Green Lake Forum

[castindad]

the reason green lake has gone down hill is walleye cannot compete with smallmouth for food and the crawfish forage is depleted the shinner population is almost gone and the stocking progrem has been a failure at best castindad

[castindad]

the greed of some of our fishermen will take care of green lake. our traditional WALLEYE LAKE HAS BECOME A SMALLMOUTH ICON FOR SMALLMOUTH ALLIANCE A ORGANIZATION THAT IS SLOWLY INFESTING OUR MINN LAKES BY BEING PROTECTED WALLEYE NEED A BALANCED FIELD TO FEED ON WALLEYE SEASON IS LONG AND SMALLMOUTH IS SHORT . TALKED TO A GENTLEMAN AT THE MEETING AND HE SAID YOU CAN FISH SMALLMOUTH ANY TIME YOU JUST CAN NOT KEEP THEM DOSENT MINN HAVE A LAW HARASSING THE BASS IN EFFECT CASTINDAD

[castindad]

I ASK YOU IS GREEN LAKE A WORLD CLASS SMALLMOUTH LAKE EIGHT YEARS OF NO HARVEST IT SHOULD BE?

[jigginjim]

gentlemen, having grown up in New London, I have seen alot of fishing on green. At one time back in the 70's and 80's you could fish at ye old mill inn at nite and catch several nice walleyes and once in awhile a smallie. Back than there were 6 to 10 resorts on the lake. People came here to vacation to catch walleyes. Some of these people could n't catch a cold in a winter snow storm. So, they would target the smallies, thier easy to find just look for a hump in the middle of the lake. So the smallies got hammer hard. Even in the early 90's guys who spent time on the lake could fine a true trophy smallmouth. I know of a group of 6

guys who came just for 1 wall hanger each. That was in late Oct 92. Then came the no kill rule,the resort have been sold for condo's. Now you can catch smallmouth just about anywhere. Forget the walleye at the old mill inn spill way, thats smallie haven. Now i love to catch smallies but I also like to catch walleyes for a meal.

Catching walleye out of 30 to 40 plus feet of water. You can bet most will have the air bladder in thier mouth. They don't relieve well from that deep. Catch 11-14 inch walleyes

are to small for the table, walleyes over 21 inches get to be to large. And as for northerns well good luck finding any over 7 lbs. just to catch and release after a photo.

Yes, this lake is out of balance.

[GullGuide]

If you want walleye, go fish one of the other 30 plus lakes that are in the area, but leave the smallies alone. Your statement "they are a river fish" is mor0nic. You know what? THE WALLEYE IS A RIVER FISH TOO!!! More lakes have smallies in them than rivers, but more walleye are in rivers where there are no smallies.

You guys will get your way and they will clean out the bass, and you know what, you generalize all bass fishermen as from being from the south. Where did you get that logic?

Here's a lttle history for you who think that Green is a walleye lake. Green is one of the few lakes in Minnesota where smallies were a native fish. Before the white man came, Green was baisically a smallmouth lake with walleye, pike, panfish living in balance, but the smallies were the main fish. Like you said, smallies are easy to catch, especially in the spring, so these fish were pretty much eradicated tilting the balance to the walleye. This stayed true for most of the 1900's until the smallmouth population got so low, they were in danger of dissapearing in the lake forever. It diddnt help that guys like Jim's friends came up and took trophy fish out every year either. So the DNR shut it down.

What you are seeing is a natural swing back to what this lake naturally was, but we anglers are helping speed this up by removing the walleye. If we took all the fish out of the lake, and left 100 bass, 100 walleye and 100 pike and did not let anyone fish the lake and zoomed ahead in time 100 years, you will see a lake that looks pretty simalar to what we have now. The smallies will dominate the structure but the walleye will dominate the basins. If anglers would forget about fishing walleye only with a lindy rig and start fishing the susspended fish, you will have plenty of good walleye fishing.

