Lake Minnewaska Fishing Reports - Ice Conditions

[basssmasher*]

Landr, I believe its sac's landing, its the one with the donation box on it for ppl using his road. Hopefully it has been cold enough to freeze that thing up because it was NO FUN going through even with my 4wd!

[carpshooterdeluxe]

maybe everybody should be on the same page with slot litmits, too many different opinions, all i know is that every year walleye numbers are going down in over fished lakes, toooo many people keeping every walleye they catch

There are always going to be guys that are meat hogs and feel the need to keep every walleye/crappie/sunfish they catch. More often than not, the same guys will kick a bass or northern in the weeds because they are "slimy and taste like mud", or the same guys that will shoot a small buck and use a doe tag on it.

I used to be of the mentality of throwing smaller (13-15") walleyes back and keeping 16-20" walleyes. But after conversations with some fisheries/biologist friends and doing a little reading, I feel that a slot, whether it be voluntary or imposed is a better management tool than a minimum length requirement. One only has to look at Lac Qui Parle over the past few years to see what minimum length regulations did to the fishery. You could catch 13" walleyes all day long but finding a 16" fish seemed impossible day after day.

On the other hand, look at lake emily. Any time there is a great walleye bite going on, the lake gets raped. buckets of walleyes taken home day after day. Rumors of double dipping and overlimits start circulating. 5 lb females are filleted up for supper. yet year after year the walleyes are there. Some lakes just naturally handle the pressure better than others. But why pressure them in the first place????

Regardless of theory of management one feels is better, its still important to not abuse the resource.

[goose89]

Crappiesniffer,

Nice to see a moderator, or frequent contributor, acknowledges that although SH is catching on, is also concerned, and shares his concern that more is needed. Some do it when it's convenient (fish are really biting or just might have the "right" number of "right" fish), and I guess that's progress right there.

[cvanderweyst]

carpshooter i dont know if i agree with the size limit leading to the demise of lac qui parles walleyes. I think it has more to do with the explosion of silver bass and sheephead leading to less forage for walleye and the bass eating young walleye.It also could have alot to do with low water levels or the large fluctuation of water levels in the spring. Size limit may be a contributing factor though. Each lake is unique so a slot that works for one lake may not work for other lakes. So if there is alot of smaller fish take a couple small ones for a meal and if there is good variety of sizes keep a few medium sized fish and let the bigger and smaller ones go.

[Chad Peterson]

Thanks goose89 for the kind words, but I mean what I wrote. I have seen to many anglers take fish home that should be released. Do not get me wrong here, everyone has the right to fish and take what the resourse has give us. But be respectful too. We should hook up and fish sometimes; it would be fun!

Sniffer

[terrible_fisherman]

No matter what people say about emily, it does not get near the fishing pressure that waska does no matter when the bite is on or not. I remember when I was a kid and Emily would have hundreds of boats on it on opener, but that was the exception. Minnewaska gets hit like that day in and day out during all times of year. Yes it is a bigger lake but not so much bigger that it can handle that pressure. If you consider partial winter kills, the difference in stocking, and the amount of pressure, the only real difference between Minnewaska and Emily is that Minnewaska is a tourist location where people keep whatever they catch, Emily is more of a fishing destination where people actually release fish and come back time and time again. I bet 75% of the people that fish waska dont even know how to find the access on emily:P.

[terrible_fisherman]

On a side note, I am glad that people mostly leave Emily alone. Their were already enough boats out there this fall to screw up the duck hunting!!!!! There aren't any fish in that lake anyway so stick to waska folks;).

[carpshooterdeluxe]

carpshooter i dont know if i agree with the size limit leading to the demise of lac qui parles walleyes. I think it has more to do with the explosion of silver bass and sheephead leading to less forage for walleye and the bass eating young walleye.It also could have alot to do with low water levels or the large fluctuation of water levels in the spring. Size limit may be a contributing factor though. Each lake is unique so a slot that works for one lake may not work for other lakes. So if there is alot of smaller fish take a couple small ones for a meal and if there is good variety of sizes keep a few medium sized fish and let the bigger and smaller ones go.

