That is awesome! Good to see the kids out doing the fun stuff!!

The suspended game has been a grind lately, just a 10 pound kittie to show for the effort. I trolled some shorelines just to see if the rods could still bend but only caught a dozen or so little walleye and saugers.

That’s how it was on the St. Croix Saturday morning at 5:30 AM, although at that time of the morning there are some pretty accomplished “boat launchers”.

Targeting Pepin on Saturday morning at the crack of dawn (Colville) or are there other launches you would recommend?

I fished last week when the wind was 20-30 out of the south….had the river all to myself but started reminding me of my South Dakota roots! When you bury your trolling rod in the wave up to the handle you know your fishing!

Busy would be an understatement! I thought I was getting off work early enough to beat the crowd at the launch but I miscalculated! I am scared to see what this weekend is like!?

We might have been sharing the same water for a while! I was in the silver triton..I did manage 4 (none that nice) but it was a long time between bites!

Unit 49 Archery in Colorado…heading out the last week of the season!

Looking to had down on Sunday, wondering the same thing. Where do you plan on trolling? I am planning on the lower end….down from the Pickle Factory! Good luck!

Back in the early 90’s…just got my new 17′ Sylvan with a 135 Evinrude…after a few hours of fishing went to start the motor and heard a pop…engine started smoking…a few flames coming out of motor and battery compartment. We bailed out of the boat…flames subsided…smoke went away…boat dead. Not sure how I got back to the dock (foggy memory) but I did realize that if you bail out of the boat you can’t reach the fire extinguisher that is in the boat!!

When I delivered the boat to the shop they determined that the power pack malfunctioned and it melted all the wires including those to the remote throttle.

Thanks for sharing the stories…it reminds me that if you are out there enough it can happen to you, or definitely to those around you. Keep helping each other out (someday I might be the one who needs it!)

I have had better luck downriver lately but it took soooo long to get there….until now! You still have to be careful out there as I saw some big prop-catchers out there last night! It seems like the fish are pretty spread out but could be just where I am fishing them (iow I need to find a better spot!). Good luck.

Follow up on my trip to Pepin.

I put in at Parkside in Wabasha (in the parking lot, literally). Took my wife and daughter and her boyfriend on a boat ride for much of the day…just marked spots to fish on my GPS between there and Pepin (MN and WI sides). After I dropped them off at the dock I went back out and fished one flat downstream of Pepin for about 20 minutes before the black cloud moved me off the water! Did catch a sauger and a walleye (both small) in 15 fow! Marked a lot of fish anywhere there was a depth change.

What a great body of water! I will be back!

I’ll never get the pics to post right! @$#@$%^$%^

Don’t give up on the suspended bite. Caught and released this one 15 feet down over 35 fow…Husky Jerk. Hot and flat (no wind or wake!!!). I am reminded that these fish are not much different than the Lake Oahe suspended bite…..miles and miles of trolling for one or two good fish. Sometimes you get a flurry but in my experience it is a true test of patience. I used about every lure you mentioned and about every speed. July and August are my favorite months to do this so will put that to the test this year. Just got back from Lake Oahe and the big fish are starting to get predictable there…maybe I can continue it here!

That said…and ss you have already pointed out…what better way to spend the day than sitting in a boat on the St Croix at 1.5 to 2 mph?!!!

Attachments:

1. 

   st-croix-walleye-2.jpg
   

Thanks for the help everyone. I will provide a follow-up report when I return…pretty low pressure trip so will have fun regardless.

On Sunday I saw two fishing boats running about 40 mph north of Afton….it looked like a log jam by me….kept waiting for the thump but magically they both made it to the Interstate before I lost sight of them. Some people are just lucky I guess!

Out on the St Croix this week and saw a 50 foot tree with at least a 2 foot diameter (largest end) floating 6 inches under the surface. Only one little branch was visible! Just one more reason a no-wake is a good thing….also makes getting to where you want to go more relaxing!

Matt…trolling lead is working well most days 15-20 fow but Saturday am was the exception…only 3 short fish.

I am planning on going Saturday morning. I have a few hours to play around Afton or Hudson…hopefully a few ‘eyes have slid back downriver! The debris has!

I will be down there but probably not before noon. If you see a silver Triton looking like he doesn’t know what he is doing…give me hint or two!

Does the trolling bite continue in the fall or does it start to transition more to jigs and meat/plastics? I noticed on Sunday that the preference seems to be a bit deeper…20-24 fow…I would suspect that they would continue to move deeper over the next several weeks??

I was trying to hug the 20 foot mark yesterday…and it really didn’t seem to matter where i was on the river.

I took your advice…caught some eaters and one 25 incher on a Reef Runner.

Obviously my talent isn’t in photography…so the pic is a bit distorted. Sent back to fight another day!

Attachments:

1. 

   IMG_2229.jpg
   

Nice….I am assuming it was suspended? All the eaters I caught were right on the bottom.

Lead was hot yesterday….nothing big, but 14 in 2 1/2 hours…Ripshad 200s in 15- 20 FOW (some nice silvers to fill in the gaps). I didn’t realize that the no-wake had been lifted so I just started trolling from the dock and never looked back. All south of 94 bridge WI side of river.

The ones I cleaned were stuffed with 2 1/2 inch shad. No heavy concentrations of fish but my graph was rarely ever clear.

Now to hunt for bigger fish…….

nhamm wrote:

Earlier this week we brought home a couple sauger couple eyes with smaller the better baits. #5 flicker and the smaller smash. Goldie hawn colored.

Not familiar with the Goldie Hawn color…is that a FF color?

Saturday AM was slow but steady…a few short walleye and some decent saugers. Don’t know why they ate because they were FULL of bait. Some nice smallies and white bass to keep it fun. Trolled lead…pearl glass shad raps and #7 Pearl Flicker Shads won out. 20 FOW was best, if I missed and hit shallower I would find the smallmouth.

Only got a few hours in last night…no walleyes only 4 crappies. Will fight the rain tomorrow.

I was just back on Lake Oahe and caught every fish suspended 15-20 feet down over 30+ feet of water…Only difference was the majority of the bait was lake herring (some shad).

I am going to commit to the suspended bite s. of 94 on Thursday….hope to have something to show!

Has anyone tried the channel between 94 and the swing bridge, Afton or the Kinni….thought maybe the current would be the equalizer?

I tried to run Top 20’s and Reef Runners under the bait balls but probably didn’t give it enough time…some good arches down there.

Wish I could give you great tips but I was out Saturday for about 4 hours from Hudson to Afton and caught everything BUT walleyes….crappies, bass, northern, sheeps, bluegill, cats…if I tried to drill in on some fish I couldn’t keep the sheeps off. 15 – 25 fow… I am marking a few more fish than a week or two ago.

Good luck….let me know how you do…I am planning on Wed/Thursday.