fishing reports Metro Area Minnesota Fishing Reports by Matt Johnson

[Shack]

A+ report Matt! Thanks.

[R. Miller]

What a difference a year makes. Great report!

[gopher19]

Have been out on four different west/southwest metro lakes(Spring, McMahon, Cedar, and Eagle)this week. Mixed results depending on the lake, one day a few fish, the next a ton, mostly crappies, few sunfish mixed in. With all the warm weather, the shorelines are deteriorating quickly. Was able to use the ATV, but it was dicey on most of the shorelines. If I get out anymore this week, I will be walking. There's a lot of slush and standing water on the shorelines(hello waders). On the up side, once I got out on the lakes the ice was fine, 18" or better. As for depths anywhere from 6 to 12 feet. Crappies seem to be hot just 6"-8" under the ice. Small jig with soft plastic and live minnow worked well. I was working the jig pretty heavy, pound it up and down(6" or so) half a dozen times and they couldn't resist. Fun part was that you could sight fish in "deeper" water. Sunfish were hitting waxies slightly further below the ice. Will probably go again tomorrow to one of those four and then hang it up for the season and look forward to the open water! Get out there while you can if you can, it's almost over!

[Goodrich]

Thinking about trying prior tomorrow walking out from the sportmans access. Wondering if anyone has a report on the condition.

[JeremyCampbell]

Cool! What an honor to be fishing with the ice man Dave Gens. I been reading your threads for a while I Allways look forward to them Matt.

[Matt Johnson]

Looks like we have ample fishing spots in the Metro now, as the lakes are open and ready for action! I've been out a couple times chasing down panfish. Found a lot of fish in the shallow lagoons and back channels but not a lot for size. The larger fish continue to come out deeper. Deep humps and weed lines are holding most of the fish, also found a nice pod of crappies roaming a flat in 18 feet of water... stumbled upon then by dumb luck to be honest, but they were stacked up and eager to bite! Water temps are all over the place depending on where you are. I found everything from 37-51 degrees. Most lakes are mid 40s for mainlake temps though. Regardless, always nice to be back out in the boat!

Good luck to everyone this weekend for the MN opener! Looks like the weather might actually be not too bad

[Matt Johnson]

So who all fished the opener this year? Like always, mother nature provided some fun conditions for the opener and decided to make the wind blow this year! Sure was choppy out there on Lake Minnetonka! Staying out of the wind wasn't too bad though and we found walleyes on a few different spots, mostly in 10-15 feet of water and pulling live-bait or drop-shotting for them if the conditions allowed. They were more than eager to grab a dancing bait if you could get it to hold in front of them when stacked up on a piece of structure. We didn't land anything big, largest fish was 22" but we ended up with 19 for the day. Also a bunch of bonus pike too. Found fish in Browns, Crystal and Wayzata Bays mostly. Tinkered around on the west end a little but mostly pike and bass. We tucked ourselves out of the wind most of the day. A few fish came out of West Arm butted up next to shore too... weird spot but they were there.

Did anyone land any Metro monster walleye this weekend? Hopefully everyone was safe and dressed warm!!

[plotzy]

Spent Sunday morning out on Bryant Lake in Eden Prairie. It was me, my boating partner in my boat and one other poor soul in another. (2 boats total on the water) I think the air temps were 39 degrees which made for tough casting. Hands went numb after 10 min. We were throwing Huskie Jerks for a few hours in 5-15 ft. to see if we could get a walleye or pike's attention. In the end, we only got the attention of a few decent bass. (On the plus side I did get to play around with my new handheld Garmin GPS )

[Matt Johnson]

Deck Talk Episode #23 is now live...

Deck Talk - Episode #23 - From Ice to Open - CLICK HERE

In this episode, we discuss the important things you need to

"bring" with you when transitioning from the ice fishing season

to the open water season. How to make sure your boat is ready

now that the open water season is upon us!

Enjoy!

[Matt Johnson]

So how did everyone do this past holiday weekend? The weather continues to throw a curveball at us and it sure would be nice to get a few consistent days of warm and sun!! Water temps are still fairly cold for many of the lakes I fished but it won't take long to heat things up once we get a couple days of sun... the lakes are ready!

We fished several different lakes between Friday and yesterday... everything from Minnetonka to Chisago and a couple in between. Found a lot of crappies up shallow (3-8 feet) that were eager to bite, this proved to be true on all the lakes. A few sunfish mixed in too but to be honest the better sunfish were still out deeper. Regardless, if it is panfish you're after, there are some excellent opportunities right now.

