What do you think??

Not sure why, but I get this gnawing feeling that Lake Zumbro might be getting some excessive fishing pressure.
Seems like the numbers and sizes are down a bit.
Mike/HOF and I have logged many hours on this fishery over the past four years.
The majority of time we were met with above average success. Seems as though we are having to work just a little harder to keep up with the expectations of yesterday.
There are still some nice sized fish and the numbers vary with some inconsistency as compared to when we first started fishing out there.
An example for my suspicions is this past spring and the weird crappie migration up to spawn. It was not a usual year for sure.
That may be the result of weather, whatever, but it definitely different from the past couple years.
Thanks to forums like this and others, Lake Zumbro has gotten a lot of positive exposure and people began to realize what a jewel we have almost in our back yard.
Thus the pressure.
Would be interested to know how many fish are being kept vs how many are being released.
Oh, don’t misunderstand, I don’t begrudge anyone enjoying a fish fry, been known to do so my self. However, as Mike can tell you, we severly restrict our keep and only harvest a minimum to eat.
Yes, we have our Thursday night tourney, however I have kept a close eye on how many were kept.
I am happy to say that from what I have observed, 95% of the fish caught were released with only a rare and occassional few kept by the minority to eat.
The rest get released and we are talking some fair numbers and fair sizes.
Should be some good fishing right out in front of the ramp with all the fish that have been released right there.
Maybe I am imagining a concern that doesn’t exsist.
Anyone have any thoughts or suspicions??

I have seen the Zumbro go thru swings like this before. What I have witnessed personally is a tremendous increase in pressure. Many, if not most, who post in the different boards available are responsible anglers. It may be that those who prefer only to garner info on where a bite is hot[lurkers]are not being quite as frugal in what they take home.

Something else to think about regarding the weird behavior of the fish over the last couple years that may be an influence here too is that our climate seems to be changing. Our springs heat up way earlier than they did even twenty years ago and the winters are light-weight as compared to twenty years ago. All of this has a bearing on what the fish are doing and what the state of their well-being is.

Consider as well the advanced fishing capablities and technologies available to anyone today. Maybe the time is right to toss a slot on sunfish out there and impose a reduced limit on the crappies. Personally I don’t think the lake gets enough enforcement exposure. I know of at least three people who live either on the lake or very near to the lake that double and triple dip all winter and spring long. And their freezers must be bulging because I never see any of these people return fish and they always are yacking about how many they have been getting.

I’m with Mike and RW on the eating end though. Ma and I enjoy crappies as well as steak. I might be boating fishing nearing the century mark on a good day, but maybe a half dozen go home when the dinner maker calls for fish. AND, I limit myself to three sunfish when, and if, I am going to enjoy some of them.

I don’t think what you are seeing Ron is due to any single cause. I do think that there are multiplesthat play on one another that tend to make things look dire. That lake has some real solid fishing in it IF it is respected. If this is a weather/climate issue, the lake will manage on its own.

What we are seeing right now is that the easier spring fishing is over and the fish are in their summer locations which makes them harder to catch than the springtime does. The releasing of the bigger fish is very important to maintain a good quality fishery. These are the better genes spawning fish that are important to a fishery. Our climate conditions like CT memtioned have affected the fish and fishing also. And talking about climate and water conditions, A few weeks ago I could see down 14-16 feet to the bottom in a certain area as the water was so clear. Then it got real dirty fast and now its more back to our cleaner but not real clear normal self it seems. Talk about big time changes going on in the world the fish live in. This will certainly affect the fish big time. We also have the better high tech equipment to help us find and out smart the fish too like Ron mentioned. Theres a combination of things affecting the fish. If we do our part and apply Selective Harvest which means returning the big fish and keeping only a few smaller ones to eat we will have a better fishery for us to fish in. Mother Nature plays a big part and so do fishermen. We can’t control Mother Nature but we can control what we do. Lets do our part to help have a good fishery for years to come.
Thanks, Bill

I think loose lips sink ships. Thanks for all of the advertising. I’m only 50 min away I cant wait to get down there and catch some of thoes nice crappies I saw on the other thread.

