calidonia pond

[embearmeoffs]

ive been fishing the calidonia ponds for 9 years. The bigger one came into new ownership or somthing no tresspasing and today i went to the small one to do some icefishing and find a gate at the beging of the road. I mean come on its hard enough walking up that dike with a iceleaders. Regardless i walked it from road 45 min walk and find the ice to thin to fish. I dont know is there anywhere closer to panfish that you dont have to drive an hour and a half(harmony area) to do so?

[JIvers]

ive been fishing the calidonia ponds for 9 years. The bigger one came into new ownership or somthing no tresspasing and today i went to the small one to do some icefishing and find a gate at the beging of the road. I mean come on its hard enough walking up that dike with a iceleaders. Regardless i walked it from road 45 min walk and find the ice to thin to fish. I dont know is there anywhere closer to panfish that you dont have to drive an hour and a half(harmony area) to do so?

Having grown up by Harmony, and still using it as a base for ice fishing and deer hunting, I can tell you that there is little to be had for ice fishing within fifty miles. If there was it would save me a lot of gas money each winter.

There is the Lanesboro mill pond, if you don't mind stunted bluegills. There were some nice bass and Northern in there, but most of those were cleaned out by people carpet-bombing the pond with tip-ups.

There are some old iron ore pits out by Cherry Grove that I used to fish when I was a kid; whether any of them are still open to the public I do not know, or what the fishing would be like in them, as I have not fished them in years.

Otherwise, yeah, you're looking at a forty-mile drive or more in in any direction for decent ice-fishing: the Mississippi, Meyer Lake by Decorah, Lake Hendricks by Riceville, or the reservoirs by Austin and Rochester.

BTW, when you say the Caledonia ponds, is the larger one what I remember as South Fork reservoir? I fished there when I was a kid a few times.

[embearmeoffs]

yeah i believe it is called that. You end up driving down a minimum maitanance STEEP hill and at the bottom it has parking. It had sign that said you could fish but stay away from stream. Now it says no tresspassing and the people staying down there have human shooting targets set up the last time i went down there. I went and checked out hendricks looks like a good lake. The lansboro hatchery told me about a rock quarry in roch that had trout in it. His directions were confusing still have not found it.

Fishing and the great outdoors. . . . . Its my life its a shame everything that used to be available is becoming unavailable. Thank you for responding maybe ill see you out fishing sometime.

[JIvers]

The trout-stocked quarry in Rochester is Foster-Arend:

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/lakefind/showreport.html?downum=55001900

Here is a map showing its approximate location in Rochester:

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/compass....879186.06351551

[embearmeoffs]

and that is open to public and ice fishable?

[JIvers]

Yes, Foster-Arend is open to the public.

I have heard there can be issues with the ice, due to either springs or a still-active quarry nearby, where dynamite is supposedly used.

[delcecchi]

Yes, Foster-Arend is open to the public.

I have heard there can be issues with the ice, due to either springs or a still-active quarry nearby, where dynamite is supposedly used.

The pond is an old quarry/gravel pit that is filled by springs. It is in a city park on the north side of Rochester. The DNR puts trout in there, so you might need a trout stamp. Check on that. I haven't heard much about weak spots or people going through the ice so it should be OK.

There are also various other species of fish including bluegill and catfish.

[flyfisher03]

NO TROUT STAMP NEEDED on Foster Arends. There are some other regs on it though. Just check in the book.

[captainshane]

I just drove by Foster Arends yesterday and there are people fishing it. It seems to be the last to freeze over due to springs. We have had some cold nights as of late but I would still be carefull.

The Caledona ponds that you are talking about, are they named R2 and R3 east of town?

[embearmeoffs]

yeah not sure but im sure there are alot of different names. I can tell you one is small sitting on piece of state forest land, and the bigger one is on private.

[embearmeoffs]

can you keep the trout while ice fishing? or is it catch and release.

[JIvers]

According to the regulations, there is a continuous open season on trout in Foster-Arend, with a possession limit of three, with one over 16" allowed.

I was just checking the DNR Lake Finder site--it says South Fork reservoir east of Caledonia has a township-owned ramp, which makes it at least partly public, and the DNR stocks channel cat in there while doing population assesments on both there and Shamrock, a smaller reservoir just outside of Caledonia. They would not be doing this if those were private waters, which leads me to think the Caledonia ponds are some other bodies of water than what I was thinking when I first read this post.

[embearmeoffs]

your right just looked . Never new about those sites. but how would you go about entering such waters? I obey the signs maybe its the land owners around it trying to have the water for themselves? They have posted signs on the larger pond wich according to that site is south fork. The smaller one is on the state land with the gate at the beging of the entrance which makes that long walk that i mentioned. As for the fosters im going to try it on sat. yeahh it sounds eciting entering waters ive never fished before. If i were the fish id be scared.

[JIvers]

I would ask the DNR Fisheries Office in Lanesboro about where the public access to South Fork is, and if they confirm that it is still a public water with public access then I would contact the CO for Houston County about the No Trespassing signs, if those signs are on public land, or are blocking public access to the lake on a public roadway. If the lake is publicly owned, and there is a public access, then no one can put up No Trespassing signs on the lake itself.

As for Shamrock, it may be that the DNR closed the gates to the lake to keep off-road vehicles out of there, or they may have had problems with vandalism; I worked for the DNR Trails and Forestry Divisions in Fillmore and Houston County years ago, and this was a big problem, leading to many such public access points being closed. Someone actually used dynamite on a steel gate blocking vehicle access to a tract of State Forest land in Houston County when I worked there.

Ot, the DNR may have closed the gate to keep people from getting stuck in there once it snows.

[DuaneW]

I don't know how they can post the big pond? I would get in touch with DNR. Course with all this snow I don"t know how you would get down there'

[JIvers]

I don't know how they can post the big pond? I would get in touch with DNR. Course with all this snow I don"t know how you would get down there'

I emailed the DNR Fisheries Office in Lanesboro; here is what they told me regarding South Fork reservoir:

"Mayville Township has an easement from the parking area to the lake, it is non-motorized. If you need additional information please contact Rich Stemper at the Soil & Water Conservation office in Caledonia. The MNDNR does not have a public access easement to the reservoir. The reservoir is a “public waters” body."

In other words, there is a public access to the lake, and the lake is public. If someone has posted the lake or the township access they had no right to do so, and the Conservation Officer for Houston County should be notified.

[1moreandwe'llallgohome.]

The owner of the land by the parking lot has had posted signs for years. There is also a snowmobile trail that runs right next to the lake so acces is really easy in winter. Dont have to drag a boat throught the swamp to get there like in the summer.