Jump to content
  • GUESTS

    If You  want access  to member only forums on FM, You will need to Sign-in or  Sign-Up now .

    This box will disappear once you are signed in as a member.

Your Favorite Crappie Fishing Lakes In MN


Rick

Recommended Posts

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

and Why...

 

I like Elephant Lake well north of Duluth because the huge unfished schools of crappies with little pressure.

 

Lake of the Woods because it can by dynamite for huge slabs, especially in Canada north of Flag Island.

 

French Lake in southern MN, even though it's heavily pressured many miss out on the rare gems because they stick with the crowds and fall to adjust there technique. It's not unusual for a stealthy angler to pull in 12" to 14" crappies. Most do not. It's a challenge.

 

Another sneaky good spot is Cutfoot Sioux and dont be surprised when the bull gills show up.

 

Mille Lacs used to be good for some giants  in the SE part of the lake. They're still there but the numbers and average size are down.

 

For sheer numbers and healthy size, Island Lake, west of Bemidji can be a blast.

 

What are some of you're favorite crappies fishing lakes in MN.

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pelican at Orr can be awesome at the right time.  If the is very little wind sometimes you can find them sharking and catch them a foot under your bobber.  

  • Thumbs Up 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators
44 minutes ago, JBMasterAngler said:

All my favorites are a secret!

I highly doubt that. You may not want to share your favorite lakes and that's fine. Fear is a funny thing.

  • Thumbs Up 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Portage near Cass can give up some great craps. Same with Leech. It seems lakes that have good Muskie populations also have good crappie populations - probably something to do with habitat.

But with the cyclical nature of crappies, it can be difficult to develop a favorite that doesn’t “crap out” a couple years after being great. So it seems I’m continually in search mode. I guess my favorite is wherever I can catch ‘em.

  • Thumbs Up 2
  • l Love It 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders

Birch lake by Babbitt, Mississippi River, and Mille Lacs Lake.

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bowstring, not for the size or numbers but the color. Those fish are black and gold/yellow. Most vibrant color crappies I've seen. Guessing it has something to do with water clarity

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So many lakes, so little time. I love the iron range lakes. always the chance at finding a school of slabs, and that great black and gold color.

224.JPG

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/7/2018 at 2:53 PM, Cyrus83 said:

So many lakes, so little time. I love the iron range lakes. always the chance at finding a school of slabs, and that great black and gold color.

224.JPG

Name, lure type, color, time, gps location,....? ?

  • Confused 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, BobT said:

Name, lure type, color, time, gps location,....? ?

Hmmmm, Moore lake, daredevil, black and white, high noon, 

45.075657,-93.244636

?

  • Yayyyy 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Rick, I had no idea French had some descent crappie hiding out in there.  I was just in the area this morning on circle lake, and got into a good school of perch with two being eater size, but threw them back.

 

My favorite crappie lake two inlets lake north of park rapids been going there every summer since I was a kid.  Good structure all over the lake.

 

  • I Like it 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Big Mantrap... Another good musky lake that's loaded with crappies. Special regs do apply here. Its one of my 10 favorite crappie lakes... I forgot the names of the other 9.

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Red is still a spot that will hold a memory of crappie fishing for hopefully my lifetime!  I love to fish the Whitefish chain in Crosslake but the last 3-5 years has been crazy with fisherman in the spring.  Osakis is a good lake too!  I wish I was able to venture around the state more in pursuit of slabs but most weekends I just stick to the WFC in Crosslake.

  • l Love It 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’m surprised no one has said Lake Minnetonka yet. Ron Schara’s annual crappie contest always yields some enormous crappies in early May. Last year the winner was a 16.5 incher.

  • I Like it 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.....Lida w/o a doubt....both N and S.  That 11" minimum to keep has done wonders for the quantity and quality.

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Official Fishing Report Team - MN
3 hours ago, bbfenatic said:

Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.....Lida w/o a doubt....both N and S.  That 11" minimum to keep has done wonders for the quantity and quality.

