06/20/2000
- Article
Border
Patrol Walleyes
By
Noel Vick
Patrolling
our national borders is an arduous task, just ask someone whom the
INS employs. State to
state, generally much friendlier lines, demands no watch-dogging but
instead only “welcome to” and “you’re leaving” signage.
Such is the case between The Land of 10,000 Lakes and The
Dairy State. Nonetheless,
a self-sanctioned group of individuals, or should I say creatures,
cruises up and down a watery segment of the Minnesota/Wisconsin
border. Walleyes, and
their nearly incestuous relatives, sauger, own, operate, and protect
the St. Croix River.
So
it was on an atypical June morning that myself, 7-year old daughter
Carly and veteran guide, Turk Gierke departed from Beanie’s at
Maui’s Landing in Lakeland, MN – Beanie’s sprouts just south
of the I-94 crossing. In
this instance, atypical pertains to weather, which was unstable;
called for passing thundershowers; yet showed no signs of wickedness
at 9 a.m.
Turk,
who operates Croixsippi Guide Service, has been a regular
contributor to Fish & Game Finder, and for some time we’d
flirted with the idea of mutually challenging the Croix – this was
our time.
Turk
had been on walleyes since Opening Day and favorable summer patterns
were already established. He
was thinking rock/gravel bars, breaklines, proven techniques, lots
of fish, and even a guide-style shore lunch.
I offered no objections.
The
stretch of current between Hudson, WI and Stillwater, MN – two
famous and bustling river cities – features numerous shoreline
points, many subtle, that evolve into deep sand, gravel, and/or rock
bars; nearly as many prolific bars develop from seemingly flush
lengths of shoreline.
Our
first stop was a favorite destination of Turk’s. This particular shoreline bar was chiefly composed of sand
and yielded useable depths all the way out to 32-feet. Like most, if featured a couple of significant breaks that
blended with flatter “food shelves” lying in between.
A
stubborn southwest wind blew down the throat of the river and across
Turk’s bar. Protocol
called for trolling into the lapping waves and drifting back over
the same or similar real estate.
Rigging and blading were in order.
You
see, liberal Wisconsin law permits border water fishermen to wet two
lines apiece, and our guide takes full advantage of the situation.
His vessel’s gunwales are adorned with rod holders, which
serve time holding crankbait pulling poles as well as deadsticks; on
this voyage, they played a deadsticking role.
A skilled to semi-skilled river fisherman can simultaneously
operate a rod & reel combo and deadstick outfit.
More on deadsticks in a moment…
The
hands-on or active rods were dedicated to rigging. For summertime ‘eyes, Turk’s customary live bait rig
consists of a ¾-ounce walking sinker (weight varies according to
depth and boat speed), 4 to 6-foot snell in 6 or 8-lb. strengths,
barrel swivel, and chartreuse #6 Gamakatsu bait holding hook –
experimenting with hook colors and attraction-beads is encouraged.
Drop her down, make bottom contact, and keep as short a leash
as possible. The
lesser the amount of line between you and the fish, the better your
sensitivity to strikes and hook setting percentage.
Back
to deadsticking… Spinners
and bottom-bouncers got drafted for deadstick use.
Turk fixes up 2 to 3-ounce Northland Rock-Runner bottom
bouncers with a diverse field of spinner packages, each matching the
conditions at hand. We
offered hammered gold blades with two-hook night crawler harnesses
and single hooked fatheads paired with a number of different blade
sizes and colors.
A
hands-free deadstick needs to be held directly beneath the boat to
evade hang-ups. Bottom-bouncers
work tirelessly to maintain “snaglessness”, but even they
can’t effectively tiptoe when your line isn’t running straight
up and down. Turk
constantly reels up or releases line to merely tickle the river
floor.
A
smattering of walleyes and sauger greeted our offerings.
As proven, the St. Croix brims with 14 to 17-inch walleyes,
and border water law decrees a 15-inch minimum for harvest.
