Calendar
| Sept 4 - Oct 31 | Fall office hours, open Wednesday & Saturday mornings |
| Oct 31 | Fishing season closes and boats must be removed from all the lakes |
Headlines
- All the lakes were stocked in April and later June
- Dues remain the same as last year
Water Status - The large snow in March was a big help in our quest to fill the lakes this spring. We started running water in early April and filled all the lakes by early June. We topped off a few of the lakes a second time but ultimately June was very dry bringing an end to the runoff. July has seen some of the usual monsoon rains and while these don't significantly add water to the lakes, they help slow the rate of evaporation and slightly keep the water temperatures in check.
Fishing Status - Opening day weekend proved to be popular due to nice weather and excellent fishing. We again are stocking fish (12-15" rainbows, >3 lb. trophies, and palominos) from Crystal Springs Trout Farm. These were placed in all the lakes except Shagwa. The ratios stocked are 65% rainbows, 25% trophies, and 10% palominos. We also stocked some more Donaldson trout at Shagwa and put in 500 lbs. of fathead minnows at Nokomis. Idea being to further supplement the growth of the fish in Nokomis. As we always do, we tune the number of fish based on the fish kept at the lakes. This is why it's so important to help our patrol staff know how many fish you're catching and keeping. Last summer we stocked a double load at Snake and this spring we stocked a double load at Letitia and one and half loads at Apache. Similarly, we stocked only a half load at Nokomis as that fishery is reaching its optimum capacity. We post a stocking report in the office window so please check there for the latest stocking information. Our next stocking will be in later September. In late June we stocked 570 (very expensive) browns into Erie and 400 (also very expensive) Tiger trout in Nokomis. We continue stocking Nokomis with aggressive trout as a way to manage the perch. It'll take a few years to bring the perch under control, but just like Apache, we know this approach works. You can help us by removing any perch you catch (they do not count towards your possession limit). Overall, the 2024 fishing season is off to a good start!
2023 Fall Projects - We completed a number of small maintenance projects last fall - work at the upper Mitchell headgate and Elkhorn headgate, cleaned out the toe drains at all the lakes, cleaned out the culvert east of Apache, and removed willows off the Hiawatha dam.
Boat Cleanup - We removed 4 boats from the lakes at the end of last fall's fishing season. Only one of the boats was properly stickered. If you forgot to remove your boat, you can arrange with the office for a time to come to our boat yard and identify it and bail it out for $200 + $5 boat registration. We want to thank everyone who removed their boats last year, this was the fewest boats we've ever had to deal with at the end of the year.