Post-spawn largemouth are staging under Lilly pads and docks… and they are hungry —
Under docks – Senkos and Caffeine Shads…
In the pads – Havoc Pit Boss, Frogs and Slither-Rigs…
… what’s working for you ??
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I’m getting pretty discouraged. The East metro Bass lake I’ve been fishing for the last 30 years has really tapered off. I’m still catching fish…but the size and numbers are way, way down. I started noticing this a few years ago, and it’s getting progressively worse. Now I’m fishing top waters shallow with a fly rod, so I’m not necessarily covering the whole lake. However the regulars who like to pitch big jigs into the deep weeds are reporting the same thing. It’s not good.
I don’t know what happened. Poaching? Maybe. The normal cycles a lake goes through? Maybe. The fact that the ^%E^% lake shore owners association dumps herbicide into the lake three or four times a year to kill off the weeds? That would be my guess. The biggest threat to fisherman are the people who live on the lakes, period.
I’m trying to decide what to do. Find a new lake? Explore the opportunities on Pool 2? Down size my gear and fish for 14 inch fish? I’m not sure what to do.
But I am discouraged.
SR
I’m a believer in both normal cycles … and that herbicide application is a negative —
C’mon over to the dark side in the West – or at least until they spray here too ..
I’m trying to decide what to do. Find a new lake? Explore the opportunities on Pool 2? Down size my gear and fish for 14 inch fish? I’m not sure what to do.
But I am discouraged.
SR
I haven’t seen a single smallmouth on p2 this year. Years past we’d pick them up on accident trolling flicker shads, or off the rip rap. I have no idea where they are right now. Maybe they’ll heat up here as we get thru summer but it’s a bummer right now.
Does seem like the west metro has better bass lakes. I would definetly switch lakes. I think Demontriville and Jane have nice sized fish. If you want fish over 4lbs I would avoid White Bear and Big Marine-otherwise go west.
Good Luck
DeMontreville is the lake I’m talking about. Something happened, and it wasn’t good.
Thanks for the suggestions. And P2F I’m going to see if i can find those P2 Smallies. That’s weird.
SR
DeMontreville is the lake I’m talking about. Something happened, and it wasn’t good.
Thanks for the suggestions. And P2F I’m going to see if i can find those P2 Smallies. That’s weird.
SR
Do let me know what you find!
Another east metro lake that’s seemed to go kind of quiet is Bald Eagle. Who knows. . .
I think there are always a few lakes that get known as having some big fish and they get a lot of attention. The 150-250 acre lakes like Demontreville and O’Dowd with good reputations get hammered. Especially if they have enough trailer stalls for bass groups going in there.
Nothing wrong with it, but you can really see the number of fish and size go down in the smaller lakes. They just can’t sustain it. Goes in cycles, will come back if the pressure subsides… until then, you have to keep moving around IMO.
Water is over the banks in the pond. When it first comes up the “frogging” can be fun, but inevitably it seems they retreat to the middle of the lake.
The Smallies were absolutely pounding a jig and leech on Pepin yesterday! 6 or so nice ones within 10 minutes at one point. Too bad we were chasing Walleye…
Steve I was wondering if that was the lake you were talking about. My friend and I fish that lake three to four times a month for the last 5 years and have seen a slight decline. I have another answer for you. Poaching. Over the last two years, I’ve used the DNR tip line for two boats I had seen out there with stringers of 5-10 bass each time I’d seen them on the lake. For those of you that don’t know it is a catch and release only lake for bass. I’m convinced that these people have taken tens of these stringers out of that lake over the past couple years. It has really made me angry.
As for other lakes, we have been going up to the Forest Lake/Chisago area lately. Stinks that it’s a farther drive but they are pretty good fisheries.
Wow that frosts me….I started fishing DeMontreville before the C&R regulations came on, and the size of the Bass in there was wonderful. Thanks for calling Tip, but as others have reported the CO’s don’t seem to do much with the reports.
I know Forest/Chisago area has some great lakes. But the whole point here was that I used to have a great little lake close to home. I could get out there, catch a bunch of fish, and be home by 9AM. I guess I was spoiled.
