Hotspotoutdoors

I've never ventured out on the lakes on the 4th...What's boat traffic like around the east metro? Is it as crazy as I think it would be?

yep.

How about this afternoon and tomorrow? It should be thinning out with people heading home for work right?

Monday it should thin out. It's still packed bumper to bumper out there Today.

Yeah it was amateur hour out on Chisago today. Got on the lake at 7am got off at 12:30 pm. Hardly anybody out there until 11:00 then the skiers and pleasure boaters got out there. Since when did Chisago become Minnetonka? You have to get off the lake before noon or you are stranded out waiting to load your boat. I refuse to believe people are that thick or absent minded that they take so long to unload their boat - isn't it that obvious when there are 4 or 5 boats waiting to load and another 3 or 4 waiting to get on that you should maybe hurry up? Had a great day before it got crazy though 4 bass over 5 and another 4 over 4Lbs. All and all a great day fishing though.

TR-21,

I promise you, the slow-pokes, think everyone else unhooks their straps, loads their rods, throws a tube and a rope in, grabs the cooler and throws it in, goes back into the vehicle for their cell-phone, goes back to the vehicle again to grab sunscreen, and is not sure if they unhook or leave the winch hooked up until the boat is in - all while their back tires are already in the water. They are pretty sure that is standard procedure.

since it is the only decent boat landing in the Chisago Lakes area now. North Center is unusable, and South Center is worse. Green is a truck eating tire in sand spinning wreck, little green is fine but will only hold 10 boats. That leaves Chisago.. Which has been a zoo this year.

Deitz,
There will be one less fisherman on Chisago from now on.
Was out there today and watched a guy and his wife or girlfriend pull up and throw 4 lines out. I went over and told him only 1 line per person in Minnesota, thinking he may have been out of state. He then caught a bass over 12" and threw it in the livewell, I told him catch and release only on this lake.
He asked me if I was DNR, I told him it was just a call away
he told me do what you have to do so I called TIP and told him to get the other lines out of the water and get rid of the bass.
They left after that but as I was loading the boat to go home a few guys were talking about DNR stopping a small green and white runabout and escorting them to shore.
I gave him the option and he didn't listen.
By the way, phenomenal day on the water!

Congratulations on getting that guy caught. It's always awesome to hear a TIP success story.

ata boy!!!!

Good for you! Thanks for helping save our lake.

Awesome! I like to hear that the TIP line works!

The landings (what few are left) are getting heavy use now and a lot of people with bigger boats need more time or help. It even takes me more time when the trailer is tilted or half out of the water (There is always the few that do dump things) But for the most part we all are just going to have to plan on spending a little more time at the landing on weekends. I was on Chisago Sunday and did see two boats that were not able to put in at the landing and had to leave. One other thing to keep in mind is power loading is not making it any better so crank em on.

Shorefisher,
How big were the boats that couldn't put in?
I have a 21' bass boat that I have no problem putting in or taking out even in this lowered condition. If they were over that size they should be on a much larger lake that has plenty of room for pleasure boaters not a small "fishing lake" such as Chisago. As far as power loading, if you get your trailer the right depth in the water and can glide right on you don't need to "power load." You can do this on roller trailers or bunks - it just takes a little practice and results in no "blow holes" past the launch.

The old, I am safe until I get caught attitude. I'll be willing to bet that sometime in the future they get caught again. The DNR reports are full of repeat offenders.
The reply is always, "I didn't think we would get caught again".

Way to go! i was out there yesterday too i'm kinda mad i missed the show i would have loved to see some smart [PoorWordUsage] get what he deserved.

They're still out there....

Last night, at around 10:30, I'm coming across fish hook lake in Park Rapids, had just entered my bay, and as usual when I come in at night, I drop down to a slow troll for the last 200 yards to the dock.

Suddenly I see a weird flash of light really close- thinking it was a firefly or something I look a little closer- and its some stupid weekender waving a cell phone light around about 50 feet in front of me. No lights in the darkest bay on the lake! I apologized for getting so close (5 more seconds on the throttle into the bay and I would have them cut them in half) and then gently informed them that they should get lights or get off the lake.

I wonder who wins that lawsuit- the 25 yr old who obeys all boating laws and is trying to be safe when he kills two boaters by running them over- or the estate of the older married couple who is too dumb to understand why lights are required and died because of it?

I would hope that their estate would compensate me for the dents their heads would have left on my hull...

No lights is not good and they should be ticketed. I spent the morning on Blue last Friday. Heavy traffic, but the wait was probably only about 15 minutes. Most people have trouble with the ramp on Blue (me included and I've had my boat for 5 years). I did have to wait for somebody who decided to blow up a tube while in the launch lane, but they did finally pull out of the way so people could pull their boats out. Pleasure boaters own the lakes as much as I do, so everyone should just learn to be a little more patient. As long as they are making a legit attempt at getting out of the way quickly, I'll wait my turn. Beautiful day on the water though

very well put bullhead boy. everyone owns the launch the same. if there honestly trying to hurry up. who cares wait or offer a hand if there struggling. i think a lot of us fisher people launch our boats a lot more than the pleasure crowd so we get a lot faster at it and we've seen what lolly gagging does to a busy ramp. i think its our speed is what frustrates us though when watching others do it. i know ive gotten mad a few times. but usually when watching people do stuff they should have done off to the side. i would be interested in going to a ramp on the 4th weekend and see how many people only put there boats in that weekend. bet we would be amazed. i just try and remember that i was once the slow guy at the launch. heck two weeks ago i fell in the water getting out of my boat and stepping onto the trailer. after i had loaded my boat crooked. we all make mistakes sometimes.

ww24,
I fully agree with those that are aware of someone else besides themselves at the ramp but as was said many times some people just don't have regards for anyone but them. I have always helped people who are making an honest attempt at loading and unloading their boat but its the people that put the boat in the lane and then go to the bathroom, fill up their tubes, talk on the phone, load the coolers and other stuff that should have been done previously all the while with people stacked up ready to launch or out in the water waiting for their trailer to get on the ramp. Thats just being inconsiderate.

sometimes i dont mind having to wait for an hour to get off the lake = more fishing time!

TR21- yep. i definately agree with you there. that stuff should be done away from the ramp and it does anger me to. if you search the metro forum and look up the medicine launch thread you'll see a funny one i witnessed. happy fishing. and dont fall on your trailer like me. it hurts your ribs.