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| A buddy of mine was fishing last weekend on the croix and found a muskie
washed up on shore half rotton.He measured the fish between 54 & 56''He
said the head was huge but stunk so bad he piled some rocks around it and
was going to try and get down there this weekend to pic it up. Does any one
know if they stock the river with skies,and if so how long? |
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Posts: 30
| Muskies have been in the upper St. Croix for as long as I can remember and may be native. The lower Croix around Stillwater to Taylors has a very strong population with some pressure. Plenty of big fish swim these waters.
Edited by Jimmy F. 8/12/2006 3:13 PM
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Posts: 34
Location: Bloomington MN / Price County WISC | The St. Croix River is a very interesting body of water from the head waters of Upper St Croix Lake at Solon Springs Wi. thru the St. Croix Flowage, to Prescott Wi. as it meets the Old Miss. Up by those head waters are the Eau Claire Chain drain into the Eau Claire River. You also have Lake Namekagon that drains into the Namekagon River. Both of these lakes and rivers are natural muskie waters and supplemented by the WI DNR and flow into the St.Croix.
Now the question is "are muskies natural to the St Croix" , you bet your bippy !
Can they make it over the dam at Taylors Falls from the upper to the lower river, yes they can.
Can they swim up current from the Mississippi , why not.
Is there big muskies in the St. Croix ?
Frank |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | I've fished the St. Croix some and here is what I have experienced.
There are some Muskies on the St. Croix, but its a lot different than fishing lakes.
- One has to watch out for the many floating logs which can cause serious damage your boat and motor. Parts of the upper St. Croix get down right scary.
- The structure is much different than lakes. There are few weed beds and the fish tend to hang around current breaks, wingdams, and other shoreline type structure. It can be a tough learning curve going from lakes to river fishing.
- One has to deal with the current and that along with any type of wind, can make boat control difficult.
- Rivers are very dynamic in nature and, as a result, the fish move often due to changing water levels and currents. Patterning fish can be difficult. They can be in one place one day and then gone the next.
- The Muskie population is much less dense when compared to the metro Muskie lakes. The fish seem to be spread out more too.
I think if a person had a lot of time to invest, then the St. Croix might be worth your time. For a weekend warrior type like many of us (myself included), it could be a tough water to learn and you might end up very frustrated.
Just my thoughts.
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| I grew up on the St. Croix River about 12 miles north of St. Croix Falls. I've been fishing the river off and on for 45 years. I've never caught a muskie but they are in there ' cause I know people who have caught them by mistake.
One thing sticks out in a previous post--No fish below the dam at St. Croix Falls could ever make it over the dam into the upper St Croix. The dam is about 50' and the minnesota side has the "bear trap" spillway opened at high water to control the upper river level. Unless a fish can jump about 20' thru the air to just get to the bear trap, they are doomed to spend their lives in the lower St. Croix.
The logs in the river are "dead heads"--logs left over from the logging days of the 1870's. My cousin and I used to pick them, haul them to a saw mill and make lumber
Muskie fishing in the upper St Croix is good between the Lions Club Park north of town up to Never's dam (not there any more) about 7 miles north--weed beds are mostly on the Wisconsin side but as was stated in a previous post--the river changes constantly.
You can put in at the Lions Club Park on 87 N of St Croix or there is a landing at Nevers up the river road South of Wolf Creek on the Wisconsin side.
Good luck |
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| Thanks for the info guys,might have to give it a try sometime. |
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| Dang ! I know I'm coming over and try fishing that river. Fishing those MN lakes must be like fish in a barrel if you think river fishing is tough. We fish both forks of the Flambeau, Chippewa, and the Wisconsin Rivers. Just have to multi-task and watch where you're going, where you been, and where you casted last. Submurged timber, bolders, reefs and rapids, they build character as you learn to out wit a muskie. But then that's why there are muskie fishermen and there are boaters.
I read that one post a couple of times about muskies going over the dam, not going over the dam upriver. Heck I'd be afraid of a fish that could do that. I know what Spring rains and snow melt can do to any Minnesota or Wisconsin river, if someone don't open the spillway the water goes over the top. I've watched big fish make it look easy. We use our boats, they are not trailer-queen-floats! See you on the river.
You folks have a nice website, interesting view points.
Don Trout Lk |
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