Well there ya go. This Kurkkid’s attitude pretty well sums it up.
There are givers and there are takers.
Unfortunately he tells the truth.
Very frustrating for forum participants who want to contribute.
Short of starting “a secret society”, what are we to do?

You have to wonder about the effects of pressure. Here in the Cities, it’s become a waste of time to panfish. At least in the eastern metro you can catch thousands and thousands of sunfish and never see one over 6 inches long. Demontreville, Jane, Big Marine, Carnelian and hundreds of other lakes each have 10 million sunfish that are all 4 inches long. Any lake that has decent Crappies gets hammered over the course of a winter and that’s it for the Crappie fishing. I’ve seen it happen time and again over the last 30 years. I’m not accusing anyone of exceeding their limits or doing anything illegal. It’s just too many people taking a limited amount of fish.

I don’t think lowering limits would work since so few people catch limits in the first place. Maybe a seasonal limit? I don’t know, but if anyone ever figures out how to grow decent sized sunfish in the Metro area I’ll gladly put up a statue in his honor and clean the bird poop off it too.

I see the reports from the Rochester guys and marvel at size of the panfish you guys catch. You’re to be commended for the catch and release that you do to keep the fishing down there in good shape.

Rootski

I tend to agree Ron, but I don’t think this one will be one to worry about. He cannot spell “those” so its not likely he’ll be able to figure out the secret to the pannies at the Zum.

It was not my intention to bash Kurtkid or anyone else for that matter. I don’t know the man and he could very well be a gentleman and true sportsman who harvests carefully.
However, he did point out the fact that lurkers exist and will take advantage.
I have always wondered about a closed season on panfish, like the other game fish species have. Would it work, wouldn’t it? Protect them during the spawn when they are up shallow and easy pickins. Those are usually the big ones and the genetics that predict the future.
Old school preached that panfish were so prolific that harvesting them during their spawn didn’t hurt, rather may even helped contain the populations. Maybe time for some additional thought on this matter?
Then there is the topic of icefishing for panfish and subsequent additional pressure.
When I started ice fishing 25 years ago, only the brave ventured out into the cold.
However, today with the technology we have, warm clothes, portable lite weight shelters, underwater cameras and flashers only tips the odds in the fishermans favor.
Not sure what the answers are to assure continued success.
Just some food for thought.

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Thanks to forums like this and others, Lake Zumbro has gotten a lot of positive exposure and people began to realize what a jewel we have almost in our back yard.
Thus the pressure.

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Well, I can say that I have never taken a fish home from Lake Zumbro ever, although I have been tempted.

My research from the MDH told me that the Zumbro watershed had high levels of toxins, lead, mercury, etc. No female in her childbearing years should eat fish from the river or lake, and all others should limit themselves to one meal a month. That seemed to tell me I didn’t really nead to clean anything that I caught. Is this information false???

I eat my fish from Hy-Vee….. Maybe it isn’t any better?

Yep, I remember many years ago we had the exact same discussion about Pool 4 and the interent. Hot spots that only the locals knew about soon became community spots where many boats from the upper Midwest would go. Word got out that Pool 4 was a great place to fish before opener and in the fall. Now there are hundreds of boats are all over the upper portions of the river – many locals have to scrap around just to find a decent place to drop a line without having a dozen boats close by. I suspect this happens with every body of water that produces fish and is heavily promoted on the internet.

If you notice, I very seldom post good fishing reports or encourage people to fish Pool 4 or Lake Zumbro (maybe it is because I don’t have many good reports anymore). I just don’t like to post fishing reports on larger websites as it does impact fishing for the locals. That is one reason why I now prefer smaller forums that are very localized to discuss fishing reports.

Now if I was a guide, resort owner, sold fishing equipment/bait, managed a fishing website, etc. then I would probably do everything I could to promote fishing to make a buck. I am grateful that the guys in those businesses do heavily promote catch and release.