Turk
operated from the bow with a foot-controlled electric trolling
motor. Masterfully, he
held boat position while rigging, monitoring a deadstick, and
conversing about the Croix’s merits and heritage.
Unlike urban stretches of the Mississippi, the St. Croix
lends the look and feel of “cabin country”.
As noted by Turk, the Croix’s expansive form and abundant
structure make it fish
more like a big lake, say Mille Lacs, than a traditional river,
especially during warm weather months when walleyes dispatch from
channels and shallow current areas.
We
mobilized northward to bar number two, this one much narrower and
sporting sheerer breaklines. Heightened
wind velocity made Turk’s style of pinpoint-structure fishing
nearly impossible. But
the bar was covered with walleyes and sauger, so once we established
the hot zone he released a hefty river anchor.
The vessel swayed in 19 to 25-feet of water, but a flip of
the wrist could land you in as little as 12-feet.
Vertically
positioned live bait rigs duped fish, but I saw a prime opportunity
to unveil my secret, well, not so secret weapon, the jig. I’m a jigger at heart, and I’ll bend and even break
established disciplines to put meat on lead and hop it around.
Precedence was set seconds after soaking a ½-once
green/chartreuse jig and threaded fathead.
Smack, a walleye, smack, another one, smack, smack, and more
smacks. The action was steady, but Turk wanted to show us bigger
specimens.
Again,
northbound, we ventured toward NSP’s Allan S. King power plant,
and that’s as specific as I’ll get.
Because, after all, guiding is income for Turk and its taken
18-years of river exploration to build his cerebral archive.
Here,
alongside a lengthy shoreline bar, comprised mostly of rock and
gravel, walleyes, smallmouth bass, and the occasional sheepshead
favored shallower 12 to 17-foot dips.
Again, rigging, deadsticking, and my non-traditional jigging
scored big time. This
spot alone netted us 15 or 20 walleyes, all in about an hour.
Stomachs
were grumbling, particularly Carly’s, since she’d long exhausted
her stash of sugar donuts. Our
modest two-fish harvest wallowed in the livewell and soon would be
crucial in Turk’s promised shore lunch.
Further
upstream we beached on the Wisconsin bank, across from
Stillwater’s stable of classic paddleboats, and on public shores.
Carly and I sifted through nature’s collectibles along the
beach while our guide prepared battered walleye, baked beans, rolls,
and coleslaw.
With
contented tummies we re-embarked and headed back to the King plant
site. Turk contends
that the human body needs nourishment during a full day of fishing
and that chips and pop don’t cut it.
His mother certainly instilled the value of a warm meal.
Looming
skies and distant sheets of rain to the south caused us to quickly
get back to more serious matters.
By the time we reached fishable waters our future was
certain, the crew would endure a drenching.
Instead of braving the squall line, Turk recommended hanging
tight and fishing through it. After
all, if you’re going to get doused, you might as well be
preoccupied with walleyes; lightning wasn’t part of the equation
either.
Rapidly
changing weather stalled but didn’t stop the action. We popped a few more fish, and as we did so the rains
diminished and sunshine returned much to Carly’s approval. In the boat, a kid’s attitude seems to closely track
warmth, sunlight, and ultimately, bodily comfort.
A
final stop yielded Turk the day’s biggest catch, a plump 3-pounder
that was admired and released.
According
to Turk, similar results can be achieved through July and into
August. Stick to
shoreline bars and work deeper if need be.
Crankbaiting is his other passion.
From now through fall Turk will scour the Croix with reliable
crankbait tactics. On some days crankbaits are employed for discovery purposes
and on other days they’re the primary means for extruding fish.
The
border patrol is toiling away, and summer’s dog days are few and
far between on big rivers. To
contact Turk and the Croixsippi Guide Service you can call
1-800-929-1801 or visit his web site at www.croixsippi.com
Editor’s
note:
Isanti, Minnesota resident, Noel Vick is a freelance outdoor writer
and former owner/editor of the Minnesota, Wisconsin & Dakotas
Fish & Game Finder.
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