Albert Lea-Austin-Faribault-Mankato-Northfield-Waseca, Fishing Reports

[riverrat56]

Madison Lake-Last year around this time we found lots of crappies suspended out from the DNR landing, we were about in the middle of the lake, heading towards the North side of the Narrows. I would start poking around in that area.

[smalltownboi2008]

Madison Lake-okay thanks for the advice...i went out tonight. got out to the lake around 3ish and fished till about 615. i was using jigging raps at first but found nothing so i decided to go where the crowd was back in east bay and put on a waxy and a tear drop. the water was so clear u can see your hook 5 to 7 feet down depending on the area. i didn't fish that area really hard and i was more or less just trying to find some fish. i was only there for about 30 to 40 min. i then decided to fish the narrows from 16 to 30 feet and sat there for a 2 hours and found nothing. only seen 2 fish on the vexilar in a 2 hour span there. and then i went back by millers and see that a crowd of people were back there and they were all catching crappies and panfish. again i only stayed for 20 min and didn't catch a darn thing all night long. i was fishing 6 and a half feet of water there. there were a few perms out there and alot of flip over portables. anyone been fishing this lake recently? what is everyone using? it seems like i cannot find the right thing the past few times i have been out there...

[zamboni]

Anywhere with a bite going on that you can walk out? I was thinking about going wednesday when it gets warm out. I was wanting to give that new Glide Lite sled a try, so not taking the house out. But I still don't want to walk TOO far.

[GrizzlyAdams]

Madison Lake-Was out on saturday with a couple newbies to the ice fishing game. We went to a local lake after a suggestion from jesse drummer and found a bunch of smaller panfish to keep us busy all afternoon. The 2 people I was with just wanted to catch fish as they don't get to fish too much. I debated on where to go so I contacted Jesse to see if he could put us on some fish and He did just that. We drilled a ton of holes but ended up finding the fish in the first hole we drilled so there we sat for the next 4 - 5 hours catching sunnies and a 1 - 2 pound bass. All in all it was a blast and thanks to Mr drummer it was a great afternoon and I now have 2 more addicted fisherman who will bug me until we can get out again! I love creating new fisherman! Thanks jesse.

[KTapper]

I know the spot he put you on!

[7outof10]

Grizzly , did that way point work ?

[GrizzlyAdams]

Madison Lake-Yep it worked. Was that your house that we were near? I think that the house was about where that way point was sending us. We were within 50 feet of the waypoint but didn't want to get to close to the house although it appeared nobody was in it. There was fish all over down there with quite a few biters. Like said most of them were small but a few were bigger. Just a little to small to keep. But we weren't out there to keep any, just to catch some. They had a blast and are already wondering when I will take them again. Will have to talk them into buying a sonar so I can use mine again when they are with. Oh well, to me it was more fun watching them catch fish than catching them myself. My cousin even asked me at one time if I was the fish whisperer because every now and then I would pick up my rod, jig a little and pull out a fish with no vex and no bobber. I just told him it was a fisherman secret. LOL

[7outof10]

no that was not my house out there ...my house has been off for awhile now

[Team wild 88]

PDOGG , maybe some people don't use jiggin raps because they like catching fish

[7outof10]

me clood blood where out last night did pretty good cought lots of fish ... most all the fish came at power houre and they would really really hit hard you just had to do a lot of hole hopping to find them they are on a very good feeding pattern right now we did a lot of looking must of poped 80 holes to try to find the fish in the day time becouse we knew that the night bit would be there but we wanted to find a day bit well we fond some fish over deeper water but they where moveing around a lot and not feding much out there

[smalltownboi2008]

jigging raps are the best ice lures to ever be made. thats mainly all i use all winter long. if they dont take it then so be it. try it on a different lake or time. im thinking about hitting up this lake today possibly but not 100% sure yet.

[shunker_lure]

hit the lake last night and this morning for a while covered a lot of different spots found fish at a good number of them but had trouble getting most to close the deal. lots of little small crappies seemed to be the ones hitting hard. becareful if your driving out there found a couple place with only 12 inches of ice which was ok on snowmolblie or fourwheeler for now.

[jigging-matt]

Not looking for Specifics, but anybody been out on Mazaska lately. Am heading out Sunday Morning and was wondering if there has been much of a bite, and if there are any trouble spots on the ice to watch out for. Been a couple weeks since I have been out so I can hardly wait.