As far as walleyes go, we didn't catch too many this weekend, mostly targeted bass and panfish. The walleyes we did see though were along weed lines and mid-lake flats. Found them dinking around for panfish. I did see a couple boats pulling live bait on Chisago and it looked like they caught a couple.

The pike are all over anywhere the panfish are... if you start catching crappies and sunfish then just tie on a spinnerbait and start casting... you'll catch pike! We didn't see/catch any big pike, but a lot of 2-5 pounders cruising around with the panfish. Fun action too!

As far as bass goes, they are still waiting for that warm spell before they fully commit to the shallows. One hot day and fish will move up. However, there are still fish in the shallows but they are not holding to specific areas like usual. Shallow crank baits and spinnerbaits caught a lot of fish, otherwise weightless Mister Twister Comidas proved to be the ticket as well. Right along the inside weed line was key, otherwise along any weed growth in that 3-6 feet range produced as well. A lot of anglers were pitching jigs up in the shallows as well, but we stuck mostly to plastics and shallow cranks. A lot of fish cruising the brown reeds too, but they were extremely spooky and I can't confirm we turned many of those fish into biters. Caught most of our fish off the cast and at distance many of the time. Overall not a horrible weekend for bass, but it would still be nice to see some warmer temps...

The highlight of my weekend was getting a chance to get my family out in the boat. My wife and two boys joined me for a few hours one day. We mostly just cruised around in the boat but managed to catch a few panfish as well. I'm pretty lucky to have two boys who are OBSESSED with being in the boat! The brainwashing worked .......

Here's a picture of my 2 year-old's sunfish...

What a great way to spend the weekend!!

Good luck to everyone hitting the water this week! I'm heading back out to Minnetonka and the Chisago area again this upcoming weekend, I will report back...

[plotzy]

Nice picture Matt!

Interesting weekend. I figured with everyone going up north this weekend, I'd do the opposite and fish the city lakes. (First lake was trolling motors only, second lake you could use your motors)

Went out Saturday morning, a bit chilly, and the wind was whipping if you got away from the south shore, but turned out to be a lot of fun (and nobody else was on the water!). Buddy of mine and I each got a bunch of bass and pike flipping spinners over shallow points where the milfoil hadn't totally taken hold yet. And, my last cast of the day... solid strike, I yelled "There's one!....." and then slack... I slowly reeled in only to see my missed fish was still chasing the spinner. It was a 45"+ muskie. It laughed at me and swam away. I hate that fish.

Yesterday tried another city lake in the evening. Fishing was slow, but it was glass calm. You could see the crappie and bluegills rolling on the surface near the drops. I tried flipping the spinner again, but not as much luck. Got a solid 3 pound bass in about 6ft off the weed edge and some smaller fish. Then on my last run, I cast up to about 2-3ft of water.... and... you guess it.... another muskie grabbed my lure. This one was about a 35" Tiger. And after about 15 seconds of fighting and making a few runs at the boat (scaring the dump out of my girlfriend) it flipped the lure

I know that the season isn't opened yet.... but the Muskie are teasing me already.....

[plotzy]

ok, that was a solid autocorrect... "Scaring the dump..." But i'm sticking with it

[Matt Johnson]

Deck Talk Episode #24 is now live...

Deck Talk - Episode #24 - Soft Rigging - CLICK HERE

In this episode we discuss a few of the many ways to rig soft plastics for bass. We go over everything from Texas-rigging to finesse to drop-shotting. A great way to get into the bass season!!

Enjoy!

[rosspj59]

Great picture of the family Matt and thanks for the metro report.

[Matt Johnson]

Wow... the water temps have definitely changed in the last week! Really seeing more activity in the shallows now and the fish behavior is starting to return to "normal"... as-if we have a definition for normal anymore, LOL. Regardless, the fishing is picking up and I'm seeing and talking with more and more people who are catching fish. Water temps finally holding in the 60s on some lakes and even hitting 70 in some bays/channels... oh, and the fish are there too

We fished a handful of lakes around the Metro in the last week and found fish on a variety of spots. Some fish were out on weed lines (8-13 feet) while other fish were up in a foot of water. A lot of action in that 2-5 foot range too, at least that is where our best numbers (for bass) came from.

We did notice more bass on beds this week and from the looks of things they are moving in and out fast!? I'm not a biologist but is there a certain "incubation" period for eggs before they are hatched/released? Does it make sense for bass to move in and out faster or slower during a particular year or is there a standard time-frame in which these fish need to hold on beds? I'm not sure... anyone else have any answers to that? How long does it take the eggs to mature and does it differ from lake to lake?

