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So slow it hurts.


Neighbor_guy

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Fished all day yesterday. Saw 3 fish and hooked up two of them. Tried a couple different depths from 25-28feet.  Nada. 

 

My brother had the same experience the day before. Running out of ideas and spots. The fish are definitely not in the area they were in last year. 

 

What are the rest of you seeing?

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I feel like my favorite scene from INTO THE WILD.. except instead of running around a broken down short bus shooting a .22 wildly into the air screaming where are all the #-*+(:g  Animals!?  ... I am standing out on my most favorite sheet of beautiful ice next to our jeep ice fishing rig waving around an ice fishing rod like I am trying to swat away flies screaming where are all the #-*+(:g fish!?! ......  Sigh..... I miss the old days out here.... But I've been deep into that topic before and don't have the energy this morning to start it again...... Heading back out in an hr, got my rod swatter ready! :D

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It depends where you're at and it usually takes some searching and moving around to find the active schools.  A friend's son and his three friends were fishing on LOTW yesterday and the action was hot for them.  At one time they had four fish on at one time.  I won't tell you exactly where they were but my point is that the fishing hasn't been slow for everyone,

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Fished about 1.5 miles past the end of Adrian's road on 12/31 in 31 ft of water.  Three of us kept 12 walleyes and 12 sauger.  Total fish for the day was north of 100.  Also caught 2 large pout.  The bite was steady from 9:00-3:00.  We were all using a red Lindy Flyer.  

 

Good Luck!

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A little early for 31feet of water. But stranger things have happened. I had a 20fish day. Most walleyes, with a few saugers mixed in, lost a pout. Started in 24' then 25' and final spot was 27' Never marked a fish in 24 or 25'. 

 

My brother started in 23' then went out to 29' and his group of 3 only managed 5 fish. One in the slot and the rest in that 10" range. 

 

I never had another house within 200yds of me all day. He had to stick to the resort roads. 

 

The resorts by where we fished had houses spread from 22'- 29' and they are grasping at straws too. Some were pulling their houses and resetting in 14/16' giving up on daytime fish all together. 

 

Thats why its fishing. Good luck out there. 

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Psssshhhhhhh... And pigs fly. And unicorns exist... You all better be buying some lottery tickets! 

 

Yaaaaaawn. I ain't buying it. 

 

Take 8 resorts with 25 houses each x 3 people each plus 300 portables x 2 people each thats 1200 people x 5 to 8 fish each thats 6 to 8 thousand fish PER DAY.. and those figures of course can be moved up and down the scales depending on dozens of factors.. Been going this way for years... How much longer can it go? 

 

Don't anyone dare try and say move and find them either. I've moved. I've found them. I've moved. I've found nothing. That's not what any point is. It's numbers. NUMBERS. Period. 

 

This sport has exploded. This lake has imploded. How to ignore the mistakes of the past.. IE: Red, Mille lacs for examples... 

 

And before any goof says CPR, yes, I do. Thanks. Frequently. Because I love the sport and I love the lake and am desperately hoping our kids will too.

 

NUMBERS.... That's where my thoughts have been for a few seasons... 

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20 minutes ago, Big A said:

Psssshhhhhhh... And pigs fly. And unicorns exist... You all better be buying some lottery tickets! 

 

Yaaaaaawn. I ain't buying it. 

 

Take 8 resorts with 25 houses each x 3 people each plus 300 portables x 2 people each thats 1200 people x 5 to 8 fish each thats 6 to 8 thousand fish PER DAY.. and those figures of course can be moved up and down the scales depending on dozens of factors.. Been going this way for years... How much longer can it go? 

 

Don't anyone dare try and say move and find them either. I've moved. I've found them. I've moved. I've found nothing. That's not what any point is. It's numbers. NUMBERS. Period. 

 

This sport has exploded. This lake has imploded. How to ignore the mistakes of the past.. IE: Red, Mille lacs for examples... 

 

And before any goof says CPR, yes, I do. Thanks. Frequently. Because I love the sport and I love the lake and am desperately hoping our kids will too.

