elysian is dead

[honker23]

Bad news, Elysian is the next lake to fall victim to winter kill. It's open to harvest with spears, nets, etc... Too bad, because it was going to be a good opener this year. Even worse news, Lura is next according to the dnr. Unless we see a miracle.

[Jay-Bird]

Is there a way to pull the walleyes out and take them to another lake or is that illegal? A shame to see them wasted.

[honker23]

I heard the dnr had taken some, but I'm not sure. I agree, it's a shame to see them all die.

[snag1]

Where do you find out this info? Can't seem to find it on the dnr website.

Thanks!

[Fish'n guy]

Most of the walleyes are gone. But if you like carp, suckers,bullheads,northerns and perch try near the open water. 90% of the fish are carp and suckers but I did manage to spear a pike. It is still a fun time spearing those carp and suckers.Good fishing!!

[jparrucci]

Yea...I took a walk down there, not much going on really. I saw one dead walleye, a few pike, and tons of suckers and carp. I didn't think it really looked like it was worth buying a spear. Maybe if there are more northerns or walleyes showing up in the next few days, ill make the drive down that way again.

[love2fish4ever]

Snag1, if you go to the DNR home page you will find a "search" box. Type in "liberalized fishing" & you should see the page that tracks the lakes in trouble. L2f

[catchnmall]

Just spoke to the DNR, the oxygen level of Lura was checked last week when the aerators were turned on it is at 14.5% the highest level in any southern Minn. lake to date. He assured us that it would be rechecked this week, and that it should survive. Lets keep our fingers crossed, it would be a terrible loss for anglers in our area...

[jparrucci]

Where on the lake are these dying fish located and is it accessible? I was thinking about taking a drive over that way to check it out. According to the DNR website, that lake has suffered from winter kill offs before, and was a likely canidate for more. Sad to see though thats for sure. Might have to bring some waders and a net with, a walleye dinner wouldn't be bad, much better than letting them rot.

[say_der]

How many lines can a guy fish on this lake now? Are there any crappies or gills worth catching or is it pretty much spearing only?

How did there get to be open water? Is the ice safe everywhere or very thin in spots?

Thanks.

[Trouser_Trout]

The water is openm where the lake has its aeriation system. The ice should be good everywhere else, as we have fished on it many times this season. Jsut be careful on that open water spot.

[hawkeye43]

the only thing swimming is a few northerns and suckers, the rest is pretty much dead. the dnr waited too long to open it. other people said it was dieing a week before.

[honker23]

I talked to reliable sources that were out on sat and said fish were thick in the open water. One person in a boat had ~40 pike. Since the rain and warm weather the pike have been more active, hope some survive. I still haven't seen a walleye.

[sheepheadslayer]

If the lake has an airator you prolly want to wait as long as you can to open it. All it takes is a switch in weather and a few warm days for some run off. Just my 2 cents.

[hawkeye43]

i am not blaming the dnr for not opening, i quess i am more upset with the setup for the airrator being to small or are they just looking for the cheap way out. yes it cost alot of money to run, but it cost alot of money to replace the fish too. there was alot of nice fish lost again. how many times is this going to happen before they get it right???

[sheepheadslayer]

Probably won't ever get it right. A lake that big and that shallow is hard to keep alive when the water is low and there is no run off and when we get all the snow there isn't much they can do.

[honker23]

The big thing is not the money, but the liability. Last time a person died on the lake, he went through the open water. The family was looking into sueing the sportsman association that pays to run it. The president said the court could've handed the family his house and every members. Worst case scenario of course. Everyone talks big, but nobody will sign their name to the dotted line and take control of it.
The lake was doomed this year with low water and the snow/ice. The lake needs multiple systems, and then limit motor vehicle traffic on the lake. I wish the dnr would take sole responsibilty for everything, including the insurance.

[spearchucker]

Then your fishing license would be $200 a year. The DNR always seems to need more money, but I guestion whether it ever helps.

[Doop]

When I was a kid and my family had a cabin on Elysian, it was one of the best lakes in southern MN. It was a quality lake for many years in a row. Now every 5th year or so something like this happens.

