Drove out to Lake Zumbro today and the only ice there was is a sheet of ice blocking the boat ramp at the Ponderosa. Both of the docks at the ramp were in the water. All we need is some more warm weather and that ice should be gone. Come on spring!
Its been wide open for over a week. 
Gee…..I see some people have been out fishin cause they have a bad sunburn. 
I use the 5 ft Peregrine Superline/Leadcore trolling rods [nicknamed the shorties] and also the cabela’s Depthmaster trolling series 6’6” leadcore rods. I have also used the Diawas 10’6” Heartland rods but gave them to Nate as he uses that length more than I do. My rods have Okuma line counter reels on them. Alot of people also use Diawa line counter reels too. The first two rods I mentioned are my favorites.
Thanks, Bill
Its too bad that some people try to ruin the fishing for everyone else by taking too many fish which hurts a fishery. Thanks.
Thanks, Bill
Hi Jack. Hows it going? So far this spring I have missed the fishing due to having a bad case of pnemonia [sp] the last week of march and alot of April. Starting to get back on my feet so hope to be out soon.
Lake Shady is no longer a lake. They decided not to repair/replace the dam so its basicly a open field with a very small river going through it. It looks more like a creek now. They have planted trees by the highway and hope to turn it into a park.
That ramp is too shallow to use with the normal 1 1/2 – 2 ft drawdown. That big of a drawdown is going to expose alot of things that we don’t normally see. Thanks, Bill
If BK says it never arrived then my guess is it must of been a box of ”cookies.” 
Little Nate [grandson] and I drove out to Ponderosa, Fishermans Inn and Sandy Point to check things out and theres ALOT of open water. My guess is it will be open by or before next weekend. 
COME ON OPEN WATER
[ Bet you didn’t know an old man could jump up and down did ya…lol ]
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I saw DT in his yard today on my way to Lake City to bring my boat home from storage so I’m going to guess that if Dan isn’t on the ice today then its questionable as to how safe it is.
Lake Pepin is open in the middle down to the south part of Lake City from what I could see. Felt nice to see some open water again BUT its high and I was told that they figure they will probably have to move the trailers on the trailer point off soon. The cold snap we have been having has slowed down the melt of snow up north so that is helping some.
Chris, sweet little girl you have there. Enjoy her bud, they grow up so fast.
Thanks, Bill
Its this weekend. There should be campers there. In fact there are suppose to be 75 venders there this year.
Show hours are:
Friday Jan 28th – 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Saturday Jan 29th – 10:00 am to 7:00 pm
Sunday Jan 30th – 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Its a great time to check out the new boats and 4-wheelers at the Smittys Marine area.
Thanks, Bill
It would of been nice if they would have dregged it so that the silt could settle there instead of it ending up in Lake Zumbro which just continues to silt in the lake. Thanks, Bill
On a different subject I spent both Thursday and Friday on pool 4 in the Red Wing area fishing for saugers along with my son Nate in different boats. With the high water they weren’t in their normal spots for this time of year in numbers. Most fish caught were not the bigger ones we normally would catch this time of year. The warm weather sure made for nice days just to be on the water. If you head down there to fish keep your eyes out for wood floating down river. Alot of people were having a hard time catching fish but if you keep in mind some of the locations found in the springtime when we have high water like we do now you will catch some fish.
Thanks, Bill
Thanks for the pics Dave. Last night at 7:30 the water was almost [about 20ft to go] out of the road that goes to the end of the point at Fishermans Inn. I couldn’t see the fishing platform at all.
Thanks, Bill
The water level at Ponderosa Campground boat ramp was up in line with the office building Friday. Some of the houses by Grampa Eds eating place had water problems. There is a white mobile home that has a single car garage that looks like it was converted into a cabin and the cabin was half way under water. SE Mn got 9-14 inches of water depending what part you live in. Its crazy. People who were down below the dam there saw docks and boats being washed over the dam. Its a mess. I thought it was bad back in 1978 when Rochester got 7” of rain but this is ALOT more water than that. Highway 52 north was closed Thursday afternoon north of the 75th Street bridge due to the highway being flooded. I was told when I drove out to the Ponderosa campground last night that the water had gone down quite a bit from what is was yet I couldn’t believe what all I saw last night. Lets all hope we don’t get anymore rain and please keep these people in your prayers. Thanks, Bill
OPPS !!! Just goes to show you BRO that even us older fishermen get excited when we start talkin about fishin. Of course we both know that we aren’t as OLD as Mike. 
Hows it going Tommy? Been out on the water much lately?
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I have not seen these new rods but I can tell you that the bonus rod, called the shortie, is a really nice leadcore rod which should work great with the new 8.6” rods for spreading the lines apart. Leave to Dean to come up with great packages just in time for the fall leadcore crankbait bite.
Thanks, Bill
Thanks for letting us know about the day and time change Jason.
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Did you downsize your boat and are now running a 25hp motor on a different boat? What brand of motor is it Tom? How do you like it? Been out much? Gee….I ask alot of questions. lol.
Thanks, Bill
Thanks for the report Mike. Really I think you should be called ”Mr. Crankbait” because everytime I see you on the river you are pulling cranks and for a very good reason-you catch ALOT of fish pulling cranks both up stream and down stream.
Thanks, Bill
THANKS for the reports on the weekly tournaments guys. VERY much appreciated.
Thanks, Bill
Thanks for your reports. I haven’t fished the Albert Lea area before but I use to fish the Fairbault area lakes and Tetonka Lake years ago. Yes it does bring back memories.
Thanks, Bill
My favoite leadcore trolling rods are the Peregrine 5 ft. Superline/leadcore trolling rods that were bought at Everts Resort on pool 4, Cabela’s 6.6 ft. DepthMaster trolling series rods, and for longer rods I use Diawa 10.6 ft. Heartland Downrigger rods. I have 2 of each with the exception of have 3 of the Cabelas rods. My favorites are the 5 ft and the 6.6 ft rods mentioned above. My favorite leadcore line is the 18# Cabelas brand. Be sure and let us know what rods and line you decide to go with and how you like them.
Thanks, Bill
Thanks for the post. Doesn’t sound good. Lets hope that the DNR can find out what caused it.
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Congrats. Let us know how it catches fish.
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Thanks Mark. They don’t always have good results but atleast a person knows they are honest.
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I was out on Lake Zumbro today [Saturday] and the bite was very slow. That explained why there were hardly any fishermen out but tons of skiers, tubers, and pleasure boats on the lake. I did catch some crappies and bluegills but had to work to put just a few in the boat and all were released as usual. It was a beautiful relaxing sunny day to be out on the water.
Thanks, Bill
I was out Monday evening and it was alittle high but that little high was real nice at the boat landing. The water color was ok. Watch for alittle bit of floating wood though. Not that much but in a few spots I saw some.
Thanks, Bill
Hows the musky fishing been for you this year?