 

NUMBERS.... That's where my thoughts have been for a few seasons... 

Very well said Big A

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The Numbers on the lake are doing fine the lake is in pretty good shape it's an enormous basin and it doesn't take fish long to travel many miles searching for their food.

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L O L ! ! ! ! :huh:

 

Gonna have to just agree to simply massively disagree on that one.  

 

Numbers numbers numbers. 

 

Not ca$h numbers either .

 

Respectfully submitted.

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If you sit down and talk with the owners of the resorts, as a local property owner not as a paying customer, they will all tell you flat out and without hesitation that the lake is hurting. 

 

The numbers of fish just aren't there like they used to be and the fishery is not what it was before the popularity boom. They will also admit to their role in the cause. There used to be "a" road on the east side of long point. Then came zipples road, and Morris, and bugsies. Now there are multiple resorts and operations running multiple roads or businesses off said roads catering to tens of thousands of people every weekend. A fishery that used to be only accessible to those who were willing to work for it or the resorts running bombers is now accessible to all. Not complaining or criticizing, just stating facts. 

 

We had well over 100years of combined experience at the table last night going over 30+years of data and trendlogs. They showed a definite down turn both in numbers and sizes. As well as the increase in pressure on the lake. Look at big a's post, even coming in short that's 60,000 fish per day. It adds up fast. 

 

The mentality of its a large basin and a walleye factory have to change. The 8-fish limit needs to go as a first step. Bring it down to 5 or 6. Either 3 of each or 2-eyes and 3-sauger. 

 

The genie has left the bottle, but it's not too late to stop the destruction of this fishery.  

 

The resort owners and locals whi rely on that lake for their livelihood need that lake to be healthy. 

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1 hour ago, Neighbor_guy said:

If you sit down and talk with the owners of the resorts, as a local property owner not as a paying customer, they will all tell you flat out and without hesitation that the lake is hurting. 

 

The numbers of fish just aren't there like they used to be and the fishery is not what it was before the popularity boom. They will also admit to their role in the cause. There used to be "a" road on the east side of long point. Then came zipples road, and Morris, and bugsies. Now there are multiple resorts and operations running multiple roads or businesses off said roads catering to tens of thousands of people every weekend. A fishery that used to be only accessible to those who were willing to work for it or the resorts running bombers is now accessible to all. Not complaining or criticizing, just stating facts. 

 

We had well over 100years of combined experience at the table last night going over 30+years of data and trendlogs. They showed a definite down turn both in numbers and sizes. As well as the increase in pressure on the lake. Look at big a's post, even coming in short that's 60,000 fish per day. It adds up fast. 

 

The mentality of its a large basin and a walleye factory have to change. The 8-fish limit needs to go as a first step. Bring it down to 5 or 6. Either 3 of each or 2-eyes and 3-sauger. 

 

The genie has left the bottle, but it's not too late to stop the destruction of this fishery.  

 

The resort owners and locals whi rely on that lake for their livelihood need that lake to be healthy. 

6,000 ... Give or take... Depending on dozens of factors... 

 

A lot of people who make a lot of money watched two major lakes in our state implode (red and mille lacs).. then even more money being spent trying to "fix" the mistakes on those lakes and help local businesses survive... 

 

Im not saying this lake is going to have that happen, but if you look hard at the numbers, and the mentality that has created a problem in the past, it's not outside reality.....

 

If it isn't broke. Don't fix it. I'd imagine there are a lot of people who would agree that something is breaking... 

 

Is it broke? I dunno... But it certainly has changed in my eyes and records, drastically.. I've kept track for nearly 20yrs and would agree with the above post that pressure and numbers of people and products used for success have increased ten fold... Which is wonderful for our sport and I am not faulting anyone for taking advantage of the amazing opportunities provided here... But thousands and thousands of us had these same discussions about Red and Mille Lacs... Maybe not as openly due to sites like this and social media.. but discussions aplenty occurred.. what happened? Why? How can we avoid the same mistakes?

