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Crappies in greater metro


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I'm looking for a little help here. I'd like to get my canoe out this weekend to a spot that's tough for bigger boats to access. Could be a little lake with no ramp, could be a bay or arm of a larger lake that's difficult to get back into.

I don't mind working hard to get my canoe in there. Just looking for some ideas with a shot at decent crappies, within a long hour or so from the metro.

Thanks guys. Always appreciate the good insight here.

Cornfed

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Hey!

I don't have an exact lake...but I can suggest any lake in Chisago County. They produce nice size crappies, 1 hr from metro and not TOO much boat traffic. I also am a canoe-ist. I look for smaller lakes, with less boat traffic, I usually lug my canoe early am to avoid everybody and am usually out of the lake by noon. Good Luck!

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Vermillion River right outside of hastings has some BIG crappies...you can catch good numbers too, plus alot of white bass. Depending on when you go there can be lot's of boats, but it's pretty spread out...can be pretty wild too, I've seen deer, turkeys, various ducks and other birds.

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Where can you dump a canoe in on the Vermillion by Hastings? I have wanted to float it with my son for a couple of years - is there a good start and stop point?

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There's a public access just outside of town. If your driving south into town on hwy 61 you'll want to take a left on 10th street, just drive down that for a few minutes and you'll be there.

At the access the river forms a T...to the left it's just a long narrow bay...to the right it just flows downstream...if you go directly straight the river branches off again, to the left is the actual river channel, if you go straight it'll lead you to an overflow dam from the mississippi. During normal water levels a canoe is the only way to get back there, and even then you might have to get out a couple times to drag around some log jams.

The dam is where all the action is. Big crappies and white bass. If you go downstream from the access there's lot's of flooded timber to work...and there's also a railroad bridge where a creek from a backwater lakes flows in, normally holds some fish at the outlet.

If the crappies or silvers aren't biting you can always throw out a nightcrawler and catch lot's of sheephead, carp, dogfish, and sturgeon.

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