WORTHINGTON — It was a profitable day on Lake Okabena Monday for southwest Minnesota’s professional fisherman, Scott Deslauriers. Just as the sunlight was setting, he and his group had pulled in an estimated 20,000 lbs of buffalo fish, roughly 5,000 kilos of prevalent carp and a several hundred lbs . of sheepshead (freshwater drum) from the Worthington lake.
Julie Buntjer/The World
“Comparing it to our past few hauls, we did really effectively,” Deslauriers explained Monday evening, including that he’d like to test a 2nd haul from Lake Okabena afterwards this 7 days. With wind in the forecast on Tuesday, and a predicted early morning lower of 13 degrees by Friday — probably bringing an end to his fall fishing period — Deslauriers could return Wednesday or Thursday, temperature permitting.
“If we can squeeze out a different haul, we will,” he mentioned.
The fishing crew forged their nets into the h2o at roughly 9 a.m. Monday, concentrating on an space of Lake Okabena’s northern shoreline. Working with the Centennial Park boat landing as their property foundation, they unfold the nets by way of a significant area wherever sonar tools they utilised very last week unveiled a substantial population of fish. The nets had been pulled toward shore amongst Chautauqua and Centennial parks, and then the haul was gradually pulled by boat toward the landing.
Julie Buntjer/The Globe
“They have been pretty close to the shoreline,” Deslauriers stated of the fish. “We have been able to get them. I was really joyful.”
However, they split a “pretty superior sized” college of fish in the course of action.
Deslauriers claimed the buffalo fish will go in a person of his ponds for now, and when the pond freezes over and is risk-free to do the job on, he and his crew will start loading them out and hauling them to fish markets on the East Coast.
Julie Buntjer/The World
He believed the premier of the buffalo fish — and typical carp — caught Monday weighed in at 20 to 25 pounds.
“There was not a ton of modest carp,” Deslauriers mentioned. “We did have a good amount of tiny buffalo arrive in as the net was landed.”
The nets also captured some “decent” sized walleyes, which have been eliminated from the nets and returned to the lake, as very well as catfish.
Two weeks back, Deslauriers and his crew fished Lake Bella, about 8 miles south of Worthington, exactly where they harvested an believed 30,000 lbs of buffalo fish, a several thousand kilos of common carp and a small sum of sheepshead. About 50 % a dozen walleye and a number of catfish ended up also caught in the nets there and safely returned to the lake.
The carp harvested from Lake Bella ended up presented to a nearby landowner and applied as fertilizer to a farm discipline. That is also the prepare with the carp taken from Lake Okabena on Monday.
Throughout business fishing on southwest Minnesota lakes this fall, Deslauriers stated there appears to be to be a significantly increased ratio of buffalo fish than popular carp primarily based on his catches.
“The carp seem to be disappearing and the buffalo appear to be flourishing,” he mentioned. “Then yet again, I could seine a distinctive section of the lake and catch a bunch of carp. They like shallower, muddier bays.”
