WISH LIONS TOURNEY HELPS LOCAL YOUTH

Twenty Four teams took part in the sixth annual WISH Lions Charity Golf Scramble June 28th at Fiddlestix. The group helped raise more than $13000 for an area youth Christmas Shopping Trip in December 2009. Many area businesses and citizens donated despite the recent recession and the WISH Lions, led by President Gary Groen, want to thank everyone who helped make the event a success. The WISH Lions have donated more than $60000 in support of their annual shopping event that focuses on less fortunate youth in the Isle, Onamia and Wahkon areas. For more information on how you can become part of this small but successful Lions Club, please visit http://wishlionsmn.lionwap.org/ or stop by our monthly July meeting at 6 pm Thursday, July 9th at Izatys Clubhouse.

Voge Charter: Bite is Good!

I have been fishing deep mud bottoms off the edge of rock or gravel in 29 to 34 feet during the day. Then i move to the top of the reef for the last 2 hours of light. We have been using slip bobbers with 1/32 oz. jigs, white, blue, and green have been good colors. Medium leeches seem to work best, and creating slight movement triggers the bite. We are getting walleyes in all sizes and the bite is good. I have openings on saturday for 8 to noon and on sunday for 5 to 9 in the evening.

WISH Lions Golf Tourney is June 28th

Sunday June 28th at noon at Fiddlestix Golf Course is the sixth annual WISH Lions Charity golf tournament. Most proceeds go to a large Christmas shopping trip for disadvantaged youth from both Isle and Onamia area schools. Last year, more than 100 children were sponsored.

It's a great tourney with great prizes and truly an event that reaches out to the community. It costs $65 dollars per person and teams are filling up fast. There is a free golf cart for a hole in one and many great door prizes, a silent auction, and a great buffet meal put on by the Fiddlestix staff.

This tournament is the only fundraiser the WISH (Wahkon, Izatys, South Harbor) Lions do. With the current recession, we are seeing about a 30 percent drop in contributions this year and are asking any business or local citizen for donations to help our noble cause.

The WISH Lions have spent more than $60,000 to help buy needy youth from infant to 15 years old winter coats, boots, gloves, pants, shirts, etc over the years. The group hosts its annual shopping event in mid December at children are bused down to the Roger's Target to shop and try on the clothes. Each child also gets one toy on the trip.

More than 50 local volunteers also help with the shopping. The children also get a free hot dog, popcorn and pop that is donated by Target.

For more information on the cause or to join the WISH Lions or register for their golf tournament, please go to http://wishlionsmn.lionwap.org/

Fishing Inconsistent With Cool Weather

This last weekend's cool, rainy and windy weather didn't heat up Mille Lacs fishing success. Guide Tim Ajax was out three times last week, hitting 12 fish with a lot of 22-24 inchers on spinnerbaits in 20-25 feet of water Wednesday. He had a couple guys out in Friday's windy weather, getting three slot fish pulling spinners and some crank baits on the gravel. He didn't get out for Saturday's Muskie opener but said he didn't hear of any big catches from fellow guides on that species. With water temperatures in the high 50s still, the best fishing hasn't yet turned on, Ajax said as fish are scattered all over in no real pattern. He's found them in 5-40 feet of water to this point.

Guides Ajax/Voge Having Walleye Success

Veteran walleye guide Tim Ajax reported a couple very productive outings in the last few days. Last weekend, Ajax and several customers were lindy rigging with leeches on the north end and nailed a 28.5 incher and three 27s and five nice slot fish. Several days later, he put a pair of customers on seven slot fish with a combination of pulling spinner baits and lindy rigging. Ajax' crew also nailed another 28.5 incher that day. "I think alot of last year's 27 inches are up over the slot limit now." It seems like there's more big fish out there from what I've seen early." To book a guide trip with Ajax, contact him at guide@tandtguide.com or phone 320-224-1731.

Launch Captain Dereke Voge has been having good success during both day and evening on the southeast side of Mille Lacs. He was fishing deeper mud bottoms off the edge of rock piles (25-30 feet) during last weekend's afternoons with good success. In the evening he was anchored in 12-16 feet of water slip bobbering with small jigs tipped with leeches. His boat kept 28 Sunday evening. Most of the fish are 15-17 inches during the night fishing. Voge is catching some 25-26s in deeper water during the day. Voge's charter launch is still operating out of Hunter Winfield's. Call 320-676-1100 or 612-390-5045 to set up your launch adventure with Dereke.

Fishing or Golf?

As the opener came and went last weekend, I talked with many people about the fishing on Mille Lacs. Overall, the opener was pretty slow. There were some success stories. I heard about one boat catching 19 around Hunter's Point. Another boat getting a couple limits up on the sand by Carlsona.

Many I talked to decided to forgo Saturday's windy, cool and moist opener in favor of a round of golf at Fiddlestix, Izatys or Higbees. Each golf course is open for business and in varying states at this time. Higbees is offering a Wednesday night scramble with munchies and beverages. Izatys is still looking for a couple teams for its Tuesday night league. Fiddlestix has leagues Monday-Thursday. We will be posting updated lists of area tournaments on our golf page soon.

We hope to get our guide reports link back up and running with fresh reports soon. As you may recall, last year we had weekly reports from Tim Ajax, Mike Christensen, Dereke Voge, Gene Miller and Jeff Hanson. I'm sure most of those guys were out on the water last weekend and had some degree of success.

It was good to see area businesses busy last weekend. I was in Isle getting some groceries on Friday afternoon and it was bursting at the seams with fishermen stocking up for the opener. I'm sure many local businesses did well last weekend.

This week Izatys reopens Club XIX as BayView's Rand Syverson and Wahkon's Brandon Niesen open the bar and restaurant. They start operation on Thursday. The outdoor pool and hot tub are scheduled to open Memorial Day Weekend. Bill Lundeen is also operating Walleye World out of Izaty's Marina.

Tribal Netters have taken 100,000 pounds of Walleye in 09

If you were wondering like I was how many pounds of Walleye have come out of Mille Lacs Lake since ice out, wonder no more. According to a story in the Mille Lacs Messenger, Tribal netters had harvested 99,232 pounds of Walleyes from Mille Lacs as of press time May 4, according to Charlie Rasmussen of the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission.

We all know there alot of huge Walleye in the lake. I'd have to personally guess that the average size fish taken was between 3-5 pounds -- and I am sure there were many that were much, much larger going to nearly 9-plus pounds. With that in mind, that would be about 20000-30000 fewer Walleyes to hook on this weekend's opener.

The tribal netting is legal and has been going on for years. The eight tribes that can legally net still have about 26000 pounds of Walleye they can go after. I hope they wait until fall so that sportsmen can get a crack at things, too.

I did receive several emails with some oberservations. These were second-hand stories. One, was that a 54-inch Muskie was one of the casualties. There were also scores of over 30-inch Northern that weren't even cleaned, but thrown away. Again, these reports can from folks who emailed me with comments they said they heard from local wardens. In journalistic circles, you can't call those credible sources. But those stories are out there.

My only feeling on this whole matter is that if you catch and keep fish, you should utilize the fish and not waste them. They are a natural resource that belongs to both Minnesota sportsmen and tribal netters. By wasting a catch, you ruin someone else's chances for those fish and nobody derives any benefit. It's a slap in the face to all who are good stewards of Mille Lacs.

Here's to wishing you the best on Saturday's opener. Like clockwork, the forecast calls for winds and rain on the Minnesota Fishing Opener. I'll be up on the sand flats near Carlsona Beach hunting for a couple eater eyes. You can bet we'll clean em and cook em up for dinner if we have any luck!