metro area Metro Area Minnesota Fishing Reports & Ice Conditions

[thopkins]

i was also on waconia today. all i can say is what an [PoorWordUsage] fest it is out there. if people aren't riding four wheelers by your fishing area over and over they are drilling holes with the loudest dullest blade auger ive ever seen. so after an hour of this i got [PoorWordUsage] and left. this used to be a good lake to go to. i think im gonna go to tonka from now on. better fishing out there anyway...

[rdog]

WE went to tonka today and did well on sunny and crappie.The biggest sunny was 8 inches and crappie was 11 inches.It was a off and on deal, we were out from 3 to 7 pm.I here most of the north half of the lake is doing good,although that a large area.We were in 30 feet of water, catching them suspended. Anyone here about the walley bite on tonka? ..... RDOG .....

[fishrguy]

i was also on waconia today. all i can say is what an [PoorWordUsage] fest it is out there. if people aren't riding four wheelers by your fishing area over and over they are drilling holes with the loudest dullest blade auger ive ever seen. so after an hour of this i got [PoorWordUsage] and left. this used to be a good lake to go to. i think im gonna go to tonka from now on. better fishing out there anyway...

I agree fishing has not been as good on Waconia as it used to be! Its getting way too popular. There are a lot of good fish though! Just a matter of finding them...so I'm told right. Thankfully we dont have a bunch of traffic around this part. Been out here now since about 5 this evening, planning on being out here til Thursday morning. I'm just hoping it picks up a bit! The reels haven't rattled in a while...

[Love2Cabin]

I have not been on Tonka in over 20 years but thought it might be fun to try something new. Where would a guy get on if he were coming up from the south (Shakopee) and was looking for pan fish.

Thanks to all and if you ever want small crappies go to Cedar, they are everywhere.

[Mike Wallace]

Goose Island south of Water Patrol off of Cty 15. 15-20 FOW. Good Luck!

[eurolarva]

Fished waconia for the first and last time. Never saw so many little perch. They were deep they were shallow they were everywhere. I would think that other game fish would have plenty to eat in that lake.

[fishin4fun85]

we had good luck with the panfish on seton bay and have had great luck on gray's bay the past couple years....my buddy had good luck with panfish on the bay right next to seton bay towards the east...can't remember the name of that one if anyone can help out here

[BuckKiller]

I've been fishing waconia. I've got the limit of 10-12 inch crappies 4 times this year and two of those times where last friday and saturday night.

[Shaktom]

Took the family out to the Prior Lake Sportsman's club tournament on Sunday. Couple hundred lines in the water and only two fish were caught! The winner was a 3.5oz bass.

[MichaelSwan]

Amen to that

[fishin4fun85]

i was planning on going to that...suppose I as better off going to tonka like I did still would've been fun though

[magic_minnow]

**PRIOR**

can anyone chime in on the condition of the access and snow? I'll be 2wd this wknd

[pikeguy2003]

Hey Buckkiller, been about a year since I saw you. Nice to hear that you know about one of the coveted crappie spots on Waconia. I have a friend who is also onto them. He had 8 that were over 9 inches a couple of nights ago. Took home enough for a meal of fresh fish. I just went out icefishing for the first time this year on Tonka this past Saturday. Our group of 4 guys didn't take home anywhere close to our limit. If they were not at least 6 3/4 they went back down the hole. Biggest one was 7 3/4. We probably caught 10 fish for each one we kept. There were times when the action was so fast and furious it was almost impossible to fish with two lines.

[BuckKiller]

Hey Buckkiller, been about a year since I saw you. Nice to hear that you know about one of the coveted crappie spots on Waconia. I have a friend who is also onto them. He had 8 that were over 9 inches a couple of nights ago. Took home enough for a meal of fresh fish. I just went out icefishing for the first time this year on Tonka this past Saturday. Our group of 4 guys didn't take home anywhere close to our limit. If they were not at least 6 3/4 they went back down the hole. Biggest one was 7 3/4. We probably caught 10 fish for each one we kept. There were times when the action was so fast and furious it was almost impossible to fish with two lines.

yeah its been awhile. e-mail me when you get a chance

[lutzy]

**PRIOR**

can anyone chime in on the condition of the access and snow? I'll be 2wd this wknd

I went out of the beach access on Sunday. The lot was plowed and had no probs getting on or going anywhere with the atv. Found about 12” or so of snow maybe a little less. Had the flasher lit up like crazy but couldn’t get many takers. I didn’t go over by the sportsmen’s access though.

[giles226]

Originally Posted By: magic_minnow

**PRIOR**

can anyone chime in on the condition of the access and snow? I'll be 2wd this wknd

I have a nice road off of the sportsmens. you should be fine just stay on the roads.

