So this might be a little early, but...

[Stick in Mud]

I was out of the area for a few years, so I'm a bit unsure about when the annual carp and sucker migration begins up the Watab and Sauk. How long after ice out will I have to wait before I can honestly expect to catch a few fish?

On a separate note, the sunnies and crappies last summer/fall were dynamite up around Sartell. I wonder if anyone has any opinions on whether they'll still be around this spring.

[Sartell Angler]

[please read forum policy before posting again]

[ANYFISH]

deleted by anyfish

[UncleKes]

Carmike: Usually sunnies, crappies and perch start to stack up aroun d feeder creeksn riprap or any place that is rocky or gravelly about the middle of march into april to get reday for the spawn. At least that has been my experience. I usually break out my ultralite rod around March 15th or so and start casting a small jig (say 1/32nd to 1/64th) and start a slow retrive. I get hits on Perch, Sunfish, Crappies. Be sure to use something like XT or you are going to be cutting liine as it gets dragged over the rocks, gravel and wood though.

Anyway, that has been my experience in the past. On another note! It is good to see you again. I hope you and your family had a good winter and are in good health. Talk to you later!

Tight Lines;

Uncle kes

[sparcebag]

 Originally Posted By: ANYFISH

"around Sartell" now that a specific spot!

Same response form sartell angler any time a general area is given, do want to help anyone on here or just whine about other peoples posts!

Tell ya what I share spots with people who share, however they arent incognito.they in their profile have a bit of info who they are,or have given something out to someone else.You'd be surprized at what gets to private email.

[river rat316]

 Originally Posted By: ANYFISH

"around Sartell" now that a specific spot!

Same response form sartell angler any time a general area is given, do want to help anyone on here or just whine about other peoples posts!

Pretty sure he has helped, with presentation and stuff like that, naming any spot whether it be a community hole or personal honey hole isn't very bright though

[ANYFISH]

I would like to appologize for the attack S.A comments like that get to me. I know how helpful you can be. I just didn't think that "around sartell" was something to make a comment about, there is always crappies, sunfish, walleye, catfish around there. I will delete my post as it was not fair and I am not normally that guy.

[Sartell Angler]

No harm done ANYFISH. I knew my post was quite sarcastic and would likely ruffle a feather or two but we're talking about my neck of the woods here and this is the internet.

I would disagree that no specific spots were mentioned...doesn't take much narrowing down to figure out where Carmike is referring to.

I don't mean to be a pri** about things on here but I really just wish people would consider the reach this site has and keep that in mind when making a post. I have personally seen the effects internet forums can have on a fishing spot (actually several). It doesn't take much of a tip to change a spot and the internet should not be changing our fishing spots--it should be enhancing the sport by allowing us to share our experiences with others and maybe learn a few things to make fishing more enjoyable. I think I have contributed to this site without jeopardizing spots for myself or others and that has always been my goal.

Thanks and good luck during late ice!

Sartell Angler

[Stick in Mud]

SA's posts have certainly given a fair amount of information, and I am sure that I've never seen him ask for the specifics of anyone else's spots, so I certainly admire his defense of his "neck of the woods." It's my neck of the woods, too, and neither he nor I like to see "our" spots either crowded or littered or "changed." Maybe I should have been more discreet; I have seen his posts (and those of others) that have discussed this issue, and I have moved (or tried to move) all of my specific discussion of hot spots to email. That being said, I still don't think that I was overly specific or that I "jeopardized" any spots, but I see his point.

There are lots and lots of places to catch crappies around Sartell, and I'm positive that the most popular one is one of the worst (probably because it's always "jeopardized" with people fishing "shoulder to shoulder" in the spring and early summer). In fact, this isn't the place I had in mind when I talked about the "dynamite" fishing. There are lots of places to catch panfish all over the river...in Saint Cloud, Clearwater, Little Falls, Monticello, Aitkin, Rice, etc etc etc, and last year, all of them were good. In my mind, saying "around Sartell" doesn't really give anyone more info than saying "around Saint Cloud" or "just south of Aitkin." But again, I see his point.

I too have seen a large rise in the numbers of people fishing "my" spots over the last ten years. I wonder how much of this is attributable to the internet, and how much of it is caused by increasing numbers of fisherman talking in person about hot spots. Don't lots of our spots gain in popularity just from people talking at work and at family gatherings and such? How can we know that it's the internet per se that is causing a large rise in the number of people fishing our spots, and not just the word-of-mouth of fishermen?

For example, last summer I was catching many many big smallies around Aitkin. I didn't tell anyone or post anywhere, and I didn't see anyone else post online about the smallie fishing in Aitkin, but I did see the number of people skyrocket as the summer went on. There were old people, young people, middle-aged people, looots of people were out. Isn't this just what we should expect when we start catching fish? Or to ask the question to Riverrat, how is naming a "community hole" not "bright"? It's already a community hole, and the people in that community are going to talk, whether online or no...

[Sartell Angler]

I understand your point Carmike, but when you consider the outdoor climate in regards to how information is transferred between anglers, the one variable that has changed is the Internet.

People have been telling their buddies and co-workers where the fish are biting forever, and bait stores have had lake and area reports for nearly as long. The difference resides in the fact that baitstore reports of often very general and usually focus on the same, common bodies of water. The HUGE difference between telling your buddies and posting a thread on the internet is that instead of telling one or two people you trust and who might keep it relatively quiet, you are now essentially broadcasting it to a countless number of individuals actively searching for a place to catch fish.

