West Metro - Minnetonka, Waconia, Prior Lake Fishing Reports by Great Day on the Water Guide Service

[Avid Angler]

Try slow trolling a thumper jig or whistler jig along the weedline.

I like to tip with a minnow.

Crappies love them.

[huskie0302]

I agree with avid, tough thing is the pike love em too. Avid delete some messages. I tried to pm you

[Avid Angler]

Hey Huskie,

Should be good to go.

Avid

[huskie0302]

Still over, throw me a pm. Just seeing how the bites been and maybe exchange some pointers.

[Troy Smutka]

September has arrived. With it should come cooler temps, lower dew points and sun angle, and some great fishing and hunting opportunities. Fish should start to school up and feed heavily (if the air temps do cool so the water temps cool as well), and early goose hunting, small game hunting, and later duck hunting will be underway as well. Later in the month we should be able to enjoy these outdoor activities with brilliant fall colors as a backdrop. Get out and enjoy!

[Central Bassman]

Is it possible to get an update on the water level, clarity and temp on Waconia? Thinking of heading out their this weekend for some largemouth action.

[Troy Smutka]

Well guys, I will be signing off for fishing reports until the ice is thick enough. My boat has sold--I will be ordering a new one around the holidays--and duck hunting begins this weekend, so the rods are put away and the shotguns are out. Check for waterfowl hunting reports on the duck and goose hunting forum, and I will begin posting ice fishing reports here in December. Have a great fall.

[Troy Smutka]

12/21/13 West Metro

Out on a West Metro lake ice fishing for the first time. Found 12 inches of good ice. Found lots of sunfish and crappies, mostly nice ones, in 20 foot basin area right off the edge of shallower, weedy, reef. Caught maybe 100 panfish and one bass on Fat Boys and Diamond Jigs tipped with a single waxworm or two to three red Eurolarvae. Caught most fish from three to six feet up from the bottom. Kept a meal of sunnies and crappies, could have kept 2/3 of the fish we caught. Also caught two nice pike on live suckers under tip-ups in 8 feet along the weed edge on the shallower reef. Good luck, and stay safe.

[Troy Smutka]

12/28/13 SW Metro

Finding 14 to 17 inches of good ice on SW Metro lakes. This next cold spell should make a bunch more since there isn't much snow on the area lakes. Still catching panfish on SW Metro lakes over deep holes right next to shallower points or reefes with weeds. Catching an occasional bass, pike, and walleye as well. Nice bluegills up to 9 inches. Crappies are smaller and less frequent during daylight, but catching more and bigger in the dark. Waxies and Eurolarvae on very small Diamond Jigs and Tungsten Jigs are catching the bluegills and some crappies. Also catching crappies on a dead stick with a crappie minnow under a slip float. Suckers under tip-ups are catching some pike, and fatheads under tip-ups are catching walleyes, especially after dark--gotta love those tip-up strike indicator lights. Good luck, and I will see you out there somewhere.

[Troy Smutka]

1/12/14 West Metro

Fish are biting well on west metro area lakes. We made good ice during our visit from Siberia. Most west metro lakes have around two feet of good ice now. This weekend we fished two different lakes in the area, and caught lots of sunfish, including fish up to 8 3/4 inches, lots of crappies up to 12 inches, a few pike, and a couple of 16 inch walleyes. Fish are from the weed edge on mainlake reefs and points out into the deeper basin areas adjacent. Catching bluegills and pike all day--crappies and walleyes are better in late afternoon and at night. Good luck.

[Troy Smutka]

2/1/14 Lake Waconia

31 inches of ice on Waconia, and the fish are biting well. We caught dozens of sunfish leading up to sunset with a few crappies, and then many more crappies and a couple walleyes after dark. Small tungsten jigs with Eurolarvae were the best for the sunnies, and after dark the crappies and walleyes came on small Frostee Spoons tipped with 1" Gulp! Minnows. Snow is starting to drift and pile up in spots, so stick close to the plowed roads, especially after dark. Good luck, and I will see you out there somewhere.

[Avid Angler]

Nice report Smut!!

Great work as always!

