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Metro Area Minnesota Fishing Reports & Ice Conditions


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Two more short walleyes last night. Can't seem to catch a keeper. Full moon is on Sunday. Might have to pull a late night

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Caught a bunch of nice bass 15-19 inches and a 34 inch norther (9 lbs) casting a 2 oz spinner bait in various weed lines around the lake. got the northern in front of the beach

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Tonka-

It seemed like the Northerns were on attack mode today. Caught a lot of them with 3 of em around 36". They sure fought well. You might have seen me running around the boat like crazy trying to get them in. Also lost a nice muskie at the boat. Caught a couple 4-5 pound Largemouth bass, a nice Smallmouth, and even a few crappies. Overall was a great day of fishing. All fish were caught on a pink jig with a dark blue/purple power worm or a dark blue/purple spinner. Those colors seemed to do the trick.

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The sheephead sure are biting on Waconia! We were pulling spinners trying to pick up a couple eyes yesterday and couldn't avoid the sheepies. They fight well but what a disappointment when they bare their face at the side of the boat...

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Went to orchard today and hammered the bass. 25 fish in the boat total with one missed muskie and a bunch of missed bass

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Anyone got an open seat to go fishing today? I slammed the bass with Mr. Fish yesterday and it was a blast.

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Waconia,

Looked for bluegills on the beds--only a few, water needs to warm a few more degrees. Caught lots of bass in the 4 to 6 foot range. Anywhere you can find some cabbage, there will be largemouth. Most fish in the 15 to 18 inch range. Worked spinnerbaits through the thicker spots and worked DT 4's along the sparser edges. Saw two nice muskies follow.

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Fished Tonka today and caught a bunch of bass in the shallows. Also caught a couple of pike on spinnerbaits (my first pikes ever) along the weedlines.

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Here are some gills that we caught on Wac. They are starting to hit beds but mostly over the cabbage areas. Big fish was half pound and 9 inches long which to me is a huge bull gill for the cities. Also tried for some eyes but the sheepes were a little too aggressive and probably saw twenty at one spot with one walleye sitting next to them. I wonder who's going to win. LOL

(Note: read forum policy regarding posting of photos. Thanks.

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Went out to Minnetonka with a buddy shore fishing yesterday tried a few spots and was able to pick up 4 northern and 4 bass. Not bad for a couple of hours shore fishing.

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hit orchard again today for and hr and a half and picked up 6 bass and a yellow perch all on senkos. should have had at least 4 more bass and im pretty sure i hooked into a musky because my line was cut clean. overall not a bad day for having to deal with a little rain.

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Fished Waconia and Minnetonka the past two days. Caught ten largemouth on Waconia in two hours--15 1/2 to 20 inches. Caught them all on crankbaits along weed edges in 4 to 7 feet of water. Also had a musky in the low to mid 40's follow the crankbait up to the boat. Gills are massing on the weed lines waiting for the water to warm more to move onto the beds. Bass and muskies are feeding on them and will follow them into the shoreline in a few days. Mostly small bass (lots of 12 to 15 inchers) on Minnetonka this morning in the rain, but caught six pike from 28 to 33 inches and had a musky eat a crankbait right by the boat. A splash of water and it was all over in about a second! Bluegills are massing on the weedlines on Tonka, too. Great bass, musky, and pike fishing (as well as bluegill fishing) on these two lakes coming up over the next two weeks. Trips are still available for June--go get 'em!

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went out to orchard again and caught fish on a wacky rig. fishing about 10 fow on the weed lines.

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jloomis,

I used an orange shad-colored #7 Berkley Flicker Shad, and a bluegill-colored DT6. The Flicker Shad caught 7 of the ten and drew the follow from the musky.

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I went out tonight to the same lake I went to two weeks ago (see prior post on my blog) hoping to connect with some bass in the float tube, and connect I did! I was fishing the slop using a Chatterbait and fluke. I had a hit on the fluke but didn't connect and the Chatterbait wasn't really doing anything so I tied on one of those pre-rigged plastic frogs and bang! Big fish on! I knew it was hefty by the way it was pulling me around in the tube. I got it in and it's this huge 'ol bass. It measured 21" long! Check out this slob!

