By Harold Brutlag
Maple Lakes Fishing Pier, of Hwy. 55, was a busy place on Sunday afternoon with most of the anglers fishing off the far end. I’m guessing they were catching Sunfish and Crappies… Dennis Olson, outdoor sports writer for the Minneapolis Tribune, fished Saturday with a group of 13 friends on Lake Winnibigoshish and struggled during the morning when the lake was like a piece of glass. In the afternoon the wind came up and the Walleyes bite came alive. They finished with limits and had to throw two back which were over the slot.
Don Dittberner didn’t get out fishing until Sunday because he and his wife, Ada, were attending a graduation ceremony of daughter, Kathlyne, who received her doctor’s degree from the University of North Dakota, in Grand Forks. He did catch two walleyes on Rush Lake in front of the river that evening. He said the Northerns were hitting just about anything that moved.
My desire to go along with No Mow in May lasted about three days before I was outvoted by wife Janis and daughter Anna. Maybe I’ll try again next year.
The weather has been great for the flowering crabs and the lilacs which were in full bloom on Mother’s Day. The 80 degree day wasn’t a record, but great never the less.
I haven’t heard of any big fish caught locally, but some anglers are known to keep their catch a secret. It was told a couple of my relatives liked bologna while they fished and if the bite was solid, they would throw the knife or bologna in the lake rather than lose the fish!
Group had great Crappie catch
Opening day of fishing was great for these three anglers (above), Virgil Pawlenty, Kellee Pawlenty, and Nick Pawlenty when they zeroed in on Crappies, rather than Walleyes. They had 39 Crappies, 12 to 14 inches, and Ed Pawlenty, not pictured, also caught a Walleye. Kellee is shown at top with a 12 plus inch crappie and the dog Chainsaw belongs to Nick.