Shore Fishing around Fargo

[Fish-n-Freak]

Looking for some help -- My nephew moved to Fargo last year, I am in Alex and he comes to fish with me often, but he is looking for some lakes that he can go to for a couple hours of shore fishing. Any good lakes? How is the fishing in the river? He will have a MN license from fishing in Alex with me, so any MN or ND spots would be options.

Just trying to get him some options, thinking of taking a day this spring and driving around with the map, just marking any lake or river access worth trying. If you could help narrow our search it would be great.

Thanks,

Steve

[DEADhead]

If you want to fish lakes, you need to drive the 30/45 minute trek over to the Detroit Lakes area. Fishing lakes from shore is somewhat difficult due to the majority of the shoreline being private property.

Your nephew has a great resource in his backyard, the Red River. There can be some fantastic fishing on the Red. Check out the Red River forum. There are many great posts on there, as well as other members who know the area quite well. They probably won't give you any honey holes, but will likely let you know what you need to get set up. The mid town dam is a popular fishing area. There is a Red River recreation map available, that marks shore fishing areas. If you stop by the DNR office in Detroit Lakes, they have a few copies of the map. I don't fish the Red much (mainly the Otter Tail) but you stop by the office I'll be happy to talk with you. Ask for JP.

good luck!

[Fish-n-Freak]

JP,

Thanks for the info, I was worried that the shoreline would be heavily private and he would be stuck trying to fish from boat launches. I used to live north of Mpls. and spent a lot of time on the Rum and Mississippi so I can help him get ready for river fishing.

I appreciate the info and we will stop by the office if we make a trip to the area looking things over.

Steve

[DEADhead]

sounds good. Fargo has a wonderful Parks system, and many of them are located near the river. Lots of public land in town near the river!

[Ed Carlson]

The rivers around Fargo offer very good fishing, year around.

Access in the urban environment is shrinking somewhat, yet there is plenty of river to explore with very good fishing prospects.

My tip is this, utilize Google Earth. You will gain tons of scouting info from Google Earth. Explore a section of the river before you go. Also, get a NDG&F Plots book to cross reference and find landowner info (Available at most sporting stores free of cost).

Knock on a few doors and gain trust with local landowners. You will be pleasantly surprised at how many folks will allow you access once they know you. Keep you fishing area clean, and pick up after other less considerate slob fisherman as needed. Landowners will see your stewardship and will reward it.

USGS Real Time River flow data, another top resource to gain knowledge on conditions. Knowing river levels before you go, always helps pick the best areas to fish that day.

And of course, web forums help pinpoint seasonal patterns as well as foster new friendships in the fishing scene, share and post.

I hope this helps.

Good Fish'n!

[10,000 Casts]

For anyone who wants to fish the red in or around Fargo, go in to Gander and Talk to Ed. He will put you on fish.