[castindad]

jigging jim iagree with you 100 percent and walleye people need more people like your self BRING BACK BALANCE TO GREEN LAKE . HOPEFULLY IT IS NOT TOO LATE

[castindad]

GULLGUIDE AS YOU KNOW I DISAGREE BUT I ALSO AGREE THE WALLEYE WILL PREVAIL BECAUSE OF A BUNCH OF MORONIC PEOPLE WHO LIKE TO FISH WALLEYE AND ALSO HAVE AN OCCASIONAL MEAL IN THE LAST 15 TO 20 YEARS BASS FISHING HAS BECOME BIG BUSINESS MORE SO IN THE NORTH THAN THE SOUTH WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT. WHY SHOULD PEOPLE WHO HAVE VACATION AND FISHED GREEN HAVE TO GO TO A DIFFERENT LAKE BECAUSE SMALLMOUTH ALLIANCE PULLED THE WOOL OVER OUR LEGISLATURES EYES AND ENACTED PROTECT THE SMALLMOUTH . BY THE WAY WHY DO WE NEED TWO LAKES IN KANDIYOHI CO PRETECTING BAS S? ANXIOUS FOR YOUR RESPONSE CASTINDAD

[castindad]

CHUB IT IS THE DNR DECISION AND THEY MAY BE RESPONSIBLE BY REGULATIONS ON THE SPECIES. WITH OUT HF35 GREEN LAKE WILL BE A GOLD FISH POND FULL OF SMALLMOUTH AND CARP PLUS A FEW SUCKERS TO FEED THE NEW COMER MUSKY CASTINDAD

[castindad]

GULLGUIDE REMBER GREEN IS PART OF A RIVER CHAIN AND YOUR STATEMENT THAT THERE ARE MORE WALLEY WHERE THERE ARE NO SMALLMOUTH ? CASTINDAD YOUR FIRST PARAGRAPH . PLEASE EXPLAIN

[chub]

Gullguide....where do you get the idea that bass were nearly fished out of existence? I've lived here and fished it for 35 years and if I wanted to catch one it was never a problem. The problem now is...when I don't want to catch one, I still do. I really don't have a problem with the Bass per se. The problem is that the regs have tipped the balance way outa wack.

As for the "elusive" open water, giant schools of walleyes roaming Green.......BWWWWAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I hear this story every so often when on this subject. "Oh they're out there, suspended, feeding on the Tulibees". Been there, done that. Nobody can ever seem to find them.

And I'm not really complaining about the walleye fishing either. It is actually pretty good. I think the numbers are on the the way down though.

As for big Norskys, there are a lot of them in there also. Nobody fishes for em(and they're also well regulated).

[GullGuide]

Chub, then you don't know what you are doing, or no clue how to fish em. And Chub, you are also full of it. The bass were almost gone from the lake, well below, actually FAR below the long-term averages for the lake, and not just for smallies, for largemouth too.

Catindad, I spose you are one of the people who were out slitting the gills of any smallmouth you caught.....You are so flustered that you can't even state a question that makes sense.

[castindad]

LEECH 21 WE HAVE TRIED THE EXPERMENT FOR SEVEN YEARS NOW TRY TO GIVE THE WALLEY A SIMILAR EXPERMENT SURE HOPE IT WONT MAKE YOU SICK. POLITICS MAY NOT BE THE WAY TO HANDLE THIS BUT S/M BASS HAS ALLOWED THIS TO GET WAY TO FAR OUT OF BALANCE. AGAIN EVERYONE IS INTITLED TO THEIR OPINION ? JUST HOPE THE DAMAGE IS REPAIRABLE CASTINDAD!

[chub]

When you feel like divulging the secrets of the of the Green Lake suspended walleyes gimme a shout. We can take my rig or yours and I'll buy the gas I'm long over due for enlightenment.

Largemouth Bass were way below long term average also????? Lived there and fished it all my life and never knew there was an average for em. Always been a few I guess, never very many.

Someone, maybe castindad did bring up a good point in his own elequant way about the bass alliance. Why is it that most of the vocal pro bass people on this subject aren't even from the area? I guess most of the locals feel there's too many bass, but they don't know what they're talking about huh? Like I said before, I can't whine about the walleye fishing, I can hold my own there. Don't really mind the Bass either, other than they cost alot of money in bait on occasion

[castindad]

gill guide sorry but iam really not flustered, seems you may be however. i appologize for that, however i have documantation from the dnr from the meeting that kinda contradicts your theory on smallmouth. me thinks you may rethink or at best go to dnr for your info castindad

[castindad]

CHUB AT THE MEETING ONE OF THE OBSERVERS STATED THAT IF YOU PUT A PAN OF COOKIES IN THE OVEN FOR FIVE MINUTES AND THEY ARE BURNED DO YOU PUT THEM IN FOR FIVE MORE MINUTES. IF IT HAS BEEN BURNED FOR FIVE MINUTES DO YOU BURN THEM SOME MORE JUST MY 2CENTS WORTH.SMALLMOUTH HAVE HAD NOT FIVE BUT SEVEN YEARS TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT THEY SET OUT TO DO. TIME FOR A CHANGE CASTINDAD

[castindad]

GULL GUIDE WAIT 5 YEARS !