 

If I was relying on tourism to support my family, I'd be jumping all over the Internet praising health and success and encouraging everyone under the sun to come spend money. I get it. I respect it. Heck I understand it and have also supported it for decades by spending my money throughout the Baudette area.

 

I agree with the title. SO SLOW IT HURTS. I agree because it is slow, and it does hurt. Something is wrong. A mentality is a near impossible thing to change... But impossible is still possible....

 

Isn't it?

 

I don't want to argue. I just see one side of things speeding up and increasing dramatically.. IE: Pressure and numbers of fish being taken. While the other side hasn't changed in a very long time... IE: Slot sizes and Possession limits...

 

At some point, math doesn't lie. We've been down this road.

 

Check out the post on the Red Lake side of things titled "Still Slow??" ... Kelly-P has some Breathtaking numbers and figures. Absolutely no way LOTW isn't being affected the same way or more. 

 

Numbers are real. The mentality needs to change...

Edited by Big A
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I talked about this the last few years here and pretty much got shot down by the crowd.  My first year fishing LOW was '89.  I have seen plenty of changes up there but like I stated in the past,  nothing compares to the wheelhouse explosion of the last 10 years.  It has simply increased pressure exponentialy.

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Personally, I'm not as concerned about the numbers of fish, as I am about the numbers of Bait Fish!  It's what has happened to the Shiner market up there that is having the most profound effect on the numbers of fish we're seeing in the south basin.

 

Only a handful of years ago there were literally only a few people/bait shops/and resort owners who were consistently netting and selling shiner minnows.  Then the Era of the tiny bag of frozen, salted shiner minnows exploded, at $5.00 per pop, and now virtually EVERY dock on the Rainy River has a dip net set-up for the fall shiner run, and many people are taking hundreds and hundreds of 5 gallon buckets FULL of shiner minnows out of the river EVERY YEAR!  It's been an absolute Silver Rush up there for the last 5 years, and there's little doubt it's had a profoundly negative impact on the shiner run, and subsequently the walleye run up the Rainy River each fall.

 

Sadly, people see the big dollar signs, and completely forget that these sleek little fish aren't an "unlimited" resource.  Pull the baitfish out of the system in too big of numbers, and you'll see the whole ecosystem crash. :( I suspect, this is the primary reason we're seeing so few fish in the south basin when the shiner minnows are moving north, or disappearing altogether. 

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39 minutes ago, CANOPY SAM said:

Personally, I'm not as concerned about the numbers of fish, as I am about the numbers of Bait Fish!  It's what has happened to the Shiner market up there that is having the most profound effect on the numbers of fish we're seeing in the south basin.

 

Only a handful of years ago there were literally only a few people/bait shops/and resort owners who were consistently netting and selling shiner minnows.  Then the Era of the tiny bag of frozen, salted shiner minnows exploded, at $5.00 per pop, and now virtually EVERY dock on the Rainy River has a dip net set-up for the fall shiner run, and many people are taking hundreds and hundreds of 5 gallon buckets FULL of shiner minnows out of the river EVERY YEAR!  It's been an absolute Silver Rush up there for the last 5 years, and there's little doubt it's had a profoundly negative impact on the shiner run, and subsequently the walleye run up the Rainy River each fall.

 

Sadly, people see the big dollar signs, and completely forget that these sleek little fish aren't an "unlimited" resource.  Pull the baitfish out of the system in too big of numbers, and you'll see the whole ecosystem crash. :( I suspect, this is the primary reason we're seeing so few fish in the south basin when the shiner minnows are moving north, or disappearing altogether. 

Very good point 

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13 hours ago, JbuZZo said:

Very good point 

Very good point indeed! Add that onto the added fishing pressure and :sick: is my physician reaction.... And coincidentally, I haven't caught a darn fish on a shiner yet this season! :crazy:

Edited by Big A
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It is a very good point. It's something I always think needs to the top factor when considering the health of any fishery. 

 

But. 

