I'm probably going to bring my boat up for the maiden voyage on the year.  Hopefully see you up there.  Sent you a PM

Made my first trip of the year yesterday, didn't catch the world on fire but did manage a walleye, couple stripers and catfish and lost a few unknowns that were of decent size. Despite the launch area being a zoo, the area of the lake I fished wasn't that bad with pressure.

My buddy and I fished Arthur yesterday from 6:30 am till about 1 pm. 
We caught 10-12 Crappy, and  a nice sized Pike.
We also saw a few "Qualified Captains".  

Dang. I could barely buy a bite. Half of SWPA was somewhere in the park...

Porktown
With the lack of posts on this thread, I suspect the lake will be empty tomorrow?  
I need to wash the skunking off from last week.  Embarrassing to get skunked in May!  Double embarrassing having my son with me, who thought that I was a good fisherman prior to our trip...  I am not sure if I can put myself up to the challenge of a Saturday with such nice weather and cabincovid having the place packed.  
 
Please tell me those local kayak outfits have either went out of business or still not permitted to do rentals?  They might be the worst when it comes to lack of launch etiquette. 
 
Prep at the end of the parking lot people!!!  Launching is for launching.  They are not loading docks!!! 

This is where DCNR Rangers need to earn their paychecks, and do some education at the ramps with kayakers. PFBC WCO’s can do some helpful education as well.

There was a WCO boat out. Why would you patrol the launches for horse’s rears when you can put the pedal to the metal to stop a guy for standing while driving?

Seriously, we watched while the WCO looked right past a sailboat with half of the people in the water swimming in the middle of the lake, to do a U turn, go from trolling speed to 40 mph on plane to stop a guy that was standing while driving. We were close enough to hear the conversation. Dude ruled and blamed it on his girlfriend being in his line of sight! Ha ha. He got a warning, but if safer to see the 200 kayaks on the lake to stand, why not? Not like doing 40 mph on a wake filled unrestricted lake, yeah, maybe standing could be dangerous. The guy was maybe doing 15-20 and keeping distance from boats, standing was the safer route. And his stupid broad was in his way... She should have been laying down, getting his next rig ready, maybe tickling his jimmy between spots. I really hope that was someone on this site!

I think he pulled me over just to get a good look at my chik. After he got his eyes back in his head, he dam well better only issue a warning. Surprised as hell he didn't come back. As he was leaving I told him he should take pictures next time.... they last longer.
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Not!! 🙉

Me and my girlfriend hit Arthur on Saturday. Put in at Mcdanels and headed straight for Dutch Hollow. That finger seems to be great for getting away from the crowds but not much else... I didn’t mark anything on my electronics, it’s a mostly featureless bottom... we were looking for some panfish to put in the cooler but we pretty much struck out. I probably just need to get used to dealing with the hordes of people on the main lake if I’m going to bother fishing Arthur at all.

Gorgeous day to be out tho. Saw a bunch of cormorants on the island. I’ve never seen them at Arthur before. Anybody know if they spend the summer here or were they likely migrants?

I have nearly every DVD from Al Lindners' Angling Edge. One of the things he was discussing with a biologist about in one segment was the cormorant being a threat to fish populations in Minnesota's lakes. They are fish gobbling vultures. Might be ok for shad or alewife over population, but what about the other species that spawn in the shallows? Bad thing is, like the turkey buzzard, they are protected. That can't be good.

Interesting. Apparently they were affected by DDT but they rebounded in recent decades just like osprey and bald eagles. In addition to affecting the fish population, it seems that large colonies can be quite a nuisance because they sh1t everywhere (like Canadian geese).

I didn’t see too many of them actively feeding. There was a flock of maybe 15 or 20 of the crazy looking dinosaur things just hanging out in the trees on the island. I’m guessing they haven’t been regular summer inhabitants in previous years because people would have been talking about it. Might even be a good thing if they thin out the alewives. The lake might also be too murky for them to hunt if they are visual hunters.