Cannon Lake & River Fishing Reports

[ivycreek08]

ha... i just can't seem to find a walleye to catch... i grew up a river rat, so catchin cats is second nature!

[MinnesotaMongo]

I know that Flatheads are huge, eating predators which make a HUGE dent in a forage base in sufficient numbers - but is that the same for channel cats. I know that a lot of people complain that channel cats in Shetek really hurt their walleye fishery.

[ivycreek08]

not positive the whole biological affects they have... but i know even smaller channels (Well, 2-4 lbs) will eat sizable meals... we have caught a lot of them on sizable chubs or suckers while fishing flats... or on smaller bullheads... so, i could see where they would eat a lot of bait fish...

[Muddog]

I can't see how Channel Cats could do as much damage as irresponsible fishermen can do. I just can't see it.

By the way, have you ever heard someone say something like. Wow! There are way to many Walleye in this lake. I remember when you could catch a limit of Crappies in an hour on this lake. Or are Walleye just such a GOOD fish that it would never lower itself to do such a thing.

If you go fishing and don't catch a fish all day because all you did was fish for one type of fish with just one presentation. I think your doing it the hard way. Or Maybe, yea, it must be, The reason I suck at fishing is because of,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Channel Cats.

[MinnesotaMongo]

I agree with you on a philosophical level MD, but I'm still curious as to the impact of catfish on a fisheries. I remember reading way back when in InFisherman that Flatheads will wipe out fish in an area of cover in short time - so I was just curious if it was the same for channel cats.

[Muddog]

I know Flathead tend to eat mostly live bait such as Bullheads. While most of my Channel Cat fishing is with cut bait.

On Lake Volney they brought in Flathead to try to cut down the Carp population. They didn't bring in Channel cat.

My Q. is. Why do we need to think all lakes should be great Walleye lakes? If a lake has the potential to be a great lake for some other kind of fish. Let it be so.

[ivycreek08]

yeah, most of my channel fishing is with cut bait as well, just sayin we have caught good numbers of them on live bait as well while fishin flats... also have fished purposely with live bait for channels on the lesueur river near kato while they seemed to be extremely active... they seemed to be hitting the live bait better... all depends on the day i guess... mostly cut bait for channels though, and live for flats... i haven't heard of many lakes being stocked with cats around kato, but while diggin through DNR stuff they seem to "manage" or stock a good number of lakes around the cities with cats.... must be some people up there that like them and can't get to the river or something... i don't know! Fishin cats of anysort can be a blast.. and is my fav. type of fishing, but it's not for everyone i guess!

[MinnesotaMongo]

My Q. is. Why do we need to think all lakes should be great Walleye lakes? If a lake has the potential to be a great lake for some other kind of fish. Let it be so.

Agreed.

Now, all you have to do is convince what seems to me - about 95.7% of the rest of Mn fisherman that other fish are as desirable to catch as walleye.

[smeese]

Cannon lake is directly in line with cannon river so there is no getting them out of the system, this is the system unless you can get them below the dam.

Do what you can to get them out of the system and reintroduce the bullhead.

[Whisker Warrior]

i know Flatheads are a very dominant species in the rivers and can put down alot of baitfish but looking at the Red River fishery where the dominant species is Channels and trophy ones at that you also see 10-13 lb. walleye's on a common basis up there so to say they directly effect the walleye population you would think the Red river would show signs of that...just my 2 cents

[riverrat56]

From a forage base standpoint channels will eat alot of similar foods that a walleye will. In this area of the state small bullheads can make up a large portion of both thier diets. When they compete for a finite number of bullheads to eat neither fish can reach the full potential that they could if the other weren't in the lake.

Muddog brings up a good point that every lake doesn't need to be a walleye lake, some just aren't cut out for it and IMO should be managed otherwise. Although I do love my walleyes...

I know nothing about the Red river, but it may have a much more diverse forage base than some of the shallow lakes in this area and the fish don't need to compete with each other.

[zepman]

Most of the area lakes have channel cats swimming in their waters. Just look at the DNR trap/gill net #'s they post on their site on each individual lake. Most are stocked, apparently to help in the reduction of bullheads etc...but also to help in the stunted panfish populations that much of our area lakes suffer from. Last spring I caught three channels while crappie fishing and it was a blast. I think alot of these lakes around here need these bigger predators in them to keep the "mud-fish" in check.

[Whisker Warrior]

Excellent point riverrat56...with that being said i think Cannon Lake in particular shouldn't suffer as much since it actually exists within a river system allowing a more diverse forage base...P.S. speaking from firsthand knowledge the walleyes in Cannon are definitely there as my dad and I have been fishing it for the last 15 years with some years better than others but as a whole the lake has been pretty consistent with getting the walleyes to bite...but that might have something to do with the healthy stocking it gets....I second Muddogg's opinion that every lake doesn't need to be a walleye lake...Don't tell the old man though....

[JBMasterAngler]

I don't think cannon has a shortage of bullheads, definitely not upstream anyway. On good day (or bad, depending on your point of view) I'll snag a dozen to 15 of those 3 or 4 inch whiskered little buggers while fishing for silvers.

It's my understanding that catfish are native to the cannon river, so they and the walleye have been living in harmony for about 10,000 years now. Sheephead also make up a very important part in a predator's diet, and they, like the bullhead are also quite numerous in the cannon river. So to sum everything up, there probably is no shortage of food in cannon. If you want to help the walleyes, KILL all the cormorants on wells lake!!!

P.S. catfish are way funner to catch than walleyes.

