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Minnesota River Fishing Report


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I have caught some doggies on Mille lacs, and I would say your weight is a very fair estimate! lb for lb they fight really well! They have powerful bursts!!!! ugly fish, but fun to catch. Also during spawn the males have some pretty colors.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Shore fished the MN on Sat afternoon going for the elusive walleye and actually caught a 14"er and a lil bigger sauger (both released) on a ringworm. I've been skunked on the MN river more than once so I was surprised. Buddy missed his bites on minnows so he got the skunk

Cool to see all the structure since the water is really low.

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  • 3 months later...

Anyone tried the MN River this winter from shore or boat? What worked for bait? I am gonna try it from shore this weekend since the water is open, I'm thinking minnows on a Lindy, maybe crawlers if I can find them.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The only reason I dont do this is bc all the spots with deeper water near me have ice. But if I did have a good spot with open water I would use small suckers or a white jig and twisty tail. I will wait for walleye opener myself.

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After fishing near the Black Dog Road dam near the 35W bridge yesterday, I got skunked (I was using Berkley Powerbait Honey Worms, so that might explain why). The stream coming from Black Dog lake into the river through the dam has no ice at all, so if your itching for catfish or panfish, give it a shot. Such a shame walleye, bass, and pike seasons are closed for a while.

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Sheepshead are taking large topwater baits. Best time is between 4 and 5 am in slack water. I was running a 8" bassoreno type lure and hammering them.

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Eric, were we trolling corn that day we lit up the lake trout? I coulda sworn it was chcken livers on a lindy rig...

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Quick question are there any decent cats up by shakopee. I know upstream by redwood there is but would bet that there are around shakopee to just a yeah or no answer is all I need I know the flats arent going to be on fire yet.

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I didn't know they had fins thought they just had 4 legs and a tail like a house cat. I didn't know if there were dams or not on the mn I shall give it a shot once water warns up.

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caught some sheephead and a golden walter yesterday afternoon, seen a small 16" fish with a white tip on his tail get caught too

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River temp got up to 57 degrees yesterday by Courtland. Caught a bunch of small channels. Biggest was maybe 5-6 lbs. No flats.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Got out on the river last saturday with a buddy. We put in at Chaska and ran upriver. Water temp was 56 degrees. Checked a few spots for channels throughout the afternoon but didn't have any luck. We targeted mainly current breaks in 5-7fow and a few nice drop offs from 7' into 13'. Marked a lot of fish in each spot we tried. We were using cut bullhead which I'm not sure was the best bait option today given the lack of success. This is my first year fishing the minnesota so we were trying to nail down a few decent spots. Ended up south of the Carver tressel at sundown. We threw out a couple live bullies for flats. Had one hard take but the circle hook never turned the corner.

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Nice report, ARB. Welcome to the forums. I imagine we'll meet up sometime on the river. I fish mostly the MN river from 35W up to about belle plaine. How were the depths for running the river right now?

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Yep ARB welcome to the HSO family alot of great info in these forums and we always seem to have more fun.

Great report I'm hoping to get out this weekend. catch on the river some time.

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Hey thanks guys. Yeah I am definitely looking forward to being down on the river this summer, I'm sure I will run into some of the folks from this forum! I may get down there this weekend, I am planning on Saturday night if the storms stay away.

aanderud- seems that the channel was typically no shallower than 6-7' from chaska to carver however there was a stretch of water NE of carver that probably was 4-5'. Maybe I just couldn't stay on the channel through this area however it sure seemed like I was.

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Fishing ws slow for us yeasturday and all we could get were these darn rough fish grin sorry for the poor caamera work the digital broke and the camera man couldnt figure out how to use my phone whistle

full-15313-19480-imag0162.jpg

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that's a nice one Gordi. at least you can post a picture. i spent an hour today and just cant do it. realy frustrating. guess i have to bribe my son-inlaw with anything he wants to eat off the grill for a show and tell presentation. good luck.

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Cut bait?

I got one about 4 lbs on cut bait and this one on a 6 inch creek chub hit it like a flatand the clicker screamed but this is what was on the hook darn rough fish grin

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have done pretty well so far. One day last week, we got a cat, a sheep, a shovelnose sturgeon and a 20 inch walleye. I went back the next day and got another shoevelnose, 6 carp that weighed between 5 and 8 lbs, a 15 lbs carp and a small silver redhorse. The next two days were colder and didnt bring in much. The bottom was good at the carp spot the first day, but when I went back all this green, slimy seaweed kept gathering on my line, so I called it quits for the day. Fishing from shore for now.

