Lake Minnewaska Fishing Reports - Ice Conditions

[PM49]

Landdr,

Just wondering what time your shop opens up Saturday morning?

Pat

[LandDr]

7am on Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday looks nice with the forcast but Sunday is dipping back down into the 50s. The water temp was 48 on Saturday and 53 on Sunday. With it getting into the 70s mid week, I would expect the bit to really be picking up.

Fish On!

[pljllo]

checking on the crappie bite on Lake Ida. Not location, just if there is action

not

[LandDr]

Might want to put that post in the Alexandria fishing report thread instead of Minnewaska.

Minnewaska report...it has been windy on the big pond...but the people going out I think are catching some fish. When there is a little chop on the water, the bite has been pretty good and nice sized fish. The forcast is for the wind to go down tonight...Saturday thru mid next week look REALLY great for fishing weather. Water temps are really good as well.

Crappie minnows and tube jigs are the bait/tackle of choice.

Fish On!

[DarthBaiter]

High pressure will be settling in..... not great fishing..... or so they say.

[icefisker]

maybe youre just BAF.

[cylinder]

BAF??

Hmmm. Belgian Air Force? Blue Arsed Fly??

[wetaline1]

Bad At Fishing

[wetaline1]

landdr how many fish are boats averaging?

[LandDr]

Beautiful day on the lake yesterday! Nice little chop to keep the bobber moving and the jig bouncing and moving along. Got Dad out on the lake for awhile for some father/son time.

Got out around 10am or so and got into crappies right away in Torgy's Bay. It was almost every cast! But they were small...around 7 to 9 inchers. After about an hour and a half of catching these little guys, I decided to move down to the west side of the Bay and see if I could get Dad into some bigger crappies. Right away we got fish...there wasn't as many but when we did catch on it was 10 to 12 inches. Towards 1pm, it started to be a fish every cast. We found a pearl white jig head with a black/white tube jig or even a red/white was pretty deadly. A lot of fun!

Looks to be another great day to get out on the lake!

Fish On!

[LandDr]

Towards the boat landing, it looked like everyone was catching fish but they are very small and being thrown back. A lot of boats had kids in them and they were having a blast catching them...but again too small.

Where we were catching the bigger fish, there were a lot of boats there as well but I only seen on boat catching fish that would make a limit like we did...the rest seemed to only catch a few. I seen some nice bass caught and a nice walleye too. I think the jig and tube we were using was the ticket along with a very slow retrieve back. But we also left early since we had a limit and the best time for fishing was probably yet to come since the water temp was just getting to 55F. I would expect the bite picked up towards the end of the day.

Fish On!

[fishduck]

I fished Torgy's Bay Sat. from 4-7 pm and three of us caught 19 keepers all 10-12 inches. Threw back alot of small ones too. From the looks of it we were doing better than boats near us. Used a plain red hook and minnow 3 ft under a bobber in 7 fow.Great day on the lake, kid had a blast.Fish fry was great too!!

[LandDr]

Thanks for the report fishduck. They are tastey!

Sounds like most were doing well enough to keep some fish and many commented on how many little males where in the bay. It is great to see and hear about that many crappies...looks like it was a good year class.

Water temps are more around 55+ so the bite should be good all week with the continued nice weather.

We are also in 6 tp 6.5 fow with about 3.5 ft of line under the bobber.

Fish On!

[wetaline1]

Im just gonna wait for the water temps to go up a few more so I can pull those big old slabs off their spawning beds... not

come on people, throw back the big ones and keep the 'better' eating small males

crappies are just like walleyes and are too vulnerable right now

[LandDr]

I agree with ya Wetline...I would like to see a slot on Waska for 10 to 12 inch crappies...and the majority of the people thru the store agree...and have an allowance for a couple trophy fish if someone wanted to mount something really big of course. However, the DNR seems to focus on walleye management on the lake and not much else. It would really help to get the lake association to take the lead on it.

The 10 to 12 inchers that we kept are almost all males...just a couple were females. The 8 and 9 inchers are just to small to keep and we threw a lot of those back.

