Lake Minnewaska Fishing Reports - Ice Conditions

[LandDr]

I caught several 10 inch gills on Waska this winter. I used a school ruler...you can get one at Pamida.

[clayton08]

Came off of torgys bay with a crankbait!

[jigginjerk]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that they use to post in the spring, no fishing (years back) in a part of torgys bay. I thought it was to protect spawning crappies. If so what happen to it?

[Lakeside_Nelson]

Crappies are active and biting! Many in the 10-12 range.

[Fire_Boat]

Lake flies finally hit the water ? Last weekend they came out full force and stayed on land - never heard or saw that many ever on Waska

[Cobber]

Good Morning,

Going to do some fishing this weekend and try to get the girlfriend out- hoping that there is a little crappie action going- can anybody speak to that?

Thanks for the help!

[fishmaster84]

i have been crappie fishing waska since ice out about 2 times a week and have done pretty well, but i dont think they have moved in at full force yet, hopefully. last year around may 5th i hammered out a limit of slabs in an hour. this year ive been lucky to even catch a limit in a day. i was out monday and tuesday this week and the fishing was terrible, tues the lake was glass still and it was warm out plus the lake flys were bad over the weekend. these factors may have played a role in the bad fishing on mon and tues. a couple weeks ago when i was out, there had to have been 30 boats out and it seemed that only a couple boats seemed to be catching all the fish one after another. going up this weekend to give it another shot! ill be in the older off white/cream sea ray I.O. with a trolling motor on front! hehe

[fishmaster84]

well the girlfriend and i were out for a few hours each day this weekend and the crapie bite was not on at all. a few small ones and three keepers in the basket, ended up letting them go. the weather was horrible, windy and cold. miserable! i hope the crappies still bite for weeks to come though...

[LandDr]

The crappies on Waska really shut down...or moved out most likely...when the cold weather set in again. There have not been many fishing or much of a report.

Forecast is windy, cold and wet for a few days as well.

Burrrrrrr!

Fish On!

[fishduck]

Crappies stopped biting about 10 days ago here on Le Homme'Dieu.Walleye opener should be good if the weather co-operates.Good luck and keep us posted!!

[LandDr]

Not a bad day to be on the lake...better have taken your mother along of course. Temps got up to mid 50s and should have the water temps increasing again. Week looks wet but the weekend forcast is really looking good with temps in the high 60s to 70s. That would be a change to have a opener not in the 30s in the morning! With temps rising, I would expect a renewed crappie bite which allows folks to fish for panfish as well as the traditional walleye on the opener. If I have time, I might try my luck for both of them.

Accesses...all accesses look good on Waska and ready to bring in the opener.

Glenwood Beach...good parking an d easy on-off from Hwy 104 south side of Glenwood. Although there are nice docks, watch for hoseclamps and other metal items sticking out that can cause some damage to fiberglass boats. Landing is also more shallow than some would like for bigger boats. I still like to land my Warrior at this landing because I do a lot of my fishing around this area and to the west. This access is not as protected either if the wind should pick up especially out of the north and west.

DNR Landing...good parking but can be a little tighter. Landing is really nice for depth and there is a really nice dock the Fire Department donated. This is also a very well protected bay if the wind should pick up.

Starbuck Marina...good parking and nice landing for depth. I don't know a lot about this access since it is at the other end of the lake but is also well protected.

I plan on going out around 1am after I close the store. I traditionally just fish around the Glenwood Beach but that will depend on wind direction. There are many good spots on Waska to try for the "Midnight" bite. You can either try the shallow feeding walleyes around the Glenwood Beach, Swenson Point, Halvorson Point, Barnes Point or even Priest's Point the the pencil reeds along the south side. I will probably be at one of those spots. The "flats" up from School Point are also good to consider.

The morning will offer many of the same locations...even into the day with the cooler water and walleyes possibly still feeding heavy. But there are also options for pulling crank baits along the 10 to 12 foot depths with raps or reefrunners. Live bait will also be very popular with jigs and lindy's using leaches, crawlers and fatheads. There are so many places to try live bait...too numerous to mention. Stop in if you want to ideas.

Nuight bite...after the day of fishing, don't forget the really good night bite at this time of year on Waska. Lighted bobbers with a minnow can really produce some great catches. This can be done just about anywhere on the lake with some success. I would expect to see some people on the Glenwood Beach and Glenwood docks in the evening and into dark after some eyes.

Hope everyone has a safe opener and good luck. We always encourage keeping the "eaters" and releasing the bigger females...take some measurements and a picture and let her go for another day and keep the resource going.

Good luck!

Fish On!

[ds]

Does anyone know if any bait shops will be open Saturday morning around 5:00 AM?

[LandDr]

I am sure they all will.

You should not have any problem getting bait and supplies at that time.

Fish On!

[ds]

Will your bait shop be open? That is the only one I know how to get to.

[LandDr]

Will be open all Friday until 1 am to accomodate the people that want to get out at midnight. I plan to go out for awhile at 1am...winds look almost calm out of the SW.

Temps are forcasted up to 65F for Saturday with 8 to 9 mph winds out of the S-SW and clear. Looking good! Not much of a moon to work with for night fishing.

Fish On!

[LandDr]

Weather is still looking good for Saturday...hope it stays true!

With the temps going up Saturday and Sunday, there is a real good chance for a crappie bite to pick up again. Walleyes in the early morning and crappies in the afternoon when water temps warm up...sounds like a good plan! Bring your crappie gear as well.

