Seeking walleyes on Mille Lacs Lake By Larry Myhre
Reprinted from the Sioux City Journal
ISLE, Minn. — It was a 14-mile run from our resort to the sand bar where Brett King had found the walleyes the day before.
As Lindy Pro Jon Thelen guided his Deep V Ranger across Mille Lacs choppy surface at 50 miles an hour we laughed about how many thousands of walleyes we were passing over to get to the “honey hole.”
Gary Howey and his cameraman Kyle Nickolite, King and I were hanging on as Jon, a former PWT pro wasted no time getting us to the north end of the lake.
Howey and I, among others, were guests of the Lindy Tackle company, LakeMaster fishing maps and Offshore Tackle for two days of fishing on the big lake. We were headquartered at Hunter Winfields Resort at Isle on the southeast corner of the lake.
King, a walleye tournament fisherman from Claremont, Minn., was guiding for the writer’s event, but his boat was on the trailer today.
He had found the fish the day before and we were on our way to reap the rewards of his efforts.
It didn’t take long.
We tied on new Lindy Spinners behind two-ounce bottom bouncers and began trolling with the bow-mounted electric motor.
Thelen showed us the bar on his Humminbird depth finder which held a LakeMaster chip containing a map of the lake.
“Here’s a rock pile we never knew was here before LakeMaster mapped the lake,” Thelen, who has guided many years here, said. “We’ll follow the top of the bar, go alongside the rock pile and then motor back for another pass.” … Continue reading
JENNIE LAKE ENHANCEMENT WILL IMPROVE WATERFOWL HABITAT – Ducks Unlimited
Jennie Lake Enhancement will improve waterfowl habitat – Ducks Unlimited
ALEXANDRIA, Minn., April 26, 2010 – Ducks Unlimited has begun work enhancing Jennie Lake in Douglas County. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency declared Jennie Lake legally impaired in 2008 because of exceedingly high nutrient levels. A secondary benefit of the enhancement project will be to significantly improve water quality and decrease the nutrient load.
The Jennie Lake project is the fifth of eight shallow-lake enhancement projects DU now has under way in Minnesota. These projects are partially funded by a 2009 Outdoor Heritage Fund grant as recommended by the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council.
To enhance the 316-acre lake, DU engineered and is installing a water-control structure and electric pump which will allow the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to better manage water levels and improve lake conditions.
“With the warm weather and removal of weight limits on the roads, our contractor, Duininck Brothers Inc., of Willmar, was able to begin work, and we should be able to complete the project ahead of schedule,” said Matt Olson, DU construction manager. “We’ll be working with Runestone Electric in May to run power to the site for the pump, so we should have it running later this summer.”
Additional funding for the Jennie Lake project came from a federal grant from the North American Wetlands Conservation Council, the Chippewa River Watershed Improvement Project, Viking Sportsmen and the Pioneer Heritage Conservation Trust.… Continue reading
Curtis Lake, (MN) Ducks Unlimited Enhansement Begins
MARSHALL, Minn., March 31, 2010 – Ducks Unlimited began enhancement of another shallow lake project funded in part by the Outdoor Heritage Fund as recommended by the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council. The early warm weather melted snow and allowed crews get started on the Curtis Lake project near Marshall.
“To complete construction of this shallow lake project by summer, our contractor needed to mobilize the required heavy equipment, steel structure materials and rock riprap before the spring roadway load restrictions were posted,” said Brad Karel, DU construction manager.
Karel and contractor Chad Monson Excavating of Willmar began working in early March on Curtis Lake to install a sheet pile water control structure designed by DU.
“After a brief shutdown for the spring runoff, we will be able to resume work as soon as site conditions dry and improve,” Karel said.