Trip report 6/13-6/19

Trip report Jersey Flowage 6/13-6/19.

Lots of northerns as usual, but much smaller than we are used to catching. The largest was 26.5" Most were around 20". I wish I new why there are so many in the middle 20's and they never seem to get larger……. Anway, they were smaller than in the past. In 17 years of trips up there we usually average about 26" and get at least a couple at 30" or every few years even middle up to upper 30's. We caught a few crappie with the largest being 13.5" and a few small mouth with the largest being 18 inches. We did not catch as many bass as in past years either.

I lost a musky that was a really fat 42" give or take and inch or two. It was on northern/bass gear and hit in green cabbage 6 feet from the boat and wrapped around the trolling motor and broke the line. It was a nice fish.

As I mentioned we have been fishing up on this lake for 17 years and I noticed a new weed that I never recall seeing in the past. It was a thin grass like weed that resembled a long corn tassle (very thin hairs that are hard to get off of anything). This is NOT the grass that grows up to the surface and then "lays down" across the surface. This was much thinner and grew in big patches. It grew in huge patches from around the wide area north to the river like section and stopped north of the launch ramp. It was not in the lower lake from the narrows to the Mohawksin dam. It was growing from the bottom to the surface and as result there was lots of it floating around from props cutting it up. It was also impossible to fish in about 30 % of the lake due to this weed. It also seemed to choke out cabbage patches that were present in a lot of areas for as long as I have been fishing there. It was certainly not there last year. Does anyone know what kind of weed this is and how it could have spread so quickly and grown so high with the cold spring? I hope it is an anomaly and not some invasive species that will cause problems. Any info would be appreciated.

I have noticed a huge drop off in Muskies. I have been fishing the Jersey for 15+ years & over the last 4 or 5 years the numbers have dropped bigtime! Same with the large Northerns, we always got into them & released everything thinking we were setting the table for the kids going forward. Now that my boys are older, the flowage is not the same & we have to find another honey hole. Fished the opener & didn't see a Ski or a Bass, that's the first time ever! Just the small Northerns you mentioned.

I was planning on spending time up there this weekend, but with this report, I may do some recon work & find another area. I'll try it one day' just to see these weeds you mentioned, I certainly hope it's not what we fear. I didn't notice them on the opener....

Mike, glad to hear I am not alone in my fears about the Jersey Flowage. I had another post about a drop off in muskies and large pike a few months back. About 4 or 5 years ago I caught and released two 36 inch northerns in one week and now it is getting harder and harder to find them even up to 25". My biggest was 38 inches.The biggest musky we ever got was 45 inches. We even had one night where we boated 3 muskies in about 30 minutes. What is weird the decline in big fish seems to correlate with the explosion of the bullhead population. The last 3-4 years we noticed the huge numbers (1,000s) of bullheads just schooled in the surface near the damn at Nokomis.

I forgot to mention that we also caught 6-10 dogfish/bowfin that were 10-15lbs. this year. I mean massive fish that were over 30+ inches. I caught 2 or 3 a day this year. We NEVER caught that many in the past. I would hate to see the lake over run by them and bullheads.

I sure hope the last few years are just an anomaly and there are still big pike and musky to be had. The smallies are doing well, we have gotten them up to 21 inches the past couple trips.


In regards to the weeds. I know it is not eurasian milfoil, but it sure as heck is something that is choking the lake. More so than the normal weediness that is the flowage.

If you head to the far north shore north of the island there used to be a huge cabbage patch, (immediately west of the reed lines and pads where people always panfish) but the area from just north of the island to the north shore of the lake is choked with this grass like weed, so much so it slowed the trolling motor down. There is also a bunch of it from the narrow passage along the island west towards the launch ramp. If you look you will find it. If anyone has any idea on what this is let me know.

Years ago I got a Dogfish as well, didn't know what the $ell I had, so I just let it go.

We used to catch all kinds of Muskies & even had a 7 fish day going back some time now. I have had several days catching 47"ers & one huge 50"er the broke the 40lb mark. All released. Where are these fish now? We spent 3 days in the fall dragging suckers & casting from first light until dark, with little results.

