Ripped off in Cass Lake

[ripped]

Muskie anglers beware using public accesses on Cass Lake. I would like to share an experience that happened to my fishing partner and me. Last July while fishing Cass lake we launched the boat at the public access and wayside rest on hwy 2 east of town. Upon returning to the truck at 2:00pm for lunch we found the camper had been broken into, and rods,reels,gas can, our duffel bags,and the cooler with our lunch was taken. Thanks to a witness at the wayside rest calling 911 and an alert town cop the thieves were arrested and we recovered our equip. However it was after 6:00pm by the time police did their thing and we out door of the station. Needless to say it ruined the remainder of Sat. We planned to stay and fish Sun.,but decided to go home. This is hardly what people should have to put up with to enjoy a weekend of fishing.

[MuskieMike]

Sorry too hear about your bad luck Ripped, I have never been to Cass Lake but Im sure the #$%$$ that did this is not representative of most people in the area. Its sad but you have to be careful what you leave in your truck anywhere these days. Good luck in the future. Muskie Mike

[dickp]

Hi.Not the 1st incident I've heard of there.Hope the Cities Chamber or Tourism gets this and does something about it!Sad deal.

[happy hooker]

There has bee quite a few incidents of theft and vandalisim at the cass lake public landings,,,always use the resorts and pay the fee on cass

[ripped]

Monday after the robbery I called the Cass Lake Chamber to inform them of the problem. The person I spoke to was sorry it happened, but wanted to know what I would like the chamber to do. I replyed that I thought they may have some influence with the courts to see these theives were punished. I did'nt think that Cass would want a reputation to come and have your stuff stolen. I found out after court the theives pled to a lesser charge of DUI even when the value of the equip. reached felony level. Who else could have done more?

[Murph!]

I never use the public access on Cass. I always use a resort. It is a big problem and the police should do something about it. Reducing the charges or plea barganing is a problem in our Judicial System and allows these crooks to laugh all the way through the revolving door. There is no deterrence and that is why crime is so high in some areas. Most of the folks are great in the Cass Lake area, there are a few who cause most of the problems, the cops know them but their hands are tied in most cases.

Good luck, Murph!

[BigUgly]

I've gone up there the past couple of years with my daughter to meet some old family friends. These people and their neighbors are old timers who have had places on the lake for years. I've never met a group of people so freaked out about theft in my life. I'm sure the vast majority of people up there are law-abiding but pulling ALL of the items out of your truck and boat at night gets old quick. It's a shame that people are so apprehensive when they are supposed to be on vacation.

Brad

[fishpoop]

Try camping in the U.S. Forest Service campgrounds on the south and east sides of the lake. We have camped there a number of times and have never had a problem. The Norway Beach campground is nice and there is also a private run resort in the Forest Service park that's called Norway Beach resort.

We have stayed at the resort and the campground and enjoyed oursleves. The cabins are nice. There is a boat launch right in the park and you can leave your boat in the water overnight, as I said we have never had a problem. We went to sleep one night listening to the wolves howl. My wife was awake most of the night, but I went right to sleep.

I would be willing to bet on the type of people that ripped you off, but I don't think I'll name them here.

[ripped]

Our stuff was stolen at NOON with about 30 other rigs in the parking lot

[Dave in Walker]

I to was vandalized at the highway #2 lot last summer, keyed, as were a number of rigs , also some broken glass, I live nearby but am all done using that lot, on hot summer days when you back down to retrieve your boat I've found it full of neighborhood kids inside my boat messing around!, they use the dock to swim off of. Unfortunately a few bad apples ruin it for the rest, it is a nice access but never again for me, I'll go to the Norway Beach access

[Sackett]

I live between Bemidji and Cass Lake, so I'm probably a little more experienced with this in this area than anybody on the board. People around here ARE very cautious with leaving things about. I know I should be more cautious too, but I leave a lot of my stuff in the boat whether it's in the water or not. I live right on Lake Andrusia, which is connected to Cass. I remember about 2 summers ago, nearly the whole west side of the lake, which we live on, was vandalized on one night. Rods, tackle, trolling motors, unlocked motors, anchors, etc. Everything and anything, all taken. Luckily our boat was not in the water, but plenty others were. They were caught too, but never heard what punishment they got.
We had our canoe stolen long ago, that was tied up to the dock. I've seen alot of the public access around Cass and Andrusia in rough shape due to the "locals". They use public access for parties, and of course they have to break glass everywhere. Happens on a lot of smaller lakes too in the area. I'm not gonna say stuff I dont see either, it's not made up. It's not all, but some really wreck it for the others. I'm being alot nicer than if I was to say this in person. Later
Dan

[Elliott]

3 Years ago I pulled into that wayside to land my boat. It was about 2 in the afternoon on a weekday. I had planned to fish until midninght. As I was preparing to unload my boat, a Van load of Natives pulled up. I am guessing that all of them were underage and they were very intoxicated. They dropped some bottles out of the Van that broke on the Pavement. Needless to say I did not unload my boat.
I also will suggest going to a different site. Since I enjoy fishing at night, I do not want to worry about the condition of my vehicle when I get back. I think the local law enforcement people know who is doing this, but the officials will do nothing about this problem.
I just fish elsewhere.

[JOHN GALLAGHER]

We have a family house on a connecting area lake. I have only launched once on the Highway 2 access. I did not have a problem. I have launched at the Knudsen dam a few times again with no problem. This thread is rather alarming to me! I have launched my boat in many local landings, left my rig for hours, again with no problems. Myself and my neighbors leave are boats tied to the docks with tackle out all night, again no problems. Don't tell me I have to start dragging big Muskie boxes up after dark on those Minnestoa hills. Has any one talked to the County Sheriff versus the Cass lake PD?

John Gallagher

[Dan Dean]

The problem as I see lies with the court system. Most of this crime is committed by juvenilles and from what I can see the standard sentenence is to stand before a judge whos says dont do it again. Until people decide to get tough on this type of crime dont expect any improvement. I dont fish Cass any more but I do spend time on Big and that boat ramp has at times had problems.

[rock2me]

I agree they need to get tough on these losers.

A few years ago there a bunch of cabin break-in's around the Park Rapids area. Strangely, it went from rarely to a weekkly event.

After this goes on for more than a year someone decides to lookup recent parolees. Low and behold they find two men released shortly before these burglaries and as it turns out two criminals were responsible for a lot of pain.

My point, it only takes a couple of @ssholes to terrorize a large area.

As I get older I get less and less patient with our judicial system. Put these knuckle-heads away and keep them there. They breed more and more of it once they get released. Three strikes and bye bye for any felonious crime.



Good Luck!