2020 Lake Osakis Fishing Reports

[centralmneyeguy]

I think some of the lakes have turned over. I haven't been to osakis, but a couple lakes I fished over the weekend had all the signs of turnover. Water was green, lots of debris, etc. The surface temp was in the low 60's on both lakes, but our daytime temps have been warm for the last week which has raised the temp a bit. A week and a half ago when I was out, the water temps at the warmest time during the day on one of the same lakes I fished over the weekend was 59 deg. I think turnover normally happens around 55 deg. The lake I was on probably turned about a week ago. This particular lake is also clearing up a little now. My opinion anyways...

[pushbutton]

retired, in my original post, i should have said "the water looks like it has just turned over"......i do not live on the lake so can not speak to it's day to day and annual happenings.... but when i got here sat night there was an out of the ordinary amount of crud in the water that was not there last week, and when i asked someone who does live on the lake when did all this carp appear, he said late friday night. this same thing also just happened on lake koronis, and another smaller lake 15 miles from there. i realize the water temp does not coincide with the normal fall turnover, i also am not a lake biologist, rather just a normal guy that fishes a lot....... but something that appears to be turnover just happened late friday and early sat. morning that made fishing shallow at night very difficult......first off because of all the debris, secondly, because all of the shiners and shad that were starting to school up the last two weeks are no longer there....along with the fish that target them........

[timjones]

That's my opinion anyway. Maybe I don't understand what turn over is.

Like I said earlier, maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. Maybe it has happened. I just don't think it has been cold enough yet. Haven't even had a frost yet. I pulled the last of the plants out of the garden yesterday just because I wanted to get some of the outside work done before it does get cold. Still had tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers growing. Picked the last of them and then pulled the plants out of the ground. Even when I lived down in the cities I don't ever remember having tomatoes this late in the year.

[pushbutton]

if you have any extra veggies i will be driving by your place the next couple of days

[timjones]

Your out of luck pushbutton. The harvest wasn't that big. I think you are right about turn over though. I was out fishing yesterday and today. I took the camera with today which also measures temperature. Surface temps were 56, at five feet it was 55, at ten feet it was 54, and it stayed 54 degrees down to 30+ feet that I used it in. Lots of dead crappies laying on the bottom in the 25 to 30 foot depths. Don't know why that is.

[Finlander]

Call Jeff Johanson CO to let him know what you observed! I would.

[Finlander]

Went up Friday around noon, got the two portables out of storage and the auger, and the snowmobile.

Fished out from the north end access next to Caugrens Point on 4 ½” of ice. Walked to where brother Billy was fishing and there was 1 ¾” of ice. Made my but hole pucker up as I turned around and went back to 4 1/2” as there was a lot of fish showing up on the Vex in 27’ of water.

Caught one 6” crappie as there was a lot of lookers and no takers. Billy caught a 8” crappie.

And that was it. The water clarity was only about 2’. So I think that had a lot to do with the slow bite and all the commotion going on with all the people pounding chisels the whole time.

Some fools go walking past Billy on the thin ice and we said to them we’ll call the sheriff when they go thru! But they went there anyway and these guys were 6’+ and the ice was making noise as they walked. But managed not to fall thru!

The ice was wide open close to there on Friday and was open in front of the trailer but the wind died down Friday night and it all froze over.

Lots of muzzleloader shooting going on Saturday as I should of went bow hunting instead of fishing, but I was excited to go sit on the ice.

Some people had tip-ups out and a few flags went up but slow for them too!

The thin ice stopped me from hole jumping and just feeling good to ice fish again!

[Jack Peterson]

Yeah, I made no effort to fish Osakis on Saturday after I checked the ice!

Maybe this weekend I'll try to get some Gills out there.

Thanks for the report!

[timjones]

Ice is really looking bad right now. Had a little bit of rain, then a rain slushy kind of mix, and now snow. This might set us back a little bit. I don't think it even got below freezing last night. It was 37 degrees at 7:30 this morning. Walked out a little this afternoon in front of my place and the ice started to sag after I got away from shore a ways. Also had water on the ice in some areas farther out.

[Finlander]

My brother put out his 6' x 12' permanent house out on the north end. Had 6" of ice saturday morning. It is a light house weight wise and they pushed it out by hand to the first 29' break. Only 1 walleye all weekend, so fishing is slow! Should be able to put out my permanent by next saturday if the weather forcast holds up predicting -below temps!

[Chad Peterson]

Thanks for the report FinLander. Still have to be careful out there.

Sniffer

[timjones]

Went out onto Schultz's Bay today with the one man. Had 6 inches near shore where we had ice early and then a little snow on top of it which probably slowed the development down a little. A little farther out where ice formed later there is around 8 inches with 5 inches of snow on top. Lot of 12 inch perch but no wallies.

[Jack Peterson]

Went out onto Schultz's Bay today with the one man. Had 6 inches near shore where we had ice early and then a little snow on top of it which probably slowed the development down a little. A little farther out where ice formed later there is around 8 inches with 5 inches of snow on top. Lot of 12 inch perch but no wallies.

12 inch perch? That's almost worth going out!

