It's official -- Pelican Lake (St Michael)

[RumRiverRat]

Drain baby drain.

[fishgutz77]

I like the way you think Rat! Lets just gitter done!

The sooner it start the sooner the results. good or bad at least we will know and all this will be moot.

[RumRiverRat]

I know where we could get a 25,000 gpm pump.

That would be a start.

[Roosterslayer05]

Jim- Your arguments make no sense and your "solutions" aren't feasible. Farmers WILL not allow drainage ditches to be damned. Your lack of knowledge on waterfowl issues is troubling.

Lets get the facts straight. Heavily manipulating water levels on wetlands drastically improves aquatic vegetation. This greatly increases duck use. There are MANY published peer reviewed papers by the best waterfowl researchers in the country on this. Go to google scholar and do a search. The facts are there for everyone to see.

Pelican lake can hold a tremendous amount of ducks. I've seen it. I have also fished the lake allot and it's no longer a "gem". Overfishing has diminished it to just "another" lake in Wright county. Talk to anyone that hunts the lake and they all say the same thing "the duck hunting isn't as good as it was 5-6 years ago." The habitat is EXACTLY the same but the amount of fishing boats on the lake is way higher. This huge amount of added disturbance has decreased duck use alone.

Lets face it; fishing interests are already degrading large amounts of wetlands in the prime of Minnesota's duck range via walleye rearing ponds. The insatiable public demand for walleyes has caused a ridiculous amount of wetlands to be managed for walleye rearing ponds. This decreases habitat quality for waterfowl. There are at least 30 lakes in this state that walleye stocking should be discontinued. These lakes virtually hold NO adult walleyes and nobody can catch them. Millions of dollars are wasted and countless wetlands are degraded because uncle Jimmy caught two walleyes five years ago on said lake.

[RumRiverRat]

Yep Walleyes have done more to harm Duck habitat than anything.

The number of fisherman on the lake in the spring and the fall does not allow the ducks to rest.

The worst thing ever to happen to pelican lake was making the access so big.

Going to be a complete donkey show this weekend for duck opener.

[JBMasterAngler]

I definitely agree that there are quite a few lakes in MN (especially the metro area) that should NOT be stocked with walleyes. This is the solution to ALL problems on pelican lake...NO MOTORS ALLOWED! (outboard or electric)

[RumRiverRat]

Drain the lake, make it a refuge.

No activity at all.

[Wanderer]

Coming into this thread with no vested interest in Pelican Lake, and no opinion on which way is the "right" way, I'm siding with drain it and recover the duck habitat.

bb2323 made the most lucid post in my opinion. Excellent points!

[Finlander]

+1

Also make the lake a 10hp or less!

[th64]

Trout do not successfully reproduce in a lot of lakes that have trout. Trout are stocked. Not everyone fishes for trout. Trout fishermen have to buy a trout stamp. Fair?

Not everyone fishes for walleyes...

[fishgutz77]

even the BWCA where motors are allowed is 25 hp.

two guys, decoys, and dog and gear 10hp doesn't cut it when you get that raging storm at 9:30 am.

Had a school buddy die out there back in the 70's still miss him.

[Hester]

even the BWCA where motors are allowed is 25 hp.

two guys, decoys, and dog and gear 10hp doesn't cut it when you get that raging storm at 9:30 am.

Had a school buddy die out there back in the 70's still miss him.

I guess I would not go out far if there is a chance of a raging storm.

[20lbSloughShark]

I don't have a very strong opinion in this matter, I say just leave it alone. What would a HP limit do to help?

[Finlander]

Last year we were going out on the lake to hunt ducks and several 20' bass boats were going out fish. Now they were bass fishing as they told me what they were fishing for and I told them to watch out for duck hunters shooting ducks so they don't get hit by errant shot. Then they said they didn't even know the duck season was open! DOH!

[JBMasterAngler]

Just wait, a mandatory walleye stamp is about 5 years in the making

[Lawrence Luoma]

Just wait, a mandatory walleye stamp is about 5 years in the making

Well the liberals do have to pay for more bike paths!!

[Hester]

Well the liberals do have to pay for more bike paths!!

[Lawrence Luoma]

Hester, did you read the news. They are using the dog path money to pay for cat colonies!! You know wild cats need to eat more than just pheasant and duck eggs..

Here is the link in case you missed. lol...

http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/223231571.html

[Hester]

Oh darn, I'm a dog person myself.

Thanks for the link, I enjoyed the read.

[jigginjim]

FROM ROOSTERSLAYER Pelican lake can hold a tremendous amount of ducks. I've seen it. I have also fished the lake allot and it's no longer a "gem". Overfishing has diminished it to just "another" lake in Wright county. Talk to anyone that hunts the lake and they all say the same thing "the duck hunting isn't as good as it was 5-6 years ago." The habitat is EXACTLY the same but the amount of fishing boats on the lake is way higher. This huge amount of added disturbance has decreased duck use alone.

