Lake Dorothy and Lions Lake, two Mankato municipalities, encourage fishing but do not put out signs saying how toxic the fish are. I was making calls about how to properly and legally fish in Lake Dorothy when I found out how unappetizing the catch really is. Yes there are fish in both lakes and Lions rarely is fisherman free on the pier. So I cant say I will be back to Lions again. I still want to measure out Dorothy for the fun of it. As of now, I cannot find an official (6 calls) who know for sure where public access is! The runoff of pesticides into our waters is more that just a problem for ponds. Imagine if we could make our whole district acid-free and work to clean our great series of natural lakes so that fisherman from all over the country would come here because they could actually eat their fun! Hey now that sounds like a ticket!!
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Really wish I didnt fizz out my camera during the flooding! After the last blog about somewhere to fish in Mankato proper, a few folks left some comments about Lake Dorothy. I tell ya, after one semi-short visit, I have hopes that this is the best kept secret around. There are no public access points. It appears that all the land around this beautiful gem is privately owned. Beyond that the whole lake is thickly bush and tree vegetated, leaving casting spots, even on private land, very sparse. On the North side is a lake runoff with a solid concrete ground to fish from. I just pulled in there and parked on the side of what becomes a dead-end road and dont know if that was even legal. I caught fish on the SouthWest side in back of a business that was closed for Sunday. I am going to ask them about access straight up. I am also gonna make a few calls to find out where the "public" can fish. The DNR has stopped making reports on this a long time ago and it is registered by the city as "municipal." So anyway if Lake Dorothy can be fished then I will keep you updated. This pond has a ton of potential. Crappie, Sunfish, Northerns. I parked on a residential street that was closest to the dock. This was around 8pm to 9:30 tonight. It is 4-5' deep and is quite weedy and full of lily pads. The guy already fishing the dock claimed that you can catch a little everything here, and that he fishes it often. I have read elsewhere of positive reports. One said the dock is not even the best spot on the lake. This is an easy place to take a kid fishing or just when you have an itch but dont wanna drive far. It is smaller and shallower than Hiniker Pond but the action is much better. The DNR has reports of massive stocking here. Thanks City of Mankato and DNR!! Really excited to get out again today! The lakes were extremely beautiful all day long. Flat water, still.
I fished the afternoon and had to pack it up as things were just getting going. A lot of movement. The Holiday Weekend brought the boaters out this evening. Daytime boaters were all laid back cruises and were not fishing. It just so happened that my ride home passed 6 lakes. Every shoreline-offshoot had people fishing the shores and happy. Bass shores and Northern shores. Fishing boats were just funneling in at the accesses I passed. I was a great site! People just seemed to have the same idea for this evening! I am just all over it because with all the flooding and stuff we have had to deal with recently, looking out over empty scenic lakes was getting to me. It made me nerves. Well now everything seems like it is coming back. It is ok again. On the lakes at least. Peace out to all the wonderful people who waved at me as I drove by! Beaver Dam is hopping with campers, just people out everywhere! Have a great weekend and dont forget to tweet your fish!! The Southside of Madison Lake is hitting hard right now. Big Bass, Walleyes really hard hitting. The action is all centered around the Southside of the lake. The word is out so please be polite if somebody has beaten you to a spot. |
AuthorI love being on the lake yet I cannot swim proficiently. I have fished since I was five, allday and by myself on the shores of Madison Lake. My fishing expertise reached it's height at around 8 years old. Archives
May 2015
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