8 THE LOWDOWN
AUGUST 2021 www.presspubs.com
Northeast Metro area friendly to the angler on foot BY ROY HEILMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
In the Land of 10,000 Lakes, it may be tempting to think that a boat is requisite equipment for the successful angler. Those who are willing to hoof it in the northeast metro, however, have no shortage of opportunities to catch fish from piers and shorelines. Most Ramsey County parks have fishing piers, as do many in Washington County. They often occur in the high-traffic areas, such as near the picnic area in Tony Schmidt Regional Park and near the boat launch in Bald Eagle-Otter Lakes Regional Park. Piers are usually long and/or spacious out at the end, allowing for many anglers to fish at once. Commonly caught fish include bluegills, crappies, bullheads, catfish and bass. But county parks departments aren’t the only entities trying to encourage people to fish locally. Tim Ohmann, fisheries specialist with the Minnesota DNR’s Fishing in the Neighborhood (FiN) program, makes it his job to help people fish as close as possible to where they live. He describes FiN as “an urban fishing program,” designed to bring fishing opportunities near residential areas and increase access and participation. Providing piers is a big part of that, along with some fish stocking. These efforts concentrate
ROY HEILMAN | SUBMITTED
Shore anglers cast for crappies at an area lake.
heavily on small bodies of water like the 8-acre Handlos Pond in White Bear Lake and 10-acre Lost Lake in Mahtomedi. Ohmann indicates that when it comes to fishing piers, there probably isn’t room for many more. “Most lakes where there could be a pier, we’ve gone one.” Still, he is always looking. “I was just out at Linwood Lake today,
and I thought, ‘this lake could use a pier.’” The DNR also cooperates with cities and civic organizations to establish, maintain and replace fishing piers. One example is the White Bear Lake fishing pier, a joint project between the city and the DNR. Such ventures make more piers possible, explains Ohmann, because the DNR does not have the resources to establish and maintain the total infrastructure involved, which includes accessible trails. But a pier isn’t the only way to access fishable waters. Many anglers already know that shore fishing can get them close to the action, and even make it possible to access fish that others can’t.
One outstanding place is on the trail that winds between Vadnais and East Vadnais lakes in VadnaisSnail Lakes Regional Park. There are no piers on either lake, and surface use is prohibited (no watercraft). A virtually untouched fish population awaits those on foot or bicycle. One lightly used shore fishing spot sits within a stone’s throw of Interstate 694 at Island Lake County Park. Hundreds of feet of shoreline offer easily accessed places to cast for bass, panfish, northern pike and catfish. For aspiring anglers lacking equipment as well as fishing spots, some area parks can help fi ll the void. FiN has partnered with Washington County Parks to provide “borrow poles” and tackle for visitors to check out in Big Marine Park Reserve and Square Lake Regional Park. A similar arrangement can be made at William O’Brien State Park. Visitors can obtain equipment to take to the pier on Alice Lake or the banks of the St. Croix River. Alice has received stocked bluegills in the past to maintain the population. It is also occasionally inundated by the St. Croix, which introduces species not typically encountered in other lakes, such as sucker species, redhorse and shad. To learn more from the FiN program or use interactive maps to locate dozens of pier and shore fishing opportunities, visit the FiN page at dnr.state.mn.us/fishing/fin/ index.html. Roy Heilman is a contributing writer for Press Publications. He can be reached at news@prespubs.com or 651-407-1200.
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John Savageau, 75, went to heaven 5/6/21. Married 50+ yrs to beloved wife Constance (Connie Carpenter), father of Jordan, Jeremy, Joshua and Jana Chuinard. Grandfather of 12 grands and 1 great-grandson. John was a State Farm Agent 42 yrs in Centerville/Lexington/ Lino area. Memorials should be sent to Ronald McDonald House. You will be greatly missed!
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