Courthouse Lake

[tweedlap]

September 21, 2007

I fished Courthouse for three hours, today. No takers. Not even a bite.

The water looks clear and feels cool. The lake is down over a foot of water.

I thought I would give it one more try before season ends.

It was a nice morning to be fishing.

tweed

[HossFisher]

Me and a buddy are going to spend some time down there today, i'll let ya know how we do.

[HossFisher]

Fished for 2 1/2 hours today and didnt catch a trout. I dont think i even had a bite! The only trout i saw was a brown that was cruisin the shallows. Fished with both spinning gear and the fly rod and came up empty. I didnt get skunked, i did manage to catch two 3" sunfish

P.S The water temp in the shallows at noon was 64 degrees

[Sonicrunch]

Thanks for the report guys. I was thinking of giving it a try, but now I think I'll try Christmas.

[HossFisher]

Thinking about puttin in a few hours down there this weekend. With this cold spell the water temps should be down enough for them to be a little bit more active. Anybody been down there fishin it at all?

[slipperybob]

I forget that stream trouts in lakes are still open...I was gonna just call it closed season...I will have to try to catch a meal before the end of the month.

[HossFisher]

That is defineltly easier said than done with the way fishing has been down there so far. Years past it seems i have been hammering down there this time of year and i am not even seeing any in the shallows yet. I cant figure out the problem. I remember hearing that the stocking truck broke down on the way to the lake in the spring when they stocked it and they expected a higher mortality rate. Maybe this really did put a dent in the fishing. Does anybody know if they stock it at all before Oct. 31?

[bubs]

they wait ti'll stock it after nov 1 and depending on the weather they might wait ti'll it is close to ice opener

[Carp-fisher]

I read that the floods of late summer hurt some trout hatcheries in SE MN really bad. Tens of thousands of young trout died. I wonder if the fall stocking of Courthouse was affected by this?

[HossFisher]

Thanks for all the info, i know in years past i have been doing real well down there this time of year. You normally see them all over the shallows and big schools of rainbows. This year i haven't seen any and i cant even buy a bite. Maybe the water temp just hasn't come down enough Anybody got any new reports?

[Dragon Fish ll]

GET DOWN THERE AN TRY ONE MORE TIME. SUNNY DAY IF POSSABLE EARLY MORNING. TAKE SMALL SPINNERS. KASTMASTERS, WAX WORMS UNDER BOBBER. TRUST ME

[HossFisher]

Dont worry Dragon fish, i didn't give up. I have been down there my fair share these last few days. Something finally clicked down there for the trout about week or so ago. I just was trying to keep it a secret Maybe i'll see you down there.

Keep in mind Season closes after October 31

[Zenit]

Quote:

---

Dont worry Dragon fish, i didn't give up. I have been down there my fair share these last few days. Something finally clicked down there for the trout about week or so ago. I just was trying to keep it a secret

Maybe i'll see you down there.

Keep in mind Season closes after October 31

---

I believe the lake was stocked on 10/18, same day that Cenaiko was stocked.

[Muddog]

The Trout ponds in St Peter are empty 3 weeks after they stock them. This spring I'm going to take a comcorder to the ponds and record some of the fishermen taking more then there limit. Last year I went there three days in a row catch and releasing Trout. The same people were there all 3 days catching fish and keeping every thing they catch. A few would take 10 or more. I am sure this went on every day untill the ponds were empty!

This maybe one of the reasons why the fishing is poor at the Courthouse Lake.

[HossFisher]

I agree with you 100 percent. The fishery simply cannot sustain itself with all these fish being taken out. Thats why it is so good in the spring and fall when they stock the trout in there. Summer is dump and anything after the first week of the ice opener is dump too. I heard an estimate that said 50% of the trout they stock for ice fishing get taken out on the opening weekend. I'm not saying that it's wrong that people are taking these fish and all i'm saying is people just need to be smart about it.