I have heard the lake shiners (spottails) have been running up and down the shore. That definately means the walleyes will be in shallow during the evenings and into the night. Weather looks nice to fish off the dock, off Glenwood Beach or even out in the boat late into the PM. We have spot tails on hand at the store (saddlebacks) and probably some redtails as well. I love the spring and fall when the fatheads are huge as well...big bulls!

Fish On!

[walleyeman1]

Shiners are running with this cool weather? They were running about a month ago, but I have not seen any lately, not since the weather changed to the cool rainy season. I am sure soon as we get some 70 degree weather we will see them again.

[LandDr]

Two different people on the south side of the lake said they seen them running and one mentioned watching bass chase them around. Just what I heard and offers some opportunity if the walleyes are in feeding on them at night. Worth a check if you are out on Waska this weekend.

Fish On!

[fishduck]

Sounds good to me!I know just where to go....Hopefully...Maybe..60% of the time I catch fish all the time.I'll try Minnewaska this opener, then maybe Miltona in the evening. Good Luck to everyone.

[fishduck]

Heard some great reports on walleyes this weekend om Minnewaska, only one for me though.

[LandDr]

Everyone was pretty excited to have great weather for the opener...about time! It was hard to get any reports right away...walleye fisherman don't just run in to give you reports and where they are. I heard there were some really good bites at specific times on the points and edges...but scattered during the day. I think it was very import to spend some time "looking" for fish first and then fish them. Many just went to "the spot" but didn't search much. We tried speed trolling cranks to start with to cover some ground and look for fish...we just didn't mark much so never really stopped to live bait them. More searching needed.

There were several that did pretty well on the lake getting between 4 and 6 walleyes and others that had a tough time finding them. A lot of experimenting at this time of year. I think the walleye population is very good...just a matter of finding them and what they want.

A lot of bass and pike so that kept the action going. Some really nice pike caught and the bass opener looks like it should be very successful.

We checked the crappies out on Saturday with the warming water temps but did not find them yet. However, we expect the crappies will move back into Torgy's Bay after they were chased out with the cold weather. Water temps got up to 54F where we were at on Saturday.

Fish On!

[LandDr]

Tough day with the wind yesterday...today looks like a good day try to get on the water. Still a chance of rain but winds are much more reasonable.

Sounds like some walleyes were caught thru the week off School Point and Priests Point...there are many other good spots to try as well. I was too busy getting some of the last of our burns done and some tree planting to get out myself...I might have a chance today.

Several went out after panfish during the week but I did not hear if they were finding the crappies...sunfish are always abundant on Waska.

If I get out today, might go after some pike as well for pickling. Pike are still very active and good sized.

Fish On!

[LandDr]

Very nice day on the lake yesterday. Again we had mixed reports on the walleyes...some are doing really well and others can't find a fish. Jig and shinner seem to be the bait of choice but several using leaches or crawlers as well.

Several went out after crappies yesterday but no reports back as of yet.

Wife and I got out from 3pm to 6pm and just pulled Reef Runners around for awhile...and had our usual competition of who could catch the most fish. She usually wins but this time I prevailed 13 to 9. Mostly pike but some bass in there as well...no eyes...but a lot of action for 3 hours on the water. Kept 5 nice pike for pickling.

One of the really nice bass she caught...probably around 4.5 lbs. or so.

Windy today but rest of the week looks good.

Fish On!

[MNdreaMN]

Landdr,

A beautiful catch!!! Not a bad fish either.

[LandDr]

Finally got her working down at the store a few days out of the week. She LOVES to fish...especially big fish. She wants to go after some musky so I might have to try that one day up in Alex lakes. Don't know much about Musky fishing as I have never tried it either...but I think you just hit the water early, target shallow bays and throw big lures.

We caught a 16 or so inch musky on Waska last weekend...what does that mean? Does it mean there is a reproducing population in the lake or that someone is throwing small muskies in the lake. Thoughts?

Fish On!

[nate larson]

That is very strange. Tiger Muskies were stocked out there in the 80's and they are sterile from I understand. Do you have a picture of it?

[MNdreaMN]

The musky thing is very interesting. I'm an avid musky fisherman and caught a very small one on Waska several years ago. I was surprised because I thought all the musky died out. It was not a tiger. I am curious to know if there are still a few swimming around in there.

[LandDr]

I did not take a pic of it...should have. But we all examined it very closely and agreed that it was not a Tiger but an actual Musky. We did not look at the fins to see how pointed they were or if they were more rounded...but it definately was "bared" and no spots what so ever within the bars.

I have to feel that either there is repduction OR someone is releasing some musky on their own.

Fish On!

[fishduck]

I know of someone who caught a little one maybe 8-10 years ago on Waska. Landrr...I would try Miltona for muskies, I've fished that lake maybe 6 times for walleye and caught one, seen one on the camera and one on the surface (muskies that is). Fished Minnewaska a few times this year and cought a few eyes. Went out last nite and caught 5 northerns in about an hour and a half. The snot-rockets were hungry!!

[Corey Bohn]

Went out Monday in the big wind (30 mph) and fished the windy side of the lake in 3-5 ft. of water through the weeds and caught nothing but 3 to 4 lb. bass, after bass after bass. Walleyes should have been in there but they weren't. Partner was using 5 to 6 inch redtail on bottom bouncer to stay over weedtops and I was using jig and gulp and riding weedtops and they were pounding it to the point that sometimes one would eat his minnow and then swim over and eat my gulp as well. Pulled fish in with both hooks in its mouth. Makes me think that the walleyes do a lot of night feeding due to the high concentration of bass, and that they can't compete for forage in those spots during the day. We fished about a half-mile section and the bass were just nuts.