Shamineau

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Anyone fish Shamineau lately? Is it still the dead sea?

[wingnut38]

i was out 2 weeks ago and it was horrible.

[ShammyTommy]

SLOW. The Walleyes aren't moving. It doesn't help when right at prime time on Wed I see this huge Muskie on the bottom. You gotta go find them.

[AWH]

At least if the walleyes aren't moving, you at least have the opportunity to see a big muskie. Awesome deal!

The walleyes in Sham can definitely be finicky. But there's lots of them out there and some very nice ones at that.

Aaron

[Coach1310]

This lake gives me fits. I always catch at least one dandy fish each time I am there, but can't seem to hammer down a location or pattern, open water or ice. Beautiful lake though.

[bimbo]

how bout the pike there? i ushally go up there during labor day weekend and stay at augers resorts and i fish pike..and its non stop all day?

[dfricke1010]

there are millions of pike in that lake everywhere you go and pretty much anything you use will get them. I've never gotten any for size though the biggest being a couple 36".

[Quetico]

Anyone done much with tip ups out there this winter? My friend grew up across the street from the lake, Her fam still lives up there. We may head up before the end of the season.

[bimbo]

yea the biggest ive ever caught was about 39" not a bad pike

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Fished 8 hours on Saturday (2pm-10pm) and 4 hours on Sunday (9am-1pm) with 2 guys and caught 3 perch, with the biggest one being about 8". Disappointing to say the least. Fished 6 spots ranging in depth from 12'-30'. A neighbor of mine fished Saturday night from 11pm until 11am without a single bite. We had camera's down and never saw anything besides 2 or 3 tiny perch. I've fished this lake at least 15 times this winter and have nearly nothing to show for it. I'm not sure what happened but it is horrible fishing.

[djwood]

" MUSKIES " maybe ? just a thought.

[Tyler D]

I dont know that it is a lack of fish that is the problem. Early ice we were hammering some nice walleyes with a few 12" plus crappies thrown in. The last few times I have been out we still caught a few but the lake does get really tough in the winter it seems. One thing I have noticed is that if it is clear and sunny the walleyes will bite if it is cloudy I dont catch anything.

[dfricke1010]

What do you mean by "MUSKIES"?

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

IDK what has happened. I've fished the lake at least 15-20 days each winter for the last 5 years, a little less prior to that. I've had 30+ walleye days, 50+ crappie days, etc. out there, but this year has been really really tough. I have at least 10 "go to" spots on the lake that have been great in the past, but there is nothing there this year. The last 3 trips I have completely switched it up and moved around lots.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

There is a theory (its been debated extensively) that the muskies hurt the walleye population. I have heard arguments from both sides, but I am personally undecided. I do know that the walleye fishing has been much more difficult the last 10 years, and the muskie fishing has been really good the last 5 years.

[dfricke1010]

I do not believe muskies hurt the population. there are a lot of posts under the muskie section of DNR studies. they say that bass eat more small eyes than any other fish

[germanshorthairs]

Bass probably do eat more eyes then muskies but then add some muskies to the mix and even more eyes get eaten correct??

[Quetico]

Honestly, I have never fished the lake, but hopefully this will change soon. A close friend grew up across the street from the lake, her dad's house over looks it. She told me that once the muskies starting showing up the rest of the fish populations started dropping. Her family still lives around the lake and they wont fish it for anything but muskies.

[djwood]

true to my thoughts ! 1010 has answered the question . and now gull lake will probably see the same results with the introduction of muskie in gulll as well as no spearing in yet another lake . djwood

[AWH]

For those of you that believe that populations of walleyes, crappies, etc. have dropped in Sham since the introduction of muskies, please provide the DNR test nettings and other population studies in this time period. You'll likely be surprised. I've seen the nets that the DNR has pulled in the spring out there and I have discussed with DNR personell their thoughts on fish populations out there. In their own words, the lake is as healthy as ever and fish populations are not suffering.

It amazes me how quickly people will point blame at muskies when fishing is difficult. Look no further than Mille Lacs. Last May and June walleye fishing out there was pretty much as good as ever. Now come fall and this winter fishing has been more difficult and people are very quick to point the finger at muskies. Explain that logic? It goes from "as good as ever" to difficult fishing in less than a year and the muskies are to blame? Were muskies just introduced? Are there no other possible factors? Maybe some very logical possibilities that have nothing to do with muskies?

The facts are out there about what role muskies play in our fisheries...about what effects that they may or may not have on other species. We owe it to ourselves to take some time to become educated before jumping to conclusions.

I came upon the following the other day and found it very interesting. It was in regards to what the folks in New York have discovered in their research when it comes to muskies.

Research shows that More Muskies = More Walleyes!

While intuitively it seems like this would not be the case, muskies feed on bait fish that eat walleye fry. Additionally, muskies spawn later in the season and create an additional food source for young walleye. So, the musky population helps increase the walleye population. Here in NY, the DEC has found that stocking tiger muskies in lakes with natural walleye populations is often more beneficial to walleye pops than stocking additional walleye.

Very interesting stuff. But not surprising. There is a huge amount of factual data out there to support these findings all over the country and in Canada as well. Take some time, do some research, there's lots out there. If you look at things with an open mind and are willing to learn, you'll likely be very surprised by what you find out.

Aaron

[germanshorthairs]

AWH, I have not seen many posts on mille lacs pointing the finger at muskies, I think they are pointing there finger at lots of small perch and management tactics (state harvest levels lowered-native american harvest levels raised) I find it odd that the dnr net levels are so high and people are not catching fish, or seeing them on the camera. Maybe the dnrs numbers are not right. I am not a muskie fisherman but I don't see how someone can argue that introducing muskies into a lake can somehow help the walleyes?? Maybe it does not hurt them a great deal but it cannot help them. They are a predator plain and simple!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[dfricke1010]

im with AWH on this one. Are you saying the DNR is lying to us germanshorthairs?

