City Fishing

[WasteManagement]

I live in minneapolis, have my whole life. Never really fished it. I always thought you had to go up north to find fish. It was nice when i stayed with my grandparents for entire summers. I was spoiled in northern MN.

My grandparents have since moved on. I love to fish just do not how or where to go in the metro area. I do not need a secret place just some basics. Up north i knew exactly where to go, on several local lakes, what time of day and over time knew the right lure for time of day and season. How to long to wait until i knew it was not going to happen.

I do not own a boat.

I have tried the mississippi and some lakes in the area. Not much luck. My question, and any pointers would be nice. I do not care what i am catching. Will bring my nephews sometimes and hope to get them into fishing so one day they will enjoy coming to my cabin. I love to eat fish, my wife does not and she is pregnant due in aug. Would be all catch and release.

Can you even shore fish well in the metro?

Do i need to move more, or just camp out all day?

Am i going to be limited to sunnies, carp and bullhead?

Thank You.

[MN Greenheads]

Go to the bait Shop in S. Minneapolis. I believe it is called Moore's. He'll set you up. The River south of the Ford dam is good for shore fishing. Another option is save up and get a cheap row boat or canoe. The Minneapolis Lakes have some really great fishing. The best place to shore fish is Cahloun for bass in the very early season wading the long sand bar that sticks out into the lake.

[PerchJerker]

I don't know much about shore fishing, but have you seen our Shore Fishing Forum? Lots of good info and spots in there.

[HuskerBen]

The Minneapolis lakes take some time to figure out, but there are definitely some good fish in them.

I would strongly recommend a pair of waders and lots of patience.

[shizzy]

I love fishing metro lakes.

I love hitting lakes that people say there are no fish.

if you havent already, pick up a copy of "Twin Cities Fishing Guide". Its a bit outdated, with a partial revision in 2003, but it is loaded with maps and tips.

also the DNR lake finder is also your friend. without a boat your time spent researching is very important. with that said, stay off the "fishing docks" I have never had one bit of luck.

shore fishing if fine, but as already stated find yourself a canoe or even a cheap little 12-14' boat with a small outboard.

a canoe can be found for a couple hundred and can be strapped to the roof of your car.

a cheap tinny can run a few hundred more and be pulled by almost any vehicle.

[EBass]

Plenty of spots to shore fish in MPLS/St. Paul.(I'm thinking river) Catfish, walleyes, smallies, sheepies, carp, etc and that's just tossing out a hunk o crawler. I can give ya specific spots, but some are popular. What I was thinking about was Pool 2 of the Sippi which is catch and release only for Walleye, Saugers, Smallies and Largies. PM me

[WasteManagement]

I guessed my main luck would be the river. I am very close to the mississippi, now i just need some luck. I looked at the DNR site and think the FIN lakes will do well for my little nephews.

[batts002]

I usually have pretty good luck walking around where Lake of the Isles and Lake Calhoun meet - plenty of shore fishing chances, just go early in the season before the weeds grow up. If you walk Calhoun, you'll most likely see a lot of little muskies in the shallow water.

Minnehaha creek used to be great right next to the Mississippi, until they did all the shoreline reconstruction. Ruined my favorite place to fish in the cities. However, where it feeds into the Mississippi river can still be productive. Good smallmouth, walleyes, and roughfish. If you have waders, it might be worth carrying them down to the river there. That spot gets pretty busy and you have to often put up with rubes who don't know what they're doing. Never been outfished at that spot, so everyone else must be doing it wrong, eh? Simple as half a crawler and a weight, just gotta find the right spot to let it drift. Snags are always a pain there, however. It's all catch and release (I think it's pool 2) and DNR frequents there, so make sure you have your license with you.

[popriveter]

Watch for lakes and feeder ponds that have culverts for drainage to enter. These spots tend to provide enough depth to be fishable for bass and northerns. Once you've found 3 pr 4, you can make a little route that can be a fun 2 hours. Also, in the middle of summer, try fishing plastic worms at swimming beaches in the early a.m. You usually wade out pretty far and catch bass without dealing with the weed issues that shorefishing presents in the middle of summer. The only drawback is that you have to wake up around 5 a.m.