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After my heart stabilized I took a few more casts with the frog, almost in the same spot, and slam! Another bass, this one was 18". I didn't get a photo because it slipped out of my butterfingers before I got a picture. I caught a few more bass too, a couple on the Chatterbait and a couple on a white spinnerbait, nothing huge but fun nonetheless.

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Had a rough go today on Tonka. Fished the shallows and my partner only caught one decent fish. Nothing on the weedlines either. Threw DT6s, Rat-L-Traps, Deep Diving Normans, Spinnerbaits, Buzzbaits and Senkos. All the same spots last week, we were doing well. No such luck this week. Any one got some advice?

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Fished Orchard on Friday for the first time and had pretty good luck. Got 5 nice bass (15-18"), 1 muskie, and a pike. Was on Lake Marion today and struggled to get 2 bass. Marion is such a zoo. I wouldn't have gone there on a weekend but all parking spots were taken on Orchard so that was the closest option I could think of.

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I have been catching largemouth, walleyes, northerns, and one musky in the past week on Waconia. Bass up to 20", walleyes up to 22", northerns of 33" and 36", and a 38" musky. Casting crankbaits along weed edges of reefs, and along inside weed edges on shorelines. Good luck and stay safe!

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Found lots of action on the inside weed edges on Minnetonka and Waconia the past few days. Bluegills are either still on the shallow beds or are just finishing up bedding and are into the inner edges of the weedlines. On Minnetonka, in addition to great action for nice-sized gills, this added up to many largemouth from 14 to 17 inches and several pike from 24 to 34 inches on spinnerbaits or DT4's along the inside weed edges and through and over the tops of sparser cabbage or grass areas near shore. On Waconia this pattern is yielding largemouth from 15 to 20 inches, and an occasional pike, walleye, or musky also on spinnerbaits and DT4's in the same type of spots, presumably feeding on the bluegills. In addition to some really nice bluegills on Waconia, we are also getting some nice crappies near the inner parts of the weedline. Carp and sheepshead are crusing the shallows, finishing up their spawn. Take advantage of the shallow water action--the water is warming fast and the food chain will move deeper soon. Good luck!

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Any reports from Prior? I haven't fished it in a few years but I might give it a try once the bass get under the docks. Lots of good docks on that lake.

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I caught 19 bass in 4 hours yesterday morning before the rain hit on tonka. Inside weedlines next to the blugill spawning areas. Most between 13-17". Nothing huge, just fun action. Caught them all on senko type baits.

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Smuts, Hows it going. I really dont fish bass quite often as I probably should but I'll be bringing a couple guys out to tonka for their first time next week. They'd like to catch some bass and pike so I told em we'd give it a shot. Considering the rapidly warming water now after this very HOT past few days I figure the Walleyes might give me some grief unless I feel ambitious enough to pull an all nighter on the water! I figure bass might be a better bet for some faster action after work. When I do throw spinnerbaits for largemouth in the metro lakes I usually just stick with the typical white on a bright day or black on a dark day. It usually does the trick but have rarely explored other variations. What skirt/blade colors do you, or anyone else on the forum preferr for spinnerbait colors on tonka and waconia? I've begun to explore the idea of broadening my horizon when it comes to local fishing. I admit, I'm a walleye and crappie addict! Haha. Thanks!

