Walleye Fishing Over on Mille Lacs for 2015

Charlie and the last walleye caught in my boat legally on Mille Lacs

It finally happened, 15 years of total mismanagement by both the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the State of Minnesota have resulted in the closure for all walleye fishing on Lake Mille Lacs starting August 4th to December 1, 2015  After pre spawn netting by the tribes and targeting those same size fish that are netted, the allocation of walleyes to the public have been reduced to 28,000 pounds for the 2015 fishing season on Mille Lacs. I would love to go ballistic regarding this terrible political situation (IMHO) however I am bound to keep my mouth shut and not pollute my post with anything but fishing yet it's difficult because it affects both my favorite fishing destination as well as my friends that are severely impacted by this ineptness.  What makes matters worse is sitting on the side watching the slow and inevitable decline of the lake and there is little you can do about it.  So, I have decided to provide links to articles that better explain the situation and the Princeton Union-Eagle is a small town newspaper which does an excellent job and probably best leans towards my political views regarding this.  My first link HERE is the announcement of the closure of the walleye season on Mille Lacs on August 3rd. The second link HERE really does a nice job of documenting the latest issue regarding the Governor's visit to Isle, MN and the local reaction to the situation.  HERE really says it all in regards to my feelings about the situation and whole hardily agree with Joe Ward as I am a member of PERM and fully support their charter in dealing with this problem.  So the closure of walleye season really had no restrictions which is interesting.  I suspect I can troll for northerns or muskies this fall on the reefs with large stick baits like a Rattlin Rouge, or fish smallies on the deep reefs with leeches, I'm not even sure what this all means and if I catch a walleye it certainly must be released.  Ridiculous is all I have to say about it.  I have 2 friends in Alaska, Jeff King and Keith Holtan, both run salmon fishing guide service on the Kenai.  This year because of declining populations, the first salmon run which occurs in late May thru June was cancelled which quite frankly affects their income.  I would bet that if you did some research you would fine that the same issues that plague Mille Lacs are eerily similar to those that shut down the fisheries on the Kenai.  The more things change the more they stay the same. I am in constant communications with my friend Bill Lundeen, I feel bad for him and I wish I could do something as I am helpless other than keep pressuring our government to make changes in the way they approach the problem.  Good Luck!

The star of the show!

So my last official walleye trip was last Wednesday when I had the pleasure of taking both Chuck Teasley and Dan Hoene in my new boat.  Charlie is a friend from way back and Dan is his buddy from high school. Each year Chuck comes to Minnesota with his family to visit a camp on Lake Carlos near Alexandria.  We try to get away during that week and this year it worked out that both he and Dan could make it.  The plan was to meet at the pole shed, drive north to Mark Applens place, go out to dinner, then fish the big lake.  When I showed up at the pole shed both guys were there but to my surprise Chuck had a new addition to his right leg as it now was aluminum and Dan was hobbling around on a cane that Chuck had made for him.  Quickly loading up the boat we headed north as I got the story.  Chuck had a serious motorcycle accident years before I met him and his leg was mangled up pretty bad.  Over the years it became worse and eventually it needed to be removed below the knew.  Dan was a star college hockey player for Michigan but degenerative arthritis has blessed him with 3 hip transplants, the third was recent and he still needs some rehab.  I was glad I had the new boat as it would be much more comfortable for them as I felt fortunate to be able to spend some time with these 2 great guys.  After dinner at Hunter's we headed to Mark;s place at Fisherman's Wharf, settled in then sat outside on the picnic table enjoying a few cocktails, a nice cigar that Dan brought, and the beautiful full moon.  Unfortunately the wind had picked up from the west and although it made the evening mosquito free, it wasn't looking good for tomorrow's wave action.  Waking up to 30 mph winds, we decided to head to the west side and launch where it would be so windy.  After stopping at Bills to get bait we arrived at the landing only to be greeted by the DNR's AIS (Aquatic Invasive Species) unit and trust me, with the walleye closure upon us, I was in no mood to be hassled by these guys.  I know it's not their fault and most are simply interns doing a job but they need to know how screwed up their future employer really is.  As well, we were the only boat in the landing, another waste of tax payer dollars, oh well.  The waves were terrible and 1/4 mile out from shore they 2 feet and breaking.  It really forced us to simply drift the rock humps south of Sherman's point where we did get some fish including my first walleye on Mille Lacs for the year, a 11 incher.  Chuck ended up catching the 2 largest fish for the trip, a 16 inch walleye and a nice 17 inch smallie.  As for Dan and I, there were no pictures worth sharing as we stayed in that 9 - 12 inch walleye range.  Because of the wind it was really hard to fish so our pattern was a simple nightcrawler rig  pulled along the bottom as we drifted out until it becam uncomfortable then repeated that pattern.  Being pretty beat up by the wind and waves we headed back to the landing where in an attempt to secure the boat I fell off the front step and landed back first in the water but not before my side hit the step and caused a huge bruise.  Thank God there was water to break my fall.  Now with 3 of us "crippled" up we headed down the road for dinner at the Long Siding Bar, it was pretty good.  Arriving back to the pole shed we said our goodbyes to another year, another good time with friends, and the reality that we are not getting any younger.  I am already looking forward to our trip next year.

