Dad’s first turkey

My FIL has one. Very worthless IMHO. It works good, if simply moving water is what you are after, but it clogs up with weeds about every 10 minutes. It will move small quantities of muck, but this will silt back in in a day or so.

It may work well if there are not any loose weeds in the area, but then why use it? In their video it worked great, but there was no reason to use it there

I would also be very hesitant to use anything without DNR approval. They do not look very kindly on changing the lake structure.

To many lakeshore owners changing the structure of the lake, leave it be…Get rid of the muck/silt, it’ll come right back again anyway. That bottom structure is great spawning habitat for panfish along with other species.

Every lake shore owner removes the weeds, muck and silt from their shoreline it’ll change the entire make up of the lake. One neighbor catches you doing it, the next thing you know…not to mention in many cases it’s illegal.

BIRDDOG

Our shoreline has a layer of muck on top of sand underneath. We just live with it. A couple times a summer we use a weed rake to cut the weeds around the dock so we can swim about 15 feet into deeper water. Looking at the Aqua Buster product, couldn’t you get about the same results by tying up the boat to something stationary and giving her the beans and letting the prop wash blow out the muck?

Hello –

Thanks for everyones input.
Yeah the boat might do the same thing but you have to be deep enough for the motor which can be a problem.

Birddog – I understand what you are saying to a certain point. But when the weeds are SO thick you can barely get your boat out I am sorry I am going to remove some weeds. Too many weeds can actually remove the oxygen from the water especially when they die off. I am fine with the neighbors catching me because they are complaining about the weeds being bad also. I think the DNR needs to step up and start controlling some of the lakes. I believe they did a big experiment on Indian Lake by Monticello and it was a HUGE success. I will agree weeds are great for fishing but they can be overkill.

Last summer we put some sand down to make a little beach and some washed in the water, guess where all the sunfish made there beds? Completely all where the sand washed in. The bottom structure was changed in that one little area and they still spawned and preferred the sand over any other area around our lake shore.

Anyways, not trying to start any arguements but for property owners paying the taxes for lakeshore we should be able to make a little pathway to get a boat in and out and make a little swimming area. I want to protect the lakes fishing and quality but it does get to a point where it seems like the DNR owns your land.

I see both sides. I’m big in to the outdoors and somewhat in to conservation but love development and beautiful lake lots and homes. I think Ted said it best once. The animals are on the planet for us to eat them. The same can be applied to lakeshore, in a way.

Side note: Who cares if some reeds and weeds are removed, only Bass live there anyways!! Eeeasy, that was a joke.

Good one Walleyebuster. Living in MN and fishing bass a lot I get picked ona lot I am a huge bass fisherman and still don’t mind getting rid of the weeds. Heck the whole other shoreline is full of weeds. Whole shoreline is not even developed. Thanks for your response Walleyebuster.

you can have your water sprayed for weeds, but you need a DNR permitt and a bonded company has to do the work. I’d suggest spraying the side of the dock you run your boat on and leave the other side for fish habitat. A bit of sand is a good idea, just rake up some mud before accidently letting some sand go.

Personally knowing Chad, I really think he is the last person who would want to reduce fish habitat.
When we had a cottage up north when I was young, we did the rake thing to reduce the muck and weeds for a swimming area and to clear out a path for the boat. It is a pain and has to be done regularly, but does work and would be the least environmentally obtrusive v/s spraying(eekk!).
Good luck and get out your rake–your dad said he’d help!

Jeremy

Why not use a Weed Roller? That will take care of the muck and weeds. They are legal with a permit on most lakes. The DNR will not let you do the entire lakeshore but they do work well and will get down to the sand.

Dont mean to dis anyone here but some of this info is incorrect. In the bay that I live on, about 5 of my neighbors have these aqua blasters. I use mine specifically FOR fishing habitat and so do many of my neighbors. If we didnt, there would be no spawning taking place because the muck is just to deep. Instead, I have cleared an area where there are now TONS of spawning beds. More fish around our pier than we have EVER seen. I think that is due to the blaster. The other thing I do is point it straight up. This creates an aeration in our bay that is so incredibly effective for improving the water quality and clarity.
Ok this is starting to sound like a commercial for these guys at http://www.weedersdigest.com but I’m telling you this thing saved fishing around my shore. As far as the weeds clogging? Hasnt EVER happened once – because I never put the protective cage on the back. This thing can spit the weeds out like the Ronco Salad Shooter! Its the best thing I could do for my shore – and my fish! The one thing I am now interested is their new “muck digester pellets”. That looks very interesting. Be curious if someone has some scoop on that! Chad – email if you have more questions.

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Birddog – I understand what you are saying to a certain point. But when the weeds are SO thick you can barely get your boat out I am sorry I am going to remove some weeds. Too many weeds can actually remove the oxygen from the water especially when they die off. I am fine with the neighbors catching me because they are complaining about the weeds being bad also. I think the DNR needs to step up and start controlling some of the lakes. I believe they did a big experiment on Indian Lake by Monticello and it was a HUGE success. I will agree weeds are great for fishing but they can be overkill.

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I don’t think removing some weeds so you can access the dock is a issue or a little beach. A guy should be able to do that. My concern is those lakeshore owners that clear the entire lakeshore and weeds stretching far out in to the water. As far as all the other neighbors wanting to get rid of them as well, that’s what I meant by…”the next thing you know”. The next thing you know every property owner on the lake is changing the structure, now everyone has sand beach, no weeds, etc.

Maybe the best option is to contact the DNR, get the proper permit and see if you can come up with a plan to control the weeds. Not irradicate them all together. I’m sure that wasn’t your intention anyway.

