Pheasant Lake Fishing Reports

Had witnessed many dead fish on shore and along face of the dam after ice out.  Had walked it myself and noted a lot of dead fish of all species EXCEPT walleye.  Didn't find a single walley washed up but did find northern pike up to about 15 lbs and largemout hup to 6 lbs plus lots of perch and other panfish of all sizes and many dead bullheads.   NDG&F confirmed winter kill but to my knowledge, nobody has given a percentage of winterkill.  (I might be wrong on that but haven't seen anything official.  Talk to 50 people and you will get 50 different percentages.)   I go back to when this lake was still a creek and I watched it fill and have fished it ever since it had catchable fish in it.   My sons and I have harvested boatloads of fish from this place over the years of all speicies and we have a real good idea when and where to go on the lake to find fish.  So #3 son and I took the boat out on June 1 and  covered the lake from the far north end and all the way south to the dam...covered the east and west sides of the east arm and along and under the highline wires and the old sunken road and submerged bridge  and then did the west arm and the net result for the 2 hours we spent on the water with locator on all the time..........we marked 3  small fish and that is it.  In my unprofessional opinion, the lake is gone as a fishery for now.  I suspect the walleye (and it was loaded with nice walleye) were the first to go and by ice out, they had sunk to the bottom. And when the bullheads have died, you can pretty well guess that everything else is gone as well.  I have fished there and been skunked, but have ALWAYS marked many fish of many sizes.   Marking 3 fish in over two hours of cruising the lake (at locator speeds) is a pretty definitive enough for me.  it will have to be restocked.

Why were the aerators removed?  Was it a matter of funding or was it due to liability?  I've heard it was liability. I suppose that there are just enough people out there who like to creep up to the edge of open water on an othewise frozen lake, and try to fish.  Or maybe snowmobilers who don't pay attention to posted areas on lakes with aerators  installed in them.  Seems to me that those who don't or won't pay attention to such warnings are the real liabilities.  Just personal opinion of course, but after all, I am an expert on my own opinion.

As for Pheasant Lake, for the next few years, I think fishing it will be time spent when you could be doing something productive.  I am quite sure that there are some panfish that made it through, and I have heard reports that some have been seen, but for all intent and purposes, it is pretty dead.  If you fish there, you'll have no competition from me. 

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