 

I really dont don't think that the netting of shiners would even come close to affecting the population. I could be wrong, it's just my gut opinion. 

 

The reason I say that is because the life cycle of a shiner is so short that they can rebound in the blink of an eye. I think that habitat, and possibly climate/weather ,is by far the most important factor in shiner success. Biologists always want people to harvest fish lower on the food chain for this reason. 

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48 minutes ago, maxpower117 said:

It is a very good point. It's something I always think needs to the top factor when considering the health of any fishery. 

 

But. 

 

I really dont don't think that the netting of shiners would even come close to affecting the population. I could be wrong, it's just my gut opinion. 

 

The reason I say that is because the life cycle of a shiner is so short that they can rebound in the blink of an eye. I think that habitat, and possibly climate/weather ,is by far the most important factor in shiner success. Biologists always want people to harvest fish lower on the food chain for this reason. 

Good point too... That's why I have faith in the biologists with the DNR... (QUEUE THE JOKES NOW) 

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30 minutes ago, maxpower117 said:

It is a very good point. It's something I always think needs to the top factor when considering the health of any fishery. 

 

But. 

 

I really dont don't think that the netting of shiners would even come close to affecting the population. I could be wrong, it's just my gut opinion. 

 

The reason I say that is because the life cycle of a shiner is so short that they can rebound in the blink of an eye. I think that habitat, and possibly climate/weather ,is by far the most important factor in shiner success. Biologists always want people to harvest fish lower on the food chain for this reason. 

Absolutely true. But what I hear Canopy Sam saying... And I could be wrong... But my take is that with so many shiners being removed from the lake, less predator fish are coming into the 4mile bay area hunting them and staying north or in other sections of the lake due to no bait fish to eat....

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58 minutes ago, JbuZZo said:

Good point too... That's why I have faith in the biologists with the DNR... (QUEUE THE JOKES NOW) 

 

Please be careful with that. I really think the MN DNR biologists knows what's going on with most bodies of water in the state, including Mille Lacs. The problem is that the decision makers don't make decisions based on science, rather political agenda. 

 

Biologists dont call the shots, unfortunately. 

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4 hours ago, maxpower117 said:

The problem is that the decision makers don't make decisions based on science, rather political agenda. 

Exactly right!  Unfortunately we the sportsmen/ women get the short end of this.

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$$$$$$$ and political agendas are much to closely related! I'd love to see an additional fee.. say like $25, that results in a "permit" to specifically fish LOTW.. and then that permit money can be used for science research and law enforcement specifically for LOTW... Science and math numbers don't have a political agenda.. they don't lie for profit or gain.. they just present the facts and the truth. Period. I like them both much more than politics:D and some additional law enforcement can help keep everything and everyone honest.... With the amounts of people I have seen flooding just four mile bay alone.. I'd imagine the $ figures from a permit like that would be massive and go a long way..... But I suppose eventually some sort of politics would take it for some other bogus purpose.. lol... And let's not start spazzing about paying additional fees and omg it costs so much bla bla bla... It's just a suggestion. Can easily apply to an entire family so it doesn't raise the costs of taking our kids fishing..... ;)

Edited by Big A
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Big A is 100% correct. Numbers. It's frustrating watching the resorts and the DNR knowingly letting the fishery implode. How the walleye/sauger limit hasn't been decreased on LOTW yet, is beyond me. Something needs to be done to slow the droves of wheelhouses on LOTW and URL. Great invention, but it's killing the fishery, the way it's set up now. There has to be a way to sustain the local economy without fishing the lakes to death. Was there no lesson learned from Mille Lacs? Resorts are digging their own graves by blatantly lying about how "great" the fishing still is. Come on up!!...Greed at its finest. Big A said: "The mentality needs to change..." Amen brother. Changes need to be made now. Today.

