Blue Lake, Isanti County

[chubs17]

hi
is this the blue lake in the elk river area?i live in ramsey and looking for some place close to home to fish.

[Mr55371]

Blue Lake is in Isanti County, just south of Princeton. From Isanti, head west on 5 to county road 28 (or H), the turn is in a sharp curve. Once on 28, keep get'n it for a mile or so, and you'll see Baxter Lake on the right. Just past Baxter there is a road to the left that should be marked as a boat ramp. The road dead ends on the lake. From Ramsey. take 47 north to 5, and follow the same. When headed west on 28, if you pass 100th, you've gone too far. Once on the lake, head to the center till you see a grey fish house with a bunch of empty Schmidt cans outside. That's mine, feel free to stop in and say hello

[hip_hop_fisherman]

can anyone give me a guess to how long it would take me to get from Mora to Blue Lake? I'd probably just head to Isanti and take back roads over there from what I saw on the maps I have. I kind of know these roads since I worked out of Isanti this past summer. Any quicker way? Thanks.

[muskiejoe]

Seven, Nice talking to you over break.........

[Mr55371]

Was out in the shack yesterday from 100 to 700PM. The crappies were slow, but we managed to get a few. Had planned to stay out later in the evening, but the flashers got hard to work with after dark. Once the sun set we started getting echos of small bait fish on or near the bottom. As the evening went on, these returns grew more and more numerous, until they covered half the screen. Once it gets like that, you can't find you bait anymore, and are "in the dark". I know it's not my Marcum, or my buddy's Vex, we tested all possibilities there. I rule out interferance, as I've had it in crowded lakes before, with no troubles. I think it's perhaps "super natural"...? Any suggestions there..?

[Ray Esboldt]

Mr55371,

Zooplankton is what you are seeing. From a scientific point of view, I haven't a clue why they are so active after dark. You're right, it can render a flasher worthless. It also seems to make the fish more finicky to standard presentations.

I've found a couple things helpful to combat this issue. First, I'll try a dropper rig under a float. The rig consists of bigger teardrop like a Custom Jigs and Spins Demon with a minnow or multiple eurolarve, 6 to 8 inches of line, and a small #12 hook or super-small teardrop with one eurolarve. Use the tag end of line from your knot to create the dropper line. You'll need to vary your depth until you can actually discern what's fish and what's a glob of zooplankton. The second thing I'll do is deadstick a minnow 5-8 feet or so under the ice. Crappies tend to forget their boundaries when they're gorging themselves on zooplankton. A tasty minnow sitting with no where to run works at times. However, this seems to work better later in the year.

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Ray Esboldt
MarCum
Stone Legacy

[Mr55371]

I had an idea it was something along those lines, and thought I had read something before about it, but was unsure. So is this plankton a seasonal thing...? Will it go away, or do I have to deal with it every time I go out in the evenings...? Should I move of my hole to another location on the lake, or are these things everywhere....?

[Ray Esboldt]

Mr,

Some lakes I've been on, it's the whole lake. Some it's just certain areas. Some lakes have it, some don't. I've never saw it as just a seasonal thing. It seems to last the whole winter. You just have to find ways to combat it, or move on to another lake.

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Ray Esboldt
MarCum
Stone Legacy

[rich4walleyes]

Heading to Blue this Saturday. Looking for any info poss. This will be my first time going there. Looking for crappies and gills. What would be a good place and a good bait? I will probably be there during the day. Not able to fish into the evening this time. Definately will at a later date.

[Mr55371]

I've been catching crappies regularly in the deep holes. The come through about ten or fifteen feet off the bottom. There are a lot of houses setup shallower, not sure what the report is there. Minnows and waxies work for me.

[Snowking]

hit blue tonite for 4 hrs not a bite. lots and i mean lots of poeple out kis on fourwheelers and sleds racing around. started out in 28' by MR.'s house and made my way into 15' the vex showed fish but no takers. doing the buffalo thing friday. maybe blue on saturday

Snowking

[Mr55371]

Glad to hear the house is still out there... I've been too busy to get on the ice this week. Got the truck taken half apart chasing a coolant leak. Hope to have it back together today and be on the ice Saturday as well.

[rich4walleyes]

Thanks MrE. Would it be easier to go out on the East or North launch sites. Sounds like most of the fishing is on the north end of the lake, is that right?

[Mr55371]

The North landing is easier to get in and out of, but the parking gets a bit crowded. The East landing does'n't get as full, but the ramp is a bit steep. I'd go North

[keyks42]

I'm not trying to turn anybody from going to blue but the traffic on the lake is out of control, was out on New year day and the people were every where. Four wheelers buzzing by 10 ft. from your house and the fishing has turn off Caught 2 crappies and one nice perch in 3 hours, had gotten my limit of crappies the last 2 times out before that.
Good Luck and go Pack
Mark

Mr 55371 thanks for the reply on my hit and run

[keyks42]

I'm not trying to turn anybody from going to blue but the traffic on the lake is out of control, was out on New year day and the people were every where. Four wheelers buzzing by 10 ft. from your house and the fishing has turn off Caught 2 crappies and one nice perch in 3 hours, had gotten my limit of crappies the last 2 times out before that.
Good Luck and go Pack
Mark

Mr 55371 thanks for the reply on my hit and run

[Mr55371]

I agree there is a lot of traffic on the lake these days. Last time I was there I counted 40+ vehicles parked at the north ramp. I see a migration of the houses to the area just north of the points. They appear to be in the same depth as they were on the north straight, so I'm not really sure as to their logic. Regardless, people on the lake for recreational purposes should respect those there to fish. The whole south end of the lake is wide open to race around on, as well as the north bay.

[Jitterbug]

It's been like that for about ten years now. Ever since Elk River turned into a subburb the number of people fishing that lake is unreal. The area is lacking in quality lakes and blue seems to hold crappies even though they are small, this in turn brings in the anglers. If you check out the DNR lake survey data from the last ten years, you will discover the quality of fish in the lake is/has decreased drasticlly. It use to be a nice quite lake.

[Mr55371]

What's the action on Blue these days...? I haven't been out in a while. Seems like Baxter is busy most every night, but I can't imagine that they are catching crappies that well, least any with size. Could be wrong.

[Snowking]

went out saturday morning started out in the deep hole to the south of the point. marked fish just couldnt get them to bite. moved down to the hump on the south end and picked up a few eyes didnt keep em biggest was 17" took off about noon.