Zumbro River Behind Econo Foods South

[cake_eater23]

I have heard rumors about there being walleyes in the water behind Econo-Foods South...I know the water there comes from the Zumbro River, but is it more of a pond, or what type of water body is it? Also is it true how there are walleyes in that area?

[Dan Thiem]

I think the lakes you are refering to are those private ones. Lake George, Salem Sound, etc...

[cake_eater23]

That very well could be, I was talking to some friends who were saying how there were the private ones back there, but apparently there was like a different pool/body of water that was fed from the Zumbro River but was not the private lakes...Maybe they were mistaken...not sure

[Lew]

Your friends may have been refering to the pool created out by Mayowood. There's another dam out that way. I've only fished it from shore a couple of times some years ago but I have the distinct impression that that pool is pretty much filled in with silt and mud.

[cake_eater23]

Well Lew, you'd be correct! I was there yesterday and my buddy caught a 17in small mouth. Apparently theres quite a few smallies in that pool! Go figure...

[CrappieJohn]

A person can find smallies as far out in the country as Evjian's Bluff just southwest of Byron and beyond in that branch of the Zumbro River.Some great sunnies too. Probably not much for waldos though. One of the three pits, located fairly close to the Zumbro River around County road 8, contains some walleyes, but they are privately owned and public use is a nada.

From the Mayowood Dam clear down to Silver Lake, a person can find quite an assortment of fish. The smallies will treat you well at times and a person can find a random largemouth too. Sunfish and crappies have been caught as well as catfish. Even northerns have graced people's tackle.

That closing dan right there at Econco has a nice plunge pool below it and can give up some fair fish at times, but the strech from Mayowood to that point is certainly the best for fishing and scenery in my opinion.

[Lew]

Hey Tom, Do you think the road construction over the river by Econo Foods has hurt the fishing in that area? I know I haven't fished above or below Mayowood in years.

[CrappieJohn]

Lew....

While law says they must use silt screening along cnstruction zones, they still will mess with the fish to some extent. Vibration from equipment will move them out of holes if it is a daily event and when the water gets turbid for days on end from traffic in it they will also vacate the immediate down stream areas. The fish will eventually return if the water is still deep enough to offer them comfort and protection.

Mayowood itself (the lake) has fallen prey to agriculture and is now filled with silt. At one time the lake was full of huge crappies and, as a matter of fact, was where I was first attracted to these fish when I was a kid. I'd ride my bike out there from home and Mayowood Drive coming from the Crossroads area was still a gravel road. Over the years, poor farming practices have filled the lake in and at times geese can be seen standing in what appears to be water, but is really just mud.

I was doing a deck in the Hayfield area for a while and every day I would stop at one of about three holes along that fork of the Zumbro River that runs thru Evjian's Bluff and toss a jig for a half hour. Somewhere near the south end of a n/s line between Kasson and Byron I fished a pool next to the road ( from the road actually) and caught sunfish that you'd shiver over and smallies that went to 16 inches. In another spot I did the same, but the evidence of regular fishing there was everywhere and the fish were all considerably smaller. Even though the pool was much larger, the large fish were not present, ever. This simply tells me that fishing pressure by those that keep fish can hurt the areas we might call tender.

Closer to the area you are thinking about, It has been a month since I have been in the water there. When things heated up and the water levels began to drop, the fish will leave the nice stretches of flat water and seek holes. The golf course has some nice fishing in it. And if you want to believe it or not, the water that runs past the government center can be loaded with crappies at this time of year...all the way to Silver Lake, but don't think the bass aren't there as well.

What the road construction does to the fishing is less a factor than what agriculture has already fouled and continues to do so. There are two forks of the river in the area s/sw of Rochester. Both are fishable and offer unique opportunities for those who seek them. I think the further one gets from "easily accessed" "obvious" water, the better the fishing is.