As far as tactics used, we threw some shallow cranks, spinnerbaits, jigs... but the most-productive was a weightless texas-rigged Comida pitched at distance. They seem to eat better at the end of the cast, otherwise they spooked too easy if you are on top of the fish. So, we would back off the spot where we knew fish were holding and then bomb-cast over to it... plus the longer fight was fun too

The sunfish are starting to pile up in the shallows now too. I didn't see a ton of beds (or fish holding on beds) yet, but I would imagine that will be happening this week, if it hasn't on some lakes already. The crappies are all over the shallows now too... and eager to bite! Just pitch a 2" tube under a float or swim a Twister tail back to the boat... they will eat it! A fun time of year!

Looks like the weather this week is going to be more stable for a change, at least no major storms look like they will blast the Metro again. Not a lot of warm weather predicted, but at least nothing that should throw the fish off too much... looking forward to a fun week!

[Grum]

Thanks for the report Matt. Always a good read full of info.

[Matt Johnson]

Deck Talk Episode #25 is now live...

In this episode we expand on the line choices available to anglers today. Everything from monofilaments for panfish to braids for larger game fish!

Enjoy!

[Matt Johnson]

Well, it's about time we have some warm weather! I was beginning to forget what the sun looked/felt like! Water temps are definitely rising now, with many area lakes seeing mid 70's for surface temps... even feels good to jump into the water for a quick swim now

As far as fishing goes, the bass have fished their spawn for the most-part with a few stragglers still holding onto beds. Now it's time for the sunfish to move in and they made huge moves in just the last few days. They are also in several different locations, not just shallow shorelines... they are also bedding out in deeper water and I'm actually finding our larger fish in that 8-12 foot range... drop a camera down and you'll see the beds! Fun to watch too, as they will bump and ram the camera at times.

One important thing to remember is that we really need to focus on practicing selective harvest when they sunfish stage on their beds. I usually don't preach about this sort of thing because everyone is entitled to their own choices, but it's very important that we release those bedding fish. It's a big reason why certain lakes drastically decrease the amount of large sunfish... because they are taken out during the spawn. Now, I like to eat fish just like the next guy, but move out into the weeds or onto the weed line and put those fish in the live well, leave the bed fish alone so they can protect the nests and reproduce and continue to restock the lake with more big sunfish. OK, no more ranting

As far as the bass fishing goes, we've been catching a lot of fish, both shallow and deep now, but shallow (less than 5 feet) still seems to be the ticket as of late... although there are some decent pods of fish showing up deeper on lakes like Minnetonka as of yesterday... I would imagine the weed line bite will be in full-effect come this weekend with the continued warm weather! We've been catching our fish with wacky-rigged Comidas, topwater frogs (yes, even in June ), slugs, jigs... a lot of the typical shallow patterns. Also did well on jig worms (LOVE that new Poc' it series Mister Twister Phenom worm!) on the outside weed lines and even up around cover. Some of the finesse tactics will land a lot of fish even when you think they wouldn't. I've been trying to burn cranks but no takers yet

Here's one good one from the other day on Tonka...

Sorry for the botched camera-work, had the iPhone set on a timer as I was out alone at the time

Overall I would say the bite will continue to be productive. We have some stable weather headed our way after tonight... looks like no storms Thurs-Tues (at least from what they are saying right now) and the fishing should be good. Expect to see a lot of the fish to start moving onto the outside weed lines and even over hard bottom areas near weed edges. You can always expect some fish to remain shallow around cover/docks, but I'll be focusing more on deeper structure as we move into next week... gotta go to where the numbers are!

Good luck out there and enjoy the beautiful weekend we have headed our way!!

[Matt Johnson]

Deck Talk Episode #26 is now live...

Deck Talk - Episode #26 - Jig Wormin' - CLICK HERE

In this episode we discuss the ever-popular jig worm and some of the ways you can fish it. We showcase a few different options for jig worm choices as well as line, rod and reel choices to properly match this presentation. Also locational patterns for when/where to use a jig worm!

Enjoy!

[Juan Grande]

Just watched it, great video Matt. Very informative!

[hart0670]

Wow, great video Matt. Thanks for sharing the info! Do you ever notice a difference in using braid vs. a mono or fluoro carbon line for walleye? Also, do you ever recommend tying some fluro carbon on the end of braid? A friend of mine who is a big small mouth fisherman recommended that last year when we were fishing up on Bay de Noc in the UP, I've been using it ever since, but am running low as a few of those toothy critters you referred to have had their way with it over the past few weeks.

