River's going to run dry

[Rino]

The river is down more than a foot and they are dumping water to bring Nest back up. I looked at the dam yesterday and it was wide open. How low will they go?

[Guest]

This is an issue that really ticks me off.

Mud lake is down almost 2 feet. I hit mud with my motor in spots I never have before this duck season.

There is going to be a very severe winter-kill out there if things do not change and if we have a severe winter. It sucks because the lake/river is starting to get some darn nice largemouth, crappie, bluegill and walleye. It's going to be a shame just because Nest is low because the people on Green keep opening up the dam at the Old Mill because they want THEIR water levels up.

Something needs to be done, but it might be too late to save what's going to be lost.

[jigginjim]

Hi Tom;

I thought the crow river/ mud lake area had an aerator in there in the winter? I know there was one some years back to keep the sulfur smell in new london down in the spring.

I grewe up next to the dam in town. The oder was so bad you could hardly walk in town and it would eatthe paint off the hatchery.

[Rino]

There are 6 helixers a bit down stream from the boyscout point and one lader type aerator just down stream from the culvert going to Mud lake. Regardless of the aeriation, the Mud and the river are so shallow (most of the river is less than 5' to start with) add 2' of ice and drop the river by 3-4' and where are the fish going to live? The river has had improving fishing for many species as mentioned before and I think this could be a major setback.

[Guest]

Jim,

Yea there is an aereator in Mud but they have it in the wrong place. The entire lake itself is prone to winterkill as is most of the river.

[jigginjim]

Rino, Have you looked at the dam in town to see how much water is coming over? I don't remember the river ever beening this low. Or the dam being opened up before spring runoff hits. I do remember locals watching the for several days due to ice jamms. I don't know who's operating dam these days other than DNR.

[Rino]

The dam is wide open I've never seen this this much water comming out when the river is so low. I have seen the river lower in the summer during some of the droughts, however the dam was not wide open during those times and By winter the river had recovered.

On a somewhat different note, has anyone else thought that the river and mud would be excellent candidates for dredging? I've always thought that a 20'channel from end to end would be great. The river is silting out, in the not so distant future it will be just the crow swamp. In my 25+ years fishing the river I've seen several spots go from over 10' to under 5'.

[Rino]

Here is the latest, I heard that a specialist was out to look at the dam and found that the gate was at an angle. I guess that they used a chain to patch it up for now. The river should be back on the rise.

[Duck-o-holic]

Hey Tom...

Your duck rig would look GREAT with a mud motor on the back!!

As much as it would be a setback for the fish, many times in lakes-- what's bad for the fish... is GREAT for the ducks. I realize that Mud lake is in its own class of lakes though. Even without freshwater shrimp or massive celery beds, the wild rice will always attract the numbers there. But in many lakes that we'd be willing to sacrifice our fishing, we could do a LOT to improve the duck numbers. MN has lost out on our fowl migration numbers over the years due partially to this ongoing debate!

I like that mud has had a recent balance of good fishing AND good hunting! Now if we can only get the weather to cooperate during duck season!!

Duck-o-holic

[Guest]

Right on Jon!

Think of what our hunting would be like if the sloughs were actually sloughs again. The introduction of gamefish and the winter aereation of many of our local lakes has pretty much destroyed the freshwater shrimp populations in the area.

I love to fish just as much as the next guy, but every lake was not meant to have walleye, or whatever. The DNR is starting to figure out what many of us have known for years, but ya know, we don't have degrees in biology so who are we to say anything (heavy on the sarcasim)

They are also starting to see that this has a huge impact on the ducks returning in the spring, particuarly scaup. Lack of food equals stress which equals lower reproduction rates.

But as far as most people go, fishing takes precidence over waterfowl so I doubt things will change any time soon.

[goose89]

tom,

just curious. how does one become a FishingFM Pro Staff member?? I grew up in "Kandi" area and enjoy keeping up with the latest info around there that you share with us. how does one get to be a "FM Pro Staff"?? thanks in advance.

later,

goose

[Guest]

Goose,

Well, being around since near the beginning helps but our criteria now is based on knowlege and quality of posts. It a person has porfessional or work experience in the outdoors, that helps too.

Keep posting and offering info and help and someone will notice.