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Had a fun evening from shore yesterday. Went out with a buddy and caught 10 fish total using nightcrawlers. Caught another shovelnose which was pretty long, but not much weight to them. Then we got 4 walleyes (I love this low water!) and 5 sheeps. I hope the walleyes stay put after the fishing opener. The last time I caught a MN River walleye near the cities was about 12 years ago.

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thats all ive caught is walleyes on bullheads this year not one flatty yet. Caught many walters over 28inches and one that was 30incher hope they stay there after opener!! Cant wait for the flatheads to get going good!!!

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • jparrucci
      Very low, probably 2 feet lower than last year at ice out.
    • mbeyer
      what do they look like this spring?
    • SkunkedAgain
      I might have missed a guess, but here are the ones that I noted:   JerkinLips – March 27th, then April 7th Brianf. – March 28th Bobberwatcher – April…. MikeG3Boat – April 10th SkunkedAgain – early April, then April 21st   Definitely a tough year for guesses, as it seemed to be a no-brainer early ice out. Then it got cold and snowed again.
    • mbeyer
      MN DNR posted April 13 as Ice out date for Vermilion
    • Brianf.
      ^^^45 in the morning and 47 in the evening
    • CigarGuy
      👍. What was the water temp in Black Bay? Thanks....
    • Brianf.
      No, that wasn't me.  I drive a 621 Ranger. 
    • CigarGuy
      So, that was you in the camo lund? I'm bummed, I have to head back to the cities tomorrow for a few days, then back up for at least a few weeks. Got the dock in and fired up to get out chasing some crappies till opener!
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Lots of ice on the main basin, but it is definitely deteriorating.  Some anglers have been fishing the open water at the mouth of the Rainy River in front of the Lighthouse Gap.  The rest of the basin is still iced over. Pike enthusiasts caught some big pike earlier last week tip up fishing in pre-spawn areas adjacent to traditional spawning areas.  8 - 14' of water using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring has been the ticket.  Ice fishing for all practical purposes is done for the year. The focus for the basin moving forward will be pike transitioning into back bays to spawn,  This is open water fishing and an opportunity available as the pike season is open year round on Lake of the Woods. The limit is 3 pike per day with one being able to be more than 40 inches. All fish 30 - 40 inches must be released. With both the ice fishing and spring fishing on the Rainy River being so good, many are looking forward to the MN Fishing Opener on Saturday, May 11th.  It should be epic. On the Rainy River...  An absolutely incredible week of walleye and sturgeon fishing on the Rain Rainy River.     Walleye anglers, as a rule, caught good numbers of fish and lots of big fish.  This spring was one for the books.   To follow that up, the sturgeon season is currently underway and although every day can be different, many boats have caught 30 - 40 sturgeon in a day!  We have heard of fish measuring into the low 70 inch range.  Lots in the 60 - 70 inch range as well.   The sturgeon season continues through May 15th and resumes again July 1st.   Oct 1 - April 23, Catch and Release April 24 - May 7, Harvest Season May 8 - May 15, Catch and Release May 16 - June 30, Sturgeon Fishing Closed July 1 - Sep 30, Harvest Season If you fish during the sturgeon harvest season and you want to keep a sturgeon, you must purchase a sturgeon tag for $5 prior to fishing.    One sturgeon per calendar year (45 - 50" inclusive, or over 75"). Most sturgeon anglers are either a glob of crawlers or a combo of crawlers and frozen emerald shiners on a sturgeon rig, which is an 18" leader with a 4/0 circle hook combined with a no roll sinker.  Local bait shops have all of the gear and bait. Up at the NW Angle...  Open water is continuing to expand in areas with current.  The sight of open water simply is wetting the pallet of those eager for the MN Fishing Opener on May 11th.   A few locals were on the ice this week, targeting pike.  Some big slimers were iced along with some muskies as well.  If you like fishing for predators, LOW is healthy!  
    • Brianf.
      Early bird gets the worm some say...   I have it on good authority that this very special angler caught no walleyes or muskies and that any panfish caught were released unharmed.        
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