[magic_minnow]

thanks for replies! I'll give it a shot and report back, thanks again!

[rdog]

I tried the north arm on the north side of TONKA and caught lots of little sunny and crappie, any one catching bigger ones there or hear about people pulling out some better pan fish on TONKA. I also heard whaletail was producing crappies. Is there any size to them? We are headed to waconia, I will let ya know how we do !!!! GOOD LUCK ...

[waterfowl101]

any reports for waconia

[Fever]

Was out last night on the Wac, fished from 4:30 - 10:15ish. caught a handfull of 5-9's. Not very impressive bite. They were quite finicky and not aggressive at all. I would have though otherwise with the warmer temps but I guess the fish had other things in mind... that we can't control which is frustrating at times. Fished a bit deeper than most and fish were biting closer to the bottom up to about 5 feet off bottom. Most action was on waxies or eurolarva. Seriously though. 9 inch crappies is nothing to get worked up about. Unless I hear otherwise from a friend, I'll prob stay away from the crazy city of traffic, trucks, permamnents, partying, and generaters, and venture to smaller quieter lakes that give potential for better fish, significantly better scenery and peace. The number of people out there amazes me now that I know what is being caught. Of course I know there is potential for big fish out there but the average size that i've heard and now experianced (first time out on wac was last night for me this ice season) is way worse than it was just a couple years ago. I don't like to keep crappies smaller than 10inches and I think I'd starve if I had to hold myself to that criteria on that lake this year. Too much pressure in one area of the lake I think. Kinda strange. Good luck to all that are out there though. I'm sure one experience doesn't define an entire season.

[magic_minnow]

got out on Saturday morning, marked a lot but only managed 1 potato sunny and 1 9" crop. It was sure a nice morning to be fishn though.

[magic_minnow]

MINNETONKA:

Thanks to the guy on wayzata bay (Saturday 01/05/11) with the Pathfinder that towed me out. I hope you and your son got on some fish!! Thanks again!!

[pikeguy2003]

Hey Buckkiller, I will send you an email. Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. We went out for the 2nd time this year on Saturday on Tonka. We probably caught 250 sunnies to keep 70 between the 5 of us. We were out before sunrise and came off the lake at 2:00 pm. The fish we kept were not huge by any stretch like the ones we catch at the cabin. They all had a range from 6 3/4 to 7 3/4 in length. Pretty standard for tonka sunnies. The cool thing is that the frying pan didn't complain on Sunday, and it won't be complaining tonight either. As usual, eat em fresh, never freeze em! Talk to you soon, Pikeguy

[hart0670]

Does anyone know whether Maxwell Bay is any good for ice fishing? I have fished Maxwell and Stubbs quite a bit during the summer, but am just wondering whether it would be worth trying it through the ice.

[scott b]

Nothing wrong with finding your own spots.

[hart0670]

Hotime - Sure, I understand the "find your own spot" mentality, but I thought the point of these forums is to talk with other people to figure out what's good and what's not. Minnetonka is a massive lake, and I post reports every time I fish it during the summer, even when I try new ones I don't know anything about. However, I have never once fished it through the ice before, and I don't have a power auger, so drilling a lot of holes is out of the question. As such, I was just seeking some advice, but if you'd rather not give it then that's fine.

I'm going to hit those bays one of these weekends and I'll report back in case someone else is interested in how they are.

Edit - I just noticed you did give another guy some advice, so maybe I miss read your comment (tone can get lost in the internet). If so, my apologies

[rdog]

hart0670 ... I heard that wayzeta bay was o.k. for walleye and perch. I have had some good luck on the north end of north arm bay for sunny and crappie, in 25 to 30 FOW. Have not tried the spots you mentioned. Good Luck.

[Acemac]

think he was just saying head out to maxwells and try the places were you catch fish in the summer and let us know.

[scott b]

Sorry for the mis-understanding. What I really did, was give you some great advise for Tonka. Stay away from the crowds Nobody fishes Maxwell and hasn't for years. Find a weed edge or comparable structure. I don't know what to say for Maxwell exactly as I don't fish it... no one dose. But if I did, this time of the year, I would set up in the middle of one of those holes and fish at night for crappies. My best fishing on this lake in the winter is in spots where nobody else was, on a weed edge or in the weeds. Good luck out there, be safe, and let us know how you did. If you want I'll come out and drill some holes for ya.

[old timer]

We fished Waconia from 3:00 - 7:30. Fished Center reef. We had to set up in the weeds, along with all the other houses. Perch were hungry, and tiny, sunnies were pecking at waxies on a black ant, and the few crappies we caught wanted minnows on a glow demon. We had the camera down when it was still light enough, and the 1 walleye, 1 bass and schools of crappies we saw were all lookers. At least crappievision is a fun diversion.