We are starting out placing people of talent as field staff as a trial period. If those people show promise, they will be promoted to prostaff. Does that make sense?

[Rino]

Tom, I actually do have my Masters degree in Biology. However it is not directly related to ducks or fish. I grew up on the river my folks still live there just north of town. I've fished the river and lakes in the area since I was born, two of my favorite childhood pictures are of me in a carseat in a canoe with my dad and one with my Dad cleaning a bunch of big bull blugills. Do you remember when Nest lake was full of big gills?

[Guest]

Oh heck yea,

Used to be able to go right out in front of the access and catch NICE ones no problem. Havnt been out there in years, but by the sounds of your post they are hard to come by now.

[goose89]

thanks for the reply and explanation tom,

later,

goose

[jigginjim]

Rino, Have you tried fishing the the bluegills in the mill pond in town. I've caught a few last year but this year.

[Rino]

I've caught some bragin sized gills out of the river, however never tryed in town. I usually only keep a couple to eat and put the rest back. The numbers of gills in the river are not there to sustain much fishing pressure. But if you can find them some years there are some big ones. Same goes for bass. I remember about 10 years ago we could go out every night and catch 3-4 lb bass and a few bigger for hours. That hasn't happened for years though. This summer I want to try fly fishing for Carp. There are some huge fish in very predictable spots.

[dabber]

Thanks for the info on Mud. Was planning to do some fishing this month on the river. Wondering how the level is doing?

[Rino]

Went out this weekend with my Kids and Dad, we caught 6 Pike. Water levels have stabilized. On Friday night we had an interesting time chasing the fishhouse as it blew across the ice. It was so slick that you could not walk into the wind we used ski poles to get around.

[dabber]

Sounds like you had fun. Two questions/comments. We have a place on the east side of mud and have had a blast catching those hammer handles. But why are they only 12" to 24" long?

Does Mud itself freeze out? Also what do you guys think about putting a motor horse power (10HP) restiction on that lake? Those big hp motors really churn up the bottom AND chase the waterfowl off the lake.

[Redhead76]

Where do you guys fish on mud? i have never seen anyone fishing out there.

[jigginjim]

Redhead, you guys fishing by the Dilley's grade? That bay was always a hot spot for spear fishing.

[Guest]

Mud does freeze out. This year is going to be bad with the low water.

As for the small pike, there are a lot of factors- Freeze outs, overharvest, tourneys that do not stress catch and release, and possibly inadequate forrage.

As for the big motors, if you do that you will increase the chance for fatalities especially during duck season. Mud can get nasty and going out there with only a 10 horse would be insane. A lot of people have died out there, but it's been over 25 years since the last, let's not make it dangerous again.

[dabber]

Tom

I'll have to disagree with you on that about having a bigger motor makes it safer. You still can have a 14' to 16' boot that can easily be controlled by a 10hp or smaller. We used to go out on Long Lake at 3:00 in the morning for Bills in Late Oct/ear Nov. back in the 70's. All we had was a 6hp with a 14' boat and let me tell you that Long was a lot rougher than Mud will ever be. I've been hunting Mud for the last 15 years and those big 40-65hp

motors zipping by us in the dark are a lot more dangerous than a 10hp. And they DO chase the ducks off. Just my humble opinion.

[Guest]

I do agree that there are some crazy drivers out there, but most of em know the lake well and if you have your lights on, which you should since it is still the law, you should be ok. I run mine full bore just because if you dont, you get bogged down, especially this year with the low water.

The boats do scare the birds off, but so would a 10 horse.

What really scares the birds off is all of the people who do not know when to quit calling. And the skybusters.....but that's another story.....

I've been hunting out there for over 25 years, I know what you mean.

[Rino]

I don't think a HP restriction is the way to go, however some of the narrow spots could use some rocks on the shore line to protect the bank and slow siltation. Again, I wish they would dredge out just one chanel so that one could get a boat through without all the weeds. In summer I mow a lot of weeds with my motor and have to stop to clear it often.

I totally agree with Tom on the reasons for the hammer handles. Although I think the #1 reason for the small fish is stunting due to too many northerns and not enough forage to go around. I think that size restrictions could help. Keep some small ones for supper and let those bigger ones go.