[Matt Johnson]

Well, it is true... there is a sun in MN and it shined on us a lot again in the last week!! Felt good to be outside in 80 degree weather and taking advantage of comfortable mornings! Water temps are definitely jumping up too... found 83 degrees in one back channel! Main lake temps continue to rise into the mid to upper 70's (surface) and many fish are already staging along their deeper, summer patterns... which means schooling fish and more of them! This is where the fun really begins... I like the summer months

That being said, you definitely need to start focusing on outside weed lines and deeper edges... the fish are there and are hungry! They will remain on/near these spots for a few months as the waters stay warm. Hard-bottom areas are critical, especially in/near weeds and deep weed edges/points... and this goes for most species... bass, walleye, pike, muskie, panfish... they all use these areas. Pay close attention to your flasher/electronics (I like my Vexilar for showing an accurate reading of the bottom content, otherwise the Lowrance Structure Scan--or Humminbird Side Imaging--can take out a lot of guesswork too). Regardless, the key here is mark these spots on your GPS (or with a buoy) and then hone-in on those areas... KEEP CONTACT WITH THE BOTTOM too... it's very important that you're feeling the bottom as many times you won't get bit if you ride too high over the top of the fish. Many anglers are fishing the right spots, but not fishing the spots in the right way.

Another easy way to find the bottom is with heavy jigs/weights... this might not be your go-to method for catching the fish, but it will help you find the right "fishy" spots then you can go back and dissect the area with your more confident methods. Finding the "spot-on-the-spot" right now, and for much of summer, can payoff in a big way!

So, for you bass-heads, grab the football jigs, Carolina rigs and crankbaits and start plucking away at potential hard-bottom areas... the fish are there!

Otherwise the panfish are still up in the weeds and even on the inside weed lines at times, all depends on the lake. Many lakes are experiencing the sunfish spawn so opportunities to catch a few nice sunfish are there. A lot of the sunfish are spawning out deeper this year too, as deep as even 25 feet on one lake I've been fishing! You find these spots with the underwater camera But for me, the most consistent panfish bite right now is to just fan-cast the inside weed line, and weed pockets, with artificial baits like the Mister Twister Tri-Alive Curly Tail or VIE Shiner, both have excellent action and demand reaction strikes... then you can always go back through and pluck-out the more neutral fish with the Micro Shad or something smaller if needed. Works very well.

In regards to walleyes, the bite has slowed down a little for us, but we are not really targeting them a lot. Still catching a few on the deep weed lines as well as a few mixed in with the bass out on isolated structure. Best bet is to sink some live-bait or pull small cranks like the Salmo Hornet along outside weed lines to cover water... this usually helps put a lot of fish in the boat for a nice mixed-bag if you're just looking for a fun day on the water!

Oh, and the pike are ALL OVER the place Hard to keep them off your line and if you want a few larger fish then throw some crankbaits out deep... deep-diving cranks over rock piles or deep weed humps and you'll tussle with big toothy critter!! Muskies are out there too

Otherwise, here is a photo of one of my client's grandson's out in my boat last week... I had the privilege of guiding three generations in my boat at once! Grandma... son... and grandson! Here is grandson with his big sunfish!!

What a great day on the water that was! That little guy was a fishing machine and was catching everything that swam! Sunfish, crappie, bass... you name it!

Well, looks like we're going to be spoiled with more nice weather the next several days, so hopefully everyone gets the chance to get out and chase down a few fish! Either way, I hope everyone has a safe and happy July 4th holiday and weekend!!

[Matt Johnson]

Wow, great video Matt. Thanks for sharing the info! Do you ever notice a difference in using braid vs. a mono or fluoro carbon line for walleye? Also, do you ever recommend tying some fluro carbon on the end of braid? A friend of mine who is a big small mouth fisherman recommended that last year when we were fishing up on Bay de Noc in the UP, I've been using it ever since, but am running low as a few of those toothy critters you referred to have had their way with it over the past few weeks.

Yes, there are differences between the two and I have used both... you will get more sensitivity from the braid, because of no stretch and composition. Mono will have some stretch so depending on the depth and aggressive nature you can do better with mono at times. I prefer to use a light braid if I can, but oftentimes I stuck to a copolymer (mono and fluoro mix) for a lot of walleye applications... fluoro is a great leader material though. I might also lean towards braid in weedy conditions, so that I can rip through the weeds and have a better chance at one of those larger toothy critters

As far as tying fluoro to braid, I will do at times. It allows you to have the characteristics of braid yet keep things "finessed" for finicky walleye. The fluoro leader can help with line-shy fish. Definitely something you can do and for a variety of situations...