[Finlander]

For what ever makes the crappies and sunfish big in Osakis doesn't apply to the perch in this lake. I've been fishing Osakis since 1968 and I bet I haven't caught a half dozen jumbo perch. They just don't grow big here.

A ba-jillion 6" perch and smaller are the norm!

[creepworm]

To be honest, I have caught many more nice perch out of Osakis than I have sunfish or crappies. I just can't seem to find the sunfish or crappies on that lake. Whenever I have ice fished Walleyes I usually come away with some very nice perch and more than a couple of them.

[hhguide]

I agree crepworm during the walleye tournament this year I caught 2 perch that were both right at 12 inches! I didn't know the lake had them, thats one species that I wish would shoot through the roof and big ones!

[timjones]

I have caught more 10 to 14 inch perch in Osakis than I have crappies. Biggest crappie was 15 3/4 inch. True, there are a ship load of tiny perch, but there are also some big ones. Yes, 14 inch perch.

[crappiekid]

Hi retired

did you ever call CO Jeff on the dead crappies you saw??? Whats going on???

thanks

[Jack Peterson]

Hmm, who's being a DNR puppet out on Osakis and watching how many times people are going out fishing?

Really? Not everybody takes a limit of fish every day they can. Some people (me) enjoy catching fish, not filling the freezer.

Don't tell the DNR that the same guy has been on the lake a few days in a row. What does it really matter!?!?

[timjones]

Hi retired

did you ever call CO Jeff on the dead crappies you saw??? Whats going on???

thanks

Nope, never did. I just figured it was from people pulling them out of that deeper area and they were to small so they tossed them back and some didn't make it. There lots of boats fishing that spot for a couple of weeks. Sometimes stacked up there 12 or more at a time.

[timjones]

Hmm, who's being a DNR puppet out on Osakis and watching how many times people are going out fishing?

Really? Not everybody takes a limit of fish every day they can. Some people (me) enjoy catching fish, not filling the freezer.

Don't tell the DNR that the same guy has been on the lake a few days in a row. What does it really matter!?!?

I'm guessing by your post that CO Jeff has checked up on you. Guy watches this lake pretty diligently. I have seen him plant himself somewhere, take out the binnocks and watch. Sometimes on shore, sometimes on the water, and sometimes on the ice. Every now and then he'll go check on something someone is doing, give them a ticket, come back, and watch some more. You must have been up on Manthey's Bay. Hasn't been much going on by me. There are a couple of small spear houses out and once and a while someone pulls out a portable. One guy by me pulled a small wheel house out yesterday with his ATV but this morning I saw him out there with his truck. I have only found around 8-9 inches out there so a little to thin for me to drive on.

[UKCM]

I own a cabin on Osakis and I have a lot of respect for Jeff. He has checked me more than once. Often enough to figure out I was mostly catch and release fisherman.

Fact of the matter there are people on Osakis who take repeated limits. Not not everyone. Those of us who do not may sometimes feel like we are treated unfair. But I look at it like security in the airport. I am never going to blow up a plane, but they have to treat me like I might.

It makes me feel good that my tax dollars are spent on a CO who actively works at catching people who break the rules.

Ok I am off of my soap box.

Many thanks to those of you who post ice reports. Those of us who live in the cities and can not check the lake on a regular basis greatly appreciate people who give accurate information on how safe the ice is. The fishing reports are nice as well.

[creepworm]

I only dealt with him once and he was a very nice guy. Also, very sneaky. Walking around in a camo coat and a bucket like he was a fisherman and then he came over and checked on me. It was kind of funny, he had caught my friend for a little better than $300 worth of fines 4 years prior and still remembered him. He seems like a CO that truly cares which is nice to see.

[Jack Peterson]

Oh yeah, he's an awesome CO.

I just am annoyed with the lake home owners that call him up because the same truck was at the access for a few days in a row.

Targeting specific people because they "fish too much" isn't a good idea, IMO. The people that fish everyday are the honest guys that just like to catch fish anyways.

If I was a CO, I'd watch out for the those weekend fisherman that might try to sneak a few more bluegills than they should...Not the guys that you see on the lake everyday or every week.

[goose89]

The people that fish everyday are the honest guys that just like to catch fish anyway.

I wish!! lol .

I'll never be annoyed, whether called out by a lakehome owner, or not, by being checked. The fact is there are alot of, lets say, more often than "weekend fisherman" that take more than their legal limit, mostly breaking possession limits, rather than daily limits. The problem isn't with the w/e anglers "sneaking a few more bluegills than they should", although I'm sure it happens.

Nothing wrong with fishing everyday, but I would consider it a high class problem to be checked more than "normal" or weekend anglers. I'm happy to hear the lakeowners are watching.

[Mellonhead]

I'm interested to know how thick the ice is on the big "O".

Are they driving on from Battle Point on up to the North End.

Thanks!

[Finlander]

Only 8" last weekend! Nobody driving except atv's and snowmobiles!

[timjones]

What Finlander said.

[timjones]

Saw about a half dozen full size pick ups on Mantheys Bay today but none anywhere else. Rest is still just wheelers and snowmobiles.

[Jack Peterson]

Osakis report: all I can say is gills up to 14 oz....shhhhh!