Fish On!

[pushbutton]

landr,

what is your rough estimate of what people are actually fishing for on waska? you must have more insight than most just by seeing what lures/bait people are buying. i know regs on panfish have been rehashed over and over, but i really think people under estimate the amount of interest and money is being spent on panfish. while walleye management is important, it is a huge resource for our state, but just imagine the potential many minnesota lakes would have if a fraction of the resources were spent on crappies and gills.

[LandDr]

It will depend on the lake to some regard...LOW, Mille Lacs, etc. versus Waska, Osakis, Reno, etc.

I personally believe more money is spent on panfish for Minnewaska. A walleye customer will often spend $10 to $20 each time they stop versus a panfish guy usually spends less than $5...but there will be many more panfish guys thru the door than walleye guys.

I don't think it has to be a "one or the other" management either. Why can't there be management for both?

How can panfish be managed on Waska? Slots on both sunfish and crappie? Protecting spawning areas (I have had some people in that feel Torgy's Bay should be off limits at this time of year...which certainly has some merit.) Habitat wise, the lake seems to be taking care of itself but there are some interesting things that can be done to create artificial habitat.

I agree with you...I have been a little discouraged with the position the DNR takes on management, or rather not much management at all, in regards to our panfish. Panfish are obviously very important to Glenwood's tourism.

Good post!

Fish On!

[wetaline1]

IMO I dont think the DNR has enough regulations on most lakes. I would love to see the bay closed off or at least restricted to catch and release because everyone loves catching spring pannies. It doesn't take a whole lot of skill to pull a limit of crappies every day right now.

Pushbutton, what did you mean by ""just imagine the potential many minnesota lakes would have if a fraction of the resources were spent on crappies and gills."" ?

[pushbutton]

while i am not a biologist or a numbers numbers guy, common sense tells me that protecting panfish through slots, limits, and off limit areas during spawning would create better quality fisheries resulting in more success for the anglers, resulting in more money for the economy and meat for the guys that need to feed their families. it is in my mind a win win situation. maybe someone smarter than me can tell me what is wrong with my logic.

[wetaline1]

In my opinion, the best way to manage fish in our lakes is to eliminate "fishing report" threads, and gee...I don’t know... actually make people work to find their own fish. With technology it’s so easy for people to "troll" the internet Friday morning for a hot bite, gas up the boat and load up the F-150 and drive 2 hours for a "sure thing." People can smoke a limit for 2 straight days, and then get out of town with a few baggies full of resources and a story for the water cooler, without having to do ONE MINUTE of actual "true sportsman fishing." Hell, you don’t even have to spend a dime in town…in and out like a robbery!

This just made my day.

Excellent post.

[pushbutton]

sorry, i was fishing with captain morgan last night and would rather not start yet another should we or shouldn't we manage panfish, should be another great day to hit the water...hope some of you get out!

[ddsbyday]

Limits are set by the DNR. If the resource is deemed unsustainable the limits will be cut. Crappies went from 15 to 10. The sunfish and perch limits also have been cut. I do not see a problem with keeping some fish for dinner. If someone is taking more than they are allowed on the water-double tripping or in possession call tip. Thats what it is for. I think there is more awareness of the value of catch and release than ever before. We all know crappies are vulnerable during the spring. They also are almost invisible during the summer months. No fishing reports on a fishing web site? No permanent ice houses allowed to hog the spot on my secret lake? Keep some for dinner and release the rest. Call tip if see someone abusing the resource. True sportsman fishing? I went there once this winter to fish with some frends. Pulled up a DNR lake map to pic a location. Turned out it was crappie town. Went somewhere else on the lake to get away from the crowd. Had I caught a limit of legal walleye after a 90 minute drive and only one of the 2 times I got out last winter I would have kept them all. Actually that was what I was hoping for. I don't see anything wrong with that.