Totally Agree the 11 inch rule should be state wide. It produces some serious slabs ! Lida is one of the best with Big Pine a close second 

  • Thumbs Up 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • JerkinLips
      Pretty tough.  Was catching about 2 walleyes per hour and the biggest was only 13".  Back up Thursday so I hope I have better success.
    • smurfy
      the kid and I always check our stands prior.......i'll go back to check the conditions of said stands before he gets there to see what we need. while i'm at it if i can i shoot at grouse with shells that appear to not have bb,s in them!!!!🙄
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the South Shore...  With unseasonably warm weather, there are still some anglers hitting the water and most have been rewarded.  Limits of walleyes and saugers being caught, and the forecast looking ahead is favorable. The best bite on the south end of LOW has been in 22-28 feet of water. Water temperatures are dropping and as the temps cool further, the bite has been excellent.     Vertical jigging with frozen emerald shiners has been the program for most anglers.  Bring plenty of bait, as you’ll need to sort through some smaller fish and short biters.  Plenty of eater fish to be had, just have to do a bit of sorting.  Anglers are also reporting very good numbers of jumbo perch and occasional pike mixed in with the walleyes.     For those fishing structure, if you slide up on top of a rock pile, don't be surprised to catch a big smallmouth bass, there are plenty around.   This week’s hot colors have been gold, gold/glow white, gold/chartreuse, gold/orange, and gold/glow white/pink.     One tip, a stinger hook on your jig will catch you more fish if you start missing too many fish. On the Rainy River...  Bait dealers are reporting good numbers of shiners in the river this past week.  Interesting, each night is different.  Some areas have the small shiners called pinheads.  Other areas have the larger minnows.     The river is producing some nice walleyes in various spots from Four Mile Bay to Wheeler's Point, to Baudette all the way to Birchdale.  There are 42 miles of navigable Rainy River from the mouth to Birchdale with plenty of public boat ramps along the way.     Walleyes are being caught in various depths, but 15-25 feet of water has been good.   Jigging with live or frozen emerald shiners has been highly effective. Some anglers are also trolling crankbaits to cover more ground and find fish. Both methods are producing solid results. Sturgeon fishing has been strong.  The catch-and-release sturgeon fishing is open into the spring when it changes to the "keep season" on April 24th. Up at the NW Angle...  Fall fishing continues to be excellent. Points, neck-down areas with current, shoreline breaks, and transition zones from rock to mud are all productive locations for walleye right now.   It is traditionally a mixed bag up around the many islands in this part of the lake and this fall is no different.  In addition to walleyes, pike, jumbo perch, and crappies are in the mix.  A jig and minnow has been the most effective presentation. Good muskie fishing is the norm during the fall of the year and area reports have been good.  In addition to casting, trolling shorelines, points and neckdown areas has been effective.  Muskies are often targeting schooling tullibees this time of year. The weather forecast for the next couple of weeks is conducive for fall fishing.  If you don't deer hunt, or if you have harvested your deer, consider some bonus walleye action before the ice forms.  The bite continues to be excellent.    
    • leech~~
    • gimruis
      I'm not one to leave that to chance the day I need it.  I always check on my stands prior to the season.  Just like I always shoot my rifle before the season and I always run my outboard motor before fishing opener.  Too many things to go wrong without confirming it ahead of time.   I guess it could have been beavers but the house itself didn't appear nearly big enough along one ditch.  It was about the size of chair.  I've seen beavers houses many times before and they appear much bigger than that.
    • leech~~
      Good thing you made a check run.  That would have really suked walking into opening day.  Why do you think muskrats and not beavers?  
    • gimruis
      Well I checked on stands over the weekend.  Kind of a disaster.   All the ditches are plum full and twice as wide becauase muskrats have clogged an area.  I spent an hour unclogging it and the water is slowly moving again, but our bridges and planks were underwater.  The back portion of the land where the best stand is was inaccessible.  Hopefully that changes by Saturday.  I have a feeling the muskrats are just going to clog it back up again.   Tons of standing corn still too.  They've started on it, but being so wet now with more rain coming, whatever's there will remain there for the foreseeable future.   All the grassland is completely flattened like a pancake due to 3-4 inches of heavy wet snow.  That eliminates about 75% of the pheasant habitat in this spot.  Total buzz kill.  And this specific spot was one of my better producers last season because the grass was intact and lush through December last year.
    • BWpineisland
      Jerkin, how was the fishing?
    • JerkinLips
      45.6°F Saturday afternoon.  Lake Vermilion was quite empty.
    • leech~~
      Plenty of ducks and geese's in the Kettle this winter you say!  
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.