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Lake Elmo??


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Anyone ice fish Elmo?? Are there any decent walleyes in there? I am going to try it this year. I have heard some pretty large pike are caught in the winter, not to mention muskies. What are some good areas to try? Bait choices? Techniques? Any help would be appreciated. Right now I am thinking about trying the north end on the 20 and 30 foot breaklines with suckers and shiners under tip-ups and maybe trying a little jigging in the deeper areas with spoons and jiggin raps. Thanks in advance for any help.

GoggleEye

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VERY high presure in the summer. IF you find the fish dont let anyone else know. They are educated, and stay away from anyhting. I havent been there for 3-4 years. Not even planing going back. Good luck!

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The lake does get a lot of pressure... the tough part about fishing it though is the water is really clear...and the fish seem to roam there a lot more than other lakes. So much deep water and so many places for them to hang out.

I fished it last year and didnt get anything...not even 1 flag. But if you catch something there...its usually decent size.

Id like to get out there soon...no idea on ice thickness. Its usually once of the last lakes to freeze. It froze early this year...but even the smaller lakes around here seem to only be 4-5" ice. I doubt Elmo is thicker.

If you get an ice thickness out there....please post. I'll do the same. Its possible I get out tomorrow.

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I'm thinking about hitting Lake Elmo a couple times this winter also. As of early last week, it was wide open. Maybe I'll take a drive at lunch and check the ice.

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GoogleEye,

If you are looking for Pike try mud lake (also referred to as Battle Creek Lake). It is across interstate 94 from Tanners Lake (opposite from the Harly dealership). Early ice like right now is out of this world. Went with my two youngest and couldn't even put out six tip-ups because of the action. Had four out of four flags up at once. I have to be honest I was using shiners so I think they liked the expensive bait, but what a blast to see my kids running and pulling up snot-rockets for a couple of hours. Nice parking area and an easy walk out. There is a channel created by the island you see which was really just a bog that dregged out a 14 foot deep channel heading basically north to northwest from the island. Easy to see it on lake maps or vexilar, but I setup across the channel with some in 5 feet and some deeper. One pike took the shiner as we were lowering it to the top of the weeds. What a cool sight for my 12 year-old son. I blank everytime on Lake Elmo except for some small perch/sunnies. Just my two cents.

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Thanks for all the info guys! I will post my results on this thread once I get out there to try Elmo.

OakdaleFM'r- Do you guys get any decent sized pike in mud lake? I would like to find a lake around here where you have a chance at a 40" plus fish. I was thinking about checking out some of the St. Croix River backwater areas. There are some big pike roaming around there I've heard. I will have to check out mud though sometime and if anything, catch a decent meal for dinner. Thanks for the help.

GoggleEye

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I would say your chance at a 40" pike in the metro is slim to none. A few lakes might dish out some 12 to 15 pounders though. The mississippi backwaters down between wabasha and winona is good. As far as metro lakes...big marine, forest, and coon lakes have good sized pike.

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goggleeye-

when you're heading out there, let me know. wouldn't mind tagging along and try it out as well. Also, how did you do on mille lacs?

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if youre looking for a monster, battle creek isnt gonna be the place to go. you can get good action, but with smaller fish.

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I drove by Lake Elmo this morning. I didn't have my chisel along so I didn't venture too far out, but the shoreline ice was plenty thick. It looks like a good size area in the middle didn't freeze up until recently. The good news is there is no snow on the lake, so this cold weather is making ice.

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Kingfisher, I will let you know when I go out there! I posted my results on Mille Lacs under the post titled "Saturday Isle Bay Report". Talk to ya later.

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I think the pike size on Mud lake is really good for the metro. Most are in the 22 to 28 inch range, but our largest so far this winter is 32 inches. Last winter our largest was 36 inches. The problem is too many people keep the large ones and let the little guys go so over the last 5 years I have noticed a decline in quality, but if you are using shiners in this early ice period you are going to have flags. The lake has a no motor our limited horsepower rule so really no fishing pressure during summer so winter is the big time on the lake. The best is I live less than 10 minutes from door to ice and it is face paced enough to keep the kids happy.

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OakdaleFMR, I was thinking of taking a buddy out there on Sunday afternoon. If your open, would you be interested in getting together?

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Como is an excellent lake for panfish, bowheads, pikes,, bass, and occasional walleye... Guranteed sunfish every 5 minutes or less...

I also dont think Como gets pounded hard. I dont even see many people fishing there in the summer, spring, fall, or winter... Lots of people walking and jogging, but fishing pressure is slim....

Maybe others mistaken people walking and jogging there for fishing....

I drive by there daily many times per day.

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Sandman,

Sorry I am being dragged to the in-laws for a "holiday celebration" by the Mrs. this weekend. At least it is up on the whitefish chain so I am hoping to escape for some time on the ice up there this weekend. I never do well on the whitefish chain in the winter, but maybe it will change this year. Spent two hours last night on Lilly Lake in Stillwater while my daughter was at girl scouts. If you want a very fast bite for small panfish it would be a good choice with kids.

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Has anyone been to this lake yet? How's the ice? I am either going to go there or Jane tomorrow and haven't decided yet. The ice on Jane last Sunday was around 5" in most of the spots we drilled. Didn't drill out any farther than 15' of water.

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I fished lake elmo quite a bit and had best luck in the little bay in the southwest corner. sunnies,crappies,and pike. Never drive in the middle of the lake 160 ft deep

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