Lake Elmo fishing tips??

[tjwierz2]

Elmo is the closest lake I live too in the metro and Im planning on spending quite a bit of time there this summer. Any tips on fishing this lake? It seems like a VERY tough lake to fish. Steep dropoffs down to 70, 80, 130 feet all the way around. A couple of shallow bays etc...

Where do you start looking for the walleyes? Do they relate to the weededges? There dont seem to be any gradual breaks or significant points etc...

Bass and pike on the weededges?

Im not looking for spots...just some general information on how to target some pike/walleyes/bass. I dont want have to start referring to Elmo as the "dead sea". I dont see many people mention it so any help is appreciated. Water temps in the shallow bays were upwards of 54 degrees today.

[yellowsubmarine]

I just started fishing Elmo last year. I only fished for pike so can't be much help on the walleyes. I cought mine along the south shore in about 12 feet of water earlier in the year. Mid summer I seemed to have better luck going deep and drifting across from set of stumps on the east side back towards the public fishing pier and trying to pick up the suspended fish. I cought a few as deep as 70ft suspending in 135ft of water, what a blast! The biggest piece of advice I can give you about this lake is get there early, because it gets very busy with skiers and pleasure boaters and I wound up cutting a few of my trips short because it was so busy and a lot of inconsiderate boaters. Maybe I'll see you out there some time. If you see a big alumacraft with Red Indian Lodge decals on the side, pull up and say hi.

[tjwierz2]

70 feet deep! Holy cow... I would never have guessed you could get them that deep. I was worried the fish would suspend over that deep water. Funny you mention that...I was out with my new Lowrance yesterday and had some good "hooks" showing up at 40-50 feet. I really doubted fish could be that deep right now. Also marked some suspended blobs over the deeper water...are there any baitfish in elmo? Maybe school of sunfish?

Thanks for the tips. You catch many bass out there? Looks like there are a few shallow bays which may work.

[yellowsubmarine]

There are some sunfish and crappies in the lake but I've never targeted them. I'm not sure what other types of bait fish are in the lake, I caught my pike on rattle traps and spoons. Pike are the only thing I've caught there. There is a shallow bay on the South end that I went into once and probably never will again. It is real shallow trying to get in and out of it and it was very over run with weeds. If you want to give it a try, let me know how you do. This is the only bay I can recall. I have seen some people looking for bass on the west side, just south of fishing pier along the weed lines, not sure how they did. Pike tend to be deeper than most people think, from what I understand they usually only come in shallow during spawning periods and after severe fronts that push there food shallow. Most other times, in the summer months anyway, they hang deep around the thermoclines and can be found swimming with the lake trout.

[Guest]

When I was a kid we used to know an older couple that let us go swimming on their property at Lake Elmo. They had quite a few pictures of MONSTEROUS bass that family members had caught there over the years. My Dad and I used to fish it occasionally and catch average size bass around the stumps. But I do remember that just before dark on the calm summer evenings we would always see some of the Big Boys jumping. They were always too smart to hit our surface lures or we were too inept...

[ricqik]

Hey, I fish elmo quite often for bass. I've seen individuals that pushed real close to 8lbs. Never did catch them though. I fish for bass on the west side from the boat launch all the way down into the south bay. My favorite lure of choice for the weeds is the scumb frog sold at fleet farm. When bass season opens fish every weed flat you see, even if it's 1ft deep. I've caught many last summer. Half the bass I caught there were in 2ft and less of water. On opener weekend 2yrs ago I had a tiger musky hit my scumb frog and lost him after he tangled the stumps. I estimated him at 45". When you're cruising the shallow in the 1st week of bass openner, keep an eye out for trout in the shallows. I've seen rainbows, brooks and browns. The south bay is an excellent place to tartget early summer bass. The northwest side has 2 bays full of lily pads, a good place to try also. The east side of the lake is pretty bare sand shoreline with docks that bass are hiding under. Don't cast under docks when the owner is around. They don't like it.

[This message has been edited by ricqik (edited 04-27-2003).]

[tjwierz2]

When I was "scouting" around I found the 2 foot shallow NW bay you are talking about...made a quick U-turn to get out of there...seems like a great topwater spot. The other bay in the NW corner seems to have some decent areas as well.

Any of those stumps unmarked hazards or can you see all of them?

I plan on trying for crappies this weekend...probably wont catch anything...but I'll let you know how it goes.

[cartfan]

Anyone having any luck with panfish?

[ricqik]

The furthest NW bay is pretty shallow, 1-2' mostly. The stumps are unmarked. I broke a troller prop pin once. It's not the stumps I'm too worried about, it's the sunken logs that are just below the surface. It's best for bass in early summer before the weeds & pads get too thick. Crappies are few in the lake, or at least I see few. Most of the crappies I catch are around the stumps just south of the boat launch. Pull right up to the stumps and drop whatever presentation you want right down to it. Good luck.