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1 hour ago, Big A said:

I'd love to see an additional fee.. say like $25, that results in a "permit" to specifically fish LOTW.. and then that permit money can be used for science research and law enforcement specifically for LOTW

I'd pay that in a heartbeat if it truly was used for those purposes.  I can't remember the last time I came across a warden up there.  Im sure they are out there,  just haven't crossed paths lately.  The enforcement should be doubled in winter with the large crowds.  A reduced winter limit would not hurt either.

Edited by slammer
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The limits have been reduced over the years.  Back in the 80's it was 20 fish, then down to 12 and now to the present 8 fish in winter.  It wouldn't hurt my feelings to drop to 6 fish with 3 being eyes but then again I don't mind taking home 8 fish on my 2-3 times to LOW each winter either.

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The system as it is now is unsustainable.  I drive 10 hrs one way every year to fish up there.  I love it.  However, most people will not continue to come if fishing doesn't improve.  I've been coming to LOTW for 7 years and it has declined every year and the pressure has increased every year.  I just got back from there on the 31st.  We go mostly for the shot at a 30 incher through the ice.  It's a great trip every year, but it's getting harder to make the drive for the few fish we've been catching.  Lower the limit.  Widen the slot.  Do everything you can to save that fisherie.  It's a great place.

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I don't disagree that the amount of pressure and the amount of harvest is crazy as I couldn't believe the amount of houses out there this past weekend. I also agree with Big A in that political agendas along with resorts and local economy have a lot of pull if not more than the scientific data unfortunately. I am all for local business's and economy but if scientific data suggests reducing limits, slots, or shutting down the fishery (Mille Lacs, URL) that should trump all other politics for the future of not only the fishery but also the economy. Hard to argue against years of data and if we are paying biologists to do the research, their data and suggestions should trump politics. 

 

As for the fishing, we fished last Friday through Sunday with 2 houses with 2 guys in each. My buddy and I averaged 11 walleye/sauger an hour, totaling 223 fish for about 20 hours of fishing. The other two guys averaged 13/hour totaling 260 for the same time frame. More walleyes than normal with a good spread on the year classes of walleyes to as we got them from 7-28” and everywhere in between, I would say at least 7-8 different year classes. Sauger size was pretty good to, obviously we got a lot of the 9-12” fish but got plenty of 15-17” fish too.

 

We were set up well away fro the crowds all by ourselves. My personal opinion is that the pressure from the tons of fish houses has pushed fish away from certain areas and you have to go find "fresh" areas with fish that are not as pressured. Same thing has always been true on URL, fish in by the crowds an you may pick some off here and there but the best bite is when you are a mile from anyone. Those areas may be great first ice before hundreds (maybe thousands) of houses show up but once the pressure comes they find new areas.  Wallsniffer above was 1.5 miles past the end of road and had a 100+ fish day. Guessing he was way from the main crowd as well, also in a new depth, 31 ft, that nobody else has mentioned, everyone else is 23-28'. Move around and try something new.

 

Just my report and 2 cents. Being out and catching a few is better than being on the couch inside. Good luck!

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I have a cabin in the wheelers point area and agree that you would have to either be blind or extremely ignorant to think the status of the fishery is ok. I get a chuckle every time I see the lake of the woods tourism posts, whether it be on facebook, youtube, or various fishing forums.. According to their posts, fishing is and always is great and you should come up ASAP to experience it. I always laugh at the generic fishing reports like "People are catching good numbers of walleyes  in 20-30 ft in front of pine island using gold jigs and a minnow head"... like how generic of a report can you muster up week after week? I get it - nearly everybody that lives in the Baudette area has their income tied to tourism in one way or another. It'd be nice to see more promotion of catch and release up there as well as decreased bag limits and stricter slot limits but I think the resorts and guide operations up there would put up  a fuss if slots/limits were changed in a more conservative matter.  

