stump lake

[walleyemaster]

has anyone fished stump lake this year if so has anyone had any luck.

[Dahitman44]

I have heard some rumblings of people trying Stump this year and caught a couple but a ton of bullheads as well.

Nothing great, but I did hear a little.

[walleyemaster]

thanks for the post

[Chuckster]

How did they get in the lake? Two months ago the water level was too low to get any size boat in and I can only imagine how low it is now.

[Dahitman44]

Chuck --

There is a guy that is one the lake and he may let people in -- I just don't know I have never gotten that verified.

BTW -- The MPCA reeport is out on Stump and it doesn't look good. I am guessing that most of the fish will die soon on that lake if they haven't done so already.

[mark n]

hitman, are you talking about Stump / I think the lake is also called Sand?

Just south of hwy 10 on cnty 18?

[Dahitman44]

That is the one, my man.

Very icky water. That lake may be a DEAD LAKE down the road.

[mark n]

Now I fished that lake constantly the winter of 03,& 04.

The crappie bite was phenomenal after dark.

The last couple of years have been deader than...

If we are talking about the same lake, there are four or five deep basins (30+ feet), with a nice submerged rock pile straight out from the private residence. I think the lake also has some inlets and an outlet (?).

I remember catching nice size perch and small but clean sunfish. I also remember the water being nice and clear.

How is it possible that a lake like this kill out?

Cormorants couldn't possibly be that thorough.

Please advise..

[Dahitman44]

Yeah, I saw a report at the office and it has been screwed up by some local farmers and chicked poop runoff.

[mark n]

Oh man. Now that is somthing I didn't think of.

Stands to reason though, the [Note from admin: Please read forum policy before posting again. Thank you.]

trucks go by on the road about every hour.

What highly paid state department is responsable for monitering this type of activity?

[DEADhead]

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What highly paid state department is responsable for monitering this type of activity?

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don't even say what I think you were trying to say.....

BTW, not all State Agencies are highly funded.

The Agency resonsible for this activity is the MPCA, or Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

[mark n]

Well there you go deadhead, you just answered the question.

I'll say what I want to say when I please. You are attacking an environmentally conscience taxpaying citizen before you have the facts.

Did something hit you personal?

Lighten up,

[DEADhead]

next time just say it then instead of beating around the bush. I was not attacking you, but I'm sick of the blame the gov't routine.

Instead of inferring that the MPCA is not doing their job, why not be fed up that people are still performing these environmentally degrading practices (manure spills)? Like any other agency, it is tough to be able to enforce every infraction, especially at current funding levels. Even with unlimited funding it would be impossible to catch every offender. But if an entire community does not condone these unnacceptable practices and the potential offender risks being ostracized and cutoff from the community, there would be some serious incentives for the potential offenders to practice environmentally sound methods.

It seems to me that when these types of hazards occur, the general public is quick to jump on the agency that "missed the call", rather than trying to resolve the problem and support sound practices that would have avoided the incident altogether.

[fisherdog19]

Yeah, what he said. Why is it that no one blames the people responsible for creating the problem, just the people that are supposed to catch them and fix it?

[mark n]

Well I certainly understand your positions regarding violator responsibility, and I agree.

However an agency was set in place for a reason, otherwise why are we paying them at all?

The fact is, the agency responsible for monitoring and licensing needs to, at the very least, accept responsibility for the oversight. And not be defended by a couple of forum moderators

Looking back at it, I’ll admit my question was slightly tainted with blame, but I stand behind it.

[DEADhead]

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an agency was set in place for a reason, otherwise why are we paying them at all?

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part of an agencies responsibility is to develop and implement policy, not just to enforce policy and catch violators.

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The fact is, the agency responsible for monitoring and licensing needs to, at the very least, accept responsibility for the oversight. And not be defended by a couple of forum moderators

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I'm not defending any of MPCAs actions, and neither was Fisherdog. I agree that the MPCA needs to step up to the plate and take some accountability for once. I just don't like to use the medium of an internet forum to make attacks on an agency or others. If you are so disgusted with the MPCA's handling of this incident, use your energy to contact the MPCA regional office in Detroit Lakes 1-800-657-3864. This forum was not designed for political discussion; let's keep it that way. If you're interested we can move the topic to the Outdoor Discussion forum

[mark n]

I'm not interested.

I wonder what the feedback would have been had I implicated the farmer

I come to this form as a temporary stress releaver. I'd like to keep it that way. I also used that lake frequently for that same purpose. That I took personal.

Lets drop this and focus on turning stump back into a great crapppie lake.

I Pass

[nluchau]

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What highly paid state department is responsable for monitering this type of activity?

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So this quote is what started this frenzy. I probably would have said the same thing. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Peace!

[Dahitman44]

Dead --

I do blame the MPCA quite often. With my job I hear about a number of things -- some are true some are not some are a combination of both.

My issue is this -- the MPCA takes too long to react and county officials are too weak or are not smart enough to think long term. We need to protect the the land and the water. I am not a Greepeace guy, but I think too many people got away with too much for too long.

As far as the DNR ... Don't get me started. Just kidding. They do a great job most of the time. A great job that has to be a tough job as well.

Hitman

[Fishin' Addict]

I've just gotta chime in here. Hey I've lived in a couple different states and MN has still got the best Fisheries and Wildlife/Environmental standard of Living among them.

Currently I live in CO and let me tell you something about water rights - yes it suck's when people literally own the Recreational Rights to the resources that you wish to play on/in.

