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mille lacs state park camping


shivermeister

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I am heading up to mille lacs mid june and planning on camping at one of the state parks. Anyone have any suggestions as to which one (kathio or father hennepin). Considerations would include boat launching, nice tent sites, and proximity to good fishing spots. Never fished the lake before so any help would be excellent. Thanks!!

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Father Hennipen for sure. Kathio is a beutiful park but it's also a couple of miles from the lake itself. Father Hennipen has everything your looking for

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ill second that, father hen.. although its always tight to get in there... if your going up on a wed or thursday, they do have "non reservable" spots you can get.. get there early though..

they have a great beach for kids to swim too.. , hike, bike, fish.. and its by the Isle muni bar... :->

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Father Hennepin is great, I stay there twice every year. If you are fiishing Walleyes you will be close to lots of gravel also.

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How is the boat launch in Hennepin State Park? Will a sixteen with a forty launch ok?

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I would say father hennepin is the better of the 2. You are up close and personal with excellent walleye structure and the deer are fun to watch grin.gif. I have never landed there but I would guess it should be deep enough to land a 16. If it is not deep enough go across the bay to the isle landing. that is deep enough for sure.

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kathio or father hennepin? Depends on if you want to fish more, or camp more. Kathio has better (MUCH better) campsites, but is not on the lake. There is a boat launch just east of the park, but it's a drive. Drove through Father Hennepin last year to write down preferred site numbers and left with almost a blank sheet. Some disappointing sites there. The park is on the waters edge, but you can't leave the boat in the lake. I guess that might actually be good because the big lake gets huge breakers with a good wind.

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Father Hennepin also has the deer herd that you can almost dang near feed by hand. They also have the two albino deer in there that are worth looking for. ooo.gif

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they are not officially albino's, they are just white deer, some have brown hair mixed in and brown eyes. there are 7 of them this year. the buck should be around 10 points this year. park staff found a shed this spring and it is in the office. you can get quite close to them. feeding them is against the law in the park............tom fellegy

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Holy smokes! I did not know there was 7 of them in there. We parked in there in March and all we seen was 2. Thanks for the update Tom.

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There are two launches, both are nice. You will not have a problem with your 16/40...except for maybe having to wait for some tool to take his cover off, hook up his electronics, mount his troll, unstrap, and change a trailer light all while being next in line to launch.

good luck!

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I took this 4 years ago... If you go early in the spring you really get a nice show with all of them running around... My family has been hitting Father Hennepin for years and have had a great time every year... It is a great camp ground for children... I remember playing on the swings running & biking on the trails for hours... Too bad the eye's are not like they used to be on the lake fish fry for the whole family is getting harder to provide...

albinodeerix8.jpg

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We are going there June 11 and 12. All the lake front camping sites are open. We are going to tent it. Me and a couple kids. Well, not kids anymore, but recent highschool graduates. Are the lakeside spots a good spot or are we better off with another spot. Site #s would be helpful. We are going on a Monday so most of the sites are open still.

Ron

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jegerjack,

why do you say that the walleye's are not like they used to be??? and it is getting harder to provide for a fish fry??? mille lacs' is putting out fish period. on the keeper side of the slot, the 16 to 18 inch fish are very plentifully right now. the throw back slot is also well represented. it is not uncommon to catch 6 to 8 fish a day that are between 25 and 27 inches. folks are catching 20 to 30 fish a day, and if you are pressed for time, it is not uncommon to catch your 4 fish keeper slot limit in a hour or less. fishing here on mille lacs is second to none right now, anywhere!!! not even erie can compete with mille lacs right now. if you are having trouble catching fish on a consistent basis, hire a guide. there are alot of guides here on mille lacs, the good ones will take you out and teach you how to fish walleye. the $300 or so dollars you spend will be well worth it when you come back up here and practice what you learned while out with the guide. good luck on your next trip up here.............tom fellegy

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I am saying that because it is what I have experienced... We used to be able take the kids out for a couple hours and we would have no problem catching enough fish for a fry, all we had to do was put on some slip bobbers and anchor for an hour and we would have our limit, no matter where we went.. Yes if you want to catch fish you can but the numbers are down from 20 years ago, this is not some breaking news story or an opinion... Its not a question of how and where to find fish, I can do that I just cannot bring my 2 year old out for a hour and guarantee fish like we used to be able to… Now, I do agree with you that the past couple years the fishing has picked up quite a bit… Last June we had some of the best fishing we have had in 5 years…

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