Some lakeshore owners go WAY beyond what they should. Excavators, backhoes, chainsaws, etc…We have a little bass lake up north with standing timber and reeds, there were no cabins on it till the property owner sold parcels on the end that had a bay. With in a few years there were 4 cabins/homes on the bay, standing/flooded timber was cut down, rip rap lined the shore and reeds were removed for sand beaches. Looked great, lakeshore any property owner would be proud to have! They got nailed with fines, had to remove the riprap and “restore” the lakeshore to prexisting conditions. Tough to do when the timber was cut, excavators pulled stumps, etc…The worst part is all the standing timber that produced bass is now gone and the fish don’t use that stretch of shore any longer besides in the spring. It was classic bass ambush structure too! It all started with one of the guys doing it…

Granted, this is the extreme end of the spectrum but people do it.

Good luck.

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Dont mean to dis anyone here but some of this info is incorrect. In the bay that I live on, about 5 of my neighbors have these aqua blasters. I use mine specifically FOR fishing habitat and so do many of my neighbors. If we didnt, there would be no spawning taking place because the muck is just to deep.

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I don’t think anyone gave incorrect “info”. Some are just concerned with the stuff some lakeshore owners pull.

As far as there being no spawing taking place without your weed removal? I don’t buy that. Some of the fish may have moved their spawing grounds but I’m sure there was natural reproduction long before you removed the weeds. You simply pulled the fish from a different area over to your side because you now created spawning habitat instead of cover/ambush/feeding area(weeds).

BIRDDOG

Shot him at 6:02 this morning This was his first turkey and our last day to hunt together Im trying to send the picture to my email so it might be awhile It was a very cold and WINDY morning but pulled it off

Congrats

Congrats!!

Congrats to you and Dad

Congrats

Congrats!

Congrats!!

In the past few years, my dad has forgotten to apply for the spring turkey hunts time and time again However, this year with the extended application deadline, my brother and i once again reminded him to apply for a tag. As fate would have it, my dad was drawn for season D for the Minnesota season With the terrible weather during the seasons prior to D, I was more pumped to be able to head to the woods with him As the season progressively got closer and closer, i had to start scouting as much as i could in case their patterns had changed from last year My Cuddeback and Trophy Cam revealed that the turkeys continued to use the same Oaks and Pine tree bench for their roosting so we set our plans accordingly. However, this year i wanted to get permission from an adjacent property where the turkeys flew from the roost, and landed on a side hill of a cattle pasture in the mornings. After permission was granted, my brother and i set up our blind the day before Easter Sunday.
A few days before his season opened, the weather was far from ideal and the Friday i took off from work looked promising Thursday arrived with rain and wind My brother was hunting with him as i took off Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to hunt with my dad. They ended up seeing a lone hen and that was it
Friday was finally here A high pressure system moved in with highs in the 60’s and clear skies We set up within 100 yards of a Tom that i had roosted the previous night I had him fired up with a few soft yelps and thought to myself, “This will be the easiest hunt ever!!”. However, after fly down we never heard from him again That was pretty much the story for the morning
Saturday we did not hunt due to the weather……..
Sunday was our final day to hunt together and i wasn’t too optimistic about it with the 30+ mph winds and 30 degree temperatures in the morning but we both woke up at 3:45 am to head out. I set up Pretty Girl about 18 yards from the blind in view of the Pine tree bench in hopes that a Tom would be able to see her from the roost. At 5:50 am, we saw 3 turkeys pitch down on the side hill of the pasutre just like they were supposed to I told my dad to get ready as i started a few yelps with the box call. About 5 minutes to 6:00, a hen walked on the horizon of the pasture but was on her way to another field. Five minutes later, a train of turkeys broke the horizon and were on their way to us I said to my dad, “The first one’s a hen, the second one’s a hen”. With the low light conditions and wanting him to shoot something with a beard, i had to use the binoculars to double check which one to shoot After about seeing 8 turkeys at 20 yards, the third one from the front was a good sized jake I told my dad to hurry and get the gun up and shoot the third bird! Once he settled, i made a few yelps to get him to stick out his head and BBOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!
The turkey dropped and hardly flopped I hugged my dad and we both went to see what he got. This was his first turkey and it happened to be a fine jake The beard measured out about 4 3/4″ and weighed just about as much as a typical jake.
What a great experience to be able to spend with him and to start off our year The batteries were completely dead in my camera so this is a cell phone picture

Congrats to the both of you

Great story! Congrats to your dad and this will be a hunt that you two will remember forever.

What a special memory to share the rest of your lives. Congrats to you dad on his first bird.

Eleventh hour bird, with your father, just after fly-down…what a hunt. Congrats to the both of you on a job well-done.

Joel

Try the Beachroller.

It is a handtool that you only use where you want and makes nice a nice hard bottom and transition zones for fish AND people.

Posted by owner/employee of Beach Roller. FYI

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The Aqua Blaster – http://www.weedersdigest.com

The wife and I are looking into possible buying an aqua blaster to help remove some muck and silt by our beach. The odds might be slim but I am wondering if anyone owns or has used one of these before or if they know of anyone who has. To get more info or see what they look like go to weedersdigest.com and click on Lake and pond weed tools(I could not figure out how to post the pic). If anyone has any information at all regarding this product please let us know. Thanks.

Chad

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My dad runs an aqua blaster at his place. We have a lot of debris and muck settle in near the dock since there is a subtle point just to the east of the dock. So now when the wind is out of the west he or I run down there and blow all the muck and debris out into the lake. The waves take the junk away and around the point. We now have a beautiful sandy swimming area.

My dad got it from my FIL who has a very weedy area in front of his place. It did not work so well for the weeds.