Perhaps is just a fluke or maybe they were harvested, but one thing is for certain. It's not what is used to be. That said, it's still a beautiful area & I will keep on keepin on.. I"ll be out there next week targeting Bass & Northerns with my boy's. At 10 & 6yrs old, I need someting happening frequently to keep their interest up..

Dave,
Do you have one of those RC fishing boats I see on TV? That would be a fun deal for the kids!

Sorry Mike we do not have the r/c boats for fishing, but I did build a 4 foot r/c boat with a built weedeater motor in it. You can troll Muskie lures at 40 mph!!

Dave

Wow Mike, that sounds like some quality fish over the years. I hope it is an anomaly. I just don't like all the dogfish and bullheads with a decline in the big fish. Good luck on your trip

I have also seen the decline in some of the larger fish on the Jersey Flowage. It seems to be in sync with the lowering of the water level 4 or 5 years ago (maybe longer) when they were working on the dam. I don't know if the larger fish were harvested, killed, or transported to another lake, but it really seems that most of the large pike and muskies are not to be found.

With that being said, I can remember fishing behing the Bradley dam 5-10 years ago and catching our limit in walleye in just a few hours without catching a single bullhead! Now, you are lucky if you can get a walleye now that all the bullhead have moved in.

I hope the low waters haven't ruined a great fishery.

Interesting, I did not know they lowered the water on the Jersey for a dam repair. Do you have any info on how low it got?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JimL

Mike, glad to hear I am not alone in my fears about the Jersey Flowage. I had another post about a drop off in muskies and large pike a few months back. About 4 or 5 years ago I caught and released two 36 inch northerns in one week and now it is getting harder and harder to find them even up to 25". My biggest was 38 inches.The biggest musky we ever got was 45 inches. We even had one night where we boated 3 muskies in about 30 minutes. What is weird the decline in big fish seems to correlate with the explosion of the bullhead population. The last 3-4 years we noticed the huge numbers (1,000s) of bullheads just schooled in the surface near the damn at Nokomis.

I forgot to mention that we also caught 6-10 dogfish/bowfin that were 10-15lbs. this year. I mean massive fish that were over 30+ inches. I caught 2 or 3 a day this year. We NEVER caught that many in the past. I would hate to see the lake over run by them and bullheads.

I sure hope the last few years are just an anomaly and there are still big pike and musky to be had. The smallies are doing well, we have gotten them up to 21 inches the past couple trips.


In regards to the weeds. I know it is not eurasian milfoil, but it sure as heck is something that is choking the lake. More so than the normal weediness that is the flowage.

If you head to the far north shore north of the island there used to be a huge cabbage patch, (immediately west of the reed lines and pads where people always panfish) but the area from just north of the island to the north shore of the lake is choked with this grass like weed, so much so it slowed the trolling motor down. There is also a bunch of it from the narrow passage along the island west towards the launch ramp. If you look you will find it. If anyone has any idea on what this is let me know.

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Yeah no kidding with the dog fish!!! especially around the big bog in bridge lake!!! thats all that lives around that friggen thing! all of em seem to be the same size in the 25-30" range! i hate those things i hate those things i hate those things!!! i dont get it as to how there are so many of them to i mean year after year i catch loads of em and keep em and still there growing strong! along with the decline of game fish i think they should ban the indian spearing! the numbers of fish that they take each year is outstanding! i can understand why lake nokomis is not producing as many big fish, we either loose em to indians, and they are not given a chance to grow that big because of the increase of dog fish population and the constant BS of playing with the water levels....this all in all makes for less big fish...

Yeah, those dog fish are a pain. They destroy lures and are slippery and bang all over the boat. They also stink. I seriously wonder what is causing all of these garbage fish to thrive. I hate to think what it will be like in a few years.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JimL

Interesting, I did not know they lowered the water on the Jersey for a dam repair. Do you have any info on how low it got?

