The fishing's good in Howard Lake

Howard Lake has several lakes in the area that are good for fishing and other recreational activities.

“The people that live here are fortunate to have really good fishing lakes that offer a wide variety of fishing, from walleye to northern, to pan fishing. We do not have to travel up north to fish, because we have really good fishing here,” said Mike Ollig, chairman of Lake Mary Association.

Local lake enthusiasts have observed a few new trends on the area lakes in the last few years, such as more pontoons, personal watercraft, and leisure boaters, according to Howard Lake Sportsmen’s Club President Denny Decker.

Decker fishes the lake regularly, and says that weekends start getting busy with skiers and tubers around 9 or 10 a.m., however, he said, “I never have to leave the lake because it’s too overrun with pleasure-boaters.”

Codger’s Cove Campground managers Mick and Lois Nedegaard have a 32-slip marina that is full all summer long. Although they have observed more pontoons and recreational watercraft on the lake, Lois said, “This is a quieter lake and campground. It’s good for fishing; there’s not a whole lot of tubing and water-skiing.”

Other area lakes include Dutch Lake, south of Highway 12; and Lake Ann, Lake Emma, Round Lake, and Lake Mary, all southeast of Howard Lake.

Smith Lake, just east of Howard Lake, has recently undergone a drawdown to rid it of invasive fish. The drawdown is returning the lake to a state that will support migrating and brood-rearing waterfowl.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has already seen an increase in the number of waterfowl using the lake in the summer of 2011.