There are a lot of interests that the MPCA and DNR have to balance in their decision making processes in order to allow or keep the body of water or land you want to play on open.

All of these interests in addition to understanding the Science that goes into managing soil and water and damage to said resource - don't try to downplay the COMPLEXITY of their tasks. As a scientist I can tell you one thing science isn't always the hard part - politics and people are usually more difficult to deal with than the science.

[DEADhead]

well put.

[mark n]

A bureaucracy is inherently guilty of lack of responsibility, consistently guilty of blaming others. The fact that you people defend it (or one) is astounding.

This isn’t some little pool or swamp, it is a medium/large body of water.

Can anyone one define the licensing requirements of the “public”? How about the inspection duration, and control factors required by the farmer. Let’s here from the official or volunteers assigned to monitor water quality. As a fisherman I have noticed the decline in activity over the last couple of years. Who else either noticed or missed the apparent lack of activity. What can the public due to restore the fishery, short of stoning the farmers?

At this point all I’ve heard is it’s not our fault entirely, bla bla bla

[kingr]

Addicts post is put very well. MN Is a leader in Water Quality protection. The Detroit Lakes area is known as one of THE toughest areas for water quality design and enforcement thanks to the local cooporation of the Pelican water shed district and the MPCA. However, unfortunately the MPCA is becoming an agency that reacts to, not prevents. This is due to the lack of manpower. If you disagree got to the is website:

http://www.pca.state.mn.us/about/regions/nw.html#staff

The DL office is responsible for 20 counties.

I'm guessing this is due to the snow ball effect due to rain runoff and not due to a catastrophic event. So yes, it is an enforcement (MPCA) and moral (farmer) issue, but my guess is that this farmer is small beans compared to the feed lots in the area which require frequent trips. Bottom line is, is that when you, (general public) notices that something's not right that they notify the proper agency to get their attention. The MPCA will respond, I've been on both sides of the response. I've called in, and have had our construction projects called in.

As with most of the regulations in the hunting and fishing world, it is self-governed. The DNR and MPCA, Corps of Eng. are all driven by politics, the "best" management is not always used.

Every body should take some responsibility for this. The frequent fisherman should called the DNR/MPCA when the lake got noticebly cloudy (not natural), the MPCA should be making more visits, and the farmer should've fixed the problem on his own. He knows that <*&%$ flows downhill too!!!

[fisherdog19]

Also well put.

One problem that grows in this country is the lack of responsibility people take for thier actions, especially when those actions are not good. Why is it that more people cannot inherently do what is right, and good? We would then need less agencies to make sure everything is "kosher". Why do people look the other way more and more (more so on the eastern and western shores of the US). If someone does something wrong, turn them in, period. Why should every little farmer or rural property owner HAVE to be policed? Is it that hard to do the right thing? If you mistakenly do something that may hurt the environment on a large scale, make a call so that the impact is not so great and can be remedied, instead of trying to cover it up. There are not enough tax dollars to pay the man hours for this policing. Tax dollars are needed elsewhere, most importantly, for schools so that our younger generation can be well educated! I realize that some people make mistakes when it comes to these types of things, but most of the time they are caused by carelessness or done on purpose to save an almighty dollar. There will never be a perfect remedy for the problems, but if we all work together, and try to make their jobs easier by helping instead of bashing, things may get a little better. I would imagine that everyone agrees that these agencies are understaffed for the territory they cover.

[ScottND]

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I would imagine that everyone agrees that these agencies are understaffed for the territory they cover.

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This is not researched facts, but my opinion.

The funds are probably there, but skimmed off in to the pockets of one or a couple of the highest officals in the agencies as with most companies/agencies now days.

I'm not sure if irresponsible fits as the biggest culprit. I think it is pure GREED! It will probably be the demise of mankind.

[DEADhead]

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This is not researched facts, but my opinion.

The funds are probably there, but skimmed off in to the pockets of one or a couple of the highest officals in the agencies as with most companies/agencies now days.

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I don't think that's the case with MN agencies... The Attorney Genereal and Dept. of Administration have been pretty strict, and sometimes overbearing, regarding spending funding. This may definitely be the case in other states, and in private companies, but not in MN. If you go to the Department of Finance's website you can see how the dollars are spent for every agency in MN

[ScottND]

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If you go to the Department of Finance's website you can see how the dollars are spent for every agency in MN

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That's right...I forgot about that, and here I used to be a state employee too. Their wages are public information.

If I wasn't so busy getting ready for camping, fishing, hunting and ice fishing right now I'd go check out what the Attorney General and head of the Dept. of Administration are making. It's the departments/politicians that control what is getting divvied out that concern me. They are the ones that are in the special interest group’s pockets. I'll guarantee if the DNR & MPCA aren't getting the appropriate funds needed then there is someone somewhere that is more interested in furthering their personal interests then the agency they work for.

[DEADhead]

The Attorney General's salary is 95% of the Governer's salary. in 2003 the AG's salary was $114,288.

Dept. of Admin, Director's salary:

Financial Mgt Director

salary range: $30.41/hr to $43.67/hr

$63,496 to $91,183

the salary for this position is fairly low compared to other agencies' Directors salaries, and extremely low when compared to director's salaries in the private sector. This position would be the equivalent to the CEO or COO in the private sector. We all know how much $$ they make...

Here is a link to the salaries for Minnesota Officials.