[Zenit]

Quote:

---

I agree with you 100 percent. The fishery simply cannot sustain itself with all these fish being taken out. Thats why it is so good in the spring and fall when they stock the trout in there. Summer is

dump

and anything after the first week of the ice opener is

dump

too. I heard an estimate that said 50% of the trout they stock for ice fishing get taken out on the opening weekend. I'm not saying that it's wrong that people are taking these fish and all i'm saying is people just need to be smart about it.

---

I've never been to Courthouse, so I can't speak from experience there, but I hear the same stuff about Cenaiko all the time.

1. I'm not sure I buy the 50% taken on opener story. Be it the hard-water or open water opener on Cenaiko, there is always a huge crowd for the first 4-5 hours, then 75% or better clear out. Last year's ice season at Cenaiko was a bit of a mild disappointment, only because the fall stocking by the DNR was way too early and everyone and their mother found out about it; this year, they stocked the pond late, about 10 days before the end of the season, and very few outside of the regulars fished the lake up until the end of the season. Also, I don't know about Courthouse, but at Cenaiko, it seems that a high percentage of people that come out for the opener really don't fish for trout on a regular basis and are just kind of winging it. I don't recall seeing too many parties, outside of the regulars, that took home their limit last ice opener there. Open water, after the first two weekends, the lake is basically deserted because too many people buy into the "all of the fish were taken" theory. This is simply not true, at least at Cenaiko. I was catching fish there all last season, only slowed down a bit in early September, but I can remember few days last season that I didn't have the opportunity to take 2-3 fish home.

2. The DNR busted 2 parties of "freezer-fishermen" last opening weekend at Cenaiko, happens every year, and I'm always glad to see this happen. I just wish the DNR would pay more attention to the lake after opener, they very rarely come out after opening weekend. If I spot a freezer-fisherman or someone over limit, I have no hesitation calling it in on the TIP line. Having said that, I've had a few debates about taking one's limit of 12-14 inch fish home - I think people sometimes forget that both Cenaiko and Courthouse are "put and take" lakes, the fish cannot reproduce naturally in either, and I see nothing wrong in someone, legally licensed and with a stamp, taking 5 12-14" fish home for the smoker or the frying pan. Yes, people have to be smart about it, but I'm surprised that there are more than a few people that come out to Cenaiko that can't draw the distinction between a "put & take" lake and a managed stream.

Just my $0.02. Wish you fellas good luck on opener!

[Zenit]

Quote:

---

GET DOWN THERE AN TRY ONE MORE TIME. SUNNY DAY IF POSSABLE EARLY MORNING. TAKE SMALL SPINNERS. KASTMASTERS, WAX WORMS UNDER BOBBER. TRUST ME

---

DF2, didn't see you out at Cenaiko at all this year...you coming out for the ice opener?

[Fishpondc]

Hi Jimmy,how are you? I just got registered for this site. This is Chad

[Slab-Slayer]

Going to Courthouse for openeer Saturday. Never been there, what can I expect? any tips?

[walleyeking]

You can expect to be shoulder to shoulder to people on the lake.. Get there early if you want a spot to fish..Just remember, only one hole and no live minnows.. There will be CO's on the lake. I got random checked last year for my license.

[Zenit]

Good luck to all of you hitting Courthouse this weekend. This is gonna be a fun weekend for both the Cenaiko/Courthouse crowd, and looks like the weather will be ideal.

[HossFisher]

It was packed as usual and very few fish were being caught.

[walleyeking]

Was out there for 3.5 hours without a trout. My group of 6 caught 1 fish.. The majority of people were leaving the lake skunked. Last year most people had their limits by 9:00am. Not sure if they stocked as many fish this year.

[Andrew Erickson]

its because of the oxygen levels i heard

[brenen]

sorry about your luck guys, but i had a great day on cenaiko ... got 4 rainbows and a brown from 7:15am - 7:45am , then my dad came down around 8am with my little bro and they got one brown around noon. i will be posting a pic of my catch in the cenaiko thread if you are interested.