I also realize that pool 4 gets alot of pressure but I don’t see the long lines of parked trucks with trailers behind them parked on the frontage road from the ramp on the Wisconsin channel back to the Pizza/beer place [can’t remember the name] like I use to years ago. I hear people talking about the fishing isn’t as good as it use to be yet the DNR says its the same and maybe even better as more and bigger fish being caught. We need to keep pushing catch and release and selective harest in order for all of our lakes and rivers to continue to thrive. It has helped in the beginning of these practices being introduced and will continue to help if we practice them. All of the fish being caught didn’t receive the publicity back then that it does now with internet. There is alot more awareness of fishing now as we have a place to go to talk fishing and show off our big one. Many fishermen from all over can come to one place to talk fishing so theres alot more news, reports and good o’l talkin fishin goin on now. Its a good place to learn and to share to help others enjoy their time on the water more. The days of everyone being secret and hogging secret spots and all the fish they catch being a secret are coming to an end and is being replaced by fishermen helping fishermen to catch more fish. And along with that is putting the bigger fish back unless its a wall hanger is being taught too. If we all use common sense and promote fishing along with respecting the fishery that we fish and take care of it we all will learn more and also be able to impress on our fellow anglers to return most of the fish and only keep enough for a meal. The internet can be a very positive and educational platform if we use it properly. Lake Zumbro is seeing more traffic at the Ponderosa boat ramp because of the Sandy Point ramp being so shallow due to silting in that not very many boats can put in there. So we basicly have 2 good ramps now instead of three which increases traffic at both other ramps and especially the only other free ramp which is at the Ponderosa. As for liking smallness on a website that is why you see so many different forum for different areas that mostly talk about a certain smaller area on this site. We have the smallness of an area like on this forum [Rochester Area Lakes & Rivers Forum] and also offer coverage of many other areas for those who want to go on a fishing trip have a place to check for how the bite is there and we all make many new friends both in our area and in other areas too. You have the best of both worlds at your finger tips. And that makes for a win win situation.

Thanks, Bill

One would have to eat fish 3-4 times a week to see the effects of mercury, etc. from the fish. We’ve heard these tales for years and to let that stop you from eating fresh fish is foolish. They say childbearing females are supposed to eat fish for the omega-3. Do you honestly believe that processed BS frozen fish from the store isn’t packed with all sorts of extra junk? It’s one thing to restrict eating fish from say the river during the “dog days” of the summer but this is another story.

Excellent points Spence.

Some time back I heard a comparison of how Minnesota’s fish were prepared, as compared to Wisconsin’s, to be tested for these contaminents and I would settle for the way Wisconsin does it long before I would Minnesota’s and Wisconsin doesn’t go and slap warnings all over every lauch-site saying you’ll glow in the dark and croak if you eat the fish.

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One would have to eat fish 3-4 times a week to see the effects of mercury, etc. from the fish. We’ve heard these tales for years and to let that stop you from eating fresh fish is foolish . They say childbearing females are supposed to eat fish for the omega-3. Do you honestly believe that processed BS frozen fish from the store isn’t packed with all sorts of extra junk? It’s one thing to restrict eating fish from say the river during the “dog days” of the summer but this is another story.

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First of all, I would describe someone as being foolish, when they choose to belittle someones personal choice as to what they choose to consume, or where they get it from. I don’t think I really deserve any crap about where I choose to get fish to eat or not….my main point was that I never truly feel necessary to take any fish out of the Zumbro to take home. Doesn’t mean I won’t at some point, but I was merely offering my perspective that not everyone that blazes a trail to the lake because of the publicity and hot bite, necessarily hurts the population.

And, I realize that everything the MDH puts out isn’t necessarily the gospel, but I do know that a lot of fish, especially predatory species, contain higher levels of mercury, etc. So, I sometimes choose to err on the side of caution when it comes to someone specifically making a point to say “you might not want to eat this.”

I just don’t usually make time for cleaning fish, so I don’t attempt to take any home, more for that reason. I like to catch fish, not necessarily eat them, and in the process I preserve the fishery.

I am now stepping off my soapbox……thank you.

So Dave…..how is the air up there? jk

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So Dave…..how is the air up there? jk

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Must be the humidity….. I am okay now!

