Lake Minnetonka Fishing Reports

[Charlie63]

Any luck out on tonka recently? I'm heading home (minnetonka area) this week end from the bemidji area and hoping to catch some crappies and eyes...I've been spoiled up here on the small area lakes for crappies, just looking for some tips here though...Anybody ever fish Oak Lake out near Watertown? the dnr fishing survey showed a ton of walleyes and crappies out there!!

[teamwalldawg]

Yeah it does look good, but no public access...

Let us know if your able to get out there..

[Bogie04]

Only way to access Oak is from the Luce Line Trail. Believe me, with all this snow it makes for an ugly walk out. Or, if you know a home owner on the lake it makes it much easier

[walleyeking19]

I've never fished Minnetonka but my brother just moved near the lake and me and him might go out there saturday night...can anyone point us in the right direction where to go? Doesnt need to be secret spots, just maybe some good depths to look. I dont really care what we catch, I just wanna get him on fish. Thanks for your help!

[th64]

Walters on Oak were spanked a few years back and the guy who stocked them stopped. It is a long walk and if you use an ATV you will get a fine. PM me if you want any more info.

Good luck

[JackPineGuy]

what does the attached pic have to do with panfish?

[jerkin'm]

Not sure where you are going with your trolling but the thread is titled "Lake Minnetonka Fishing Reports" If you are confused by that I can help you further....

[JackPineGuy]

i was just wondering why u referenced panfish? No trolling about it. infact those are some dandy eyes. Better then ive done on tonka in the past 15 years.

[jerkin'm]

If you look at the post by pushbutton a couple above the pic you are talking about you will see he asked about fishing some pannies to keep kids busy....I said you don't need to just chase panfish (i.e. the walleyes in my picture) on tonka to keep kids busy..example shown of walleyes... Is it all coming together now? I never find the need to chase pannies if the eyes are biting good on tonka which they have been all year...hopefully this clears up your inquiry...Let me know if you need more explaination for why I posted a picture of my kid with some walleyes...

[Rooky]

Hey jerkin'm,

You seem to know what you're doing out on Tonka.

Do you ever catch eye's over on the east side of Big Island?

I've been set up in that general area all winter and caught a few

here and there, but no real good action. Any tips for a Rooky?

Thanks!

[JackPineGuy]

Ok sorry it does make sense now. Sorry man dident mean ta tick u off. Hope u keep up the good luck out there.

[jerkin'm]

Rooky, if you are on the East end of Big Island you are in some of the better walleye territory..my guess is you need to switch depths...I find extreme depths to be best, whether it be deep or shallow out there...I could probably see you from where I have caught plenty of eyes this winter... I do lots of searching and "networking" with buddies out there...Probably about equal success from both...The eye fishing has slowed a ton since early January so don't expect miracles either...

[Rooky]

I've caught all of my eye's out there in the 23-26 ft range on humps and drop offs. I've tried in the 30's to as deep as 42 ft with no luck. Also, all eye's were caught after 6:10 pm when the perch seem to be gone.

Do you think I should try even deeper or shallower? I guess I have really tried much in shallow water.

If you're ever out there and see my tan permanent shack with a blue chevy silverado, feel free to drop by. My name's Rick.

[jerkin'm]

I will keep an eye out for you...Might hit it a couple more times before the end of the season..

[tip_upclyma]

Looking for a little advise from the Tonka regulars. I am making only my second trip out to this lake this season to try and put my buddy on a walleye. He lives in the Mound area, and I am just not that fimilar with the bays in that area. Plan on fishing from approx. 1pm til dark....if anyone has any recommendations on what bay might give me the best odds of catching a waldo for this guy on the last weekend of the season...it would be GREATLY appreciated. Not looking for exact GPS coords., just the best bay to go to work on. Feel free to PM me. Thanks in advance for any advice.

[STP Fisherman]

How deep is the snow out there? Just wondering if I have to be worried about getting stuck in a truck, haven't been out there this year yet. Thanks.

[jerkin'm]

The snow is doable with a 4x4-did get stuck yesterday briefly in a big hardpack drift...fished eyes for the last day of the season and only got one...tried a new area that looked promising..not so much...

[mjk]

Broke out some jigging gear for the first time in years today. What is up with the 4-5" perch in Wayzata bay? There must have been a huge hatch recently. Wish at least I could have got something even close to keeper status. Lots of rust, having not jigged in years.

My auger was not far from bottoming out. Looking at the long range forecast, I don't even see a day hitting 40 before March 15th.

[Bennzo]

Did well on Black Lake on 3-3-13. My group fished in 15' of water from 1pm-6pm. Bite was steady all day, but turned on toward dusk. It was fun to watch my nieces and nephews try ice fishing for the first time and get into some nice fish. The crappies were few and far between for us. Has anyone had any luck in the deep hole for crapps after dusk?

[DitchDiver]

I haven't been to Black in a few weeks but when I was there, I was catching crappies deeper (18+ fow). I fished it probably 5 times this year (morning, day, and evening); best bite for me was dark. I'm talking 7 - 11P. I know that doesn't necessarily fit everyone's schedule but regardless of what part of Tonka, for me the late late bite was best.

[Vlasin]

Truck access on Black still holing up OK?

[anprickette72]

Saw a couple of pop ups out on Black Lake today... Anybody know the ice thickness yet out there?

[mjk]

Looking to see if anyone has driven past Grey's Bay...

Thanks.

[Gekhang]

8-9 inches on black lake at least where i was.

[VMS]

Hiya,

Very curious as to how the ice is a bit further west of Black lake...Priest/Cook bay areas? Walkable yet?

Thanks!!

[mjk]

I went out on Grey's yesterday. 5-6". Just an FYI, 101 is closed and the normal parking lot on 101 is filled with construction equipment (essentially closed, especially during the week).

I'm sure Grey's will see minimal traffic this year, because of this.

[TCon17]

Was out in Spring Park Bay last night from 3-7pm in 14'-19'. 5 Walleyes (11-23"), and a few perch. Ice was 6". Lot of fish moving, but they wouldn't come off the bottom for anything. All 5 eyes were caught in a 45 minute window just before it was dark out on a red glow 2" chubby darter.

There were a few other houses out, one guy on a sled pulling a perm out towards the islands. 4 or 5 houses were out at the islands as well.

[VMS]

I was out on priest/cook bay area just off Hardscrabble point. Had many fish looking but just like you they would not come off the bottom. Had one light hit and that was it. Fished from 3:15 to 6:00

[vern]

Fished Carson's on Sunday. I measured exactly 7.5 inches & then watched a Jeep drive out from the launch & park next to a wheelhouse.??? They could have parked on the road & walked 100 yards instead of taking that risk. Crazy!

[mjk]

Was out on the west side of Wayzata bay this afternoon. Found 5-6" of ice.

The utter stupidity of people never cease to amaze me. You have a 15,000 acre lake, and 3 dimwits feel the need to set up within 20 yards of my tip ups. There MIGHT have been 10 people on the entire bay.

It is not like I was fishing a bar, just a weedline, like any other weedline on the lake. Hint morons, 3 guys screwing around with various augers, setting up a prehistoric ice shack (that was worth watching) and dragging sleds around WILL have an effect in that area when there is 5" of ice and no snow.

Hope you get skunked.