[mole]

4 of us out thur. pm, fished 2-4 hrs., I caught 5 small bluegill and 1 small crappie in 4 hrs. 1 guy caught 4 small bluegill, the other 2 skunked (they only fished 2 hrs.). Was in 23 to 25 ft. most time, fish came in at 15 to 20 ft. Marked lots but a tough bite.

[sleepless dad]

I drove by yesterday and it looked very wet near the westside public access. I counted 6 rigs on the entire lake and people were very spread out.

I fished Hunt Lake yesterday for a few hours in mid morning 'til 2 pm read my post on "advise for fishing shallow or deep". There was a guy there who started at 7 and had a bucket full and leaving when I arrived. I'd hit Hunt lake if you're looking for panfish. People were also talking about Rice Lake just southwest of Hunt & Mazaska and said they've been getting big crappies, but the lake is very shallow.

I'd look at the map for Mazaska and set up off the south shore on the west side of the bar that juts out west of the public access. I've done well there in summer.

[mskyfshntchr]

The fish are Mazaska have been moving shallower--well the bluegills anyways, I haven't been targeting crappies.

Mid-winter had the fish in 22-24'. Now they are hanging more in the 15-17' range, even a little shallower at times.

Last time I was out in the morning- the fish were virtually suicidal until 9am. Then I had to move to find them. But, I don't think I went more than a minute without a bite from 7:30-9am. Got into some nice fish too.

As for ice conditions- I can't say it has been a week for me. However, it is all snowmobile from here on out for me.

[Rippinlip]

I was out both Thursday and Friday for a while.

I had my wheeler on the lake, there was vehicle traffic on there, but its a wheeler for me. Ice has alot of slush and water on top. Most of the ice has been around 20", I had a couple of holes that were only about 14". Starting to become inconsistent.

As far as fishing, it has been OK. The fish seem to be in between the deep and shallow water, I drilled quite a few holes off the edge of a break from about 10' to 29'. I was able to catch a few here and there, mostly sunnies and perch, sorting would get you a meal. Everything I caught is still swimming..

[jigging-matt]

Well we went out today from 7:30 till about three. Moved around quite a bit. Started shallow without much luck and gradually went deeper. Finally found the sunnies suspended about 20' in 30 plus feet. Some nice keepers. We released all. Had a blast. Couldn't believe how many we caught. Was a pretty nice day to be out, leave a couple hours of the snow. Kudos to the two guys on their Four-Wheelers driving around picking up trash on the lake. Might have been the last time out this year, weekends are getting booked up. If it was it was a great way to end the season.

[zepman]

Jigging-Matt--we must have been on the same lake today because your report sounds exactly like the day I had. Those sunnies are a blast comming out of 20'+.

[jigging-matt]

Sure was fun. We were out fishing and laughing all day.

[BezD40]

I was out saturday for awhile the fish i found shallow only wanted to look. I moved out deeper and finally got a few to bite

[Team Otter]

South Central MN Weekly Fishing Report, 3-9-09

Ice conditions continue to vary from lake to lake. Some lakes still have 20+" of ice while others have less. Despite the ice getting softer and lake accesses becoming more difficult to use, vehicle use remains common but I would probably think hard about driving out the remainder of this hard water season. There is nothing wrong with erring on the side of caution and using your feet or an ATV/snowmobile. The pan fish are cooperating over deep water adjacent to their typical shallow water haunts, so if it's shallow water you're dead set on but nothing's happening, scoot out in incremental depths (10' to 15', etc) and continue searching in such a manner until you make contact. What's happening, is that despite the fish being in deeper water, they are rising higher and higher in the water column, which suggests their feeding activities are increasing. Don't give up on shallow water fishing either but save these spots for low light and even following sundown. Areas to focus on are places where fresh water is entering the lake, flats near main lake points and "saddles" between mid-lake structure and shoreline transitions. Pannies continue to respond well to plastics and hair jigs tipped with spikes but larger minnows on a plain hook under a float is another great option as are larger jigging spoons such as JB Lure's Rattlin' Varmint or Lindy's Rattlin' Flyer Spoon. When tipping your presentation, be "heavy" with spikes (or wax worms). Keeping your hooks hidden this time of year is very important.

