Tyler I’m no expert but some high level advice I have is the main lake shoreline has a lot of rip rap area that will hold smallmouths. That is going to be the easiest approach if you are new to Pepin. Below the lake in the river the water will be high so the backwaters will be navigable and you should find largemouth where there are weeds. The backwaters are a maze though so take it slow if you’re a first timer. Below the lake there are many wingdams on the main river that hold bass but the current will make many unfishable. You’d want to look for wingdams out of the current.

Just don’t add the super obtrusive railings like exist on the docks at the back channel launch by Hager city. I launch by myself 95% of the time with a roller trailer and a long rope and I’ve got to climb through those dang railings every time to get to the dock!

Yeah I agree I’m assuming. Sure could be wrong.

That sounds like the fish and wildlife service on a WPA, not state land. I used to work in the litchfield office and the goal of a WPA or waterfowl production area is waterfowl production because the land is bought with duck stamp money. Trees and the birds that perch on them are bad for duck production, prairie grass is good for duck production. Pheasants are not the intended species.

The regeneration in a few years will probably end up being good for pheasants too. Stagnant grown up willows and cedars end up being pretty useless for much of anything if it gets ignored for too long.

Reminder of the contest next Saturday.

Rodwork, I’m in Rochester and spend much of my time fishing the Mississippi which helps to find most of these species.

One area to consider for paddlefish if you don’t care as much about size is the dam in Yankton SD. Entering for a non-resident Nebraska paddlefish snagging permit allows you to fish right up to the dam where I can gaurentee you will snag at least a few if you spend a day out there and can navigate through the other boats to get close to the dam. They are in general skinny fish though that average 30-50” from tip of the paddle to the fork of their tail.

I love chasing the fish on this poster. 48 currently not counting the lampreys. Not all were caught in Minnesota though. Missing the Tiger Muskie, pink salmon and of all things the brown bullhead.

Sounds like an Otter, I saw a pair in a retention pond in the middle of Rochester this spring so they seem to be expanding. Interestingly my parents had a fisher on their property this fall in the New London area, also seem to be expanding.

Someone always has to be negative…maybe the scale was off a bit. That’s a lot of 5+ lb fish with seemingly none under 2-3 lbs based on all the averages.

Musky Ed wrote:

I would think the problem now with finding deer or hunting rounds might have something to do with the fact that hunting season is not for a while yet and odds are that they just haven’t scheduled much of that in yet.

Does anyone know for a fact when they start producing deer slugs? I need to stock up on 12 gauge sabot slugs this year and would like to know if there is a typical time they start to show up. TIA!

I have no idea what I am talking about, but could this at all be solved if you don’t file your taxes jointly next year? That way neither of you have both an FSA and HSA?

Wow almost -40 degrees! Was that Fahrenheit or Celsius?

Reminder that the contest is this Saturday. It’s a fun tourney with half the proceeds going to Special Olympics. Easy access to drinks and food at Whistle Binkies is just a bonus!

I did not think panoptix was worth the money. There was considerable lag compared to a flasher and all objects looked basically the same size, so a bunch of minnows or bugs would just fill your screen making it impossible to see any fish.

My dad catches them on chatter baits in shallow water on lakes and has a ball doing it.

I saw a video where it looked like there was a sizable delay like I had with my Garmin PS22 panoptix transducer without the black box. Hope it’s not the case, but I know I found that very frustrating with the panoptix.

I look forward to an honest review.

I don’t fish the chain a lot but one thing you should expect is much more green and weedy water than you are probably used to from going up north. Lakes in that area are very fertile due to agriculture run off. Just the way it is. Some of the lakes are cleaner than others and I’m sure they still have nice swimming beaches, just don’t expect crystal clear water or the up north feel. Lots of fish due to them being fertile though. Good pan fishing, lots of catfish and plenty of walleye and bass too. Be prepared to fish weed beds and weed lines.

I read on another thread that they float. Must not have for you.

http://www.bbcboards.net/showthread.php?t=852773

Thanks!

I don’t kayak but the wabasha to Nelson road has several drop in points into calm backwaters.

Pry open from the two drain(?) holes on the bottom?

B-man wrote:

On the radio today they were discussing the vaccine.

Long story short, vaccinated people can still carry the virus and spread it to others. They still need to practice social distancing and wears masks 100% of the time around other people.

So…..why again would a healthy younger individual need/want to be vaccinated??

Other than possibly preventing an extremely rare severe condition for that individual, what good would it do for said person or the general public (where at risk individuals have been vaccinated)?

Asking for a friend who is also donating their vaccine.

It stands to reason to me since the vaccine is 95% effective at preventing infection that although a vaccinated person CAN carry the virus, once vaccinated they are 20 times less likely to carry the virus. And now I’m totally guessing, but also likely that if they do carry it would be for a shorter time since their immune system is prepared to attack it, thus they are still drastically lowering the chances of passing it on to others. As a firm believer in the seriousness of the virus and in the value of the vaccine, I think they are being a bit over cautious for the experts to be saying once vaccinated you still need to do 100% mask and social distancing. I think it’s more an overly cautious approach so people wait a bit longer before relaxing their guard. Just my two cents…

Brian Klawitter wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>EW6 wrote:</div>
Where is “green point” please? Never heard of that.

Follow the MN shore line on Lake Pepin while using Navionics (free version)

Going down stream, Presbyterian Point, Friedrich Point, Wacouta Beach and then Green Point.

I always told folks to go out with two people this time of year.
1 to run the motor and the other to push off from other boats.

Fishing is suppose to be fun.

Thanks!

Where is “green point” please? Never heard of that.

arcticm1000 wrote:

Lol, Thanks for posting a report. Or like BK says someone is always catching them somewhere. I always try to tell myself that if I am not the someone catching them.

A friend sent me this report Saturday and I was thought about going, but I didn’t.

https://www.facebook.com/TheTechnologicalAngler/posts/3749462615173595?__tn__=-R

Call me cynical but I read a report like that, then see pics of two small fish, undoubtedly the biggest of the day, and I don’t automatically think they crushed them, or even have them dialed in like the post may lead on…. my goal of saying that is for the average guy to not always believe the posts that make you feel like it’s as easy as all the experts say.

I’m ok with you not getting a license. Rather that than you keep every MONSTER sunfish you catch to stick it to who exactly….

Good luck on the tractor. I haven’t been on French this year but in the past I’ve had huge schools of shiners out there suspended. So might not be crappies.

Could try bouncing your offering on the bottom, raise some silt as long as you are throwing everything at them.

Got one more thing to report. I used the Hi Mountain Hunters Blend flavoring, added some mustard seeds and cracked pepper. Used 40% fatty pork shoulder and the results are amazing. Great taste and consistency. Would highly recommend.

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This has probably been done elsewhere but was a new thought to me. I cut off the bottom of a plastic cup and put it in the opening of the casing and secured with rubber bands. Made stuffing the casings pretty easy by hand. We’ll see how consistent the pack is when it’s finished.

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