Lory's Golden Redhorse

Saturday gave me an opportunity to finally get the jon boat out and start fishing the river.  After cleaning it out, hooking up the electronics, and starting the motor (3 pulls BTW) I was ready for a planned trip up the river with Lory Brasel on Sunday.  After getting a few things done we headed to Blair's landing and up passed old town where the Crow River joins the Mississippi.  It's amazing how dirty the Crow river is and how it affects the water clarity down stream.  Because it joins from the south, the north side of the river stays much more clear until it gets close Blair's.  Fishing wasn't very good as I only got one 8 inch smallmouth and had a few strikes but no hookups.  We decided to anchor on the downstream side of Cloquet Island however when I dropped the anchor it didn't hold very well, probably because it came untied from my anchor rope and is now sitting on the bottom in 10 feet of water.  With no means to hold us in the current we decided to go down to our neighbors dock, tie up and fish the flat area in front of his property as the fish tend to feed in those areas. With a glob of nightcrawlers we casted into the current and it wasn't long before a fish grabbed Lory's and started running up against the current.  We landed a nice 6 pound golden Redhorse, took a couple of pictures and let it go.  Overall the fishing is bound to get better on the river and luckily I have another anchor to through on the boat so I should be back in business.  On interesting thing, when I pulled the boat out of the river something looked funny and sure enough, I had left the "earmuffs" on the motor that garden hose attaches to for running it out of water.  The prop had torn it up pretty bad and to be honest, I am lucky that it didn't interrupt the normal flow of the water to cool the engine.  Just another thing to replace.  I am not sure if I'll get out this weekend as we have a wedding in Mondovi, WI and it's fall fest time in Independence, my wife's home town.  Either way it's like every weekend, busier than a one legged man in a butt kicking contest!

Charlie's Back



Charlie in fine form, a 26" fish and a 6 inch cigar!



The first week in August usually means a call from my good friend Charles Teasley.  I meet Chuck almost 33 years ago when we lived in the same apartment building in Osseo, MN.  He was a young banker with Northwestern National Bank, in the Osseo Branch and I was just starting my career designing transformers.  From Duluth, he transferred down from the Silver Bay Branch in an effort to advance his career.  Being the same age, we spent a lot of time fishing together, hanging out, talking smart and being stupid.  Eventually Charlie met a young lady lawyer named Carla, fell in love, got married and moved back to Duluth.  In the meantime he had a one year old Lund Pro Angler with a 50 hp Mercury tiller he needed to get rid of and naturally I was in need of the same boat.  I sold my Lund S14 Deluxe and made my first significant move to a "real" fishing boat.  In the mean time Charlie bought a new Lund Nisswa guide with the now Classic 50 Merc tiller (now rated at 45 hp).  A  beautiful boat, it was

Chuck and Dan

Lund's only fiberglass boat among their famous aluminum line up.  2 years later Carla was transferred to Florida and once again Charlie was in need of a different boat as he did not want to take it south with him.  Darn, another opportunity to move up and I sold his old Pro Angler and bought the Nisswa, my first introduction to fiberglass, one that I have never looked back.  In August Carla's family meets in Alexandria MN to spend a week long family event.  By the middle of the week Charlie needs a real fishing experience, a day on Mille Lacs.  We have missed a few years where our timing didn't work, and last year he was rushed to the hospital with a 106 fever, so it was great to get back together.  More often than not we can get his friend Daniel Hoene to spend the day with us as well.  Dan was a high school buddy of Chuck's who is an excellent hockey player where he spent 4 years playing for the University of Michigan, one of the top programs in Division 1 hockey.  Dan is a great guy, very successful, and a lot of fun to be with.  Chuck and I love to leverage our "redneck" roots with Dan, sometimes we get over the top but he takes it pretty well.  Dan himself is an accomplished fisherman having fished all over the place including a trip into an outpost in Canada coming up in a few weeks.  I loaded him up with some special jig heads that should be perfect for his presentation. 



I finally caught one!