SR
But the whole point here was that I used to have a great little lake close to home. I could get out there, catch a bunch of fish, and be home by 9AM. I guess I was spoiled.
I know what you mean 
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Wow that frosts me….I started fishing DeMontreville before the C&R regulations came on, and the size of the Bass in there was wonderful. Thanks for calling Tip, but as others have reported the CO’s don’t seem to do much with the reports.
I don’t know anyone who’s ever received one of the fabled “rewards.” I get that they want to give people an incentive to use TIP, but in my opinion one of the biggest problems they have is that they’ve made the reward too prominent in all of their marketing language. It makes people think a CO is a going to parachute out of the sky and make an arrest on the spot. I suppose if a CO is on that body of water at the exact time the poacher is reported, DNR could communicate with the CO and he could hunt the poacher down — but I’m sure that’s a very rare occurrence.
I’ve always assumed that, despite the way they frame the program — “CALL US AND IF WE MAKE AN ARREST YOU’ll GET A REWARD!! — the real benefit is in gathering aggregate data to identify the lakes that are most susceptible to poaching and allocate CO’s accordingly.
I could also see poachers abusing the anonymous process to submit phony tips for areas where they WON’T be.
I totally agree Steve. I think I may have seen you out there quite a bit. You’ve been fishing the lake a lot longer than me but when I first started fishing it there were some legit 5-6 lbers in there. Haven’t seen over a 4 in awhile. I also haven’t seen any CO’s out there or even a follow up from the times I had called. I’m sure they’re busy but it would be nice if they had a little accountability. It does make you mad but I suppose all lakes go through it. Hopefully the C&R fish outweigh the poached fish and the lake can recover.
Do you also have a Hmong problem? When i fished the metro years ago that was the issue. They would line up shoulder to shoulder on the shore and start filling their buckets. They didn’t care the size, species, or limits. When the CO’s couldn’t do anything thats when i bailed on the area.
When the CO’s couldn’t do anything thats when i bailed on the area.
The CO’s couldn’t doing anything? Can you elaborate on that?
At that time there weren’t any bilingual officers. (I heard they have since hired some) so when confronted the perps just dummied up and played the “no English” card.And of course there was no identification either. Because of that it took longer and longer to get someone to respond.
You can choose to believe it or not but I was there.
Several years ago on pool 2 I was checked by a Hmong CO. I am sure the DNR got sick of it too.
How many bass did you see being caught? Just curious. I know even if they didn’t catch many, over fishing will screw up the ecosystem for all species.
I would venture to say over the course of 3 weekends (Saturday & Sunday) it would number into the 100’s. This was in the East metro many years ago. If you want to see it today hit Knife Lake in the spring and watch them line up on the bridge and the bank. Pug, I know you have seen it.
At that time there weren’t any bilingual officers. (I heard they have since hired some) so when confronted the perps just dummied up and played the “no English” card.And of course there was no identification either. Because of that it took longer and longer to get someone to respond.
You can choose to believe it or not but I was there.
Totally believable, was just curious how the CO’s couldn’t do anything. I can certainly see what you’re saying play out.
I get to fish just about every day and the fishing has been consistently inconsistent this year. I’ll kill them one day and then there is a weather change or something and the fish get a lot more difficult until the next time I really get into them. Since the month of July started I’ve been fishing with a friend and family rather than by myself like normal. That friend is a general PIA on and off the water. Since he left on the 4th it’s been mostly trips where I assist the nieces while my brother, who is more into golfing, fishes a frog from the back of the boat. He’s been getting a fair amount of blow ups, but is catching about 1 for every 6 hits he gets. They went home Thurs. morning the 6th and were back up Fri afternoon. I had an OK trip Thurs night by myself getting 4 frog fish in an hour and a half and missed a couple chances as well. Will be on the water with him by 5:30AM this morning Sat. Hopefully they are going on topwater first thing.
. If you want to see it today hit Knife Lake in the spring and watch them line up on the bridge and the bank. Pug, I know you have seen it.
Oof, that bad? Used to like ticking people off by motoring through the boats and under the bridge to fish the bass on the other side.
