Ice Fishing – Silver Creek Reservoir

With not having access to a personal water craft due to money restraints with school I have done most of my fishing in Olmsted County. Earlier this summer I discovered silver creek reservoir and have ever since made it my place to fish within a 30 minute drive from home. It is the best place I know of that has not only a variety of fish (gills, sunny’s, pike, bass, perch, and crappie)but of decent size as well! I pretty much hit up the reservoir every chance I could just to wet a line when I didn’t have to work this past summer. I head to the reservoir just for the joy of catching fish and seeing the wildlife (I have seen numerous deer and a few bald eagles that seemed to make a present almost every day I have been out there, even a curious weasel has made it within feet of me). Now I catch and release everything, but I have seen way too many people filling their five gallon pails with their limits of gills and sunny’s. I was wondering how the ice fishing on the reservoir is and if it is just as busy as it is in the summer. I am hoping that the reservoir isn’t just slaughtered during the winter cuz of too many people keeping fish as I am hoping that getting a chance to get out on the water lets me hook into a few more pike than I did fishing from shore this summer. Has anyone fished the reservoir in the winter and if so is it worth it? How is the crowd and bite out there during the winter? Thanks!

I for one have never fish it ,nor will I.

I totally agree with and understand what you saw happening on that reservoir and it happens on ALL the Rochester reservoirs.

I am all for C&R myself on it.

That reservoir can be pack during the ice season with fish getting smaller and smaller as the season goes on.

That is about all I will say about the reservoirs here around Rochester

We all need to respect them so they can be enjoyed for many a years to come by all.

I have and I will fish it,that place does get pounded,but I practice C&R also..Alot of people don’t. like you said it is a varity of fish and close to Rochester.. It used to great fishing but has declined through the years..

Silver Creek is under special regulations for limits. That is 10 fish… any combination of crappies, sunfish, gills or perch. There may be a size restriction too. These rgs are posted at the entry points of all of the city reservois where fishing is permitted. These regs are in effect year round. If you see the vehicles that these game hogs are driving, report their vehicle license numbers to the sheriff’s department or to the tip line.

Illegal ice fishing just about ruined the lake a couple years ago, but yes it is a dandy place to fish.

Thanks for the reply’s! I am most likely going to try it out a few times this winter just to check out the bite and hope it is good due to its’ proximity to Rochester.

Treat it well and it will return the favor. If you see violations, report them while they are happening.

Good luck out there.

Chesterwood isn’t that far from there and there can be some mega sunnies caught there if you are a c/r type of guy….the fish are full of black spot.

I tried chester a long time ago and just didn’t have much success. Maybe it was a bad day for me or the fish just weren’t biting. I’ll be C/R all winter as I still got a freezer full of walleye from a LOTW trip this summer. I will be watching for the violators and won’t hesitate to turn ’em in. I’m hoping the big sunnies (1 pounders)and crappies (stretching 14 inches) from this summer are still around at silver creek. Also hoping to pull some pike through the ice as well…

Chester Woods holds 10+ inch gills… well at least it did in the summer of ’09 but they are heavily spotted. The crappie have really lost their size though which is too bad. That reservoir used to be much more fun to fish.

Good to see the new reg in place for the area

I heard from a reliable source that over the weekend people were catching fish as fast as you threw in and sizes were very big.

Quote:

---

I heard from a reliable source that over the weekend people were catching fish as fast as you threw in and sizes were very big.

---

This is interesting.. I was out there both days and talked with many, many others out there. Catching fish as fast as you can is a bit of an overstatment with small perch accounting for a good percentage of the catch. I wouldn’t say sizes were very big, considering that alone. Small crappies and gills where taken as well.

Sure, there are a few decent fish left in that place (I caught a few, as did others), but you had to put your time in like anywhere and weed through many smaller fish. There were 30+ minute downtimes as well. Not trying to start anything here, but I’m just trying to set expectations to a more reasonable level.

SCR is a great place to practice Catch and Release as well. Both days the parking lot was full and there is no way this place can sustain a decent population of sizable fish if everyone is taking limits of fish. Also be aware of the new panfish regs in effect on SCR and nearly all Rochester’s reservoirs.

Quote:

---

Chester Woods holds 10+ inch gills… well at least it did in the summer of ’09 but they are heavily spotted. The crappie have really lost their size though which is too bad. That reservoir used to be much more fun to fish.

Good to see the new reg in place for the area

---

Chris….

I think we are seeing an age thing unfolding at Chesterwoods. Many of the fish we see of size today are probably getting up there in years, especially the crappies and panfish. Personally I suspect that less than ideal spawning conditions for crappies there. Sunfish and gills seem to hold their own as do the bass and catfish.

I wonder if a winter fishkill ocurred under the ice in recent years that was specific to crappies? They seemed to have a very generous size range and adequate numbers for several years and then bang….the crappie fishery fell flat on its nose. If a kill occered early enough in the winter under the ice there’d be no suggestion of it at ice out. Even the traditional crappie haunts have failed to show fish in any numbers on CW.

Of course there is also a chance that the new regs were put in effect too late to save the crappies. If one stops and looks at the history of the reservoir system throughout the Rochester area, fishing always started out great until the masses showed up and then….KR7, SC, Gamehaven….all of those are testament to what happens.

