North or South Center?

[JBMasterAngler]

Will be up there on saturday...which has the better action? Better ice conditions? Maybe if I get out early enough I'll try one in the morning and the other in the afternoon...unless one is much better than the other. Will be after pike and panfish.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Pike- I would hit South Center... Gills, I would probably hit South Center.... Crappies, I would hit North Center... Both lakes are kicking out some fish, just maybe not huge fish.

[elusivecrappiecatcher]

I have been fishing South Center for years and it used to be a great crappie and sunfish lake, and also walleyes. I could go out every day and catch a TON of fish. I remember the days I could only fish with one rod because if I fished 2 I couldn't keep both in the water at the same time without a fish hitting one of them.

I have been out there a bunch of times so far this year and honestly have been skunked EVERY time and I have tried everything.

I honestly am starting to think that a certain orientation of people which you should all know what I mean are filling buckets of MORE then there limit every year. I have yelled at a few of them for keeping more then there limit of fish.

I don't want to sound racist because I am not. But something needs to be done with these sorts of people that LOOOOVE to fish the shores of North and South Center.

Not to discourage anyone from fishing the lake but this is just my observation.

[ole]

Trust me they are not the only ones doing it. I sat out by Pancake one day and listened and watched a couple of oldtimers catch and keep everything that bit that day, and they caught plenty while i was out there 5hrs. Not only that but the stories they were telling, made you feel like asking why! Seems like everytime their (club) wants a fish fry these two clowns are willing to break all the rules to make sure they have enough fish. Really irks a guy!

[elusivecrappiecatcher]

 Originally Posted By: ole

Trust me they are not the only ones doing it. I sat out by Pancake one day and listened and watched a couple of oldtimers catch and keep everything that bit that day, and they caught plenty while i was out there 5hrs. Not only that but the stories they were telling, made you feel like asking why! Seems like everytime their (club) wants a fish fry these two clowns are willing to break all the rules to make sure they have enough fish. Really irks a guy!

I hear ya Ole!

I could catch 25-50 crappies all between 8-11 inches out there, and a buddy and I would maybe keep 3 a piece for a meal and throw the rest back for another day. I have been out there seriously a dozen times so far this year and not one crappie. Something is defiantly wrong when you can't catch one and NEVER been skunked before.

If it were me I would have said something to these guys, and if they gave me hell I would have called the DNR. I don't mean to be a dink to people but come on and fallow the rules like most other people.

Oh well I guess what can you do.

[JBMasterAngler]

OK, so which lake are you guys recommending?

[ole]

See post by Deitz, I think he pretty well hit it on the nose. Don't be afraid to search out different areas. You can still catch fish even some dandies but not like you used to. Yelling at 2 old men is like yelling at my dog, neither seem to listen!

Good Luck ole

[Deitz Dittrich]

Thanks Ole!

JB- either lake... Is the answer.. or, if it were me... BOTH LAKES!... I am one who drills a ton of holes and hits a ton of lakes.. one day over x-mas break I hit. N.Center, S.Center, Little, Kroon, and Chisago all in one day... must have caught 300 fish that day. But nothing really to write home about... I also went though a tank of auger gas.

[eurolarva]

Are people parking on sunset point on south center? If it is anything like Chisago probably people driving out which I am not ready to do. I just need a place to put the car. Pretty disappointing thread. I have fished South Center for the last seven years and have always done well with pan fish. I fished sunset point on two honey holes and only caught two sunfish in 2 hours (about a month ago). In the summer we clobbered Crappies (which I dont keep) and have always done well on sunfish.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Euro- People, lets please get back to the subject....This is my take on the subject... Its not any race that is causing a problem... There are more anglers, more summer anglers.. more ice anglers... People have a right to keep fish! Just not more than their limit. If anything, we have a stunting problem, the small fish can not become larger if the numbers are too many..

I in no way think that keeping more than ones limit is ok. I have sen far more white people bend the rules on this than any other race, so, please look in the mirror and worry about what you do, than what others do.

If I had to guess, and from what I have found this year... The water levels are down, fish are not in the exact same locations they have been in years past. 95% of the fish I have caught... which is 100's have not been within 100 yards of another fish house. The lower water has changed fish locations...

The Chisago Lakes area is not in a shortage of fish... Size?... ok maybe not what it was 10-15 years ago.. but then again, what lake does? Its a pressure problem, not a race problem.

[eurolarva]

Are cars parking on sunset point on South Center or is the ice still too week? I believe Frankies told me that with the water levels as low that parking on the lake shore should not be a problem. I want to get out there around 5 so if it is an issue I may just hit south Chisago.

[polarsusd81]

Perfectly put Deitz. We all need to look at how we fish and do our part to keep the resources as good as possible. Quality fish are hard to come by, that is why they are considered quality fish. There are plenty of lakes in the state where you can go catch a limit of 10" gills, but people don't fish them because they are not easy to get to. The problem with fisheries in the metro area is fishing pressure is so high because of proximity to the population. There are people that keep more than their limit, and I do not condone this one bit, but it happens. The only thing you can do is give the CO a call. I have his number programmed into my phone, as do many others. All we can do, is to do our part.

