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Vol. CXXIII — No. 24  •  Misquah, Minnesota  •  The Chain of Lakes
Tuesday, June 16, 2026  •  One Dollar (Two if you take the crossword)
The Misquah Pilot-Independent loon seal
The Voice of the Chain of Lakes

The Misquah Pilot-Independent

“Where the coffee’s hot, the lakes are cold, and all the children are above average.” — Serving the Chain since 1903.

Big Pelican to Mud Lake

Lakes & Outdoors

Ice houses settle onto the Chain of Lakes during the part of the year when every road seems to continue onto water.
Ice houses settle onto the Chain of Lakes during the part of the year when every road seems to continue onto water. — Pilot-Independent photo

The Fishing Report

Walleye Turn Sullen at Midday; Evening Bite Still Honest

Warming water pushes the fish deep until dusk; the pike, meanwhile, have gotten ideas in the Sandy Lake cabbage.

By Tim Brevik, Fishing & Weather Correspondent  •  Misquah  •  June 16, 2026

The walleye have gone a little sullen at midday on the Chain, as they tend to once the water climbs past sixty-five, but the evening bite on Big Pelican remains, in the considered judgment of the cleaning station behind Tim’s, “honest.”

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On the shore of Big Pelican

Loon Ridge Resort & Golf

Eighteen holes • Lakeside dining

Cabins, pontoons & a sunset worth the drive

Ask about the locals’ rate. We’ll think about it.

On the Water

First Loon Chicks Sighted on Big Pelican; Resort Asked to Slow Down

Two chicks aboard their mother near the resort shoreline prompt a revised count and a renewed plea about wakes.

By Pilot-Independent Staff  •  June 15, 2026

The first loon chicks of the season were sighted on Big Pelican over the weekend — two of them, riding low on their mother’s back near the Loon Ridge shoreline — prompting the Chain’s loon-count volunteers to revise their tally upward and the resort, once again, to ask its guests to slow down.

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The Opener, Three Weeks On

Walleye Stories Continue to Outgrow the Walleye

At the cleaning station behind Tim’s, the average reported fish has reached twenty-six inches and climbing.

By Tim Brevik, Fishing & Weather Correspondent  •  Misquah  •  June 9, 2026

Three weeks into the season, the walleye fishing on the Chain of Lakes remains good, and the accounts of it remain, as they tend to this time of year, considerably better than good.

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Public Notice

Mud Lake Association Holds Annual Meeting; Two Attend

Members reaffirm the lake is “underrated,” a position no one has contested for the simple reason no one has rated it.

By Pilot-Independent Staff  •  June 5, 2026

The Mud Lake Property Owners’ Association held its annual meeting Tuesday evening in the back room of the Daybreak Café.

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The Resort

Loon Ridge Opens Season; Greens Fees Up, Geese Likewise

The Big Pelican resort draws the usual guests from the Cities and the usual congregation of geese to the seventh fairway.

By Pilot-Independent Staff  •  June 4, 2026

Loon Ridge Resort & Golf opened its eighteen-hole course for the season over Memorial Day weekend, drawing the usual influx of guests from the Twin Cities and the usual congregation of Canada geese to the seventh fairway.

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Chain of Lakes — Levels & Temperatures
LakeTempLevel
Big Pelican64°Normal
Little Pelican65°Normal
Whitefish62°+3 in.
Sandy66°Normal
Bass67°Low
Loon63°Normal
Mud—We don’t check

As of Monday a.m. Sunrise 5:31 / sunset 9:01. Last week’s rain: 0.4 in. Recorded ice-out: April 18.