Elysian

[fishtrap3]

Was by there a couple hours ago and there was at least 10 houses..

[Norselander]

I was on Elysian late this afternoon (Wednesday). There is at least 8 inches of good ice on the north side out to about the 7 foot depth. I didn't go out farther than that. There is some water right up by shore, and I am told the ice in the middle of the lake is treacherous--don't go there. Fishing wasn't great, but I did catch one nice eater 'eye and and a 12' perch--enough for a meal for my wife and myself. I just like to get out,and with cleats on my shoes and my portable on the sled, it isn't even enough of a walk to make for good exercise.

[wallyeye]

Thanks for the update Norselander. I am hoping we have enough ice so that I can make it out there this weekend.

[Team Otter]

You'll be fine unless something awfully drastic happens with the weather. Time will tell.

[GreatEYEhunter]

Was out again tonight and we did very well.I measured 7 1/2 inches of good ice. Eye bite times seemed to have changed a bit but still going strong.We released a bunch untill they get bigger but kept some nice ones.

[Dragon Fish ll]

I would like to try Elysian tommorow Morning and spend the day out there. Sence it is a long drive for me it would be a great help if someone could report the ice conditions later, and what they think tommorow would be like. also where would be the best place to go on at? Ive always past it on 60 doing deliverys to Mankato. But never fished it. thought about it but when I bought a Clam shelter from the Madison bait shop last winter the owner said it wasnt that hot an to fish Madison. Anyhow any help and advice would be appreciated

[delta hunter]

Where is everyone fishing on Elysian, I think my dad and I going to give it a try this weekend! I'm picking him up at the airport tomorrow afternoon, he's back for a couple of weeks from Iraq. I'm not looking for the hot spot, just a good area to fish on the lake. Don't want to just barge right in on everyone else!

[tims]

You cant miss the cars and iceshacks along hwy 60 just outside Elysian. I was out this afternoon. 6 FOW. The key was being quiet and changing lures till you find what they want! I had one jigging spoon that literally outfished my normal go-to spoon 10/1. Threw back lots of 12-13 inchers, kept a few over 16 and some perch for the pan. I also released 2 that were 20". I dont like the taste of the bigger ones out of this lake.

Ice was iffy, about 5 inches but plenty of water on top. Shoreline ice was weak, I got a wet boot coming in. I dont think it can take many more days like this. The sun and wind really took its toll today. I would be very carefull this weekend. One of the holes i drilled had huge gushes of water spewing out of it. Not sure what that was all about, but it made me kind of nervous..

[Willy]

Hopefully it just stays warm and gets rid or this bad ice. It is not going to be good all winter if it fefreezes. I would say if you have a big house out right now to get it the heck off the lake. The ice is rotten.

[Team Otter]

I talked to Tom (harvey lee) this morning and he said the shore ice was getting "iffy" on Elysian but once they got out on the lake it still wasn't too bad but that it had changed from Wednesday.

[harvey lee]

I fished this lake on Wednesday and the ice looked good. After this morning being out on the ice I would say that today will probably be ones last chance.

The ice at shore is going and the water is open for a foot. You have to step across the water twice to get to the solid sheet to get on by the boat landing. To the north of the landing is also some open water. After tonights traffic and the warmer weather today I would guess that this lake will be off limits for awhile. The ice depth was around 5" but getting darker in color.

Thats it for me until we get some cooler weather. There were a pair of pants frozen at the landing so I would venture to say that someone got a little wet.

[LaZyDayZ]

IMO It will be a good thing if this lake gets a break for awhile.

Be safe and have a good weekend.

[Jig Master]

A bunch of people blabbing on the internet isn't going to help the lake any.

[Team Otter]

I don't know about that comment being totally appropriate. This is an information highway but it does not catch the fish for you. Us, as fishermen and women, still have to do the dirty work...