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I was told it was lowered as much as 3 feet, but I only noticed about a foot and a half. I started asking around about why the water level was low (usually Jersey is pretty steady) and some of the people that live around the landing told me they were doing some work on the damn... Not sure what they were doing, may have just been routine. I didn't check with anyone "official" to verify that they were working on the damn, I just took people's word for it, so I could be wrong. I do know that the water dropped at least 18 inches, which on the Jersey, is quite a lot since most of the lake is 3.4-4ft deep.

Yeah, 18 inches on that lake is essentially draining half of the lake in alot of areas, that could certainly do some damage to the fishery. Do you recall when that happened? I am curious to see if it corresponds with the drop off in fishing. Thanks for the info.

I am still curious to see if anyone can comment on the weed that I noticed this year that I have never seen before.

HAHA just caught nd disposed of two dog fish this weekend! once again around the bog

Chalk up 2 more dogfish, both out of Nokomis.

Nokomis report:
Walleye on small crankbaits, only a handfull of keepers, but we released them anyway. Northerns as well on small crankbaits & #4 mepps, largest was 30". No bass & no Muskies. Bullheads galore! O-> One huge perch hit a crankbait as well, that was a surprise. Water is draining fast again!!!

Bridge;
Northerns on #4 mepps, maybe 4 SM bass, but nothing to brag about regarding size. Moved a very nice muskie twice, but couldn't get her to bite. By the time I figured it was time for her to go, all the boat traffic for the 4th showed up & she was gone.

Cresent;
Nada, the high winds made for a difficult time on the water, I pulled out after 2.5 - 3 hours of pounding wind & rain.

Jersey,
20" SM bass slammed a Weagle.
2lb Bullhead smacked a Buchertail, yes, it hit a muskiebait!
28" muskie on a #4 mepps.
Northerns not over 23", but enough snakes to keep the kids happy.
Bass were more active early in the morning, but not any size except the one I mentioned. After Noonish everything shut down for the most part.

Mohawksin:
Best all around for everything except muskies, one follow & that's it. Sm bass & even a decent LM bass in the river portion. Northerns out the wazzoo & the kids had a blast. All in weeds on Mepps & zara spooks. Moved the one muskie right next to AA next to a big tree in the water just past his dock.

Summery;
First 4 days we delt with high winds & rain off & on. COLD too! Had to fight a battrery problem as well, thanks Dave! Wound up comming back for that TM battery later that day. Same with the boat trailer, had Caalhouns put on new weel hubs & berrings, I thought the wheels were going to come off! Jeff fixed me up for under $150.00, not bad.

By the time the weather cleared up at all & we fixed all the glitches with the boat & trailer, eveyone & their brother were on the water for the holiday weekend. Still enjoyed our vacation, but the weather followed by the holiday traffic was trying. Will be back up for another week come week 1 of August.

Was out 3 days last week with my Brother Kenny and had some luck. We hit some of his favorite Dogfish areas close to Bradley point. After putting 3 in the livewell for his famous Mock lobster(from dogfish) we turned our attention over to smallies and got two over 3 lbs. and one largemouth over 4lbs. All this within the first couple of hours on day one. On day two we spent most of the day on the Somo river. Again Kenny the dogfish slayer got 2 more (both around 30inches). Both going into his Dogfish gumbo. I finally talked him into doing some Walleye and Muskie fishing after this and got a limit off walleyes by Red cloud landing. We had to go though about 35 shorties to get to a two man limit, largest being 26". We did manage a couple of Muskie follows in the same area. On day 3, again Kenny had to get some more dog fish action in. I agree they fight good but come on. The other thing is he uses 31-40 count raw shrimp (would rather eat those then the Dogfish). We had some luck that day in the rivers. By the Jersey dam we got into some nice smallies ( amount 10, nothing over 3lbs.). We fished the kings dam area that evening and had some luck on walleye, all but 2 were shorties. We did manage to boat one legal muskie there. Should be back up this weekend again. Hopefully the fishing will stay good. Tight lines!!!