That being said, Deitz is right on with the fishing report as well. If there is ever a time when I am looking to fish the Chisago area and am having trouble, I seek out his reports. There may be people on the boards that know the lakes in the area better, but I have yet to find one.

Tom

[JBMasterAngler]

If I get out early enough I'll hit both north and south center. One more quick question...what are the pike prefering...shiners or suckers?

[SBakken]

Hey Deitz...you ready to hit that private lake with me - catch and release 16 oz sunnies? I owe you a trip after putting me on all those bass this fall....I have not forgotten. SB

[john.wells]

 Originally Posted By: Deitz Dittrich

If anything, we have a stunting problem, the small fish can not become larger if the numbers are too many..

I just had an idea- on some of these hammered lakes, maybe instead of going the route of lower limit/minimum size, perhaps the opposite strategy would work. Raise the limit, but make the maximum size 10 inches on crappie for example. I just read that on Green Lake that the current regulation was extended in '05 (when it was supposed to end) until 2010. The premise was that regulation was not working to increase size structure, but that they wanted to see if things would change for the better. The program was started in 1997. Needless to say, if things haven't changed in 8 years, another five won't make any difference. I would like to post a link, but I don't think it is allowed. However, if you go to LakeFinder on the Minnesota DNR's site and navigate to the lake information, you will find it.

I know this is a LITTLE off subject, but I digress and will get to the only report that I have had first hand, and that is a buddy went to South Center a few times and did pretty well on a mix of crappies and sunnies with a few pretty respectable fish. I have had success on North Center in the past, but it has been a couple years. I am sure that the crappies are still out there in numbers, that lake is a factory, just not a lot of big ones. No doubt, though, that you should get some nice 8-10" eaters.

[john.wells]

Just for the heck of it, here is the link:

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/lakefind/showreport.html?downum=13004100

Hope it won't get censored, nothing for sale here.

[polarsusd81]

I am pretty sure links to the DNR are safe. As long as it is somewhat on topic and relavent, they should be okay. I have posted links to the DNR before and not had any problems. I do have to chime in and say that I agree somewhat with your point on the experimental regulation, although raising the limit for one particular lake is not a good idea. It would make it too easy for someone to cheat the system, but a maximum keeper size of 9.5 to 10 on some lakes might not be a bad idea, that way the larger fish are kept in the system to balance things out a bit. One big problem with a lot of fisherman is that they don't understand the balance concept, and are just out for a meal for the whole family. If you want a meal for the whole family, bring the whole family out fishing with you and still just keep one limit, it is plenty when you go out alone.

[Sandmannd]

Fished on North Center with Polarsus81 on New Years Eve and did pretty well. We iced a bunch of fish and just took home a few. It was a fun day. I think this post took a turn, the guys' just looking for a place to fish, not a lecture on what to keep, throw back, who's ruining fishing, etc.

[ole]

Euro, Yes cars are parking on the ice at the point. Even seen plenty of big vehicles out on the ice driving (not me). As for the fish, yes we can all help ourselves on this,practice CPR on the bigger fish and keep some 7-8in for the pan! They fillet and taste just as good. Good Luck, ole

[FL SNIPER]

IMHO the smaller ones taste better.....mmmmmmm fried fish chips!!!!!

[JBMasterAngler]

Well, for what it's worth I rarely ever keep fish (some perch or trout up north, but that's it) so if I should catch any big sunnies or crappies they'll be back in the lake with no harm done.

This is not the first time I've asked for advice and a debate unrelated to the topic started up. One time I asked where the best place I could trap creek chubs was and an argument started over which minnows were which. Good times!

Anyway, I don't plan on actually driving on the lake, but at least being able to park it along the shore away from the access. How thick is the ice? Suckers or shiners?

[FL SNIPER]

Ya...any time you start a post with "What's the best..." or "Where's the best...", you're going to have debate. That's just because there so many people on this site....and not everyone has the same opinion...that's what I think is one of the good things about this site...but of course someone would disagree about that . BUT back to the original question...I don't think you can go wrong with either North or South Center...if you put some effort into it, you should get into some fish on both lakes.

[polarsusd81]

I was out there today and did very well fishing for panfish, not going to tell the spot, but I caught 15 crappies in the 7-8.5 range and two nice gills in about 30 minutes. They all went back in the hole though as I was prefishing for the get together next weekend. Very fast action, although they are moving around a good bit out there. You have to move with the schools or they just keep on going by, though I didn't put out any weeds today, it may have helped.

[Lure Lightning]

I have been doing well on South Center for numbers you just have to weed through alot of the small ones crappies and gills. I have been using black ants for the gills and glow red for the crappies.

If you see or hear someone of breaking the regs we should feel obligated to say something to them. Good Luck Fishing

[JBMasterAngler]

Well I didn't end up going to either lake...went to accesses for both lakes and didn't see any trucks or houses or anything anywhere near, so I didn't want to take the chance of driving on the ice. I seen many vehicles out on the main lake, but with no trail to follow, no thanks. Went to south lindstrom instead and didn't so much as mark a fish.

[sjburnt]

.