Pelican Lake Fishing Reports - Ashby

[ChuckN]

I'll keep an eye out for ya as I will be out and about too.

FYI, Box- The public access was in rough shape from the winter ice. I hope the DNR repairs it soon.

[jjohnson5150]

Our annual guys fishing weekend is now in the books. The Walleye action was not as good as years past, but we still managed 5 and a mess of Pike. All of the fish we caught on Pelican were in less than 6' of water. Fishing seemed to get a little better each day. I have a hunch it's going to be on fire next weekend and continue into June. It was good meeting you Boxmn. I especially liked your Mercury boat seat. That looked comfortable.

We ended up spending 2 half days on another lake fishing for Crappies. It was on fire. We caught dozens & dozens & dozens of Crappies along with some nice bruiser bluegill mixed in.

[ChuckN]

I only saw Box drive by at full throttle to escape a nearby thunderstorm on Saturday that never hit. You guys must have found a hotspot hidden somewhere cause I didn't see ya fishing anywhere when I was out.

Fishing was slow, but mustered up a couple.

[BoxMN]

Hey guys,

Nice meeting you too JJ! We looked for you later but kept finding the wrong pontoon! I think we saw you down by Vodka point on Saturday when we were fishing sunken island in the wind. The old merc seat works well for my fat rear, as long as we stay in calm stuff when I'm on it, haha! Glad to hear you hit the crappies!

Chuck, yeah, we got lucky Sunday and fished most of the day, getting more sunburned, but when the wind changed a bit we could see lightning we thought we were in trouble... but it never happened. After that we tried some ditch fishing, and managed one walleye and bunch of heads from a slough.

We ended up with a decent number of walleyes, and quite a few pike. Biggest went to my stepson with the shiny new boat 23" (near the public access) and 24" (in the narrows on Sunday morning). Most came from Philips point, a couple from Sunken Island, and a few from the south shore. Almost all on worms and spinners, and all less than 6'. So we ended up fishing kind of all over

This year we got pretty lucky weather wise, all got sun burned and the fish fry sat afternoon worked well. Got a night of bully fishing off the dock before the storm Sat night.

So like JJ, another year in the books and had a great time!

[Fireman1162003]

Hey, I live in Wahpeton, ND and would like to take my two boys for some good crappie action they are 9 & 7 yrs old. Could you give me a call, as I want to give them a great experience 701-899-6452. Thanks.

[jjohnson5150]

Fireman - Crappie action will be best on another lake. We pulled my little fishing boat North into OT county. Sorry, I can't give up the lake name, but if you search the MN DNR lake finder you can find one that suits your needs. Just look at the survey results. If the population is high, I'd concentrate on a shallow dark bottom bay. Crappies will be holding in those areas for the next week +. Watch the lilac & dandilion bloom in the area. I've found that this is natures way of saying - GO FISH! Check the outdoor weekly reports as well. They will usually report on the action as it comes in from the regional bait shops.

Box - It sounds like you guys did better on the eye balls than us this year. That new boat your step son had was dang nice!

[jjohnson5150]

Does anyone know why the water level is so low? I missed the lake association meeting, so I'm curios as to the status of the pump system. We have a sand beach that we normally do not have.

[fishin58]

Just had friends at the lake last weekend and they all got lake itch. IS there anything they can do to the lake to fix this problem? Or is that the problem? i.e treating of christina??

[BoxMN]

It just happens on many lakes, at different times. Its a bird/snail lifecycle. Best is to wipe vigorously with towel after getting out of water, especially the legs.

[#fishhunt#]

Was up 7/3 to 7/8. We (17 people were) in the water for 3 days and no one got it. My dad got it June 15th weekend. I don't know if it helps but we go in the water at about 2.5 feet at the end of the dock and do not go near the shore this time of year. My dad was near shore and we were not. Last year we had numerous kids get it. This year I said stay out of the pencil reads and away from shore. Like box said wipe off asap and get out of wet swim suit and into dry close if not in the water.

Fishing wise the walleye fishing has taken a turn for the worse for us. Fishing was hot on 7/1 for my wife and her dad. I got up on 7/3 and caught 4 in an hour and 10 the next day before 9 a.m. Lots of small ones. Kept 4 15-17 inchers and that was it. 1 walley after that til Sunday. Picked up a couple northern.

Back up this weekend to see if they start going again.

[ChuckN]

My kids got the itch over the 4th. 1st time in 3 years. LOTS of area lakes are having the same itchy reports..

The walleye bite has not been good for me and others I know. May try again this weekend. Just don't know how much more patience I have for it.. lol

fishhunt- sent you a pm.

[BoxMN]

Do you guys ever troll the main lake basin in summer with cranks? I mean like out in no-mans-land. Just wondering. We always threaten to do it when are up in May, but rarely try it. It just seems like in summer that would be an easy and productive thing, but we are never there to try.

[jjohnson5150]

We pulled a permit and treated our swim area prior to the 4th after hearing the resorts and other area lakes were having a big issue with the itch. Nobody got it. I was in a few times and usually get it if it's there. If this year is like the others, the itch should go away in a few weeks.

We got into some eyeballs the week after the 4th. We were pulling rattling, jointed raps in pockets of deeper water. I've tried pulling raps with lead core in no mans land a few times with little luck. If you can get a rap to run 10', there are areas on the East shore by the landing that will produce.