Whether one chooses to eat fish or not is a personal decision, each to their own. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and should be respected as such.
My personal philospphy is this: like anything in life, moderation.
Too much of a good thing is not a good thing.
I love a fresh fish fry on occasion, however, I wouldn’t want to eat it everyday. Probably get old after awhile and loose the taste appeal.
I am not so sure a bad fish will kill ya, anymore so then all the other unhealthy choices out there, such as recalled spinach, hamburger, chicken and foods imported from China.
Right now I am going through this phase of eating a lot of Famous Dave’s spareribs, talk about an addiction.
I am sure this will get old after awhile and I will search out other tasty tidbits.
One thing I do know, be it good or bad, I ain’t eating no spinach.

Famous Dave’s ribs, eh? When you begin to find yourself in need of larger pants you will figure out that you have out-grown the fondness for those sweets. But then Ron, you do look as though you could use a couple more pounds. Insulation ya know…..for those coldwinter days on the ice.

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Famous Dave’s ribs, eh? When you begin to find yourself in need of larger pants you will figure out that you have out-grown the fondness for those sweets. But then Ron, you do look as though you could use a couple more pounds. Insulation ya know…..for those coldwinter days on the ice.

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Yes, Ronnie needs some insulation! I was thinking that I could be dead for about 10 years and still probably weigh more than him….

Famous Daves Rib-tips and fries are great. If you need some extra weight Ron I could probably give you a ton and still have plenty left over.
Thanks, Bill

Gentlemen, I will have you all know that I am big where it counts……………a huge heart.
Don’t even go there guys.

Agreed my man. That would be opening up a can of worms. [sorry Ron, I had to ]

CT, Yes it’s true that I cant spell. See what a private education gets. 60 Grand down the drain. The question on if can catch fish. There is no doubt I suck at fishing
But my point is that there is someone out there that can fish. And they are reading these post and others like them and they are putting two and two together. I personally could care less about lake zumbro. I my first impression is that its full of cow manure and toxic waste from farms and industry. I’m just trying to make a point that Twin Cities urban sprawl is heading South. So If you guys are wondering why your gem is getting so much pressure and the size of fish is getting smaller. Just keep advertising. The post was titled “What do you think.” Sorry for the spelling but this is what I think.

I don’t really think its any busier now than it use to be. I can remember many years ago, like 20 years ago, when a boat dealership came to Rochester that sold Bayliner pleasure boats and Bass Tracker fishing boats cheap and add that to the number of boats sold by Smittys Marine and Als and it seemed like everyone was buying boats. Everyone was saying back then that it wouldn’t be long that we would all have to draw names to see who got to put their boats in Lake Zumbro on a given weekend because there wasn’t room for all of them. It was busier then than now. And the fishery wasn’t very good, except for the whitebass and the easy spring crappie fishing. The water was VERY dirty then. It was nothing like it is today as far as a fishery goes. We tend to forget those days as it was so long ago. Sandy Point ramp wasn’t silted in like it is now and it seemed like there was always a line on nights and weekends. What is shared about catching fish here or anywhere can alot of times be used on many different bodies of water. I think people take what they learn from any website, show, magazine, video, etc and apply it to their own favorite waters. If we can help someone, no matter where they live and where they fish, to be able to enjoy their time on the water more than we have accomplished something that makes our time invested worth it. And the same with us learning from others sharing. We ALL learn from each other. Nobody knows it all, never will, but everyones sharing helps everyone to be better at catching fish and enjoy their time on the water more.

Naw…no fishing pressure on Lake Zumbro Ron as I haven’t been down there for 10 days . Same with Lake Pepin as its been 9 days. Don’t you just love smart…uh….alexs? Got the cather out today so after alittle while more of body healing and I’ll find my way back unto the water again. Its been 9 days and thats way too long for this guy. So you guys keep the reports coming so I’m up to date on the bite going on. Rumor has it that Tom has been down to Lake Zumbro again catchin some fish after a few days of bassin on the Mississippi River. Lets see…tomorrows Wed which means Mike about ready to hit the lake again too so you guys will have to fill us in.
Thanks, Bill