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Posted

Hey there, i'm new to the forum and very passionate about bass fishing! I'm from the saint cloud, MN area and i'm looking for good bass fishing locations? I prefer to fish ponds and lakes and im definitely willing to travel. Anyone willing to share a few spots? 

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators
Posted

Welcome to the forums. It's great to see you here. 

Check out the Minnesota Fishing Reports Club for more specific information on that.

Generally they will share general fishing report information in here. Otherwise too many lurkers see the info and specific locations can get crowded in a hurry.

Check out some of the reports, follow the guys you're interested in and feel free to ask in their fishing report threads. Especially follow those who are part of the Official Fishing Reports Team. 

Again, check out the club for the best info only members can see.

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Posted

Grand Lake is a local lake that is quietly one of the best, Two Rivers and Pleasant would also be good choices. Big Fish, the Chain, Kronis and Rice to the West also are good.

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  • Official Fishing Report Team - MN
Posted

Welcome to the site!

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Posted

@mindak hunter thank you i will definitely check those lakes out. Have you been to any of them this year? 

@icehawk thank you for the welcome, very excited to be apart of  the site! 

Posted

Welcome to to Fishing Minnesota, TheEyesofanAngler. My favorite lake for bass in our area is definitely Clearwater. It takes a bit to learn the lake, but the rewards are more than worth it.  Littlerock also holds some very nice Largemouth with a few bonus smallies mixed in... I know you said lakes and ponds, but the Mississippi here in town and  the sections above the Sartell and Blanchard dams all are exelent smallmouth fisheries.  

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Posted

I like Clearwater too.  I haven't fished in in a couple years now but I used to and we caught a lot of fish out there.  The one negative was all the competition - there seemed to be a tournament almost every weekend.

Another overlooked place to target smallmouth: RIVERS.  The Sauk River and the Mississippi between St Cloud and Elk River is plum full of bass and receives minimal fishing pressure (its just my opinion but rivers in general are very under fished here in MN).

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Posted

agree with gimruis.  look to the river.

Your chances of catching a 3# bass or better are exponentially better on the river.  (There's a reason SC/mississippi was chosen for the Gov's opener last year--the Mississippi around here is really a world class smallmouth fishery.)  (most river rats will tell you that you can essentially catch smallies any time of year and often as by-catch while targeting other species.)  Below the SC dam is pretty much catch and release only (all 12-20 inchers must be released) but it's quite loaded with big smallies! (and lots of good shore areas on public land)  Just be prepared to lose a few lures on snags...

Frankly, If you want to stick to lakes, I think you can pretty much pick a lake in a 30 mile radius...--most produce bass in good quantity, it's just years may vary in terms of sizes.  Clearwater is good.  Consider Bass lake adjacent to it.  (...it's not just a clever name.)

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Posted

Welcome TheEyesofanAngler!

A ton of good bass lakes around the area.  For numbers of 2 to 4 lb bass, the eastern Todd County lakes near Burtrum and NW Morrison county are hard to beat as well.

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators
Posted

Welcome to the forum.  Lots of good options already given.  Have some fun!

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Posted

Lake Sylvia is great for bass also lake Francis near Kimball is good too a little smaller but great action! The Mississippi sounds fun I should try it myself.

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Posted

I agree the Mississippi I love the river I don't know much about it up there as I live more south

But I fish the Mississippi just south of Elk river and the Rum river for Small mouth. I will take a 3lb river smallie fight over a 5lb lake bass any day ?

Plus Get some bonus walleyes and big Northern as well

  

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Posted

I'm not sure why rivers are so over looked here.  Its probably because we have so many lake options.  Plus some of these stretches of the river are quite shallow/rocky so I think that turns people off about launching a sizable boat.

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Posted

I’ve heard phenomenal things about the rivers, willhave to pull the kayak out and get on it. Thank you everyone for the feedback. I’ve checked out Clearwater, I really enjoyed it but lately it seems to tough for my 14ft boat to be stable out there on a windy day.  I’ve had success in Avon lately. 

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators
Posted

Nice outing and very nice pics.

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Posted

Those are some nice fat bass?. Avon area is fun, lots of good water out there. Spunk chain has nice green bass and a bonus walleye now and then.  . Pelican and Pine are both worth a try a couple times a yr as well, have done very goid on Pine when its been too windy to get on the bigger lakes. You mentioned a kayak? St Johns lakes are awsome, though I haven't been out there in couple yrs

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Posted

it definitely is a good area! i appreciate the advice i''ll definitely get out there a couple times to give it a try. Yes, i do have a kayak. My friend is always talking about st johns.

 

Side note: Has anyone ever had a chance to get out to Calhoun or Lake of isles?  I heard the bass are there in fairly large size.. 

Posted
4 hours ago, TheEyesofanAngler said:

Side note: Has anyone ever had a chance to get out to Calhoun or Lake of isles?  I heard the bass are there in fairly large size.. 

I used to fish the City lakes quite a bit many years ago.  Calhoun was a go to for me to have a fun bass fishing day.  I can’t tell you how things are now but back then (1990’s) I’d not only expect numbers but at least one 5 lbr each outing.  My best from there was 6lb 4oz caught on a 10 inch black/blue Power Worm.  We used Carolina Rigged lizards as our second best bait.  We lost some of those to the muskies though.

