Lake Saint Croix
Published: Updated:
Lake Saint Croix Fishing Reports
Filter by
Sort by
Reports from all past years within a 60-day time frame
Species
WalleyeSeason
Winter
Technique
Vertical Jigging 10-19'
Structure
Ledges
Water Temperature
46°
HotbaitRapala Jigging Rap 3 1/2" / Silver
Out of Stock
Species
White BassSeason
Ice
Technique
Ice Fishing Jigs
Structure
Brush Piles
Forage
Minnows
Water Temperature
33°
The Clam Pinhead Pro and Clam Bladed Tikka Minnow in the wonderbread color was key in attracting the whitebass. They came in hot and willing to bite. Make sure to set the hook quickly as they are fast. Lots of misses. The 28UL St. Croix Panfish Ice Series loaded up nicely. Ice was 5 inches in most places, and most I found was 7 inches. Make sure to use caution as there are not really safe Ice. Bring you picks, spud bars, floating devices, and always let someone who is not out fishing know where you are going and when you are expecting to come back.
Arthur G Okerlund
Bronze Ambassador
1/5/22
Species
WalleyeSeason
Winter
Technique
Spoons
Structure
Ledges
Forage
Minnows
Find a basin or saddle 25-32ft deep, these walleye are eating baitfish and bugs that collect at the bottom of the basin. Use a 1/4 oz spoon tipped with a minnow head or waxies, and wait for fish to cruise by. When the bite is on you can catch upwards to 5 walleye an hour
Species
WalleyeSeason
Fall
Technique
Vertical Jigging 0-9'
Structure
Submerged Vegetation
Water Temperature
45°
Mother nature is giving us an extended open water season. For that, I am thankful. Walleye fishing on the St. Croix is hot! Walleye are fattening up and feeding heavily. 2 3/4" or 3 1/2 jigging raps are really all you need. This time out, I found the Walleye staged in shallow water 7.5 to 9 ft on top of ledges dropping down to 30 FOW. Long casts were necessary and along with hard snapping retrieves. The fish would pin the jigging rap on the bottom and there would be no mistake you had a fish on! Bring an assortment of jigging raps and colors because you never know what's going to be hot. Actually, the hottest color was a Charteuse jigging rap that Omnia doesn't carry presently but I was fishing alone and didn't have a side by side comparison I kept my limit of 4 15-17" fish but I am always mindful of limits, keeping smaller sized fish, and the importance of conservation so our beloved fisheries can keep producing for other anglers and future generations!
Species
WalleyeSeason
Winter
Technique
Vertical Jigging 20'+
Structure
Ledges
Water Temperature
45°
The unseasonably warm weather this November has given anglers an extended open water season! Water temps are in the 40's meaning that its time for fish to put on some extra fat for winter! This time of year, I almost exclusively use jigging raps or glide baits. We had steady action in the AM catching some walleye but mostly nice-sized white bass in depths 22-24 ft on ledges. We searched for fish on the electronics and didn't waste time where we weren't marking fish. But marking a buttload of fish wasn't a guarantee either. You have no idea what those marks are half the time and I actually caught a rare Quillback that I thought was a school of walleye or white bass. After a slow afternoon, we switched up to trolling with lead core and flicker shad crank baits and picked up a few fish before switching back to jigging raps later in the afternoon. About 3pm, just about the time I had to get off the water, we started banging the fish (typical right?). We caught several 16-18in walleye one right after another making long casts with the jigging rap and a Hyper Rattle on a 15ft flat. Get out as often as you can before the party is over and we wait for ice!
Species
CrappieSeason
Ice
Technique
Ice Fishing Spoons
Structure
Points
Forage
Minnows
Bad ice conditions made it difficult to get out there however the crappies were biting. Although they were quite picky. I could only get them to bite on a jigging spoon tipped with a minnow head
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Wacky Rigs
Structure
Ledges
Forage
Minnows
Water Temperature
56°
We started out trolling for walleye. I got one with a Berkeley Citrus Flicker Shad. That was a tough bite, so we switched to smallmouth. I caught 3 smallies on a 5 inch wacky rigged pumpkin, black flake Senko. I caught a big pike on the Senko, too. The pike had a lamprey stuck to its back. I removed the lamprey and returned the pike to the water.
Derek Her
Bronze Ambassador
10/28/21
Species
WalleyeSeason
Fall
Technique
Vertical Jigging 10-19'
Structure
Baitfish
Forage
Shad
The shad are schooling up in huge numbers, but isolated smaller schools seem to be key. Livescope was essential in finding these isolated schools, as predator fish, white bass and walleye, were always close by. 15-20 feet of water was also key in finding isolated baitfish, as anything shallower had the giant schools of bait. Water temps were in the mid-50’s. Afternoon going towards the evening, a reaction bait 10 feet above the bottom got many fish to come up and strike. As the sun got lower, a paddle tail crawled slowly on the bottom took over as the dominant technique.
Species
WalleyeSeason
Fall
Technique
Live Bait Rigs
Structure
Points
Forage
Shad
Water Temperature
52°
Large chubs produced some nice eyes around catfish bar! 25-28’.