[Team Otter]

I think Tetonka has a very good catfish population and also is one of the better walleye lakes around.

Tetonka is also part of the Cannon River system, so fish populations should generally remain strong. From a walleye fishing stand point, the fishery would be better off with bullheads versus cat fish.

[Team Otter]

My Q. is. Why do we need to think all lakes should be great Walleye lakes?

In no particular order:

1. The walleye is the state fish in MN.

2. Revenue.

3. Politics.

[Team Clam]

Team Otter-

As much as I like walleye, it would be impossible to make every lake in MN a "walleye" lake. The habitat just isn't there for walleye and succussful recruitment. Look at Southern MN, there are very few lakes that naturally recruit. In the Mankato area, there is little to NO natural reproduction, thus, lakes that cannot be walleye lakes.

[Team Otter]

Team Otter-

As much as I like walleye, it would be impossible to make every lake in MN a "walleye" lake. The habitat just isn't there for walleye and succussful recruitment. Look at Southern MN, there are very few lakes that naturally recruit. In the Mankato area, there is little to NO natural reproduction, thus, lakes that cannot be walleye lakes.

I am not suggesting each lake should be a walleye lake. I answered a question based on how the general public (or state officials) would respond. Walleye is on the radar more than any other species and thus receives the most attention, regardless of what you and others have explained as to why things can't happen for one reason or another. I and many others understand all of that.

[sparcebag]

The dam in Welch stoped most eyes and cats from going upstream.

When I fished it and I did often below the dam lots of eyes & cats even flats.After the dam was removed I started catching them upstream all the way to CannonFalls,Now that dam is impossible to get over,But its a river natural cat and eye migrations from the mississippi have been occuring for ever,well till man created dams.but I'm sure they were there then and always will.

[Team Otter]

I was certain this topic was going to create a healthy discussion. Thank you all for your civil input. Keep it rolling.

[Team Clam]

I would way rather have a lake w/ catfish in it. Makes the walleye fishing even easier. The catfish actually lower the bullhead populations. Bullheads are a main forage for both cats, and walleyes. The fewer bullheads, the better the walleye fishing. Look at Round Lake, Loon Lake, and Lake crytal. All lakes have good numbers of cats, and the walleyes are easy pickings. Bring on the catfish.

[DTro]

Hey, you guys leave those Cats alone down there. We need a few more places to go and target them.

For me personally, I’m out there to catch fish and have fun. I don’t care whether the fish is gold with a white tip, or dark brown with whiskers. As long as it puts a smile on my face I don’t care.

And I agree, they taste perty darn good through the ice too.

Funny how NIMBY has now made its way into fish management.

[MinnesotaMongo]

I think the DNR has a tough balance to maintain - science vs. public opinion. Fisheries Biology/limnology tell them one thing while public opinion (and their paychecks) tell them another. I think they are getting better at it as of late.

[Team Otter]

Hey, you guys leave those Cats alone down there. We need a few more places to go and target them.

For me personally, I’m out there to catch fish and have fun. I don’t care whether the fish is gold with a white tip, or dark brown with whiskers. As long as it puts a smile on my face I don’t care.

And I agree, they taste perty darn good through the ice too.

Funny how NIMBY has now made its way into fish management.

What took you so long? Ha!

[tjbassmaster]

Catfish don't reck fisheries. Carp reck fisheries!!! By kicking up the bottom and by reducing weed growth and water clarity. I have seen them reck a good walleye lake so that might be the problem with cannon. but I don't know the lake. So I am just throwing that out there to see what everyone thinks.

[BK45GOLF]

AMEN to that!! lol

[riverrat56]

I think what TO is getting at is that catfish and bullheads both have a differnt effect on walleye populations. Cats have a negetive effect overall because they compete for forage, similar to small mouth bass and walleyes. If a lake has more bullheads in it the walleyes may not be as easy to catch but they will be heathier overall. I don't really know much about the relationship between catfish and walleyes other than they compete for forage and inhabit similar areas, if cats are more aggressive feeders (I think they are?) they will push walleyes out/cut down on the avalible forage for them.

Just because a fishery is "easy picking" doesn't mean it is healty in the long term. A good example would be Clear lake near Gibbon, for 2 years the walleye fishing was unreal due to a lack of forage (mainly bullheads) when the walleye numbers were reduced significantly (due to harvest) the bullheads rebounded and they are having difficulty reestablishing the walleye population.

Everything needs a balance to have a healthy maintainable fishery, be it walleyes, bullheads, cats, bass, northerns ect. I think the DNR's goal is to make lakes more stable and not have the "boom and bust" that is common on some shallow lakes in the ares.

[Team Otter]

For the lakes that have healthy populations of kitties in them, I wonder how tough they are on any given population of freshly stocked walleye fry and/or fingerling.

[riverrat56]

I would think they would have more effect on fingerlings than fry, only because I would imagion that the larger channels (2 lb+) are most likely looking for a larger meal than a walleye fry?

If cats are the major predator in the lake then I could see the damage being greater, but I would guess that everying from crappies, perch, bass, northerns, bullheads, and even walleyes will munch on walleye fry when given the chance.

[Muddog]

Quote:

In no particular order:

1. The walleye is the state fish in MN.

2. Revenue.

3. Politics.

I like #1. It makes me wonder how a Loon would taste.

#2-3. Your hitting the nail right on the head. Neather have a thing to do with fishing quality.

I will let you in on something here though. In this area there is a world class fishery, but not Walleyes. So no one pays it the least bit of attention. Funnie how that works. As the Barron said so well; "that is all the people need to know".