Might be the other way around...walleyes could be gorging themselves on little sheephead and silvers, not to mention bullheads, and have no desire to whack a crawler or minnow.

Back on topic; anybody out on waska today that can post up a report on the ice/snow/slush? Going to be 7 or 8 of us up there this weekend doing our best to catch some 13" walleyes and 6" sunnies

[goose89]

Thanks goose89 for the kind words, but I mean what I wrote. I have seen to many anglers take fish home that should be released. Do not get me wrong here, everyone has the right to fish and take what the resourse has give us. But be respectful too. We should hook up and fish sometimes; it would be fun!

Sniffer

I didn't mean to say you didn't mean what you wrote. I believe you. I agree everyone has a right to fish and keep fish, but with respect and responsibility, as well. With knowledge, comes responsibility. I appreciate your reports of good fishing, without advertising yourself, or the lake(s) your fishing on.

[LandDr]

Many believe there are more walleyes in Emmily because there is no restriction at the outlet which allows walleyes to freely return into Emily from the river. Walleyes breed and feed in rivers as one of the prefered walleye habitats. The control structure on the west end of Minnewaska prevents walleyes from returning into Waska...except this year...the DNR pulled it due to high water levels. There are good numbers of eyes being caught this winter...are walleyes moving into waska? Does having the structure out allow better movement of eyes into Waska?

Is this why Emily has so many walleyes because they are allowed to enter the lake to feed?

Thoughts?

[ducker]

That could be a possibility but is sure is a long way for the walleyes to swim in a little creek.

On Waska yesterday. Lots of slush off plowed roads. Many people stuck. Cross country you better have a sled.

[LandDr]

The walleyes don't have to go far down stream to find riffles and cobble areas for spawning. There are also many bends and holes for them to hang out in. DNR put radio tracking on some walleyes a few years back and tracked 3 walleyes that went to Pelican and then back again to Minnewaska. I thought that was pretty interesting.

Walleyes will move out into streams to spawn...but if there is a control structure in the way, they can't get back into Minnewaska is some of the opinion.

Some think the walleyes are not spawning in Emily, but are returning from the creeks and rivers into Emily to feed. That's interesting too and would give some evidence why Emily can hold some many walleyes and withstand the pressure.

??

Fish On!

[LandDr]

Yes...just a few good roads on Waska to get out. Off the roads there is slush under the snow. It is starting to freeze up but it is still tough traveling.

Crappies were really slamming last night...mostly in the 9 to 10.5 range. We have been marking a lot of fish and catching a few...but last night they really turned on. A lot of fun.

Fish On!

[glenn57]

are the nords still active. thinkin of settin up a spear shack out there sat.

[LandDr]

Yes...very active. Often see two or three on the camera at the same time. They are not very big however...most are 1.5 to 2 lbs. There is a large year class of this size. Occassionally a bigger one comes in.

Fish On!

[carpshooterdeluxe]

What kind of snow/slush depth are you guys seeing off the "roads". Is there a consistant depth of snow that prevents travel, or is there a lot of drifts? I was going to park the truck and bring a wheeler, but maybe getting around in the lifted chevy would be easier? I guess i could always steal a buddy's plow truck too...

[carpshooterdeluxe]

That could be a possibility but is sure is a long way for the walleyes to swim in a little creek.

Used to shoot carp in a drainage ditch that runs into the Chippewa...we were 11 miles upstream from the river. Its not uncommon to see pike swimming through the same ditches in early-mid april as well. Fish will go a long ways to spawn.

[FATTY56]

Thinking about coming that way on thurs. am with the big house how bad is it out from sac's landing hoping to spend a few nights

[terrible_fisherman]

My parents own a farm with a creek going through it miles from any real lake to speak of. You see plenty of pike, suckers, carp, minnows, in it but never seen a walleye in it. I dont think you can really compare the amount of travel a pike will do to spawn versus a walleye.

