Poor Buffalo Lake

[Corey Bechtold]

I like Buffalo Lake but find it hard to go out during the ice season. That lake gets hit harder than any lake I know. The fisheries department has been doing surveys for quite some time on size and quantity of angler catches. I wonder how many fish get taken from that lake each year. Amazingly enough the fish rebound from the pressure. Good thing there are so many OTHER good lakes in the area to catch fish on.

[smallie_hawgin]

Cory,
You might find this link interesting. There will be summer creel information up soon. Also, a creel was done on Pulaski this past summer, and is currently taking place on Pulaski for this winter. There will be information posted as results are in. Thanks for your concern.

[smallie_hawgin]

Oops forgot the link:
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/areas/fisheries/montrose/buffcreel.html

[dewoutdoor70]

pressure is right we fished from 3 to 7 sooooo many vehicles out there it is crazy and when we left they were still coming out not sure for what we had 1 bite in 4 hours these people drive within several feet of your house not sure why , god forbide it might take a little longer getting to or leaving. not sure if there is anything left in there that hasent seen every kind of tackle out on the market

[federline]

You know, I just read that PDF on the link above (the full survey report). I'd drop that stack of paper in front of anyone who says things haven't changed and don't continue to change from the pressure on buffalo.

It shows that January is the hardest pressure. That's exactly what has happened this year - good fishing up to new years, then each week they've bitten lighter and lighter.

Another scary stat - over 85% of people surveyed drove less than 25 miles, and half drove less than 10 miles to get there. It's all locals, but those locals weren't here 5 years ago.

Did anyone notice DNR question number 5 on the survey? "Would you support a special Walleye regulation?" I wonder if they are thinking of slotting Buffalo?

[dewoutdoor70]

a slot might be a good idea

[BigDaddy]

Corey,
You mention that their are other good lakes in the area. I'd like to hear about one or two.

This is the first year that I've really tried Metro fishing. I hit Buffalo last weekend and it was like highway traffic.

It was the same the weekend before on Sarah.

[ackotz]

Well...for starters, there's Clearwater and Cedar and Sugar and Maple and Waverly and Howard, then all the smaller one's you'll find if you search in mapbooks, bait shops and the DNR website...

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/lakefind/index.html

------------------
"My Recipe for Fish Chowder:
-Set lid on bucket o' minnows and let stew in the sun for 3 days...
-Open, stir and enjoy..."

[Corey Bechtold]

alcotz is on the right track, except for cedar You could add Pulaski, Pleasant, Beebe, Deer, Ramsey, Rock, Granite, The Mississippi River, and almost any other lake for panfish. So many lakes have been well stocked for Walleyes. Pick and choose and you could hit a gold mine.

[dewoutdoor70]

cedar bye clearwater is full of eyes and every other fish for that matter

[BigDaddy]

I think that I'll try Beebe on Sunday.

Thanks!

[dewoutdoor70]

beebe is a good choice, need to get out there myself and try it, used to do good out there,but like every other lake its hit or miss,good luck if you go and post how you do