Author Archives: Tom Cherveny

Paddle sports continue to grow as state celebrates water trail system’s 50th anniversary

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Paddle sports continue to grow in popularity in Minnesota, home to the first and largest water trails system in the nation. Paddlers here watched enjoyed a live theatrical production by paddling down the Minnesota River on Saturday, where scenes from a play were staged at points along the river bank and on an island.

“You never know the consequences of a trip down the river,’’ said Paul Ryberg, a playful smile on his lips before revealing that was how he met his bride-to-be.

It was the trips that his parents made that have had tremendous consequences for all of us, starting with one well-publicized adventure. Clyde and Shirley Ryberg made a trip down the Minnesota River in 1957. Shirley told of their adventure in an article published in the Minnesota Conservation magazine.

It was the start of work by the Rybergs that eventually led to the creation of the state’s waterway system in 1963. The Minnesota, St. Croix, Big Fork and Little Fork Rivers were the first to be designated as boating and canoeing routes.

Today, there are over 4,500 miles of mapped routes on 32 rivers and the shoreline of Lake Superior.  Minnesota can boast of having the state’s first and largest water trail system in the nation, according to Erik Wrede, who oversees the system with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Ryberg and Wrede  told of the system’s start last Friday in Granite Falls, where they were on hand to observe a celebration its 50th anniversary. Clyde Ryberg sold the idea of canoe routes as an economic opportunity. Governor Karl Rolvaag repeated his admonition “to rouse this sleeping recreational giant, canoeing.’’

The waterways system mirrors the mission values of the DNR to promote outdoor recreation, conservation and economic development, noted Wrede.

It also helps us buck a nationwide trend. While most outdoor activities are on the decline across the country, paddle sports are seeing steady growth, particularly kayaking. Kayak registrations have increased by 56 percent in the last five years, according to Wrede. There are 180,000 canoes and kayaks registered in Minnesota.

Clyde and Shirley Ryberg devoted many years to promoting the opportunities we enjoy today, and they are recognized for it. Paul Ryberg, one of eight siblings, said his father would give the credit to all who paddle the waters. “He may have started something. You continue it when you take a paddle out on the river, whether it is a kayak or a canoe, when you take a friend out, every time you do that, you are continuing this,’’ said Ryberg.

A little history, big point made in revival of Minnesota River fishing opportunities

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Adam Savariego holds his hand-carved prize for making history.

A little history and a big point was made when Adam Savariego caught a juvenile, flathead catfish while angling at 12:30 a.m. on May 13 on the pedestrian bridge spanning the Minnesota River in Granite Falls.

The Granite Falls Area Chamber of Commerce wanted to call attention to the improved fishing opportunities made possible by the removal of a dam on the Minnesota River. It recently offered a hand-carved fish decoy by artist Eric Soine as a prize to the first person to catch a flathead catfish in the Granite Falls portion of the river starting with the 2013 opener. Adam Savariego dutifully had a photo taken of himself holding a small flathead catfish at the recognizable landmark to prove his feat. He’s now on camera holding the prize too.

For 107 years, the Minnesota Falls dam downstream of Granite Falls served as a barrier to the natural migration of fish in the Minnesota River. Importantly, there have been no flathead catfish, lake sturgeon, paddlefish or sauger caught above the Minnesota Falls during those years, with the exception of a fish or two purposely transplanted upstream of the dam by anglers. But no matter how many fish were stocked above the dam in this manner, they were never able to develop a self-sustaining population.

Things are now changing.  Fisheries personnel with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources expect a big improvement in the fishing opportunities upstream to the Granite Falls dam. Xcel Energy removed the Minnesota Falls dam this winter.  The river now flows free and drops by about 17 feet over a two mile stretch. The area above the former Minnesota Falls site offers outstanding spawning habitat, and that is likely to have benefits all the way to the Mississippi River, according to Luther Aadland, a river ecologist with the Minnesota DNR in Fergus Falls. The re-opened spawning habitat will likely attract lake sturgeon from portions of the Mississippi River.

Aadland will be speaking about the improvements Friday evening at 7 p.m. in the Granite Falls City Hall. He is part of a presentation making note of the improvements in the river. John Hickman will show a documentary on some of the people behind the river revival. Erik Wrede, Minnesota DNR water trails supervisor, will speak about the 50th anniversary of the state’s water trails system.

Nets pulled on Green Lake as late walleye spawn nears its end

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A walleye netted in Green Lake. The spawning run is about over in the lake.