[AWH]

Actually, the DNR nets on Mille Lacs this past fall indicated historical LOW numbers of walleyes, not high as you indicated. In my opinion, I believe part of that had to do with WHEN the nets were dropped. They were dropped at the same time of year when they always are. Yet our water temps were much warmer at that time than they almost always are at that time. The walleyes hadn't yet made their big push to shallow water as a result. This definitely had some effect on the numbers of fish they saw. How much? Who knows.

There definitely are people that are pointing the finger to more logical explanations of tough walleye fishing on Mille Lacs as you indicated. It's always good to see/hear educated thoughts on that subject. But there are also plenty that continue to blame muskies, including a few resort owners. Unfortunately, it's sad to say that there's a few resort owners that are also some of the least educated on what's going on below the surface in our lakes. Yet they have a lot of influence on their customers, which is unfortunate. It's how so much of this misinformation gets out there.

As I stated, there is a ton of factual information out there when it comes to muskies. A lot of which can be found through the Fishing MN forums with a little searching.

Very briefly, when managed properly (which the MN DNR has an A+ track record of doing), muskies will not negatively impact our fisheries. Although some will argue that there is too much risk because they are such a top of the line predator...this is simply not true when managed properly...when you have sound biological science behind what you're doing and where you have these fish.

Muskies can not help walleye populations? Why? Honestly, please explain why you feel this way? I am genuinely interested to know the reasons why people feel this way. I am not saying that they absolutely do wherever they swim. This wouldn't be true. But they CAN and DO help walleyes in a number of waters.

Using another species as an example of how this can be...think PIKE. A lake filled with an abundant population of hammer handles is not very good for walleye populations. Have a decent population of LARGE pike to help keep things in check and reduce the hammer handle population and walleye fishing will improve. There are obvious reasons why this is the case. Muskies can play this same role and are proven to be very beneficial to have in our fisheries.

Again, please explain why you feel that muskies can not help walleyes? Just because they are a predator?

Aaron

[germanshorthairs]

No I never said the DNR was lying, but as you and I are, they are humans and sometimes they make mistakes. I do feel the DNR overexagerates things sometimes, to sell more license??Maybe or maybe not. They are just another business.

[germanshorthairs]

Well I guess it is a matter of what you like to fish for. Good luck out there!!!!!

[AWH]

I like to fish for walleyes, pike, bass, muskies, panfish. So maybe you're right, maybe it does depend on what one likes to fish for. Those are the ones I target the most but the list can go on and on. My opinions on the matter are not a matter of what I fish for, but instead are based on facts and probably thousands of hours of research in order to formulate an educated opinion. As I stated, I will fish for pretty much anything. Do I have my favorites? Absolutely. But because I will fish for anything and I care about the overall health of our fisheries, I would never encourage our DNR to stock ANY species if it would hurt the resource.

We are not all going to agree on the subject, and there's nothing wrong with that. It can create healthy debate/discussion when both sides are willing to be open minded. There's no better way for both sides to become more educated. But with all due respect, when one side would rather just drop the subject than to respond to a very simple question, it shows that those opinions are based on emotion rather than factual information.

Aaron

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Didn't intend to get on the muskie bashing.

Another reason for the decline in fishing on Shamineau could be the millions of tiny perch and sunfish, similar to what is going on at Mille Lacs. We've had 4 day weekends where 4 guys have caught, no joke, almost a thousand perch. The biggest being about 5-6", average being about 4". Sounds like perfect food for a walleye.

[AWH]

Interesting that you bring up the millions of tiny perch and sunfish. There was a guy a few years ago trying to convince everyone that the muskies had eaten all of the sunfish in Sham. Claiming there were literally none in the lake anymore and he was dead serious. Emotional argument or factual? If you've ever been on Sham during the summer, you know the answer to that one. The sad thing is that he convinced a lot of people this was true...people that had never been on the lake.

So yes, the fish in that lake have plenty to eat (between the perch and sunfish). The walleyes I've seen are definitely not lacking in girth.

Aaron

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I was out with a group last spring right before ice out and we caught a couple hundred sunfish over 2 days. It took a lot of sorting, but we ended up with limits. They seem to be stunted, and never get above 6" or so, although I did catch a 9" last summer, and it was by far the biggest I've ever seen out of the lake. One thing the lake is not lacking is small sunfish.

Anytime we catch the walleyes, they are VERY nice, although it seems there is a mess of them around 8-10" or so which is good for the future.

[germanshorthairs]

My answer is simple, if muskies do eat walleyes(even if very few)they are lowering the number of walleyes in that lake. Correct?? Seems simple to me. I don't like the fact that you would add or stock muskies in a healthy walleye lake. You say some resorts on Mille lacs are giving false info on whats going on below the surface of the water. Well for one, I think it is very hard to give facts on any mother nature involved subject. How can you say your information is factual? Every lake is different, why experiment? It is what it is! If muskie are not native to a lake leave it that way. Your are arguing for musky and I am simply saying don't put them in lakes they are not native too. You also say lots about FACTUAL information is out there. I think you mean a lot of INFORMATION is out there. And lastly, you say the DNR has an A+ record. My opinion would be about a C. You said some would agrue that there is too much risk involved-well to a walleye fisherman, what is the reward???Once again just my opinion which is what you get when mother nature is involved and plays a big role. Do you sell musky lures???