My daughter Kim and her husband Erick had our 5th grandchild last Friday morning. What an exciting time for all of us. God has blessed us with the birth of Grace!!! Six pounds and one ounce and almost a full head of hair. Makes for a full house here and we are happy for it.
My brother Ed, was up in the Grand Marais area last week and caught his personal best brook trout. 23 inches long and 5 pounds. Brook trout caught near the mouths of the streams in that area are also known a Coasters. They spend most of their time in Lake Superior. They spawn in the fall, so I think this one was in the river eating the spawn of the steelhead and loopers during their spawning run. My brother caught the huge brookie on a spawn bag under a strike indicator [bobber]. Ed said ” until I saw the orange deep purple fins, I thought I was fighting a steelhead”.
He also said that he managed to get two clipped and dark fish north of Grand Marais. Rainbows and Steelhead in all the rivers. Saw one of the biggest Steelhead, well over 10 pounds spawning with a couple of smaller 5 to 6 pounders in a pool below highway 61. Some of the action was withing 20 milies north of Grand Marais. That was supposed to be his last trip up there but Ed said he is going up again next week for some more. So if anyone is planning to go up to the north shore this week, go to the upper north shore. North of Silver Bay to the border.
Chad Wentzel landed a record 4 pound golden redhorse on May 8 from a bank of the Root River in Fillmore County, the Minnesota DNR confirmed. Wentzel was fishing using 6 pound test line. He pitched his worm presentation, leaving the bait on the river bottom until he hooked into the record breaker, which bested the previous record by one ounce.
Recent Record Breakers
Ben Ranzenberger of Winona bested the past record warmouth while ice fishing on Dec. 23, 2011, in Bartlet Lake on Pool 6 near Winona. His fish weighed in at 9 oz.
Fred Draeger of Wabasha smashed the current bowfin record of 11 pounds 4 oz by a whopping 1 pound, 5 oz. on Sept. 14, 2012, when he caught 12 pounds, 9 oz. worth of fighting fish. Fred caught the fish on a gob of nightcrawlers in the backwaters of the Mississippi on 8 pound test line.
Nicholas Nutter of Chaska landed a river carpsucker on Nov. 19, 2012, that weighed an impressive 4 pounds, 6 oz. and had a girth of 21 5/6th inches. His record was caught on the Minnesota River with a jig and ringworm combination and bested the previous mark by 7 ounces.
Aaron Guthrie of Bemidji caught a burbot weighing in at 19 pounds, 8 ounces on Feb. 24, 2012, on Lake of the Woods, beating the previous record of 19 pounds, 3 ounces. Guthrie was using a fathead minnow on a tip-up. Guthrie was targeting burbot- also called eelpout- for its flavorful white meat.
Sarah Gartner of St. Paul hooked into a shovelnose sturgeon that tipped the scales at 6 pounds, 7 ounces just south of the Red Wing dam Feb. 19, 2012, on the Mississippi River. Gartner was using a multi-colored jig and a minnow to score this new state record Congratulations to all these anglers!!
Looking to spend some quality time with a kid? Consider Take a Kid Fishing Weekend. Minnesotans ange 16 or older do not need a fishing license while taking a child age 15 or younger fishing from Friday, June 6 to Sunday, June 8, according to the Minnesota DNR. This is a great opportunity for adults to take kids fishing without purchasing a fishing licence. We need to get the kids involved not only in fishing but the outdoors in general. Here is something more from the DNR: To start, see the DNR’s Fish Minnesota page at http://www.mndr.gov/fishmn,which includes;
Answers to basic fishing questions.
Fishing terminology and a beginner’s guide to fishing.
Metro fishing spots, family-friendly settings, pier locations and places to borrow fishing gear.