SPICER — Barry Flanders and Brad Carlson pulled the nets from Green Lake on Friday morning, signaling the end of this season’s work by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to strip walleyes for the eggs and milt needed by the New London hatchery.

It’s as late in the season that either of the two, long-time fisheries staff members in Spicer can ever remember working on the walleye spawn.

Getting the nets out before the fishing opener is only good public relations, Flanders laughed as they loaded them away. He doesn’t even want to think what anglers would say if they watched the two of them carry walleyes away from Green Lake.

But the real reason for pulling the nets is this: The walleye spawning run is close to complete on Green Lake. To be sure, there are still some egg-filled females plying the waters, but not enough to make the work worthwhile.

On Friday morning, the nets held only six females and nine males holding eggs and milt. That’s a fraction of what the nets would hold were the spawning run in full swing.

The record setting, late ice-out on Green Lake and other lakes prevented the Spicer fisheries staff from harvesting as many quarts of eggs as usual. Much of the spawning was completed on Green Lake before the ice was gone.

Most years, the fisheries crew will collect anywhere from 100 to 200 quarts for the hatchery from fish netted- and promptly returned- to the waters of Koronis, Rice, and Green Lakes. This year they’re estimating the take will be closer to 30 quarts.

Not to worry. It’s a good year for collecting eggs in the Pike River near Tower, and many of those eggs will be brought to the New London hatchery to be raised and stocked in lakes in this area.

Green Lake will be setting a new, late ice-out date

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A large sheet of ice remained on Green Lake on Wednesday afternoon.

A new record for a late ice-out on Green Lake is sure to be set.

The record to be beat is a May 7 ice out recorded in 1951.

There was too much ice on the lake Wednesday to qualify for the ranking of ice free, according to those who keep an eye on the matter.

There was still a significant amount of ice on the northeast side of the lake, noted Brad Carlson, with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources fisheries staff in Spicer.

Greg Melges, Mel’s Sports Shop, Spicer, concurred. He pointed out that while there are areas of open water, it was premature to call the lake ice free. The accepted definition of ice free has referred to the lake as having open water in all directions, and without large and potentially dangerous blocks of ice floating about either.

Melges has lived on the lake all of his 74 years, and has been helping call the ice free date for the last 56 years.

The rain falling on Wednesday could hasten the departure of the ice, and could make the lake ice free today, May 9. That would come just in the nick of time for the fishing opener on Saturday.

However, after waiting through a winter this long, Melges knows better than to make any promises.

The ice-out dates have been kept for Kandiyohi County’s largest and deepest body of water since 1897. The earliest ice out was recorded on March 20, 2012.

Great fishing moving upstream on Minnesota River

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Great fishing is moving upstream on the Minnesota River, thanks to the removal of the Minnesota Falls dam downstream of Granite Falls.

To call attention to the  return of great fishing in Granite Falls, the Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a unique contest. Beginning with the Minnesota fishing opener on May 11, the first person to catch a flathead catfish in the stretch of the Minnesota River from Memorial Park to the dam in downtown Granite Falls will be awarded a hand-carved wood sculpture by award-winning artist Curt Soine of Granite Falls.

Luis Estrada holds a 47-pound flathead catfish he caught in the Minnesota River in 2003.

The contest is an opportunity to let people know that one of Minnesota’s best fishing destinations is now the scenic, and easy-to-access portion of the Minnesota River in Granite Falls, according to Nicole Zempel, director of the Granite Falls Area Chamber of Commerce.

The removal of the Minnesota Falls dam about three miles downstream of Granite Falls has re-opened this section of river to the natural migration of fish. For over a century, the Minnesota dam served as a substantial disruption to the annual migrations of flathead catfish, walleye, sauger, paddlefish, shovelnose and lake sturgeon to this stretch of river.

The Minnesota River is famous for its trophy, flathead catfish population. But for more than a century flathead catfish have not been found above the Minnesota Falls dam. Anglers have tried introducing them, but without success.

To win the prize, all  that is necessary is to document the catching of the first flathead catfish.  Mark down the time and date, and take a picture of yourself with the flathead catfish showing a recognizable portion of the river in the Granite Falls area and have a witness available to confirm the accomplishment.

The fish can be safely returned to the water.

Bring or email the photograph and information to the Granite Falls Chamber of Commerce office in downtown Granite Falls. gfchamber@mvtvwirless.com

Remember: The award goes for the catching of a flathead catfish, not a channel catfish. Flathead catfish are the top predators in the river system.