If the DNR can't do their job and figure out a solution....get rid of the lake....and fill it in with backfill...and make a strip mall or apartments or something. I'm extremely upset with how the DNR handles this lake.

[smallies24]

Has anyone considered this....how about they quit pooring money into this lake and put a little more into other lakes. Or they could put the money they have into restructuring the lake towards waterfowl. It seems to me that trying to stock and aerate this very inefficient and I would rather see the money spent on something the DNR can control. They certainly can't control the weather.

If they were to remove the fish population they could introduce vegetation impove that habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife. Don't get me wrong, I love to fish as well as hunt, but pouring money into stocking walleyes into a lake that freezes out every few years seems wasteful. What does everyone else think?

[honker23]

I think a strip mall is little drastic!
I do think the waterfowl option is a good thought. A six mile long slough with cattails would be nice.
I also wish they could dig some deeper holes during a dry year, and add a couple systems. But I know I'm dreaming here. I guess I don't mind my money going to stock a lake that is close to home, even if it fails occassionally. I get more out of than I would hearing how mille lacs or red lake has responded to stocking efforts.

[jacobj12k]

I think the waterfowl habitat idea is a great idea.

There a plenty of quality fishing options available in the immediate Elysian area.

Rather than stocking this this lake with fish (that die every couple years)the DNR should introduce fresh water shrimp, a variety of vegetation and declare an area or a few areas as Wildlife Refuge.

[james_walleye]

Who takes care of the 2 aerators on Lura Lake? Elysian needs 2 aerators just as Lura does. This is such a shame to see this lake die again. When walleyes are put in this lake they grow faster than they do anywhere else in SE MN. They are true footballs. 8 lb bodies with 4 lb heads. Can you imagine if this lake were able to get through about 15 good years without a dieoff? The fishing would be rediculously good.

[gloweye]

It is always easy to place blame on others but truly believe were all as guilty as the next person in this situation. How many times have we myself included been members of the sportsman club or offered them a hand with maintenance or other things assosciated with it. I believe this lake has a future and we all are the answear to it. This wont be an easy task but I believe it is acheivable with some hard work and the right people. Since this situation came up I have been doing some investigation on what this may take. I think this lake needs all of our support. I am willing to take on this challenge but I cant do it myself. Are there any other volunteers? I am not trying to be a jerk just gets frustrating hering about how its always someone elses problem

[Guest]

During the last ten years I can remember this lake suffering from severe algae bloom during hot summer months. I think this lake has bigger problems then a couple more aerators can solve. The lake became almost toxic!!!!

[korn_fish]

I don't know how they operate these aereators, but I do know that where I used to ice fish 'eyes' exclusively froze out a couple years ago, and it wasn't because it happened so fast, but the time it took to put the paper work through to have it turned on.

I know it's expensive to run, but I wonder if they would be able to rig something up with a windmill or something that could generate the power, used to subsidize the power, or actually do the stirring of the water its self.

Any engineer types out there know if that would work or not??

[korn_fish]

oh yeah - does this mean they won't be having their annual bullhead days with fried bullheads?

Man them were tasty.

[honker23]

The cost isn't the bad thing here, but like I said the liability and the fact the state is in charge of turning the thing on. I was out helping put the signs up 2-3 weeks before the thing actually got turned on. The lake went from just fine to dead in a short amount of time. Truly a sad deal.

[smallies24]

I thik using windpower is a good concept but not feasable because of the cost involved. If they already made 'em it wouldn't be so bad, but the cost to design, test, manufacture such a piece of equipment would be high. Plus I don't think you would find too many lakes association that would care to have some big hunk of metal stickingout of their lake...just my $.02

I would like to see if anyone can add any input to gloweye's post (welcome to the forum gloweye!) I don't know much about the area lake programs but maybe someone else does. I agree that if people want a quick resolution we are going to have to participate to accomplish anything in a reasonable period of time.

[Doop]

It IS someone else's problem...it's the DNR's problem. They are in charge of maintaining this lake....and honestly....they suck at it. I was just kidding about the strip mall idea...but it's so frustrating to watch this body of water with so much potential go to waste every 4th year or so. You are going to have a very difficult time getting a grass roots movement going for this lake UNTIL the DNR puts their collective brain cell together and figures something out.