I feel ya, pug. This was where my magic happened when I lived in FL. So many acres, so little time…lol
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Do you also have a Hmong problem? When i fished the metro years ago that was the issue. They would line up shoulder to shoulder on the shore and start filling their buckets. They didn’t care the size, species, or limits. When the CO’s couldn’t do anything thats when i bailed on the area.
I wanted to keep it “PC” even though I hate being PC I didn’t know what the board rules were about that kind of stuff. To answer your question, the two boats I have called the tip line numerous times about were Hmongs. The first time I confronted them I respectfully told them this lake was C&R for bass. I got the no english line and that’s when I started calling the TIP line every time after that. Unfortunately with no help. I’ve estimated that out of the 5 times I have called about them they had stringers of at least ten bass each time. I assume they are out there when I haven’t been so I think it’s safe to assume they have taken at least a hundred bass out of that lake. I can’t say I haven’t been temped to keep a cordless drill with an 3/4 inch bit on it with me for the next time I see them and drill right through their lower units. Really makes me angry.
If a certain group of people are being more problematic than others I don’t see any issue with calling ’em out.
Obviously there are also Hmong sportsmen who are good stewards of our natural resources — that’s not me being PC that’s just my experience.
Where I run trails on the banks of p2, there will sometimes be a few large families all lined up fishing from the shore. 10+ lines in the water. I question whether the kids are legitimately tending to their own lines, but in my years observing them, both from trails and from my boat on the river, I’ve seen them releasing walleye and bass (c&r only on p2) many times. Pretty much everything else goes in the 5 gallon buckets.
I wanted to keep it “PC” even though I hate being PC I didn’t know what the board rules were about that kind of stuff. To answer your question, the two boats I have called the tip line numerous times about were Hmongs. The first time I confronted them I respectfully told them this lake was C&R for bass. I got the no english line and that’s when I started calling the TIP line every time after that. Unfortunately with no help. I’ve estimated that out of the 5 times I have called about them they had stringers of at least ten bass each time. I assume they are out there when I haven’t been so I think it’s safe to assume they have taken at least a hundred bass out of that lake. I can’t say I haven’t been temped to keep a cordless drill with an 3/4 inch bit on it with me for the next time I see them and drill right through their lower units. Really makes me angry.
I think the thing that would make me angrier than the poachers is the lack of response from a DNR CO. You said you called at least 5 times. You’d think there has been a pattern established that it is being poached and that they could get there prepared with a CO that can speak Hmong. They have hired them now for this exact reason.
I think the thing that would make me angrier than the poachers is the lack of response from a DNR CO. You said you called at least 5 times. You’d think there has been a pattern established that it is being poached and that they could get there prepared with a CO that can speak Hmong. They have hired them now for this exact reason.
@mahtofire14 I would reach out to the CO directly. Names and phone numbers for the CO assigned to your region are easily accessible via this website, just click the lake on the map:
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/officerpatrolareas/index.html
The CO assigned to the Maplewood Region which includes Demontreville for example, is:
Officer Name: Jacob Willis
Phone: (612) 246-7126
Radio Call: K375
I would call him up and ask what’s being done. If you don’t get a satisfactory response I would call his supervisor in district 14, Lt. Lisa Kruse at 651-430-1189.
If a certain group of people are being more problematic than others I don’t see any issue with calling ’em out.
Obviously there are also Hmong sportsmen who are good stewards of our natural resources — that’s not me being PC that’s just my experience.
Where I run trails on the banks of p2, there will sometimes be a few large families all lined up fishing from the shore. 10+ lines in the water. I question whether the kids are legitimately tending to their own lines, but in my years observing them, both from trails and from my boat on the river, I’ve seen them releasing walleye and bass (c&r only on p2) many times. Pretty much everything else goes in the 5 gallon buckets.
I see this on P2 all the time and only once did anyone have walleyes in a bucket. That guy pulled the no english card until I pulled my phone out to call TIP and he politely dumped the fish and left. Otherwise, it’s all been legal from what I have seen. I’ve had more run ins on P2 with non-Hmong fisherman feigning ignorance or threatening violence as they try to keep walleyes.
Regardless of race or nationality, most people that break the rules know they are doing it and assume no one will turn them in. A-holes.
Who Hmong us has not broken the law? 
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