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new to the metro


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hello all. I am new to the metro area and I was wondering if anybody would give me some advice on some good lakes to try ice fishing. I am originally from Duluth so all my lake knowledge is up in that area. I live in St Paul near Como Lake and Golf course. I have a three man portable and me and my buddy (who is also new to the area and from Duluth as well) are looking to get out and try some lakes around the metro. Willing to travel as much as an hour or so.

I'm not asking anybody to give up their secret spot, I am just looking for some suggestions on good fishing lakes around the metro. If you tell me a lake and how to get there or where it is, once I get out on the lake, I will be able to use my own fishing knowledge, as well as seeing where everybody else is on the lake to find a spot.

How someone out there can help out a fellow angler

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by the way, im open to fish anything... but preferably panfish, walleye, or some nice northerns...

if you suggest a lake, please mention what are the main fish to go for at that lake..

thank you very much everybody

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Theres white bear by you. I live in the northwest metro (coon rapids) so i fish medicine a lot (panfish walleye ) theres minnetonka. can catch everything on tonka. Those are some of the heavier fished lakes around. So setting up by shanty town is a good place to start. theres a ton of lakes though. I like the lake finder at the dnr site to help me find new ones to try. I'm sure more will have suggestions.

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I've heard stories about decent ones. My personal best is like 10 11 inches. I only target crappies there though. I've only caught a few keeper crappies as well, But if you hit the lake on a good day you can catch a lot of 7 or 8 inchers with the occasional big one mixed. Theres a medicine lake thread you can browse through to. It sounds like a couple guys there know more about that lake than I do.

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jw, I lived in St. Paul just east of Como for over a decade. There are small lakes all over St. Paul that hold quality fish. As mww24 said, a good place to start is the DNR Lakefinder, but there are plenty of lakes to catch nice fish on within 15 minutes of you without having to join the circus of Bald Eagle or the like. Good luck!

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Where are you at in St. Paul? I'm by Phalen. Wish I woulda saw this earlier, I'm heading up to the chisago area at six am and have room for more folks. If you ever wanna head out, leave your email addy and I'll get a hold of you.

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If you're looking for nice pike, panfish, and walleye's I'd try Minnetonka. Tons of nice fish swimming in there. Also, while there are Walleye's in Medicine, there aren't a whole lot of fish over 14" swimming around.

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This forum and the DNR lakefinder go hand in hand for research on lakes. Jwmiller, you live about 2.2 minutes away from me. I prefer to get on the outskirts of the metro, but there are a couple lake right here in town that can give up numbers. Owasso is a good crappie lake, not so much for size though, but you might see a UFO out there crazy

Here's a short list of lakes you can research on the lakefinder...minnetonka, chisago, north & south center, green (chisago), bald eagle, forest, white bear, waconia, independence, and the st. croix.

OK, so the list wasn't so short, but there are also a million small lakes inbetween the big bunches. Everyone of those lakes I mentioned are good for crappies and walleyes, and a few other fish mixed in.

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You may as well add Calhoun and Harriet to the mix. Good variety; not a lot of size on a consistent basis, but every once in a while you could tie into a nice fish. My son caught a 32" pike the first time we went out on Calhoun.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • leech~~
      Nope not me.  May want to go nextdoor and ask around?  
    • smurfy
      Looks to me like Leech brought his chair home!!😅😆
    • Brianf.
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    • SkunkedAgain
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    • LakeofthewoodsMN
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    • CigarGuy
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    • PSU
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    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
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