I wandered down to the public dock at Harriet Island in St. Paul for the first time this year. Fishing with nightcrawlers on a modified fish finder rig, things were a little slow, with just a handful of decent-sized freshwater drum and one 15 lb. channel cat.
There was one other angler on the dock, and he caught one smaller channel cat while I was there, fishing with cut bait from a sucker.
The current is still very strong in downtown St. Paul, and water temps are still pretty low, which probably accounts for the slow fishing. Things will pick up at that location with a little more heat and lower water levels.
It remains, though, one of my favorite shorefishing site. Lots of people walk out to the end of the dock and get a little education on Mississippi fishing, and you get to watch the barges, trains, and the traffic in the heart of the city.
It's a nice, relaxing place to spend a few hours sitting and drowning worms. A 15 lb. channel cat is nothing to ignore, either, although I've caught them up to 30 lb, along with carp over 20 lb. during the warmer weather.
Thanks for the update, MineralMan. And you're right... it can't come soon enough. Just 17 Days 17 Hrs 35 Mns 14 Secs away... oops I mean 17 Days 17 Hrs 35 Mns 11 Secs 17 Days 17 Hrs 35 Mns 10 Secs 17 Days 17 Hrs 35 Mns 9 Secs 17 Days 17 Hrs 35 Mns 8 Secs 17 Days 17 Hrs 35 Mns 7 Secs
Our tradition is that of the first man who sneaked away to the creek when the tribe did not really need fish. ~ Roderick Haig-Brown, about modern fishing, A River Never Sleeps, 1946