[Berens Lake ON]

I agree if you don't want to fish with others don't post your spots. This specific topic is different as it's a river and the fish are transient year by year and season by season even week to week. If you are talking about lakes this could be an important topic. I've fished rivers big and small for 31 years and have never seen a area fished out the next season (thats part of the beauty of the river)even after standing "shoulder to shoulder" with some of the guys on this forum. Post or don't post... it's up to you.

[Royce Aardahl]

What are all you guys doing on MY river?

[UncleKes]

Sartell:

"I really just wish people would consider the reach this site has."

On the other hand you can use the site to your advantage if you are of a sneaky mind by giving out false information and sending the claim jumpers elsewhere where hopefully the mosquitoes and deer flies will be so thick they won't ever come back!

Anyway! I know someone like YOU would never be so mean and dirty But is nice to dream about anyway!

Tight lines;

Uncle Kes

[AaronM]

 Originally Posted By: carmike

I was out of the area for a few years, so I'm a bit unsure about when the annual carp and sucker migration begins up the Watab and Sauk. How long after ice out will I have to wait before I can honestly expect to catch a few fish?

I too am new to the area and would love to know when to expect the run. I don't mean to hijack the thread but it seems we've gotten a bit off topic:)

[Stick in Mud]

Hijack welcomed!

[sparcebag]

 Originally Posted By: fishingfrenzy

 Originally Posted By: carmike

I was out of the area for a few years, so I'm a bit unsure about when the annual carp and sucker migration begins up the Watab and Sauk. How long after ice out will I have to wait before I can honestly expect to catch a few fish?

I too am new to the area and would love to know when to expect the run. I don't mean to hijack the thread but it seems we've gotten a bit off topic:)

Normally its soon after the nothern run,towards the end of march to mid april,depending on weather,the Mooselake area suckers ran 1st week april,But it depended on weather

[Royce Aardahl]

So what do you do with the suckers? Smoke em or just catch and release?

[Sartell Angler]

C&R is what we usually do but a guy my buddy knows smokes 'em and they aren't too bad if you can get over the fact you're eating suckers...actually taste a lot like ham, just have to pick around the bones.

I think people would gobble 'em down pretty good if they had enough beer in them to ignore what they were eating

[Stick in Mud]

We do catch and release, too, but sometimes there's a guy or two down there who take all the fish to smoke them. It wasn't until I was in high school that I realized guys weren't actually going to "smoke" (like a cigarette) all of the suckers I caught. I actually remember thinking about NOT letting them have them because I was grossed out by the fact that someone would "smoke" them.

And it seems like there are always some people who, for whatever reason, think it's a good idea to throw all of their fish either on the street or on the bank...I'm not sure why people find this necessary or amusing, but it's an incredible waste and it smells horribly. And it's illegal.

[river rat316]

Call TIP on that, suckers are a native fish and deserve more respect than that!

[huntfish44]

ya man call TIP, those people need to see the law! It seems they are more uneducated than anything else and need a run in with the CO to fork out some dollars.

[Stick in Mud]

Would it be worth taking a video on a camera phone of these people? I have called TIP before and I've never had a particularly useful experience...at least nothing happened that I know of. What exactly does TIP do? Do they send a conservation officer to the site immediately? Or does the C.O. just watch that particular area more closely?

[Sartell Angler]

It depends if a guy is on duty in the area, and probably on whether they figure they can get the guy for anything.

In the past I have called tip on some asians keeping walleyes and northerns in april (they were filling up a cooler with them) and also on guys fishing with large jigs & plastics for walleyes before the season started. Nobody showed up to nail the asians, and the dispatcher told me that the guys fishing walleyes before the season opened with the jig and twisters would have to admit to the officer what they were doing, which is a crock of you know what.

I've still got the number programmed into my phone (like every hunter/fisherman should) and won't hesitate to call again though.

[AaronM]

Any new info on when to expect the run? Itching to get out there!

[Stick in Mud]

There's nothing going on down here yet. Most of the river is still frozen, in fact, but it should be out by this week. Soon after, we'll get some carp and suckers!

[Rick]

Be sure to stay on the original topic here. If you want to discuss the merits of posting infomation please use the Outdoor discussion forum. Going off topic and hijacking this thread is not the way to go.

[AaronM]

Any word on whether the run has started or when it's going to start?

[Stick in Mud]

I'll be out this weekend. I imagine the warmer temps starting tomorrow will get them going. I'll report when I get back!

[Royce Aardahl]

 Originally Posted By: Rick

Be sure to stay on the original topic here. If you want to discuss the merits of posting infomation please use the Outdoor discussion forum. Going off topic and hijacking this thread is not the way to go.

Isn't hijacking kinda normal? We all drift.

[MinDak Hunter]

I would like to Hijack this post for a little while and talk about TIP.

If you call TIP you are calling an operator that works on contract. You are not calling the TIP organization directly so you NEED to be very specific on the info you give the operator. A call will be placed to the game warden for the area of where the violation is occurring. The game warden might not be home when the call comes in so you should gather as much info as you can; car/truck description (license plate is the BEST), physical description of the violator, time, date, exact location, and nature of the violation. It may take a day or two for the warden to get back to you but keep the info handy as the operator may omit something when he/she copies it down and you can tell the warden yourself.

YOU CAN REMAIN ANONYMOUS (and still collect a reward).

Look at the TIP website for the phone info for the warden in your area.

The number to call on your cell is #TIP.

Be patient.