Lake of the Isles was not as good to us but had more interesting Muskie stories than Calhoun did.  

Heck, is it even called “Calhoun” anymore?

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Posted

it actually was renamed from my understanding, but its easier for me to go with the old name.. i definitely would want to head out there. Thanks wanderer for the feedback. might've been the push i needed to go wet the lines next week. 

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • Wanderer
      Oh man, sorry.  It all happed so fast I didn’t even think of it till it was too late…   I’m contemplating my selfishness over a bowl of Quaker Oats Maple and Brown sugar (made with milk), fresh ground Caribou coffee with half and half, and Second Harvest wheat toast with Gunflint Trail WILD Blueberry jam.     I will try to not talk about food again without photo backup. 😉 
    • JerkinLips
      Lake conditions remain very good.  Had 18 inches of ice by my house, so added 4 inches of ice in the 5 days since I was last out.  The ice was more than 90% bare.  Pickups were driving all over.  I even drove my small car out to the house.  With the lack of snow cover, I assume that the rest of the lake is in very good travel conditions.   Fishing was very good but they were quite small.  The biggest I caught was only 16 inches.  The rest of the walleyes were 10-13 inches.  Best bite was from 830-1000.  I finally managed to catch an eye after dark (the 16 incher at 5pm) and fished late enough to catch an 18-inch eelpout (yuck).  That was the signal to call it a day.   Good luck fishing, be careful on the ice and courteous to others.  And please pick up your trash.  
    • leech~~
      Yes, the pictures look perfect!  
    • Wanderer
      I know you hate it - but you did it wrong. lol!
    • smurfy
      What a way to ruin fish with panko!🙄
    • Wanderer
      Just finished fresh fish dinner.  Did some in beer batter this time but after dredging in the batter, I rolled in 60/40 mix of seasoned panko and grated parm.   O m g ……. Yes…..   Kona Big Wave was the beer of choice BTW.
    • Wanderer
      Yep.  Planning on being out there this weekend and trying one of last year’s spots that is miles out.  If that don’t pop, there’s the whole dang lake to try and find a new one.
    • Kettle
      You can go from highbanks now to raven point if you wanted. No cracks there yesterday 
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the South Shore... Ice fishing is in full swing on the south shore of Lake of the Woods, with resorts and outfitters continuing to report solid ice conditions and some good fishing. Many ice roads are now open to 1 ton vehicles pulling a wheelhouse.  Every road has different weight limits, check with each resort for details before traveling up and out on the ice.      Most fishing activity is happening in 26 - 32 feet of water.  Most anglers are sorting through some small fish to catch their keepers with an occasional slot or trophy walleye.   Most buckets have some good quality walleyes and saugers. Jumbo perch, northern pike, and large eelpout are also adding excitement to the mix, with a few sturgeon showing up as well.   Anglers are using the one-two punch of jigging in one hole and deadsticking the second hole. In the jigging hole, your favorite small to mid sized jigging spoon in gold, glow red, glow white, pink, chartreuse or a combo of these colors tipped with a minnow head. Rattles can help as well in the stained water.   Some anglers are finding success on jigging raps and rippin raps as well.  More aggressive techniques at times are really getting it done.   On the deadstick, a small jig with a live minnow hooked behind the dorsal fin set 6 inches - a foot off of the bottom is working well.   Using electronics is very helpful to see suspended fish, know when fish are coming through and adjust your presentation to the mood of each fish.   On the Rainy River... The Rainy River is still producing some nice fish but the good walleye bite has slowed some.  Anglers are catching some decent numbers of walleyes and saugers, with several nice-sized sturgeon showing up nicely for those angling for them. However, caution remains crucial on the river, as ice conditions can vary significantly due to the current.   Catch-and-release sturgeon fishing continues to be good.  To stay safe and maximize success, always work with a local resort or outfitter familiar with river conditions.   Up at the NW Angle... Ice fishing is going very well up at the Northwest Angle. Resorts have fish houses out with anglers already enjoying excellent success.   The NW Angle is delivering its usual consistent fishing, with a nice mix of walleyes, saugers, jumbo perch, and pike being caught. Resorts and outfitters in the area are working hard to place fish houses on points, reefs and over deep mud.     Ice fishing is in full swing and there are openings for lodging and fish house rentals on both ends of the lake.     For more information on fish house rentals, lodging, and updates on ice conditions, visit fishingminnesota.com.
    • Wanderer
      Would you believe it if I told you I know what that “Northern MN” lake was?  Haha!   I agree with a lot of what the findings in that study but they still had more work to do.  Aaron Wiebe of Uncut Angling got tied up in that debate shortly after the video you posted aired.  They’ve still been rehashing opinions, variations and suggestions about that study since it happened.   At least it’s being acknowledged and the nay sayers probably just don’t want to stop fishing some easy fish they’ve found.  Anybody who can be objective about their own actions and fishes a lot has to know this is real.  But also it occurs at varying degrees depending on the fish and the body of water.
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