[mweb_21]

Interesting.. you all have very good points and they all probably have some merit. Technolgoy makes it easier to get on fish for sure, but you still have to get them to bite. However, this time of year its usually not too hard to catch them. I have no problem with ppl keeping a meal of fish to eat, it is completely fine and legal. I only fish waska a handful of times a year, i love the lake and do keep panfsh for meals. I do think it is important to be selective of the fish that you keep, and do so myself. It does upset me when i see people come back day after day keeping any fish caught to fill up a bucket or limit, and that goes for any lake, not just waska. As for management i definitely would support more regulations for panfish on waska and other lakes. whether it be slots, protection of spawning grounds, lower limits, or even more restrictions this time of year, it can only help our resources and improve fishing. i dont think it is fair to blame only technology or management alone for any issue, i think it is a combination of both in todays world that needs to be addressed if things are to be changed. That all being said, waska is still an awesome fishery and hope it remains so for a long time! good luck to all this spring and please be considerate of your fishery.

[Z-520]

For as long as I can remember Waska has always been a lake that gets pounded for Panfish in both winter and summer. Obviously it must be able to sustain the pressure year after year because if it couldn't the people wouldn't be there. I also don't have a problem with people keeping a limit of panfish every now and then but not everyday. I have a problem with people keeping limits of fish that get stocked year after year like walleyes. If everybody didn't keep every walleye they caught maybe we wouldn't spend so much money stocking them. Maybe that would open up some funds for the DNR to do something worthwhile.

[LandDr]

I was not around back then, but people in their 60s and 70s and older talk about days when Waska had MANY more fish houses than it does now. They had "street signs" on the lake I have heard and it was quite the deal. Panfish limits were higher back then as well if I recall. Back then people fished for subsistence...almost like part of their annual income...today there are less and less people that fish because they need food but rather just for recreational enjoyment. Ol' Phil tells me back then people would be lined up at the door when he would open the biat shop in the morning. I would guess Waska REALLY got pounded back then...but Waska has an increadible expanse of reproducting areas and most of these are not even touched by fisherman.

There is the biology of it as well. If you don't harvest some fish out...the population will get larger...more mouths to feed...increased depleation of the forage base...growing population = less forage = smaller fish. It can flip the other way as well as some of the older fish become so large that they out compete the smaller fish which results in very large fish...but not as many of them. There are lakes around here like that as well. With Waska's reproduction potential, it is important to harvest fish out of the lake. That allows for the next year classes to feed on the good forage base Waska has to reach that nice sized fish that we all like and enjoy. Just have to consider the food chain, population dynamics and the habitat/forage carrying capacity.

Waska is one lake that can withstand a lot of fishing...and it actually needs that harvest of panfish as part of it's management. Yes, I would encourage people to throw back 13, 14 inch plus crappies as those are almost surely females. I would also encourage people to throw back 12 inch plus sunfish. But those are personal decisions since we don't have slot limits and I can respect that.

I remember as a kid fishing in Torgy's Bay and seeing a lot more boats than I have in any of the past 3 springs. There are not as many people fishing from shore either. In a way it is sad to see that fishing is not as much of a priority or family activity as it used to be. Last Saturday it was very fun watching all the kids out in boats have a great time catching crappies. There was more chearing and laughing and fun...hats off to the parents that got their kids out fishing that day! I was out with my dad so I guess he had his kid out for the day too.

Fish On!

[nate larson]

I would also encourage people to throw back 12 inch plus sunfish.

12 inch plus sunfish????? I must be fishing in the wrong spots. Did you mean to say 10 inch plus?

[LandDr]

I know...I have never caught one that big on Waska either...but a 10 or 11 I have.

How about a split...11 plus!

Hope you're getting out after some crappies Nate. All work and no play...

Fish On!

[wetaline1]

10"+ bluegill? on Waska? Im fishing the same spots as Nate apparently...

14"+ crappie ?

Do you have any of those tape measures left in your store?

[clayton08]

About 10 years ago i caught a 16 1/2 inch crappie in minnewaska put that one on the wall!

[radke22]

Didn't happen to come off the Torgey's bridge on a spinnerbait?