[mskyfshntchr]

But can't you see his point? This lake isn't a Mille Lacs in size where it can handle the pressure...True the people have to still catch the fish, BUT if there is a hot bite somewhere and people know about it what do you get?? More people and therefore the chance that more fish will be caught and kept. Then after a while the bite slows because a lot of fish have been taken. How many people have gone to Elysian so far because of this website? A lot of people read, but never post, so you have no idea if they are getting the info and using it or not.

It used to be bad enough when people would see a city on a lake and go there because they figured the fish were biting. Now they take 2 minutes to read these posts and the guess work is all gone for them. Some people will give all the info-lure, depth, gps, etc....

There is no wonder that all these lakes are cyclical...the word gets out the fish are biting and boom! 100's or 1000's go there to fish, catch the fish and clean a lot of fish out of the lake in a winter. It has happened before the internet and it is happening after the internet, just a little faster, I think.

[harvey lee]

It has happenned years ago and will with or without the internet. People have to remember one thing,Catch&Release or self control. You can have your fun and still not take home a pail full every night.

I have been there four times and have taken home 6 walleyes and caught many more than that. I know of another lake that has been on another regional forum where the bite is hot. I live 20 miles from the lake and the other day I had three people in town ask me if I heard about it. I know for a fact that they found this out by word of mouth.

Self control is where it is at and yes there are some that cannot do it. They will still find out about the bite and will still be just takers.

Yes, the internet might ad to the issue but when word of mouth and someone driving by sees all the houses out there then they will figure it out. Thats what goes down with a hot bite. I understand your concern and also believe that it will happen regardless of the internet.

[Willy]

Self control? Get real. 95% of the people out there don't have it, I can tell you that. When guys are coming all the way from 3 hours away, the cities and northern Iowa to fish it, those guys aren't putting any back.

I do agree with Tom though about the word getting out. It was out long before a report got posted on a website.

[Bald Eagle]

There's no doubt that when knews of a hot bite gets out whether it's by word of mouth or the internet people are going want to take part in it and they have every right to do just that. Unfortunately there are alot of people out there that will abuse this right. I have to wonder though why on Northern MN lakes (Red would be a good example) they recognize the potential for a fishery to be destroyed and do something about it in advance. I would love to see some slot limits or reduced harvest on some of the lakes around here. To many of us it's not about how many fish you can take home it's about the challenge of catching them or the relaxation of just being on the lake. I'm only able to get out fishing on the weekends and this forum has alot of great information. I don't think Elysian was going to be a secret for very long Internet or not.

[Team Otter]

I see everyone's point, I just questioned the earlier comment about blabbing. Certainly there is some of that but it should not be encouraged. For the last time, let's not let this post turn into a "repeat performance" of May '06.

Thank you!

[Jig Master]

Here's my point, without the internet there would still be a lot of people heading out to Elysian. But when people are putting posts up about how they hammered a bunch of easy to catch walleyes it is only going to increase the amount of pressure on the lake. And not for all, but for a great many ice fisherman all they care about is getting "a limit" to take home for the frying pan. Do you really think it's ethical to give all this attention and add all this extra pressure to a lake that isn't even 2,000 acres???

[Rozman]

The lake is basically 12.9 miles long, so acreage(1902 acres) can be deceiving. I can tell you first hand, that when these posts appear, stating I caught 3 or 45 walleyes, whatever the number maybe, there are 10 guys that did not catch anything. To bring "ethics" into who or how many people are fishing and catching what on this particular lake is like arguing over famous legislation from the past. If your fishing the lake, please don't ever frown on the number of people you see.

[Team Otter]

It's unfortunate that many "sportsmen" are only concerned about getting a limit but that isn't something any of us can control. As for the posts, I think each person views them with their own perspective. When I post a fishing report or any other type of post that involves answerig a question, etc, I try to be helpful rather than turn it into a "brag board" or something of the like. With all that being said, I understand what you're saying but I don't know that any of us here have the right answer. All we can do is try to be ambassadors for selective harvest, catch and release and other motives that will protect the resources we enjoy now for the future.

