St. Croix smallie - best lure options?

[LuckBites]

I was on a St. Croix tributary last Friday for 6 hours and never saw another soul on the river. Caught 3 smallies & saw an impressive sturgeon. I'm new to river fishing smallies and am looking for some help with better "bait" options. I have only been throwing spinnerbaits because I haven't found anything else which produces. The river I fish in has a very fast current and I've had a hard time getting plastics into target zones. Can anyone steer me in the right direction? There are only a couple spots in the river deeper than 4 feet so the primary structure is the overhanging banks and current breaks. Any color suggestions?

[This message has been edited by LuckBites (edited 09-16-2004).]

[dan in webster]

which tributary are you fishing?

i've fished the st. croix between danbury and grantsburg a lot, and had the best luck with orange, white or yellow spinnerbaits, or the johnson's silver minnow(more for pike though)

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Dan in Webster
Campion Log Works

[JJB]

#3 Blue fox bell meps with a yellow hair tail. Allways has been the best for me. We fish the Namekagon down the the Croix.My dad usually goes with a beatle spin tiped with a leach or half crawler and has plenty of luck also but can never beat my meps.
Like you said plastic would be a great bet but its not fast enough for the water up there.

[LuckBites]

Trego to Riverside. I'm probably going from the trail landing to riverside tomorrow. Thanks for the help, I'll have to try a few dark colors as well.

Joe

[LuckBites]

Ended up fishing from the dam on K down past 77. I didn't see your response JB so I din't try any of my mepps but I did find some action on spinnerbaits. White and Yellow were the best colors and we ended up with 5 smallies & my first eye in this river. I had a buddy with who was fishing the redtails with little luck. He did manage an 8" creek chub but couldn't get the sucers to go. Has anyone ever try to catch those things? What would you use? My buddy was using nightcrawlers on a small hook with a weight keeping it on the bottom in front of there noses. The best fish of the day was not caught. We were lucky to see a 7 ft+ sturgeon and got over it many times for a better view. Do both sturgeon and suckers spawn in the fall?

[LuckBites]

Do both sturgeon and red horse suckers spawn in the fall? Seems like there are many kinds of suckers in the river, anyone have tips on how to tell them apart?

I'm going to fish the second half of the river this weekend. A friend of mine fished the confluence many years ago, anyone fish there lately?

Thanks!
Joe