Rum River dam fishing in MN questions

[MrSheephead]

has anyone ever fished the rum river dam in MN? a shop teacher of mines said there are lots and lots of smallmouths in the river below the dam under the brige of E Main St. but i havnt had luck there yet only above the dam i have landed 2 smallies and a nice 3 pound smallie and a few pikes (early april). arent the smallies in the post spawn mode right now??? if so when will it end? Does the river even have allot of smallies??? if so what parts of the Rumriver?

yes i know its illegal to target fish out of season but i just found that out after talking to a CO yesterday when i was fishing he was cool about it and i will respect the regulation and wait until oppenner for now i will spend a bit of time at the Rum to fish for bottom feeders with light line to practice fighting fish on light line or else i would fish for whitebass on the st. croix

another note: living in anoka what other places can i fish for smallmouths close by? i hear the coon rapids dam is good but have no idea what types of fish is in there and looking at it on the bing maps theres just too many spots to fish at that i have no idea were to start! also dont you have to pay to get in there?

[MrSheephead]

anybody?

[CRAZYEYES]

Theres fish in the rum below the dam. I have fished there many times and caught just about everything. I usually fish the river for smallies and hook into the ocasional walleye. Yoyr best bet right below is to put on the waders and walk out right bealow the dam if its low enough and the currents down or get down in the rocks on the other side from the police station. I usually just pitch jigs with gulp or minnows but someimes use rapalas or mepps. Be prepared to lose some tackle in the rocks. I grew up about 5 minuotes from the coon rapids dam and its another spot that has some of everything. I usually just fish bass and walleyes there as well but theres times when you can get crappies. Theres lots of different access points on both rivers. Get a county map and find out where the parks are and get some waders and theres a lot of river in anoka couty to fish.

[MrSheephead]

below the dam??? its hard to find an access point to get down there except i can get down there somewat close around the city hall building side around the docks behind city hall but i thaught bass would like the calmer water above the dam more? what about below the brige of E Main St. and going down more? i went down river over to the brige were people walk across and the water is pretty low looks only knee deep at the deepest.

also if you can were are some all day parking? all over the city hall building and the roads like 2nd St. are all limited parking for 8am-6pm parking only so were can i park for free and is not limited? so far this year when i was fishing all of my fish were caught above the dam.

[CRAZYEYES]

Below the dam I find them lots of times stacked right in the current breaks. I have also done alright anywhere there is rocks just below the main st bridge. Theres a few everywhere in there. I've done the best driving the boat right into downtown. Was thinking about bring the 12 ft flatbottom home from the cabin just for river fishing and looking for a cheap jet engine. As far as parking it is 3 hour parking at the police station and they do have parking enforcement in anoka so beware but I like to access from the other side and you can park on the back roads and I've even parked at the auto zone store and no one ever complained.

[MrSheephead]

what about parking here?

put these coordinances into google maps-

45.1999,-93.391771

and

45.200469,-93.391836

and

45.199059,-93.392158

and lastly here

45.192383,-93.389757

kind of worried about the last spot as if someone was to vandilize my car

thanks for your help very appreciated

[Dylan33]

After opener, get yourself some redtail minnows and fish right along the walkway wall just below the dam at night.... Just use a simple rig with a few sinkers about a foot or so up the line and a plain hook....work the minnow as close to the wall as you can from the corner up to the dam....you will get into some nice smallies and the occasional walleye....I'n the daytime the smallies and northerns are in there, but much more difficult to find and catch...I like jerkbaits, twitch baits and dropping plastics in tight to the blocks near the dam, as they are great current breaks.

[Dylan33]

as for parking....I've left my car in the ramp by the bars overnight MANY times without any problem. It says no overnight parking, but i've never had an issue......don't send me a bill if you get a ticket there though.

[MrSheephead]

thats good i guess alot of you guys fish below the dam for the smallies ill just walk as much as i can all around until i find the right area... as for parking i e-mailed city hall about it and they say on 2nd street park north of the posted parking signs but the stupid theing is all along 2nd st. is all limited parkingall along it i will have to walk a block or 2 just to reach the dam... ahhh jeeze this parking thing is driving me nuts! more than the fishing!

[EBass]

You're in a great smallie spot. There's a Smallie tourney every year in Anoka/Champlin on the Sippi. The Rum is good too, but the Sippi is better. It's just bigger so it holds more smallies especially in the fall.

I take it that since you didn't know there's a closed season that you're not from around here? Welcome to MN - glad to CO was cool. Some are not.

[MrSheephead]

i would love to get on the sippi but i have no boat so im stuck fishing on shore around the sippi and rum

[Dylan33]

i would love to get on the sippi but i have no boat so im stuck fishing on shore around the sippi and rum

There are a LOT of spots to shore fish both the rum and sip in Anoka where you can find some excellent fishing and some very big fish. Now if you want to drive 30 minutes and aren't afraid of walking/hiking a bit, now the possibilities are endless!

[Dylan33]

Rum & Sip...makes me thirsty!

[EBass]

Let's see for shore fishing da sippi there are a lot of options. You already know about the Rum and Sippi confluence. On the opposite side there's the Champlin boat ramp and a good half mile of shore for the public.

The 694 bridge has miles of shore to cover. And don't forget about the Coon Rapids Dam

Pool 2 (Ford dam) on both sides has miles of shore open to the public.

Any boat ramp on the river gives you access to wade especially in the summer. Anoka to north of Becker is good smallie area. And anything north of St. Cloud is good too. If they are a lot of rocks smallies won't be far away.

Also, bass maybe closed now, but kitties aren't. Toss a hunk of sucker minnow and hold on.

[MrSheephead]

[PoorWordUsage] parking limitations only allowing 8am-6pm parking all over the area and i fish all day!!!!!!!! otherwise i be hiking walking everywere!!!!! plus i wouldnt want to park too far somewere were my car can possibly be vandilised by stupid kids.... lol im only 17 jeesh! i hate the teens these days that do stupid things like that i use to be one of em! til i found my way back into what i did when i was a kid which was fishing and hunting!!! kept me outa trouble i tell you