[james_walleye]

I think with the lakes in this area, and especially with walleyes, people unfortunately have too be careful with what they say on the internet. Walleyes in this area dont get on a roll real often and when they do and its all over the internet on top of the word of mouth it can get ugly. Its not like discussing a Mille Lacs or Winnie or even a more medium size lake. They are big lakes that can take pressure a bit better. I enjoy trying too give advice on here. If someone is heading out too Madison and is looking for advice on where too start i'll give some advice. But if i go too Madison and catch 50 walleyes in a night, forgive me, but i wont post it on the internet. Not about these small southern MN lakes. They are too touchy. All this being said i do believe with or without the internet this lake would be getting pounded either way, but being spread all over this internet site, is just compounded the pressure. This is a great website, great info, and it is busy, and i know alot of people that arent registered on here that simply check out the site for current fishing reports and such.

[Doop]

Blabbing?

How about information sharing?

If you don't have something positive to say...don't say anything at all. The reason posts go the other way is because of comments like that.

[Jig Master]

Well I wish everything I had to say was always positive everyday. But that's not the way the world works. If someone gets ran over by a car is that positive? No it's not, but it still gets talked about. The point is that in my opinion I don't think it's responsible to post detailed information about a hot Walleye bite on a small lake in southern Minnesota. It's definately not gonna help the situation any. I do applaud the emphasis on c&r and selective harvest. Although many people who drive a ways to get on a hot ice bite have the mentality to fill up their buckets. True the lake would be getting pounded without the internet, now its just getting pounded even harder. I'm not trying to turn this post the other way. I know 99% of the people on this site have good intentions and a passion about discussing fishing. I've seen about a million In-fisherman shows and you know what? Other than large lakes like Mille Lacs, Rainy, Erie, etc. they never once mention the name of the small lake they are hammering the fish on. Do you think they just forget? Or do you think they do it so that the lake doesn't get swarmed by a horde of anglers? And Doop..........just ignore this post if it doesn't fall under your sugar-coated version of reality.

[D4 Army]

I would like to know how everyone that is complaining found out about how the lake is producing. probably the same way everyone else did.

[jigging-matt]

I have enjoyed this site for a number of years now. I have been watching this post often and have been trying hard not to reply but couldn't hold back anymore. I am not trying to slam anyone. I know a lot of people look at this site. But I also ask fisherman all the time if they have ever visited this site. MANY have responded No, they didn't even know about it. Truth is there are a lot of sportsmen, and women that spend most of their time outdoors and don't use computers that much. Granted not everything can be a "Happy thought". It would also appear that Jigmaster likes to get the last word. I guess I would just like to see people sharing there information and enjoying the site instead of arguing back and forth about overfishing. I think a vast majority of the people on this site hunt and fish ethically. Sorry if I rambled a little, but I think everyone is just beating a dead horse.

[Team Otter]

I've actually enjoyed the discussion for the most part other than a few sketchy comments. Moving forward, perhaps we can all do a better job, including myself, of only sharing information about presentation, technique, etc but a little more sensitive to location including the name of the lake. For every action, there's a reaction and I think we can all take something away from this.

[Guest]

Just because you post something about a lake, which is a good thing, doesn't mean everybody is going to go there and fill their buckets to the rim. I always share a hot spot to anyone that wants to know, hoping that they to can have a great day on the lake as I have. People act as though they own lakes or parts of it (hotspots). We all own a piece of each lake (taxes) so why not share? Arguing about such trivial crap is quite amusing !

[Fish'n guy]

We all know the negative and positive effects of sharing info. One can help one catch fish and one can get a lake or a spot fished out. It is just something that happens.

Back to the reports. I was out on the lake tonite and was really surprised about the lack of ice on the lake. ONLY 4 inches. I was driving my truck on 13" yesterday! I think that the traffic on the north end has the walleyes a little sluggish! Maybe moving out away from the crowds and trying more of a structure oriented type of approach such as rocks or dropoffs would be wise. I wouldn't be affraid to fish shallow either as the ice is still thin and they may very well be in a first ice pattern with the amount of light reaching the bottom. Experiment with different presentations. The same goes for any other lakes!