First off, I would love it if I could go find a spot to hunt ducks pelican with my 10ft jon boat. not happening even if drained out. So I duck hunt north of Willmar. Norway lake and Mud have far better duck hunting, plus when I'm done shooting my ducks in the morning its grab the rods and fish walleyes, until 3hr before sunset then go back to blasting duckies. Clearwater lake you would think, could hold tons of ducks with all the weedbeds, yet not many ducks there either(been there hunted it for 3yrs).

I spoke with 20 plus duck hunters this past Saturday, on Pelican Lake. None knew anything about draining lake for duck habitat, all complained about how muddy it was to move around where they wanted to hunt and too many weeds lost 3/4 of the ducks shot in them... Don't like the mud, yet lowering lake will create more mud... Don't like the weeds yet grow more weeds......

As fishing goes so goes the (20 + guys that say "caught my limit of 15" fish every day, all winter fisherman"). MEAT HOGS / POACHERS yet1 no complained to DNR about that, but set 30 Mong people on the banks in the spring catching and keep any size crappies and they are killing the lake. GEEE go figure. White man catches and keeps only the oldest fish in the lake, and they don't see an issue. people that will harvest fish across the board equally are wrecking things.

5-6 years ago the duck hunting sucked then and still does.

Drain it, Burn it, and let nature take its course

[swampman]

even the BWCA where motors are allowed is 25 hp.

two guys, decoys, and dog and gear 10hp doesn't cut it when you get that raging storm at 9:30 am.

Had a school buddy die out there back in the 70's still miss him.

x2 on the horsepower thing, you guys that want no motors or just allow small motors have'nt spent enough time on the lake in november when a good north wind can kick in and have 5 foot waves rolling.

[jigginjim]

I haven't seen 5ft rollers on any lake in Wright county, I spend many a day on the lakes in the fall fishing and hunting. 3FT a few, none bigger. Green lake in Spicer maybe has a few, and that is twice the size of pelican.

When you find them call me I'll be there with my 10ft duck boat in tow.....

[b123]

I live right next to pelican and am one of the few who hunt it for the last few weeks of the season and i can GUARANTEE you would not go out there in a 10' boat. The rollers might not exactly be 5' high but they are big enough and at that time of year there are only 3-4 other boats out there to help you out and the water is REAL COLD! I have a 1754 alumacraft jon boat with a 50 HP and have been scared on multiple occasions.

[swampman]

I haven't seen 5ft rollers on any lake in Wright county, I spend many a day on the lakes in the fall fishing and hunting. 3FT a few, none bigger. Green lake in Spicer maybe has a few, and that is twice the size of pelican.

When you find them call me I'll be there with my 10ft duck boat in tow.....

Don't really care whether you have seen them or not, do they happen often no, but they do, I have spent enough time on the water working commercially to know a 5 foot wave when I see it. A 16 ft boat swamped the day I was out there. I had to buck up into the wind for a long ways before I thought I had a decent chance to try to cross where I had to go I was running a 16ft semi v witha 40 horse on it at the time. I know how big green lake is it's about 4 miles across, where I was crossing on pelican the north wind has about a 2- 3 mile shot down the pike. It's plenty far enough for the waves to get about as big as there going to, I am sure you have spent enough time on the water to know that all the waves are'nt the same size so was everyone a 5 ft wave probably not if you want to split hares and call me a lier over that fine.

Even in 3 foot waves you would have to be a silly-me to be out there in a 10 foot boat. Alot of younger guys read on here and if your telling them it's safe to go out there on a windy day in a 10 ft boat you are giving some real bad advice.

[sartellangler05]

^^^^^^^ Who cares?! It's a wave.

[RumRiverRat]

Drain the lake and the waves will be smaller.

[Hester]

That's true, and funny.

[swampman]

LOL now I remember why I don't post on here much anymore. I have'nt talked to anybody in the know on this whole thing for awhile I really don't know if its any closer to a draw down than it was a couple years ago.

[jigginjim]

I do agree guys who have not spent years growing up on lakes and dealing with any type of large waves should not go out. Guys have died on Mud lake near New London, duck hunting in the winds of late fall duck hunting. I fished many tournaments from a 14ft boat, even on Mille Lacs, 2 1/2-3ft waves in can really throw you around.

A. Have fun, but be safe, don't take chances.

[RuddyDuck]

LOL now I remember why I don't post on here much anymore. I have'nt talked to anybody in the know on this whole thing for awhile I really don't know if its any closer to a draw down than it was a couple years ago.

I hear yah, some of these posts on this are funny. JJ, I think I would of called the CO on the guys that lost 3/4 of their birds in the weeds. They should Quit shooting them over the weeds or get a dog! Not really sure how that is the lakes fault. Duck lakes should have alot of cattails.

As far as a timeline on the lowering of the lake, I called the DNR guy leading this project last Thurs. He said they are currently working on the downstream parts yet. He says they are hoping to start construction of the actual outlet sometime late next summer, 2014. He said that part won't take very long. Also asked about a HP limit and he really isn't for that.