[castindad]

GULLGIDE YOU ARE RIGHT THE SMALL MOUTH WERE 0.3 IN 1956 AND IN 1999 THEY ARE 9.0 ALTHOUGH DNR STATES SMOUTH ARE SHY OF NETS WERE THEY SHY IN 1997? THESE ARE DNR RECORDS YOU CAN HAVE AXCESS TO JUST FOR THE ASKING1 CASTINDAD PS WALLEYE BY THE SAME TOKEN 1956 6.8 1998 15.6 AND IN 9.2 SHOWS ME SOME THING IS OUT OF KILTER? CASTINDAD

[mustup]

castindad, you're starting to sound like you need to get out away from the computer screen for a minute or two. maybe a couple hours of fishing and your statements might be comprehendable to some of us trying to make sense of your troubles. i'm,at least, able to make out what gullguide and the others are disagreeing about. as for your comments, they just confuse me.

later,

mustup

[LocalGuide]

Honestly I'm getting to the point I don't really care. I love to see that the smallies have done really well in Green and no matter what they wont leave. There will always be some.

If the MNDNR wants to manage green for walleyes then so be it. Manage the lake for walleyes and lift the special regs and let it be.

(EXCLUDING GREEN) We don't have a spectacular walleye lake in the area. We don't have a spectacular smallie lake in the area. We don't have any spectacular lakes for one species alone in the area. They are all good at certain times for certain species.

Green right now looks as its going to be good for one species. And that species is either going to be smallies or walleyes. Either fish can strive in that lake. In the end who will get top honors? My guess, walleyes.

I just want to go out, fish for some fish, tell stories/make up lies and be able to have fun doing it. Isn't that what fishing is about?

[jigginjim]

Localguide, I agree this does not have a lake that is a one fish lake. Granted, i have fished most of the lakes in this area. They all have a fair mix, but that goes with the spawning of the fish. I thinking, this year I'll do some guide trips out to green for smallies on fly fishing gear.

The flats should give up some real piggies. And on fly gear could be a real hoot. I do have a feeling the balance will come from locals keeping the smaller 13" and under smallmouth due to the amount of fish caught. Some of these people just want fish to eat.

GULLGUIDE, when did you last fish green? and how much have you fished this lake. Also what are the 2 special bass lakes in Kandiyohi County?

Check out Fish and Game Finder, March issue. page 12.

[castindad]

NORTH LONG HAWICK SORRY I HAVCE CONFUSED YOU GUYS CASTIN DAD ONLY 50 SOME DAYS TILL OPENER

[castindad]

mustup sorry i have confused you if you have any questions on on my pages feel free to ask and i will be honest and upright to the best of my ability i was at the meeting on the 18 and i agree some of the info my be confusing castindad

[EYEHUNTER10]

I supose you think florida doesnt have enough green carp in it either right?? LOL

[LEECH21]

Quote:

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I ASK YOU IS GREEN LAKE A WORLD CLASS SMALLMOUTH LAKE EIGHT YEARS OF NO HARVEST IT SHOULD BE?

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Castindad, so you are saying they should open up all the regs for harvesting the smallmouth and put a strict slot limit on walleyes? Is that what you want? It was stated in an yearlier post that nobody eats bass anyhow??? So then by opening up the regs, how is that going to bring the smallmouth numbers down if everyone CPR's the "green carp"!

What the DNR needs to do is maybe loosen the regs on the bass to something like...any bass over say 20 inches and over must be returned to the water. Anything less than 20" can be kept. This may ensure that the trophy bass stay in Green. They need to put regs on the walleye by making a slot limit. Because what happens is most, not all, but most walleye fisherman are out there for fish on a plate. They're not just out there fishing for pure catch and release. You get all you walleye guys keeping most of the fish you catch and pretty soon the walleye population drops a little and you start pointing fingers at the DNR and the smallmouth regs? Who's fault is it really? I agree with LocalGuide that in the end the walleye and walleye fisherpeople will have their way.

