

The best way to get to know the depth your lure is running, and this works especially well for lead and long lining, is to start trolling in an area with a consistent depth. These areas are found along certain stretches of shoreline and through the channels. Just let out enough line until you start bumping against bottom while keeping an eye on your depth finder. Once you start bumping, reel in a few feet to get off the bottom and take note of the depth you are at and the speed you are traveling. Do this at least one more time to verfy that you did it correctly. Keep in mind that you now know the depth for that particular lure and that you will need to do it again for other lures. Do this without focusing on catching fish. It will only take a little time but its an investment. One other factor to keep in mind that your depth will be affected by wether you are going up or down stream in current areas.

Believe it or not Loogie, some people find it offensive.

For spending a whole $2.50 you should have been able to take a crap right on his counter.

Amen River Rat! See you out there.

Earl

One of my new year’s resolutions was to become more involved in and speak out more publicly about issues that affect me. This one would certainly fall into that category.

I posted early on in this thread. My position was and still is that some regulations are either necessary now or will be in the future in order to maintain a somewhat safe and sane place for an increasing number of people to enjoy. The fact that the St. Croix is such a beautiful resource is reflected in its popularity and the passion that people show for it regarding issues such as this.

I would guess that Mr. Ehlers is a pretty decent guy and I commend him in the efforts he is making in getting his position heard. The article that appeared in the Pioneer Press stated the position of the Power Boaters Association quite clearly. That is the how the system should work.

I do believe strongly however that Bruce’s presumption that these proposed rules are not in the interest of fishermen is a flawed one. My intentions are not to start a fight and I don’t think that all the proposed regulations are warranted – banning anchoring in any part of the river is one. I also believe it is a mistake to think that the interests of fishermen are necessarily aligned with those of the group that Bruce heads up. Here is my reasoning. Fishermen are already effectively shut out of the river during the times when they would like to use it the most – weekends between Memorial day and Labor day. Think about it. This is not because there are too many fishermen out there in huge boats going really fast. It’s because there are so many large cruising boats making fishing a much more difficult endeavor. I can’t tell you how many people respond along these lines when I tell them that I fish the St. Croix – “Is there good fishing out there? I couldn’t imagine trying to fish out in that zoo – way too many boats flying around.” Then I proceed to tell them that the fishing can be quite good and that if you get out there early in the morning or on week days or after work it isn’t so bad. I actually believe the St. Croix may even be underfished. This is unfortunate. I include myself as one of those people who actually have to work Monday through Friday, making weekends the time when I have available to fish

Is this wrong or should it be changed? I don’t pretend to think that we should limit the number of any type of boat on the river. But certain regulations do make sense including a reasonable speed limit. Here is a quote from the Pioneer Press article:

Jack Swanson, a boater who lives along the river in Prescott, Wis., compares the St. Croix to an “interstate highway” with room for multiple lanes in each direction. “Why would non-boaters want to subject boaters with speed rules akin to that of busy city streets?” he asked.
“If ever a waterway held the potential to be a natural and safe waterway where faster boats could utilize the speed designed into their boats, the St. Croix is it.”

I disagree. I don’t want to see the St. Croix be compared to or managed as an “interstate highway” and I certainly don’t want my favorite fishing spot to become one.

As I said in the beginning of this post I do hope to find the time to become more involved in the process of deciding issues such as this so that my interests as a fisherman are presented by me – a fisherman rather than Bruce who thinks he knows what is important to me and what my interests are.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am just a working stiff who can’t even afford a boat that can go over 40 mph (got young kids). But I hope to some day. If you saw my boat you would laugh – until I showed you all the slob walleye and muskie that have been outwitted by the Warrior and the Fisherman soon to be known again as Muskie Earl.

P.S. Don’t let anyone tell you what color the sky is – decide for yourself.

Both Mike T. and Bruce have good points. Being the self centered egotistical anarchist that I am, I really don’t like unneccessary or excessive regulations. But the tree hugging earth loving peace freak in me understands that in the face of a rapidly increasing population in the St. Croix Valley and boats that increase in size and speed with each model year, it’s a good bet that conflicts among users are going to increase as well. The real point to my post is that Mike is right about labeling and grouping people – it tends to alienate and makes the possibility of finding common ground more remote.

The fisherman formerly known as Musky Earl

Hey Mike,

What does pelagic mean? Doesn’t it mean something like confined to a wheelchair?

Earl of Eye

Thanks Steve O.

Great web site!