The water is so dang filthy right now. I think that might be contributing to the slower fishing. The water is dirty all the way over to the Ashby resort, which makes me wonder what's going on with our pump system. Christina must not be the right levels to pump or downstream levels are too high.

[jjohnson5150]

Just had friends at the lake last weekend and they all got lake itch. IS there anything they can do to the lake to fix this problem? Or is that the problem? i.e treating of christina??

As Box mentioned, it's related to the snails & birds. We've had this issue for the past 5 years or so, but it was not there prior to that as far as I know. Copper Sulfate treatment can be done to your shallow areas. It requires a permit, so check with the DNR before treating. A bag of CS will last quite awhile. It can be purchased at a fleet store in Alexandria. Make sure you use waders and gloves if it's something you are planning on doing. Treatment should be done a day prior to swimming and on a calmer day with limited waves coming in. I highly doubt it has anything to do with Christina.

[#fishhunt#]

JJ, How much do you use per a 10x10 area to treat the area around the dock??

[GRA]

Don't know if it has anything to do with lake level, but the Pomme de Terre river down south has been extremely high lately. Been draggin' crankbaits over my usual haunts and getting nothing but an occaisional weed.

[ChuckN]

Box: yes, I've tried working the open basin without success. Lots of marks on the graph near the bottom...carp?

IMO, the lake really clouded up with the intense downpours of rain lately. I notice a difference after every heavy rain event, and then some days later is begins to clear a bit. It seems most of these rain events we have had have been a quick washout and I think this contributes. My weather station has recorded over 7" of rain in the last month.

Satellite images from yesterday shows Christina the ugly green water that has been the norm on this lake. Unsure if any weeds have developed, or if it will take another year? The pumps are done and natural flow from Christina was implemented weeks ago. Not a lot of water flowing, but it is.

[jjohnson5150]

JJ, How much do you use per a 10x10 area to treat the area around the dock??

We fill a nylon sock up to make about a 2ft tube then refill once it's dissolved. One fill is probably close to 6 cups. Each fill treated 50' of shore 15'-20' out from shore.

[fishin58]

I fished pelican on saturday, water temp was 69 and warmed to 72 by the time we were done. Caught 3 bass 5 pike, the biggest being inch and 1 13 inch eye. They are all still swimming, beautiful day on the water! I dont think I have fished the lake in about 15 years!

[BoxMN]

Any fish over memorial day? Our annual duck opener is being pushed back to Oct 5 weekend, due to wedding... I know... a wedding on (traditional) duck opener is a sin, and ironically by our original duck hunting mentor's, and guy who brought us to Ashby in the first place over 40 years ago, son. Don't know how the duck hunting bug skipped a generation..?..

This is the ONLY wedding that I will skip hunting for or at least postpone my Ashby trip for, will still hunt in metro in the am Heck, we used to live in Ashby Resort Cabin 10 all October in the good old days, ha!

[jjohnson5150]

Walleye action was pretty decent for us last week. We ended up catching quite a few outside of the weeds running raps. I got a few pulling a spinner with small suckers as well. There were some smaller fish 10"-13" mixed in with some 14"-18". Nothing came in over 18". I did lose some fish on Sat night after the storm swamped my fish basket and flipped it sideways. I'm surprised we didn't lose any trees in the wind. I can't wait to see what the bite will be like in 2-3 weeks. It's got good potential.

[ChuckN]

I only got out Monday evening for an hour and caught an old glass Coke bottle.

Sorry to hear you'll miss duck opener up here, Box. That would be a painful predicament! Opener looks encouraging if this warm weather persists.

[BoxMN]

So its getting closer... duckin'! Still looking good Chuck? I still have a few weeks to go, but already excited and even have been filling the blind bag

We decided to bring a new batch of youngsters up this year - my 16 yo Grandson is a veteran, but new this year will be our rookie female team Granddaughters/niece (brothers girl is already a veteran hunter) and hunting rookie Grandson: two 10 yo girls, one 10 yo boy, and one 13 yo girl.

I loaded up on .410 and .22 ammo for target shooting after the hunt, and they have their Red Ryders and lots of BBs ready for the "dented" decoy Should be a fun time!

[BoxMN]

Nothing? I did hear that those who stayed at Ashby Resort had a good opener and were happy with their shooting - likely on Pelican and Christina, and probably teal and wood ducks with some mallards. Not sure exactly what that meant, but sounds like enough birds for some dinner and enough shots fired to put smiles on their faces.

Will be up this weekend to try to ugly some down! I usually tear them up pretty bad though ok, old joke, that never gets old! ha! Good luck to all!

[ChuckN]

Opener was great; the best I've ever experienced.

I had a quick hunt Sunday morning with some success too. Teal #s are incredible. This cold weather coming for the weekend may change that?? Good luck, Box!

[BoxMN]

Good to hear Chuck! Teal might be going, but maybe that NW wind will bring some new ducks in. Just brought one granddaughter out tonight and got her some waterproof pants, warm socks and muck boots for her birthday Can't wait, though it might be a bit harsh for their first trip, haha! We'll make duck hunters out of them!

[BoxMN]

So the hunting trip was a success

The last pic was overlooking Christina on a friends land. Each of the girls shot their first round of shotgun (.410) there. Great times with great friends, and even a few ducks!

[Ufatz]

Looks like a wonderful family get together and a lot of fun. Bring those kids up right and the world will be okay. Hope they all have a fun fall.

[Jigger54]

Any ice reports yet?

[ChuckN]

Lake was wide open yesterday.