[GullGuide]

Jim, you can't be serious...when did I fish the lake last...lol.

I fish it probably 10-20 times during the summer and almost every weekend from the middle of Sept till freeze up. I know the lake and know it well.

As for divulging info on how to catch walleye out there. Not a chance. I figured it out, why don't you I'm certainly not going to talk about it on line where a million people can see it.

[walleyewacker]

...about the comment leach made about walleye fisherman fishing for the plate.......it is time for that change too. Good point gullguide, if some of us can figure it out why cant some.

[castindad]

GULLGUIDE NO ONE IS ASKING FOR YOU TO DIVULGE YOUR HONEY HOLES ON GREEN I FISH THE LAKE ALL SUMMER ALMOST EVERY DAY FROM 3 TO 6 HOURS BOTH MORNING AND NIGHT FISHIG CANT SAY JUST HOW WELL I KNOW THE LAKE BUT I CAN HOLD MY OWN . I AM SAYING SCINCE SMALLMOUTH HAVE BEEN PROTECTED, A VERY NOTICABLE DECLINE IN SIZE AAND QUALITY OF WALLEYE. THE DNR QUOTE " GREEN LAKE IS MANAGED AS A PRIMARY WALLEYE LAKE" I HAVE BEEN A BASSMASTER FOR OVER 25 YEARS AND ENJOY CATCHING BASS, BUT I ALSO ENJOY A MEAL ONCE AWEEK OF WALLEYE. THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN FISHING THE LAKE FOR UP TO 50 YEARS ARE SAYING. CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG BUT OUR LAKES ARE FOR EVERYONE? I REALLY DO APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS WHICH YOU ARE INTITLED CASTINDAD

[GullGuide]

CD,

I too would like to see the walleye a little easier to catch out there as well, but like I said, the lake ALWAYS has been a smallmouth lake, it's just that overharvest has kept them in check.

I will say however, that as far as getting into the walleye, you have to 1) be willing to fish at night. 2)be willing to fish prime moon phases 3)have enough confidence in what you are doing to stick with it and 4) be willing to think outside the box.

Green is a PRIME example of the kind of lake I described for an article I wrote for WalleyeCentral magazine a few years ago. 1) It is VERY clear 2) Has moderate to heavy day-time boat traffic 3) walleye are mainly deep or susspened during the daylight hours and 4) are heavilly targeted during the daylight hours. 5) The lake has many shallow water humps and bars, 6) good trollable shoreline breaks and flats and 7) these flats are not too weedy where one can run up in 9-5 feet of water and not worry about getting snagged up every 5 seconds.

Maybe that will help you out a little without going into too much detail.

As for the "managed for walleye" statement, those classifications were drawn up before people really cared for bass and walleye were the main managed fish. If you look at the DNR reports, almost EVERY lake is primarilly managed for walleye.

What I'm saying is why not manage Green for smallies too.

You can go to Diamond, Eagle, Long, Koronis, Rice, Willmar/Foot, Big Kandi, Wagonga, Elizabeth, Lake Lillian, Andrew, Florida, Nest, Norway/Games, Solomon, Ringo, George, etc, etc, if you want walleye, but if you want GOOD smallie fishing, Green is your only option (Yes, Nest and Koronis have smallies but nothing like Green).

Is it too much to ask for ONE good smallie lake?

[chub]

Quote:

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As for divulging info on how to catch walleye out there. Not a chance. I figured it out, why don't you I'm certainly not going to talk about it on line where a million people can see it.

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That's why I said I'd buy the gas or drive my rig And as for your list Tom of other walleye lake in the area, with the exception of a couple of em...... They're Duck Sloughs .... That's a whole other topic that DOES get me cranked up...LOL

castindad....I will say that your assumption that the size of the walleyes in Green is declining is not quite correct from my experience. I think the last couple of years has seen an increase in size. Not many huge fish, but quite a few of them in the 19 to 22 inch range. I do worry about the quantity of fish though.

[LODFFB]

Must be nice to complain about who wants to fish walleye or bass. There should be a chance to fish both. I guess all I would catch is Bass because if I haveto float in an innertube to 40' to 60' of water it woud ruin my whole day. Hopefully I will see some of you guys in 3 4 yrs on the water. Happy Crabbing