[walleyestealer]

radio tagged walleyes from Minnewaska were found in lake Emily, so they do make if a ways down stream

[LandDr]

Walleyestealer...I hear that a lot about "radio tagged" walleyes making down to Emily, but I spoke with Dean Beck a couple weeks ago to get all the facts from him on that study, walleyes spawning areas, the control structure and what projects volunteers can do to improve the lake. He told me that "no" walleyes were tracked down to Emily...but that a "rumor" was that one was caught in Emily with a tag. He said they tried to track it down but never confirmed if a walleyes with a tag was caught or not. That is when he told me that they did track 3 walleyes to Pelican and that all 3 returned back to Minnewaska.

That is why the question about the control structure at the west end of Minnewaska...are walleyes being let out, but not allowed back into Waska? Should the control structure be open at more strategic times? Should some type of by-pass be built to allow walleyes to move around the control structure a lot like the salmon and trout by-passes?

Fatty56...you might be limited to a few spots but should still be fine. The spots I would send you to appear to still have good access. It was -11F at the store this morning so I would assume the slush is becoming ICE...can't see why it wouldn't. Panfish bite has been really good and lots of pike action with the occassional walleye in the panfish areas.

Fish On!

[LandDr]

Just got off the lake setting up a renter. Roads have really firmed up...travel is rough but I didn't see any slush. There might still be some soft spots but it looked pretty good. Fish seem to be more active...a lot of sunnies swimming around and even a few crappies already. Sunnies were very agressive on the shrimp and would just smack them. He had 3 really nice sunnies in the pail already before I left and more fish coming in. A lot of bass and pike as well but they just cruzed by. I would expect the crappie bite is going to be pretty good tonight.

Fish On!

[walleyestealer]

has anybody tried fishing lake Emily lately? not easy to get on lake im sure.

[FATTY56]

Landdr was the by town or out by sac's landing?

[LandDr]

Fatty56...not sure what you were asking (typo) but he went off the DNR landing.

Fish On!

[Wallsniffer]

Walleyes typically do not travel great distances to spawn. They are very sluggish in cold temperatures when ice is first coming off the lake. It is more typical for Walleyes to spawn on humps or structure near steep drop offs where they use that as a staging area. They do spawn in shallower water where there are typically rocks and sunlight, but for the most part walleyes do not travel far up stream for spawning purposes.

[walleyestealer]

"Dean Beck"?, i dont believe much that comes out of his mouth about walleyes in minnewaska, he says that minnewaska is not a walleye lake. tell that to all the people that have grown up fishing lake minnewaska.

[walleyestealer]

Jerome Wendlandt of the Minnesota DNR office in Glenwood radio tracked walleyes in Lakes Minnewaska, Le Homme Dieu, and Mary during 1995, 1996, and 1997, to determine if suitable walleye spawning habitat was lacking or degraded, which could limit walleye natural reproduction. Results differed greatly among lakes. In Lakes Minnewaska and Le Homme Dieu, suitable and traditional spawning habitat (clean gravel, rock, and cobble) was considered limiting. Areas supposed to be, good spawning sites, based on historical surveys, angler word of mouth, or observation of classical rock-gravel habitat, did not attract spawning radio-tagged fish.

Scuba diving at these sites found that spaces between the rocks and gravel were filled with sand that contained silt and other organic material. Walleye eggs deposited on silt or organic material generally are subject to rapid fungal infections that kill the eggs. Sites where viable eggs were located were of sand substrate with a substantial covering of Chara (an underwater plant), especially in Lake Minnewaska. The numbers of viable walleye eggs found on these sites, however, were small. Greater numbers of walleye eggs were located in tributary stream spawning sites in these two lakes.

Wendlandt determined that rehabilitating or placing new spawning substrate in the lake would be expensive, dangerous, and difficult to evaluate. In addition, conditions that degraded the existing spawning habitat would rapidly degrade anything placed in the lake to supply new or to augment existing spawning sites.

[terrible_fisherman]

How is the snow on waska and surrounding lakes? Would a wheeler with chains be able to drive around some or pretty much be confined to set paths?

[EyeChsr]

The lake has really hardened up the past few days u should b good to go.