Good place to start for 1st time boat owner to fish the river.

[UPOW]

Bought my first boat and really want to fish the river. 14′ aluminum mirrocraft very light with a 15 hp motor. I live in Champlin and need advice where I could launch and fish where it would be safe for a newbie boat owner on the river. I’m I better off launching south and heading up river and floating down or the other way around? Just don’t want to ruin the motor and get into any trouble. Is early spring safe to fish or should you wait to the water is lower in the summer? Thanks for any help.

[JJ]

Spring is your safest time for shallow river fishing in a prop boat. From 169 south, you should have little trouble all season, as the dam inCR holds enough back to make a consistent pool.

From 169 upriver, after mid June, you better have a spare prop, and a couple shearpins on hand.

The landing right in Champlin just down from the 169 bridge is fairly good. I havent used it in along while, but it is concrete. Otherwise there is a good ramp in Anoka down on the Rum, that a lot of folks use.

If you want to fish upriver from Champlin, I would only consider motoring upriver (you can always float home). From Champlin down, you shouldn’t have any issue dropping in town and motoring down.

Also be aware that there are no maps available for the river, so its up to you to develop tracks that you can safely run.

Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus

[fthslsf]

Its a nice landing in Champlin.You can go upriver for awhile but take it slow until you figure it out as there are a couple rock bars just upriver from the 169bridge and it begins to get shallower from that point on.Just take your time and keep an eye on your depthfinder.From the landing downriver you will be just fine however beware of the recreational boat traffic when the weather is nice.Spring may not be so bad but it can get pretty busy down there at times in summer.

[mzlakefinder]

Hey Man, I just started fishing this area a few years ago. All good advise from the other replies. Use the following website to figure out the depth you want to fish.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/areas/fisheries/montrose/miss_river_depth_maps.html

You can also use this website if you want to see what the current is like. The St.Paul link has water temp.

https://www.google.com/search?q=usgs+elk+river+mn#q=usgs+mississippi+river+mn

I typically spend most my time shore fishing below the CR dam and in a boat above.

One thing I would like to add is don’t get too close to the 169 bridge pillars. There’s a metal gate in front of them on the north side that could do some damage.

[Author]

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