Night Trolling North Side

Exactly! It is the lake out from the harbor that is the issue.

With waves coming in at any angle toward shore, I would not subject my boat/engine(18ft. ProV) to that lack of water these days. Calm water or northly winds is a different story. Then it should work fine with bodies in the bow and the engine at FULL tilt.

Steve Fellegy
218-678-3103

Thanks Steve.We did good out of there last oct.and I went and payed for this years trip in advance.I thought it was bad last year for depth,but have trailers will travel.Enjoy the rest of the season and good luck the the big ones.Stuart

“Bodies in the bow”…That’s how I have to get my 1900 off the lift in Wahkon. I put the main motor in reverse, walk to the bow and jump and pull. That’s after borrowing 40′ of the neighbor’s roll-in dock.

you guys who have been on the pond longer than I have (12 years) have you ever seen the lake as low as it is now? Had that asked to me by a friend. Also, would you see a bigger problem with landings in the winter time with heaves and such?

The past 10-15 years have been on the “high” side of what I have seen over the past 50 plus years at Mille Lacs. I would call water levels now to be more “normal” than “low” for this time of year based on the first half of my years here. That said, Mille Lacs does not change too much. In my lifetime, it has been about 18 inches lower than it is now and about three ft. higher than it is now.

It’s about 15 inches lower now than it was last year at this time. No late fall rain/above average snow this winter/and less than average rain next year? You will be down to less than five accesses for the entire lake. This last happened in the fall of ’76. 18 inches lower than it is now!

Fall of ’36? SIX ft. lower than it is right now!

Steve Fellegy
218-678-3103

Good info Steve, My Dad use to talk about back in the year 36 when the 3 mile reef out of Liberty Beach stuck out of the water!! Thats low water…….

I hope we get a fair amount of snow and some spring rain to bring it up a little. I only have about 12 inches of water just out of the mouth of our boat harbor now. We are unable to get over it in an kind of rough water now…

You remember the fall of 36?? Dang you are old.

Just kidding. I really appreciate you taking the time to educate us young bucks!!! Maybe see you on the water next week!

I have been told by my uncle that they cut hay on what is now the bottom of Wahkon bay in the “30s”.
I can recall small scrub elms growing out of the rock pile north of Half Moon & south of inner / lower Twin Island.

Not only was Three Mile out but most of the reefs we fish and ALL the DNR marked reefs. The Garrison concourse was built on dry ground. Standing at what is now Malmo Bay Resort, you could not see the lake. From just east of Knox Point to Fishers, locals would pheasant hunt from boats on what we all know now as the “sand drop off”. (that was the shoreline in those days.) One of the earliest launches on the lake, Barnevelds, tied the launch BEHIND the rocks out from Knox Point as there was a ridge completely out of water several hundred yds. from shore–acting as a breakwater! Most of the northshore was bull-rushes for over 100-200ft. from shore as late as the ’60s and into the 70’s. “High” water killed them off–temporarily.

Steve Fellegy

218-678-3103

I think theres some pics of that in “older” brothers book..

that is just hard to imagine, thanks for the history, I will have to get your brothers book.