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MNfishtrapper,

For bass, I usually go with white or silver/grey skirts on bright days, often with a little red mixed in. Now that the water is warming up, I tip the spinnerbait with a red 4" Gulp! Minnow Grub for more red, more bulk, and some more action from the tail. On dark days, I like a black and green/chartreuse skirt, and tip it with a red Minnow Grub. I have noticed over the years that pike, especially on Minnetonka, like a spinnerbait with a skirt that is a mix of white, green, and chartreuse--I don't know why but they eat it up regardless of sunlight conditions!? Now that the water is warming, spinnerbaits in the outer edges of the weedlines will work for pike and bass, but for big bass and big pike try casting crankbaits along the deep weed edges of off-shore reefs on Tonka. Find the edge (like a wall) of the milfoil on the reef, and then look on your electronics for sparser cabbage or grass growing part way up from the bottom surrounding the milfoil wall that usually comes up to the surface on the shllow top of the reef. Watch your electronics for sunfish suspended in these areas, and if it is calm you can see them with your eyes. Work a crankbait over the tops of the submerged weeds and under the sunfish, and hang on to your rod. Bass will be in the weed tops and along the milfoil edge coming up to feed on the sunnies, and they hammer a crankbait. I like to use the Rapala DT series for this because there is one for almost any depth you will need to fish (usually 8 to 18 feet). This will work on the weed edges on the reefs on Waconia, also. I use Frenzy Flicker Shads and Rapala Jointed Shad Raps on Waconia a lot for this, because these spots hold walleyes on Waconia and they seem to like the shad profile better. This morning on Waconia I caught eight largemouth up to 19 1/2 inches, three walleyes including a 29-incher, a nice northern, and a sheepshead doing this. When it got too hot, I moved into some shoreline weedlines with ultralight tackle and caught a bunch of nice crappies (you said you like crappies). Good luck!

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Great report Troy, I have been shore bound this weekend until monday I was told. Bought a 690t Ranger/ 90hp. Can't wait to get back on the water tuesday. I'll be on the water all day.

May go to the river.

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Hit medicine lake last night. Not much action. The water temp was 85 on Friday and dropped down to 70 last night. Wow. It dropped about 5 degrees each day over the weekend. Managed a few northerns and a nice bass. Hopefully the weather will stable out for this weekend.

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Got out on Waconia yesterday before all the traffic gets started on the lakes for the weekend. Found some late-bedding bluegills in 3 feet of water in two spots! I was working cranks and spinnerbaits on the inside weed edge for bass, pike, and muskies, and I caught nine bass from 15 to 20 inches. I made one cast up shallow with a spinnerbait and a 9-inch bluegill hit it and got hooked! I switched over to a small jig-spinner with Gulp! soft baits and caught several "bulls" from 8 to 9 inches. This slowed, so I switched to a small jig and Gulp! under a float and caught dozens more big bull gills on this. I also caught two more 16 inch bass on this rig and had a good-sized pike on for a while before he bit through the 4-lb. test line. This is the latest I have found gill on the beds on Waconia, and they were some of the nicest bulls I have caught in few years out there. All catch and release. I guess that's why I still found big bass in four feet of water. I also found crappies on an inside weedline hanging in some cabbage, and they were eating up the little jig-spinner and Gulp! soft baits. Looks like there is still plenty of shallow water action available--water temp was back down to 71 degrees. Have fun and be safe on the water this holiday weekend!

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Still trying Marion but not having any good days out there. Bass here Bass there that's all. Pulled out the full arsenal and went wacky just can't get this lake to do nothing exciting. Think it's going down hill but no one is telling me different.

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Got out to Wac yesterday morning and worked the offshore weeds for bass and pike, my dad caught some 8 and 9 inch gills on beetle spins and I managed to find a couple healthy 3lb bass with spinners and tx rigged tubes. All fish are still swimming. We Moved out to a reef (not sure of the name) and saw a musky cruising in about two feet. Then we watched some guys pan fishing catch a Musky. It attacked one of their sunnies as they were reeling it in and got off, then one guy took his baitcaster and started doing a figure 8 in the water and boom… they caught it again! It was a blast to watch.

I’ve musky fished that lake b4, but it seems like they’re pretty aggressive right now. Could it be the full moon? I hear people talking moon phases when talking muskies. I may get out there again this week and try if this weeks weather doesn’t screw things up. Also... some real idiots on that access! You'd think by now people would have the process down.

Moonie

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hey guys, so I have been reading these posts about northerns on 'tonka for the past few weeks, seeing how everyone and their mother is catching them, even when they aren't trying, but somehow I can't seem to find them. I have been working the outer edges of weedlines, usually 6-12 fow, and using baits ranging from spinners to raps to spoons...and have yet to catch a single northern in 4 trips. Any suggestions on what I may be doing wrong? Do you guys recommend keeping the boat close to the weedline and casting along it, or being out from it and casting in...or trolling along it...something else entirely??? I have been fishing the northern bays...maxwell, stubbs, north arm, and a bit of crystal.

The previous posts have been helpful but any more help would be much appreciated!

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    • Brianf.
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