McCarthy Lake, Eagan

[FishCat]

Anyone fish McCarthy Lake in Patrick Eagan Park? Does it hold bass? I was down there for the first time this weekend and it was beautiful. I've never heard anyone even mention it before. There were a few fait trails that lead down to the water, but otherwise, there wasn't much evidence that folks fish there. So I'm thinking it's one of those spots people don't want to share, or it's not really a good fishin' hole to begin with.

[SkunkedAgain]

The best way to find out is to go there a few times. I've never been there, but I'd just try it out. If anything you'll get some good solitude while still close to home.

[fisherman-andy]

It's shallow and prone to frequent Summer and Winterkills. I figure this hot Summers's low water would've killed off most fish. On high water years fishing may be good but I haven't fished it for years now. Used to be some nice bass, losta bullheads and hybrid sunnies. But you never know until you try again. More or likely it's probably only a bullhead & minnow pond now.

Most of the lakes in Eagan probably have overturned already. They heatup and overturned quicker than most lakes in MN that I notice due to the weather. Fishing is pretty slow but you may still find a few bass active. Last week I caught a tiny Smallmouth Bass in a Eagan lake that probably wasn't suppose to have them. Maybe illegally stocked by locals.

[Fishing_High]

never tried that lake but I live in Eagan if you want to find a nice bass lake try Schwanz in trapp farm park i've caught a lot of nice sized bass out of that lake it also has crappie and perch.

[Johnny_Da_Der]

i have read several posts about schwanz lake, so i fished it a few times this summer. i was using a fly rod to target bass and had really good luck doing so. one thing though, you can catch a ton of fish, but will rarely catch anything bigger than 8-10".

[Fishing_High]

Try walking along the path around schwanz when the bass are spawning it's so cool there are many 4-6 lbers in there that roam the shoreline during the spawn. I have also got 2 fish over 20 inches this summer both released using senko's and other plastics.

[fishin789]

The city of eagan site lists the lake as only having bullheads.

[Maximum12]

SkunkedAgain has it right. If you're wondering, grab the pole & a small tackle box & spend an hour hitting it. I've found a couple of gems in Eagan doing this. Of course, I've also wasted several hours, too.

[FishCat]

I just moved to Eagan and haven't had much opportunity to fish this summer. I was only able to get over to Fish Lake a few times actually. I'd love to spend a lazy afternoon testing out new lakes each outing, but I just don't have that kind of time. After my traditional Bass Opener lake, I try 1 or 2 new spots a year. Sometimes I find a gem, but usually not. So it's helpful to gain insight on my local ponds from the folks, like you, who fish them also. You dig?

From the looks of it, McCarthy is a beautiful spot, but will probably not hold much bass. I was wary when I wasn't able to spot a single tiny fish from shore. I've also read on the city web site that it's only 4' deep.

But I'm intrigued by Fishing High's report on Schwanz. I've seen it mentioned here before. I have no idea where that one is, but I'm going to look it up for next summer. Many 6 ponders, huh? I'm thinking you might actually be high, but I'm going to try it out. Thanks for the tip. Thanks eveyone!

[Fishing_High]

I'm telling you Ive caught a couple 5's and a bunch over 3 using buzz baits, spinner baits, and a lot of different plastics. It's good early in the year and later in the year when theres less weeds most lakes in eagan get weeded out in the summer. But I'm not high when I tell you that I've seen a couple of fish protecting the beds during the spawn bigger then the 5 pounders I have caught. It's located right behind trapp farm park off of wilderness run rd.

[st.croixfishin]

Schwanz lake is where I cut my teeth bass fishing when I was a little guy. Me and my buddies would always bike down there to fish with out rods across the handle bars, good times... When I used to fish it, we caught some good fish, but I wouldn't say it was phenominal. It actually had a pretty bad winter kill about 3-4 years ago now which also really put a damper on the size fish that used to be in there. The last time I went, which was probably 2 or 3 years ago, I only caught little fish. Sounds like things are starting to change though.

P.S. Fishing high.. be careful about giving a ton of info out on places where you are catching quality fish like that. I could care less becuase I don't fish there anymore, and its nice that you are giving info to people who want it, but more people read these forums than you can imagine..

[SkunkedAgain]

I concur

[fisherman-andy]

I will say this about Schwanz for the fisherman who are looking to explore it.

It has mostly small bass & sunnies. Some small crappies. That is the truth. At some point of time the lake was reclaimed or sprayed with retenone & re-stocked a few years ago. Thats why you see lotsa small bass yearlings. The panfish are stunted due to abundance. The algae blooms gets pretty bad in late Spring through Summer even though it has been sprayed.

10 to 15yrs ago Schwanz use to have some really nice big bass but today most are small. The lake needs time maybe another 2 to 4 years to mature. There are however a few nice bass left here & there but nothing to brag about. Most are small barely 1lb or over. That is my honest opinion about the lake.

[Johnny_Da_Der]

my experiences with schwanz are dead on what andy is saying.

[Fishing_High]

I'm like you St.Croix you have probably seen me down, use to fish there a lot 2-3 years ago then I got my license and was able to drive up north. It's not my honey hole I barely ever fished it I just wanted him to get a little insight on where he can find some better keepers. Your right about the winter kill but there are still biggins in there. I'll be a little more careful giving out info next time.

[FishCat]

"I barely ever fished it." So, it's really a bum tip then? That's just plain, un-helpful.

[Fishing_High]

I barely fish it anymore... I have fished many times I was giving you a lake you could try that I know has bass,crappie,perch instead of going to a lake that is 4 feet deep and you might see minnows and maybe catch a bullhead schwanz you will have better luck I guesse that was my tip...

[FishCat]

That's cool. I really do appreciate the advise man. Really. And I will try it out. Thanks.