Zumbro 3/10/07

It was a beautiful day on Saturday as most of you already know and nothing better to do than to go fishing (after work ). It was nice to be able to shed some layers even with the occasional wind gusts and fish outside of the house. I had my heart set on Rattlesnake so after a couple of quick chats with the Zingers and hearing about the airplane crash I made my way there. Unfortunately (or not) there were fisherman very near where I was going to fish and I didn’t want to pull up and fish too close to them so I kept going. Apparently I scare fish away by doing this….or so I’ve been told by a couple that frequent this forum .

I ended up at the bottom of a high-bank drilling holes. The ice was 15-18″ out further and 8-12″ closer to shore and there were full-sized pickups and cars out. That’s kinda scary to me but I guess Bill is wearing off on me . Got my first line wet a little after 1:00 and fishing was kinda slow. I was able to find 1-2 fish per hole by hopping and then all of the sudden they got hungry and for the next hour or so you couldn’t get your line back down fast enough. Most of the fish were gills around 7-8″ although there were some brutes and tiny scrappers mixed in. I didn’t find the crappies in force like I was hoping but they were there in a limited capacity. Eight crappie were caught and they were all 7-9″. I wish I was out there today but the plan was to do some studying and get the boat ready for P4 Tuesday. Writing this report is getting me all worked up though and I might just might make my way out for a few hours .

This weather is really awesome. The traffic on the lake is pretty limited and it’s really peaceful out there listening to the water trickle down into the lake. Not to mention the fishing isn’t terrible either. If you can find time to get out there DO IT! Before you know it there will be pleasure craft racing around the lake and the only time we’ll have to ourselves will be from 4-10 in the morning .

Here is a picture of the best gill of the day that went a little over 9″. Only a couple of these showed up. I wanted KFC for supper last night so all of the fish are swimming again.

Here is a picture of three or the four vehicles I saaw on the ice.

Lastly, a picture of the plane being towed in that crashed because he thought a quick touchdown on the lake would be good practice. Little did he know there was a 2″ base of slush on top of the snow that was already there . WTH was he thinking?? Everyone was ok as far as I heard but the Zingers had a front row seat and hopefully they can chime in with more info. As I was leaving the lake they were putting a new prop on and replacing the wheels with skiis.

Thanks for the report Chris! That plane crash was a first for me to witness. Even though it was quite a distance from me, I was able to tell what happened with the wheels digging into the snow and the plane taking a dive on to the prop. Make you wonder how he ever got a license????

Thanks for the report and pics Chris.

Got cordinates?

Thanks, Bill

Thanks Chris.

anyone know who the gentlemen is pulling the plane? He helped me get the car started last year after a day of fishing and the battery went dead.I see he is still at it,helping out whoever he can whenever the need arises.I still heve not forgot that I owe him one yet.

I believe that is Rick Cordie. He lives on the lake. A nice guy that fishes a lot!

I also wanted to mention that I have been keeping an eye on the level of the lake this last few days since the warm weather arrived. The water level has raised almost 1/2 ft. and that almost certainly indicates more current running through the lake as well. Higher water and more current will have a bad impact on the ice, and may change conditions rather quickly. Driving full size vehicles on the ice at this point is not a good idea!

The guy driving is one of the ones that was repairing the plane on my way out but that is Rick’s polaris ranger.

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I believe that is Rick Cordie. He lives on the lake. A nice guy that fishes a lot!

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I’ll second that. He had a nice fish fry out there yesterday and anyone who wanted was welcome to join in.

Yeah….hats off to him for that. Great treat!! He should leave the cooking to his daughter though His batch was pretty darn good but…

Thanks Rick!

The Zumbro came up another 1/2 ft. today. With close to 60 degrees tomorrow, it will probably rise even more and have a lot of current. Be extremely careful if you decide to go far out there.

The lake level has come up another 4/10 ft. since my last post. That also means a lot of flow going on. The ice will probably be opening up soon where there is current.

Wow it’s moving fast. Open water fishing is just around the corner. Thanks for the updates Mike

Thanks Mike, Come on open water

Now if we could just get it to open up where the ramp at Fishermans Inn is which is the opposite side of where the current comes around that point there. Once it breaks away from the shoreline and then starts breaking up its like ice cubes in a glass of water floating and moving around which helps it to melt. The wind will help the moving of the ice around which adds to the melting. Problem is, like everyone else, I need patience and I need it now. Oh well, I don’t have everything set up on the boat yet so maybe I need to get busy and get it done.
Thanks, Bill

Up another 1.2 ft. since last night!

May those big ice cubes break away from the shore and start to Rock n Roll. And at the same time the current will slice away at the bottom of the ice.
Thanks, Bill

Holy smokes clear way below the dam that ice is gonna be moving out and still be VERY thick I think maybe bring in some new wood for Bill to fish in better stock up on jigs Mike if Bill is already planning on going out

I just got back from peeking at the Zumbro. The edges have 3-6 ft. of water in most areas near Fisherman’s. The water has opened up along the other side well beyond Kings bay. Large chunks of ice are floating and have taken out a couple big docks from somewhere up river. Looks like a mess!

Check this out.
Zumbro Webcam.
You dont need to drive all the way out there Mike!
Let me know if this doesn’t work.
Later, Brad G.
http://www.pitel.net/%7Erfr/Lake_Zumbro_Webcam.html

Is that Postiers Point? You can’t really see how bad things are further up-river from those pics, but it is real bad.

Lookin good! I spent the night putting the rod holders on the boat and got my console GPS moved to where I want it and a few other odds and ends done. Will work on it some tomorrow night too so should be pretty much done then except for some wiring I want done so the front GPS is ready to use. Come on spring.
Thanks, Bill

Cool web cam Brad! Thanks for that site … I’ll be watching that until the white is gone

Mike, I think it is a little south of Postiers Point,but you in the right area,it is on the west shore looking kind of northeast.
Chris, It’s also kind of nice to watch in the summer,but nothin like being there in person.
Later, Brad G.

Any ice outting reports from the Zumbro guys?
Thanks, Bill