Faribault(?) area lakes - Regional Forum – Southern MN - Regional Forum – Southern MN

Lake Tetonka is near Waterville, Mn and about 30 minutes from Faribault. I opened on Tetonka…. I had a half day of good fishing on Friday. I started panfishing at 1:00pm on Friday. My guest was Mike Little of Team Mates, Inc. We had a great fishing day. We located the crappies and perch very deep on my Impulse 4040, fishing 27 to 30 feet down… these fish were straight out from Best Point, off a drop, 3/4 across the lake. Nice crappies and even nicer perch! Best bait was 1/4 of a crawler on a 1/16 oz. jig head. An hour before the sun set, I headed for the mouth of the “lagoons” where I have banged the white-bass. The weather was fantastic. The wind died off and Tetonka got smooth as glass, just as the sun went down. No stripers at the mouth of the lagoons… only walleyes! It was hot fishing and I think Mike caught a couple of limits of walleye himself, all that went back in the water. Several of them were very nice fish well in the keeper range. What worked for these fish was what Mike was throwing for stripers… a beetle spin. The darkness brought an end to the walleye bite, as it often does on Tetonka when there is no moon-light. We headed back to Best Point where the lights from their resort made it bright enough for the fish to see our baits. Several more walleyes and crappies came from right off the Best Point “T” dock area, in about 20 feet of water. Over all, it was a great day on the water. Mike went home at midnignt with a mess of panfish and his walleye “fix” well acheved. The next morning, my “opener” guests were the Smiths, who arrived at 5:00 am. Boats had long before taken up their positions on the river inlet, on all points and drop-offs, throughout the lake. I spotted a hole to fill and we anchored in a prime spot on the point across the lake from Best Point. We setteled into about 27 ft. We could cast into 14 ft. We took some small walleyes and a couple of them were keepers. Mr. Smith then sat the hook on and lost a real big fish… we never saw it, but it gave him a very short but firce battle. Soon, the “trollers” began to cut between our boat and the point. Motors running over the fish resulted in no more bites! The wind came up with the rain. Soon, it blew everyone off the point. And one at a time they all left the point. Later it was my turn to go. My double 25 lb. ancohrs would no longer hold. Steady rain and wind soon cleared the lake of most boats. For these cold, rain and wind filled days, I am glad to have a top on my boat and side-window curtains! Three foot waves and blowing winds made for miserable boating for the smaller crafts… not good! I saw one 16 footer that had three people in it, that was taking wave after wave water with spray all over them. They had little boat controll as they were crossing the lake. They had to keep the boat into the waves or risk being capsized. I was having a tough time in my 19 footer trying to even see! There was a constant spray on the windshield. I “pulled the plug” and ended the trip at noon, telling the Smiths that there would have to be a next time. Mr. Smith was cold and shivering, and soaked to the bone… not having had raingear type pants on. He was glad to end it then too, as we were all being able to see our breath with the wind’s chill. Loading was a real misery… some smart fellow figured he’ld dock his boat right in the front of the boat-ramp, tieing it up to the dock and blocking it from use. His boat bow was forward pointed into the wind and was taking the full force of the three foot high waves. I guessd there was no moving it either, as the whole beach at Best Point Resort was pilled up with a half dozen half sunk and beached boats, many of which had teams of guys working helplessly to get them turned round into the wind, so they would ride the waves (instead of sink with water coming over the transoms). Many were totally sunk with waves going right over their transoms. I saw a spot where I could pull in, bow first to the beach. This was down a ways from the ramp area. I tied up to the dock and ran for the van. I backed my traler across the beach-sand to get to my boat, which was 20 yards from the ramp. I had to go in at an 45 degree angle and jack-knife arround another boat. I used my electric wench to load while Mr. Smith held on to the back end of my boat with my ancohr rope. He was only able to hold it by wrapping the rope round the dock post using it to allow the rope to “slip” when he fed it slack. Mrs. Smith at the wench controll and me standing waist deep in hte water to guide the bow on the trailer… this worked just great! Moments later, I was loaded and drove right out of the sand (I have a four wheel drive GMC Safari van that realy works great for this stuff… and will yank my 19 footer round… no problem). Later Mr. Smith told the that the dock he was standing on was going up in the air several feet high due to the waves and the roap holding on to my boat (this nearly tossing him off the dock) as I was loading up! I actually got an applause, thumbs-up, and cheers from the on-lookers… none of which had dared to attempt to load. I was darn glad to be off the lake and darn lucky to have got off with no damage to life, limb, and property. I had my cell phone in the coat pocket of the new set of EFN “Rain-Wear” I was field-testing. I spent most of the day out of the canvas top and fishing in the bow of my boat… to give it a real test in the rain. My phone was bone dry as was my whole body… till I ran waist deep into the waves while loading my boat. I got wet to my butt. Wild enough though, the zipper being closed on the coat pocket kept my phone completely dry! I am absolutely thrilled with this rainwear. It is the finest set of rain garments that I have ever owned. I wore only a t-shirt under the coat and I stayed warm all day. Had I been in my other set… I know would have been soaked. What great stuff! I am sold. Hawger