Got other plans from June 6-8? Even when it’s not Take a Kid Fishing Weekend, Minnesota residents generally can fish in state parks without a fishing license if the body of water doesn’t require a trout stamp. For more information, see http://www.mndnr.gov/state_parks/fishing.html. For those new to fishing, guidance can sometimes help. Kids fishing classes from the DNR’s I Can Fish! program run throughout the summer at state parks. For details, see http://www.mndnr.gov/takeakidfishing.
Wonder where Minnesota’s loons spend the winter? Well Minnesota’s loons primarily spend their winters in the Gulf of Mexico offshore from Alabama and the Florida panhandle, and southward along the Florida Gulf Coast. Every year I can’t wait to hear the loons when I’m out in the outdoors. Camping and lying in my sleeping bag at night, the sounds they make are incredible. Looking forward to seeing them next time i’m out on the water.
DNR NEWS—A statewide catch-and-release season for sturgeon is among several rule changes proposed by the Minnesota DNR. Now, there are only a few waters in the state where anglers can legally fish for sturgeon. New rules would also affect those who fish for trout and bass, among other species. The DNR is accepting comments on the proposed rules. Rulemaking documents are available at http://www.mndnr.gov/input/rules/fisheries/statewide.html. The proposed changes include but are not limited to:
GAME FISH REGULATIONS
New statewide catch-and-release seasons for bass and sturgeon
Close the taking of flathead catfish during the winter.
TROUT LAKE REGULATIONS
Open trout lakes in Becker, Beltrami, Cass, Crow Wing and Hubbard counties to winter trout fishing.
Little Andrus [Snowshoe Lake] in Cass County; Allen and Pleasant lakes in Crow Wing County; and Bad Medicine Lake in Becker County will remain closed to winter fishing.
OTHER
Require a barb on arrows used for bowfishing.
Open Spring Lake in Itasca County to whitefish netting.
Restrictions placed on where nets can be placed for smelting on Grindstone Lake.
For border waters, changes simplify, provide additional opportunities, make rules consistent with Minnesota inland regulations,ormake consistent with bordering government regulations, as well as clarify the no-culling rule.
FAWNS BORN IN MAY—LEAVE THEM ALONE
Newborn fawns may appear abandoned and fragile but their best chance for survival comes when people leave them alone, especialy in spring according to the Minnesota DNR. Deer rear their offspring differently than humans. Most fawns are born in May and within hours of birth the fawn is led to a secluded spot so it can nurse. With a full stamack, the fawn is content to lie down and rest. If the doe has twins, it will hide the second fawn up to 200 feet away. Then the doe leaves to feed and rest herself, out of sight but withn earshot. In four or five hours, the doe will return to feed the fawns and take them to a new hiding place. Deer foolw this pattern for two to three weeks, and only then, when fawns are strong enough to outrun predators- do the young travel much with their mother.
Deer have evolved a number of special adaptations that make this approach to fawn rearing successful. Fawns have almost no odor so predators are less likely to smell them. Their white spotted coats provide camouflage when they are lying on the forest floor. For the first week of life, frightened fawns instinctively freeze, making full use of their protective coloration. Older fawns remain motionless until they think they have been discovered, and then jump and bound away. A deer’s primary protection from predators is its great speed. Newborn fawns are not fast enough to outdistance predators so they must depend on their ability to hide for protection. Although these adaptations work well against predators, they don’t work very well with people. For the first few weeks, a fawn’s curiosity may entice it to approach a person who comes upon it.
What’s the right way to handle an encounter with a fawn? Never try to catch it. If it’s hiding, admire it for moment and then quietly walk away. If the fawn tries to follow, gently push on its shoulders until it lies down and then walk away.
My brother Ed, was out and about last weekend doing some walleye fishing and fishing the North Shore for Loopers [Kamloops Rainbow Trout]. Ed and his friends fished Boulder and Island Lake last weekend near Duluth. The water in the reservoirs is still very cold. Some walleye’s caught still had running milt and eggs, so they are not finished spawning yet. Fishing on these two reservoirs was good in the early mornings and late afternoons. Minnows were best, along with trolling crawlers and using leeches. Baits under a slip bobber produced best. The fish were shallow. Shore fishermen on Island Lake did better than some guy’s in boats who were fishing deeper areas.
