cedar (rice cty)

[leghorn1953]

anyone fish cedar this past weekend

how'd you do?

[fishin789]

I fished it on sat and sun. I caught a ton of real small eyes. caught one 15" eye on sat and one 17" eye on sun. the rest were real small. The DNR was out there on sat and they said no one was catching anything.

[fisherman-andy]

That seems to be the problem with Cedar right now. Everything is real small. The Bass, Crappies, and Walleyes. It's probably due to fish kill over the years. The lake needs another 3-5 yrs before becoming worthy again. Although there are still some nice fish to be caught occasionally.

[gspman]

There's nothing wrong with the bass in the lake but the crappies and sunnies are stunted and have been for the last 4-5 years. Either that or my standards are too high. I know the DNR is looking into the stunted panfish situation but I wouldn't hold my breath for a solution. Walleyes are stocked and I've only caught smaller ones. I think a weed walleye technique might produce a little better but the stunted sunnies will destroy any bait you have during the day so it might be a night fishing gig. Cedar is not a "goto" lake for catching a limit of semi-decent 'eyes on a regular basis. You'll catch a couple here and there and that's it. In my mind bass are the only real game in town on Cedar.

[love2fish4ever]

I'm not convinced that it is a stunting problem as it is a fishing pressure issue. When one considers the pressure these lakes see it's a wonder there are any numbers of 12-14" crappies or large walleyes or bass, unless they are regulated ( like the bass in Clear/Waseca)Any time the word is out that a perticular lake has a "bite on" of any given species, it gets decended on & it doesn't let up until they are gone or the bite is really off, look at Elysian. You have to consider how long it takes to grow these fish vs. how long it takes to take them out. We all know many of these lakes have the potential to grow large fish, but keeping them there; there is the hard part. Everyone has their right to their limit of each species in their freezer; how many of us really needs that much? Some maybe do. Personally I would sacrafice a few more meals of fish to have a greater population of larger fish in our lakes.I know regulations are easier said than done & not everyone appreciates them. Maybe they've never experienced the feeling of catching a really nice fish, then letting it swim to be caught another day.

Just my two cents. L2f

[jeremy1]

I remember this lake to be a great crappie lake maybe 10 years ago. Crappies would bite on anything you threw at them back then. Now its hard to buy a bite. I did manage to catch some nice walleye by accident with bass style spinner baits last year while bass fishing the shallows.

[gspman]

Quote:

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I'm not convinced that it is a stunting problem as it is a fishing pressure issue

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Fishing pressure is precisely what caused the stunting. There are a ton of 6-8" crappies in Cedar and I can catch them at will. Just watch the electronics and throw out a marker when you see fish. Then throw mini tubes at them and have a heyday.

The problem now is that there is so much competition for food with all the stunted pannies that I don't think any will have a chance to go to any size. Not coincidentally, the fishing pressure for sunnies has gone way down the last 2 years.

[love2fish4ever]

You are absolutly right,if we could keep the "sizable" predator fish in the lake it may help the small panfish population, but now we are talking regulations again. The DNR has it's hands full trying to keep a good growth balance in these lakes with the action these lakes see. It's tougher to find the next up & coming lake for any particular species before word gets out, because then it's just a matter of time & it's out of balance & it's back to square one. L2f