[plotzy]

Hit Lake Rebecca yesterday. Peaceful, both in good ways and bad. It was nice in that we were the only ones on the water besides one other boat. Saw eagles and ospreys. Little to no wind. It was bad in that the fish apparently weren't there either. Threw bucktails and bulldogs for Muskies. Brought two up to the boat before sunset but no takers. Even through topwaters for a bit. I was surprised we didn't even get a surface for one to come up and check out what was going on. Obviously I needed Matt in the boat to help figure out what we were doing wrong. A perfect day should end with a muskie in the boat, not just swarms of mosquitos.

[Matt Johnson]

What sort of depths did you fish? I've been noticing a lot of the muskies have moved out deeper. Deepest weed lines you can find, same with any isolated main lake structure with weed growth. Now I haven't spent a lot of time chasing muskies lately but we've seen a bunch from those areas... also saw a giant on Tonka in about 4 feet of water on the inside weed line too, but I think she was just digesting her morning meal

[hart0670]

Thanks for the info on the various lines. I'll be heading up to Canada in a month for 5 days of walleye fishing, and figure I'll set up a different pole with each approach you suggested, and see what works the best! Understanding that the fish in Canada are a bit unique, it should still give me some more clarity.

[Matt Johnson]

Deck Talk Episode #27 is now live...

Deck Talk - Episode #27 - Hard Bottom Success - CLICK HERE

In this episode we discuss the importance of finding hard bottom, especially around or near weeds, for a more productive day on the water. Everything from locating hard bottom to the presentations used for the best results. An excellent tactic for putting more, and bigger, bass in the boat this season!

Enjoy!

[Matt Johnson]

HOT... HOT... HOT!!! This weather is crazy! Always fun when it's already 75 degrees when you're launching the boat at 5am! Must be mid-July!

Good news though, the fishing has been good for those finding deeper fish. I've been talking a lot about deep structure and focusing on hard bottom areas in or around weeds and that couldn't have held more true in the last several days... the fish are definitely holding in these areas and the bite can be great if you hit enough spots and find the school. I've been spending a lot of time on Minnetonka chasing bass and sometimes it might take 2, 3 or 4 spots before we find them but keep moving. Minnetonka is a funny beast as there are so many productive spots but they don't always hold fish, but then the next day they will! LOL... gotta love it out there!

Biggest key factor... hard bottom as tight to weeds as you can find it. Doesn't need to be big boulders, just gravel or small rocks in or near deep weeds and the fish are there. Don't be afraid to drop down your underwater camera, I use my Vexilar Fish Scout all the time out there to play around in the weeds and see what I can find. There are also some excellent hard bottom/rock spots in that 6-10 foot range in the thick weeds too, and these spots can be fished with traditional techniques because the weeds lay down more due to bottom content. Some big fish coming off shallower rocks right now too.

We have found a handful of fish out deeper, like 20+ feet off the end of deep points and saddles. These fish seem to be moving a lot more and we haven't caught multiple fish casting to the same spot... yet... but they will school up on these spots at times as well. The most consistent bite (where multiple fish are caught on one spot) is still the hard bottom, weed-orientated fish... 12-16 feet of water.

As far as what we're throwing at them... a lot of crankbaits and rock jigs (football jigs) as well as jigworms. We deployed a few Carolina rigs but they weren't needed. You can usually get them to go on a crankbait (like a Salmo Boxer #7 deep or a Rapala DT-16) but then we will come back through some of the same spots with the jigs and pick up a few more. It also doesn't hurt to have each angler (if more than one are in the boat) throwing something different... one bombing a crankbait and one throwing a jig. Make sure to keep contact with the bottom and fish the jigs slow. Also pause the crankbaits from time to time so the bait rises a foot, then dig it back into the bottom. The fish like that

The pike are also holding around these areas, so you will probably tie into a few pike, especially if you're throwing crankbaits. Some nice pike coming out of Minnetonka right now too!

Here is a shot of a good one I got out on Minnetonka a couple days ago...

Looks like another day or so of warm weather, then 70's for the weekend! It's going to feel nice out there so make sure you get out and enjoy it!

[masoct3]

Nice catch, Matt. Minnetonka holds some monsters.

[plotzy]

Just catching up on my previous post... we were in 5-12 feet cruising the edge of the lake and the sunken islands...

Anyone go out this weekend with the cold front going through? I bailed on it as I though the fishing would be slow, but thinking of heading out today or tomorrow.