I have fished these lakes since the sixty’s and still do. I’m going up there in June. The waters in these reservoirs are stained so there can be a good day bite with a slight walleye chop. There are some jumbo perch being caught as well. There is a good bait shop right on County 4 on the way to the reservoirs [Chalstroms].
The smelt run is on in the rivers on the lower North Shore. The Lester River, just outside of Duluth has been the popular place to dip for those tasty little fish for as long as I can remember. Park Point results have been spoty, with some doing well and some poorly. I would take the dip net to the rivers myself. If your going to go, go now for it will be over soon. They have been running good since last Thursday and it wont be much longer.
There are still loopers and steelhead to be caught [remember, all steelhead must be released]. My brother will be making his last run up the North Shore next Thursday and Friday. Starting up on the Lower North Shore up to Grand Marais and staying the night there and then working the shore back down the next day. Fish are spawning in the rivers still, but a few fresh runners are still making there way up the streams. By next week the run should be all but over on the Lower North Shore and winding down on the Upper North Shore. Spawn bags drifted along the bottom are always a good bet, but lately small jigs tipped with waxies have out-produced the spawn bags. Reinhard
As of 05/09/14 : During the week, Lower Shore water temperatures were in the upper 30’s in the mornings and rose to 42 by late in the afternoons. Thursday’s rain once again brought Lower Shore rivers up and they are now high and turbid. Angling pressure was low to moderate during the week, partially due to strong northeast winds off the lake. Interviewed anglers caught 10 steelhead and 3 kamloops. Along the Middle Shore, river conditions had been improving until thunderstorms moved through, and now Middle Shore rivers are running high and dirty. Water temperatures have reached the low 40’s in the afternoons. Angling pressure was light and interviewed anglers landed 8 steelhead, 1 Kamloops, and 2 coho salmon. Along the Upper Shore, rivers were running high and turbid due to snowmelt and rains, and have risen even higher with Thursday’s storms. Water temperatures were 37-40 degrees. Angling pressure was very light and interviewed anglers reported no fish caught.
Trap totals through 05/08 are 132 steelhead and 8 Kamloops at the Knife River, and 109 Kamloops and 6 steelhead at the French River. As for smelt, river temperatures remain on the cool side to trigger smelt runs, and Lake Superior is still packed with ice near Duluth. Webcam images, including current conditions at Park Point, can be found at http://www.goduluthmn.com/duluth-web-cam.html. Refer to the “smelt on the North Shore” fact sheet on our website at http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/areas/fisheries/lakesuperior/smelt.html for more information on smelt. This was from current information from the Minnesota DNR.
My brother Ed, fished the May 10th and 11th. He said the rainbows were in spawning mode and saw them chasing each other in a couple of streams. When they are in spawning mode, they just are not interested in biting. He did manage to get a Looper each day [Kamloops rainbow] however. He saw a few folks get some loopers as well, but things were still slow due to the higher water levels at times and the fish being in spawning mode. The smaller rivers got beat up pretty much. The larger rivers would be a better bet right now. Reinhard
The Minnesota DNR has developed a new web site to help those of us who love to fish the many lakes and streams of Minnesota. The web site is http://www.mndnr.gov/fishmn . The fish Minnesota site answers basic questions such as:
Do I need a license?
When can I fish?
What can I catch?
How can I fish?
Where can I fish?
What if I catch fish?
Direct access to Trout fishing information. Where to Go features like Big walleye lakes, Fishing outlooks by region, Boat ramps & canoe landings, Track the melt; Lake ice out maps, Waters seasonally closed to fishing, Metro fishing spots, Metro area bait shops, and Fishing from Shore. It also has the very popular Lake Finder site included. It is also now Mobile Friendly!!
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Written
on May 26, 2014