 

There are a lot of good arguments in this thread relating to the winter fishing pressure which is without a doubt, having a negative impact on the status of the walleye/sauger fishery as a whole.  No one has mentioned anything about the Rainy River spring bite and the craziness that that entails... How is it that anywhere else in the state, you are not allowed to pressure spawning/pre-spawn walleyes but it is ok on the rainy/LOTW fishery? You can't tell me with a straight face that all those 7, 8, 9, 10lb walleyes being caught over and over in the spring is not negatively impacting the fishery as well. Its unbelievable the number of boats that hit the rainy every spring and although they can only keep 2 fish under 19.5, the fact that hundreds, if not thousands, of pre-spawn fish are being caught should be alarming. 

 

Also, the fact that the river and the lake have different bag limits for the March/April fishing window is really odd to me and doesn't make sense.  It makes it tough to enforce because picture a CO working at the Wheelers point public access and checking livewells at the end of a day in the spring... Boats coming back in from both the lake and the river (granted that conditions dont allow that to happen every year)... The boat from the lake has 8 fish per person limits whereas the boat from the river has a 2 fish limit. How does the CO know where the angler was fishing other than to take their word for it? Whats to stop someone from fishing the river, keep 8 fish and then say they were fishing the lake?  Not only does it result in enforcement problems but it makes it tough to stay legal out there sometimes and you have to be very smart about keeping fish if you are intending to fish both the lake and the river.  I've logged hundreds of hours on both LOTW and the Rainy River and have only been checked by a CO ONE TIME and they only checked life jackets and didn't look in the livewell.

Edited by jwmiller33
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1 hour ago, jwmiller33 said:

I have a cabin in the wheelers point area and agree that you would have to either be blind or extremely ignorant to think the status of the fishery is ok. I get a chuckle every time I see the lake of the woods tourism posts, whether it be on facebook, youtube, or various fishing forums.. According to their posts, fishing is and always is great and you should come up ASAP to experience it. I always laugh at the generic fishing reports like "People are catching good numbers of walleyes  in 20-30 ft in front of pine island using gold jigs and a minnow head"... like how generic of a report can you muster up week after week? 

Good point.. in all my years I haven't seen an honest report. Worst case it WAS tough but is now HEATING UP!... Uhhhh.. no.. no it isn't. It's still tough and still being slammed extremely hard over and over again..

 

It's inspiring to read others agreeing that things are not what they are reported to be... Perhaps the mentality can be changed...

2 hours ago, bowkill78 said:

The system as it is now is unsustainable.  I drive 10 hrs one way every year to fish up there.  I love it.  However, most people will not continue to come if fishing doesn't improve.  I've been coming to LOTW for 7 years and it has declined every year and the pressure has increased every year.  I just got back from there on the 31st.  We go mostly for the shot at a 30 incher through the ice.  It's a great trip every year, but it's getting harder to make the drive for the few fish we've been catching.  Lower the limit.  Widen the slot.  Do everything you can to save that fisherie.  It's a great place.

Well said.. pressure, especially in the winter months, is just off the charts... There has got to be a change.. 

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Here's my armchair biologists opinion. 

 

Assuming there wont be any massive changes to the ecosystem, habitat, water quality and harvest, I really can't see LOTW having any major crashes like Mille Lacs, Red, Leech, etc. 

 

While a steady and fairly sharp sharp increase in harvest will likely affect numbers, I believe that it's limited to that. If you were used to catching 100-200 fish per day in the 80's and 90's, I believe the only chang will be reduced numbers caught on average. Does that mean the lake is hurting? Or does it mean the lake is finding its producing what it can with all the pressure?

 

It it doesn't seem to be affecting business up there. In fact, budiness has to be better than it's ever been. 

 

My point being that while the lake may appear to be hurting, it's actually moving toward a balance point. Just remember, as soon as the dnr decided to reduce harvest, the business apologists will come out of the woodwork blaming the dnr for ruining business. 

 

One of the main issues with my statement above is that as long as peopl continue to take their limits, the lake will continue to search for its balance point. 

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      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
    • leech~~
      As I get older it's really not just about sending bullets down range.  Some of it's just the workmanship of the gun and the wow factor. The other two guns I have really wanted which I'll never have now because of their price, is a 8mm Jap Nambu and 9mm German Luger.   Just thought they always looked cool!  
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