Its easy to point at the issues we have seen change the course of the fisheries we have locally, but I still am holding onto the idea that Chesterwoods has reached a plateau in the crappies’ life cycle there and my thinking that limited spawning is a prime contributor to the problem you have noted.

You are right on though…it was a fun place to tease fish. As a note to c/r….I have never taken a crappie from any of the reservoirs except Foster when I managed to catch a half dozen just over 10 inches a couple years ago. The sunfish and gills all are plagued with black-spot and those don’t come home period.

I just talk to a couple buddies that were just there today(12-22-10) and they are still getting plenty of NICE fish there and was very good the past 2 days.My source said that most are aware of the regs and many were C/R. Maybe you not in the right spot/time Tyler??

Been out at the creek the last 2 days. My success was fair to say the best (at least when compared to this summer’s results…) The first day out there started started the day out with a crappie (small one) and the rest of the day was perch (a dozen or so and none of any size). The second day I fished with a friend and in 5 hours only caught one fish, a crappie about an hour after dark… There was probably 8 or so houses out there both days all packed in pretty much one location. The second day I was out there I picked up a lot of trash including a one pound propane tank and several beer cans…

I would LOVE to catch someone leaving their trash. Absolutely ridiculous…

Quote:

---

I would LOVE to catch someone leaving their trash. Absolutely ridiculous…

---

I hear you there

You NEVER know when one is filming out there

I guess SCreek would be one place that anglers would want to police each other. One of the issues addressed when the TOWNSHIP gave permission to allow the puddle to be developed for fishing was trash in the parking area and trash on/in the water. Filming is not the only thing that can burn people for littering, the township can pull its permission and close this sucker back up for public use. Litter was one of the predicted problems and this year has wasted no time in bringing out the duds who are too lazy to take what they brought in.

I’m happy I am not a part of that mess out there, even just by showing up.

Was out a couple of times over the holiday break. Had mixed results. The best time for fishing seemed to be early morning ’til about noon. I was out with a friend just before sun up and we had non-stop fish until about 11 when we needed to leave to do other things. Between the two of us, we caught a little over 60 fish, nearly 20 of them being crappie, and of those crappie’s, about 5 of ’em around the 10-11 inch mark. My friend also managed a 10 inch gill. But I have also had mixed results out there. Went out last night just before dark, caught to perch within 2 minutes and then it went dead once the sun was completely down. Changed locations and within the next two hours didn’t even have a nibble. Talked to a group on the way out that got there a little after dark and they hadn’t caught a thing although they were marking fish. With the rain last week, the ice now in great shape (but very slippery with a dusting of snow on top). Had anywhere from 11-14 inches of ice. But I think its time for some more variety and bigger fish… Faribo here I come!

I am new to this forum and I have been doing a lot of research on the Rochester area and I have also been doing a lot of guessing on where to go. It is great to see people having some candid conversation on how this are going in the area. My ole man is coming to visit me this weekend and we are planning on doing some fishing and would like to stick around the Rochester area. Any advice on where to go and catch enough fish for a meal?

I have fished in the Farbo area for the past couple of years and have had good results there pretty much wherever I go but it makes for a little longer trip and do not prefer the drive as much.

Any help you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Silver Creek might be an option for you. Gamehaven reservoir on the south side of town has been putting out some fish but its a hard hike to get into it. The Zumbro at Fishermans Inn might be seeing a bite happening by now. Last fall’s high water helped carve out some deep water near the shoreline in front of the public fishing pier and sunfish seem to like the location when the water is deep enough. I’m thinking its deep enough now.

I hit the ice today and actually went to both places: Gamehaven and Silver Creek. Needless to say I caught plenty of fish in both places but everything was on the small size. I spoke with an older gentleman today at SCR and he did quite well for the day so apperantly i was just not in the right spot. I will definately try a differnt location there the next time I go.

Gamehaven would be great if you didn’t have to fight with all the litte blue gills. the walk isn’t as bad as what everyone thinks. If you can pack light like i was tody it wasn’t bad at all. Hopefully they can do something there to curb the population a little and allow for some of the panfhish population to grow to “keeper” size.

At one time Gamehaven had a decent bass and northern population along with some impressive panfish, but the same scenario played out that seems to be common everywhere…..hit it hard and keep’em all. Those small gills will be the mainstay now.

The backwaters of the Mississippi around Wabasha and Kellogg can toss out some great pannies about now too if you don’t mind the drive.

Moseman just south of Alma can be great. Wilcox might see sunfish and crappies beginning to shuffle back into some shallower water already. This winter’s slightly higher water levels may have sparked up West Newton a bit too. The dike road between Nelson, WS and Wabasha has some really dynamic water available if you’re willing to do some snooping and the Wabasha Marina’s main basin might have some intersting action developing.

Any more around Rochester, size is going to be a Mississippi thing in my opinion, with the Zumbro offering a close second if you hunt hard. The local reservoirs are great for kiddie adventures, but if you’re searching for brutes or table fare go east.

Just to inform you guys that you probably won’t be fishing through the ice out at Silver Creek anymore this year. Walked out there today and there is about 8-10 ft or water around the shoreline. Bummer