Avid

[Troy Smutka]

2/8/14 Lake Waconia

Thanks Avid! Guiding trip on Waconia Saturday. Clients caught hundreds of sunfish all day long. Kept a limit of 7.75 to 8.5 inchers. Caught dozens of crappies early and late. Kept a limit of 8.5 to 11 inchers. They are looking forward to a couple fish fries. Sunnies came on #12 Tungsten jigs tipped with one or two red Eurolarvae or a red 1" Gulp! Fish Fry. Crappies came on #10 Fat Boys and 1/16 oz. Frostee Spoons tiped with waxies or 1" Gulp! Minnows. Some crappies came on crappie minnows under a slip float. Fishing 20 feet of water off the edge of a weedy reef, on a tip of a point. 32-33 inches of ice on this area of Waconia so bring an extension for your auger. With that amount of ice and snow starting to pile on top of it, lots of ice fishing yet to be had. Email or call me if you want some help. Good luck, stay safe, and I will see you out there somewhere.

[Troy Smutka]

2/15/14 West Metro

Fish are still biting well on west metro area lakes. You will need an extension for your auger on many area lakes. We found 31 inches on Prior, but 36 inches on Waconia. Catching mostly panfish now, with an occasional walleye or pike. Panfish are in deep water basin areas near shallower points or reefs. Small tungsten jigs tipped with waxies, Eurolarvae, or Gulp! are catching sunnies early and late. Crappies are hitting the same baits early, late, and at night, but are also taking live minnows under a float and small jigging spoons. Good luck, and watch where you are driving as all of this fresh snow could cause travel problems off the plowed roads.

[Troy Smutka]

3/8/14 Prior Lake

Big bluegills biting on Prior this weekend. We stayed out all day on Saturday and while the bite was not extremely fast, we caught over 100 sunnies in about 8 hours. We kept a meal, baker's dozen, of blugills from 8 to 9 inches. Threw back 30-40 more that we could have kept had we needed more than one meal. There is 38 inches of ice--bring an extension for your auger. Good roads plowed for removing wheel houses, and plenty of areas plowed open off the roads from where houses were removed. Stay on the roads, the snow is deep in spots. We saw one vehicle get stuck when it left the road. #14 Custom Jigs and Spins Chekai Tungsten jigs tipped with red Eurolarvae or red 1" Gulp! Fish Fry was the best bait. Caught fish in 21 feet of water just off a shallower reef. Good luck and see you out there somewhere.

[Troy Smutka]

3/15/14 West Metro

Found much less snow on the ice this weekend, but still 34 inches of ice. Less snow and not too much slush or water made travel relatively easy on the lake. Caught tons of bluegills up to 9" in 21 feet of water. Didn't keep any, but could have easily kept a limit if we wanted any. #14 Chekai Tungsten jigs in white and chartreuse/orange tipped with red Eurolarvae outfished other presentations. Good luck and stay safe. See you out there somewhere.

[Troy Smutka]

3/24/14 West Metro

Bluegills are biting well on west metro area lakes. We caught tons on Prior on Monday, keeping a meal of fish from 8 to 8.5 inches. Even threw back two over nine inches. Thirty-one inches of ice on Lower Prior, with not much snow left on top other than a few piles plowed for removing wheel houses. No water or slush problems yet either, and ice is solid and not receding at the shoreline. Ice out is a ways off yet, I am afraid. In the meantime, get out and enjoy some great panfishing through the ice. Some fish are deep yet, and some are starting to move shallower. As it continues to warm, hopefully, and the ice thins, more and more fish should move towards weeds in shallow bays that will be greening up and attracting baitfish once sunlight can start to penetrate. The bite will be good up shallow until you can no longer walk out on the ice. Be safe, and I will see you out there somewhere.

[Troy Smutka]

3/29/14 West Metro

Good day of fishing on Prior this morning. Still 30 inches of ice, but not much slush, snow, or water. Sunnies and crappies are transitioning from deep holes to shallower reefs, points, and bays. Fish are scattered, so we had to move after a good morning bite in one location and jump from hole to hole in the late morning and early afternoon. Plenty of fish to be had, including some nice gills. Good luck and stay safe--see you out there somewhere.