Both Chuck and Dan met me at the pole barn on Tuesday afternoon and after loading up with gas, ice, and refreshments we headed north to spend the night at my friend, Mark Applen's little paradise at the Fisherman's Wharf on the east side.  Getting the latest scoop from Bill we headed over and settled into a relaxing evening of chicken wings, ice cold beer, and a gourmet cigar compliments of Dan.  With the full moon gracing our presence, we stayed up long enough to know it wasn't going to be an early evening.  The wind blew pretty hard all night which usually isn't a good sign for the next day.  We woke up to a fierce south wind with 4 foot rollers hitting the shore.  Our plan was to fish the west side where the wind would be much kinder to us.  Breakfast in Isle, a stop at Bill's to get the final word plus some leeches and crawlers, we launched north of the Casino as I went back to a routine that had proven successful for the last 2 months.  First stop, Sherman's where they have still been catching fish.  We trolled with my 3 ways and crawlers but only hooked one nice walleye in an hour.  With the wind blowing hard I decided to get out the lead line and planar boards and troll no man's land, the flat basins between the flats.  The fish weren't jumping in the boat but we did manage to land 12 walleyes, a couple on a reef runner, and the rest on a #5 Rapala Flat Rap.  We ended the day back on Sherman's to do a little bobber fishing when Chuck landed the 26 inch walleye pictured.  For me, I did more work assuring these two go fish than actually catching on my own (good story, don't you thin!) and only ended up with 1 walleye.  All in all it was a pretty good day for the first of August, we had a great time and I look forward to our trip next year, God willing of course!

Alaska is coming up fast and it's tripping up my blog post schedule.  I will tell you more about our trip plans next week, hopefully before I leave.  I am pretty excited to say the least as there has been a lot of issues on the Kenai River this year that is affecting our trip.  Stay tuned!  And last but not least, yesterday was the one year anniversary of my father's passing.  Love you dad!

Charlie's Day

As happens every year my good friend Chuck Teasley shows up for a day of fishing on Mille Lacs.  A break from a week long family event, our trip to the pond gives Charlie a chance to catch up with his friends back in Minnesota.  One of the things that I look forward to is seeing Dan Hoene, an old friend of Chuck's from Duluth.  Dan skated on the University of Michigan's varsity hockey team and has a lot of interesting stories in the boat.  Last year he was fishing Eagle Lake, Ontario and did not make our trip.  This year Dan was able to join us for our annual outing and we took full advantage of him (what are friends for anyway?).   Our trip starts out the night before, gathering at the pole shed and loading up.  We like to head up early, catch dinner at the lake, staying in a hotel, assuring an early start in the morning. Like last year we again stayed in my friend Mark's ice house.  More like a small cabin, Dan was skeptical.  Although I assured Dan that the ice house had air conditioning, he had his doubts as a room at Eddy's sounded a whole lot better.  Upon arrival we heard no complaints.  Chuck and I have many things in common including open heart surgery.  After last years fishing trip he returned home meeting his cardiologist the next week only to be told he was not leaving and scheduled a quintuple bypass surgery immediately.  Our scars are quite visible and we used them to our utmost advantage.  It took little to convince Dan that both of us had 10 pound lifting restrictions as a result of our surgery and we needed his help.  For the next 24 hours we never had to lift anything as our good friend did all the work from carrying coolers to tackle boxes to unloading everything.  We were going to eventually tell him but it was so nice not having to do anything and watching him be such a sweetheart was touching!  In the end he left before we could fess up so if you read this Dan there are 2 things, thanks for being such a good sport and don't even think about missing next year.   The first picture from left to right is Dan, Myself, and Charlie.

After having breakfast in Isle, MN we headed to the landing north of the casino.  The wind was out of the west north west and being on the west side of the lake would prove to be more comfortable.  Meeting us on the lake would be a friend of Chuck's he met in St. Louis,  Mark Setterstrom.  Charlie is a Infant Swimming Resource instructor teaching children as young as 6 months how to survive an  accidental fall into water, such as a pool.  He had taught his children as Mark is a player for the St. Louis Rams football team.  Fishing was painfully slow as we drifted Seguchie Flat.  A mistake on my part, I had forgot to put in additional gas in my boat.  With a strategy of trolling all day, I did not want to take a chance and had to go in to get some petro.  We decided to put Chuck in Mark's boat before we finished our drift, then go in.  I had a few extra trolling rods and suggested to Mark they try off the flat using a rainbow trout colored Reef Runner with 150 feet of line out.  Away they went as we finished the drift.  5 minutes later we drove by as we headed to shore only to see them acknowledge a released 26.5 walleye after 3 minutes of trolling.  I looked like a genius.  As happens, this omen was short lived and was the only nice fish caught between us.  We actually snagged an 18 incher later in the day but this was it!  Here is Mark's nice fish.  We still had fun fishing as there was a whole year to catch up on things.  I had the pleasure of meeting Mark and maybe one day can fish with him again.  We finished off with dinner at Chico's, double taco night, 6 for the price of 3.  Who can beat that!  A special thanks to Mark Applen for the use of his ice house. 

I did get out Sunday as my neighbor Tom and I hit the river for smallies.  He has some pictures I am waiting for as my camera was dead on arrival.  Hopefully I can post later this week as we did very well.