[Scott K]

I was out fishing on a small lake near Faribault and had some good action. There wasnt much for size but the numbers were fun. I fished shallow, with waxies. I also noticed I needed to keep a fresh waxie on at all times, and made sure I coverd the entire hook, or I wouldnt get a bite. The bite was soft, it would just tap the spring bobber, you had to be quick to set the hook because they wouldnt hold it down more then a half second or so. They would continue to bite it, as long as you didnt set the hook and partially hook the fish.

I caught about 50 fish in a couple hours, missed several hundred more. The guy I fished with wasnt using a spring bobber and only noticed a couple bites, and he never did hook one. The fish caught were either perch or sunnies. The fish of the day was a nice 11.5 inch perch. All of the fish lived to swim another day. The panfish have been biting, I have notice if you pay attention to some details, you will have an active time while on the ice.

The ice was still a good 20 inches, there were a few trucks driving on the lake, we chose to walk, and pull out the portable the 200 yards to the spot we fished.

This is the time of year to go after the pannies. Go get em!

[Team Otter]

South Central MN Weekly Fishing Report, 3-15-09

Spring has sprung at least for the next few days! Wow, what a treat in terms of weather when considering the long winter we have endured. Ice thickness WILL lessen on a daily basis this week. Right now, some lakes continue to support vehicle traffic but that will not last long. Use common sense when fishing during this late-ice period. I want you to have fun, catch fish, fry fish, take pictures of fish, put fish on the wall and not become a statisitic. Pan fish are gorging on mayfly larvae, small minnows and blood worms over 20 - 30' of water adjacent to their typical shallow water haunts. During the day, stay mobile on a series of drilled holes and pick fish off one by one but be ready for the fish to school and become more active during low light. Shallow water also has some opportunities but it's just that, opportunistic. Timing is everything when looking in water 15' deep and skinnier. However, regardless of the depth you're fishing, the fish are being found higher and higher in the water column. As long as the ice conditions hang in there, this type of thing will only become more and more common and the bite will get that much better. Areas to focus on are places where fresh water is entering the lake, flats near main lake points and "saddles" between mid-lake structure and shoreline transitions. Pannies continue to respond well to plastics and hair jigs tipped with spikes but larger minnows on a plain hook under a float is another great option as are larger jigging spoons such as JB Lure's Rattlin' Varmint or Lindy's Rattlin' Flyer Spoon. When tipping your presentation, be "heavy" with spikes (or wax worms). Keeping your hooks hidden this time of year is very important.

[Reid G]

It was "insane on the chain" for us this morning. Probably caught 40-50 7-8" gills in 6-8' of water. Prob. about ~100 total. Used gill getters and mud bugs first then went to a #3 chubby D (both trebles tipped with wax) to weed out the little ones. Had a nice 22" northern give me a nice fight on the med-light legend rod with 4# line. Nice way to end the ice season. Just got home, now pulling out the Skeeter to fire up the Yammie. Praying Spirit Lake might be open next weekend. Does it get any better than this?

[thore]

Fished in 30 ft of water this weekend found crappies anywhere from 4 to 10 ft down using spikes and ratsos. The bite was still going at 11 pm when we called it quits. The fish didn't really come in schools more ones and twos. Fun weekend. That might have been the last time out for me on the ice pool 2 is calling.

[geliason]

HAd to punch a dozen holes or so on Saturday, but when the vex finally showed fish, they were everywhere. Ended up in 36 FOW. Nothing on the dead stick. Had to constantly be jigging. It was interesting, in that red wigglers were hot early afternoon, and later, it changed to minnows. All crappies, where I was, a keeper in every 4. Biggest was 11".

[KTapper]

For me I have been shallow shallow shallow with some nice fish big gills and even a crappie here and there. I was in about 7 feet with weeds in a spot on the lake no one has touched all year.

[smalltownboi2008]

ktapper... this spot your talking about there sounds like madison lake right now but if u say that its a spot no one has touched all year then im not sure if it is or not. if it is then u must have been one of the very first people to find out about it.

[PDOGG]

I doubt KSnap is talking about Madison. But I will let him tell you if he wants. We where one of the first's to find fish in the area you speak of on Madison and that was so long ago it almost seams like last season. Too bad the word got out!!