[Troy Smutka]

4/5/14

Fished Prior this morning. Caught a lot of bluegills and a couple crappies. Some really big bluegills mixed in with the smaller ones. #14 Chekai Tungsten Jig with waxies or Eurolarvae in 18-21 feet of water. Still 28 inches of ice, but the ice has deteriorated dramatically the past week. Auger zipped through quickly, and the ice is honeycombing. Water is now very murky after being quite clear a week ago. Shoreline is getting slushy. We walked, I would not recommend driving anymore. Don't let the inches of ice fool you--it is not good ice anymore. Safe to walk on, so get out and enjoy some great panfish action. See you out there somewhere.

[Avid Angler]

Nice work!

I was out yesterday. I think that is my last time out. Had a blast catching gills and crappies.

Time to get the boat ready!!

Avid

[Troy Smutka]

Amen! Bring on the open water and the crappies

[Troy Smutka]

5/4/14

Caught over a hundred crappies in a couple hours on Waconia today. Water is still cold, and the fish turn on and off, but great to be out on open water. We found fish in 10-11 feet of water outside of the newly developing weed edge in a shallow bay. Fish were roaming and a bit finicky. We did best with a jig with a Fuzzy Grub or Gulp! Minnow under a float, suspended about four to five feet down over ten to eleven feet of water. Most of the fish were from 8 to 10 inches, but we caught plenty of 11-13 inchers as well, and I lost a fish around 15 inches at the boat. No net, and too big to flip. Fishing should get better, with the fish moving shallower in and around the weeds, as the water warms. Good luck, be safe, and see you out there.

[jjohnson5150]

Fun day to be on the lake. It was amazing how much a bit of sun and lack of wind gets things going again. Sat was harsh, but yesterday was a perfect spring day to be out.

[Troy Smutka]

5/18/14

Fifty-five degree water temps on Waconia today. Crappies still hanging in weeds in 10-12 feet of water and biting pretty good. Jigs with Gulp! Minnows or Fuzzy Grubs under a float caught tons of fish. A few sunfish starting to show up in the same areas. Good luck, and see you out there somewhere.

[hart0670]

Hi Smuts, how far below the float do you set the jig?

[Troy Smutka]

Hart0670

We have been fishing the jig 4-5 feet below the float. Always best to fish at or above crappies. Good luck.

[hart0670]

Thanks for the info - I'm going to give it a shot this weekend!

[Troy Smutka]

5/26/14 Happy Memorial Day Weekend and thank you to all of you who have served our country.

Hit Waconia for the bass opener. Fished Saturday and Sunday mornings. Caught 45 largemouth between 14 and 20.75 inches. Also caught somewhere around 20 smaller bass and one 33-inch pike. Bass are staging in cabbage and curly leaf in 7 to 10 feet of water outside of bedding areas. Bedding should begin in the next couple of days. A few fish were already shallow preparing to bed, but most were deeper. Caught females full of eggs in addition to many males. Best bait was a spinnerbait slow-rolled through the tops of the weeds. Crappies are spawning, so fewer of them around the marina with more sunfish showing up there. Found small male crappies willing to bite in some of the same areas we found the bass. They were chasing our spinnerbaits, so you shouldn't have any trouble getting them to bite on smaller panfish offerings. Bluegills should start bedding in another week or two if the water keeps warming. Contact me if you would like to get in on some of the best fishing of the year. June is booking up fast but I have a few openings. Good luck and I will see you out there somewhere.

[RiverChuckNorris]

Hit Waconia for the first time ever yesterday with a buddy for some casual crappie fishing. Weather was beautiful and the smaller panfish were quite cooperative boating 30-40 in a few hrs. Biggest was just under 10". 14 fow was most productive with jig & minnow. Some action on cranks as well. All C&R (except the Coors Light )

[SouperStar22]

Will be heading to Waconia for the first time any help will be great will try to target wallys if can but if run to crappies even better. Where can I start and where should I launch I will be doin more research on this lake thanks for the help