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best panfish lakes in area

fishhawk1750
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fishhawk1750 Community Regular

fishhawk1750

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With ice out coming, what are your favorite panfish lakes in the area? I love the Rat!

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steve schmidt Contributor

steve schmidt

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Fishhawk.....I put a thread on about Rat Lake last year and didnt get any replies...only info on Minnewaha (SP)

My grandpa used to fish Rat years back and caught decent gills. I asked last year if they were still there and the only talk was about crappies. I am thinking of stopping by there on my way to Blackduck this spring...kind of a nostalgia trip....

Otherwise, I fish around Blackduck and Bemidji.

Are the gills there still decent or not? Thanks in advance.

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iland99 Community Regular

iland99

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Esquaghama is a pretty decent panfish lake. My favorite lake to fish is Moulton though. Don't really catch too many fish but it's so far back there it's always nice and quiet. Waukenabo/West lake is another good one.

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JVinny Apprentice

JVinny

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Rat lake was fished pretty hard this winter. The size of crappies and sunnies has been declining the past 3 years. I have been fishing this lake pretty consistantly in May and June for the last 20 years. If you you want snake northerns, there are plenty of those to be had. Do not know how much I will fish Rat this time. Probably go to wawa or sandy.

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GRUMPY1962 Explorer

GRUMPY1962

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does anyone have any info on GUN LAKE? i hear that lake years ago had nice panfish. i just read with disappointment about the extreme fishing pressure that mille lacs is having in isle bay. i used to live up north and we used to hate seeing the crowds come to fish our lake. it really doesnt take long for 50-100 people to fish out a small panfish lake.

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knoppers Mentor

knoppers

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GRUMPY1962
I only fish gun for bass and pike, I have heard of some nice panfish, but don't have a clue where.
I here ya on the fishing pressure, thats why its so darn hard to get good info on a hot panfish bite nowadays. I know I don't even give my uncles a tip on how good they may be biting on my lake, since they seem to have to always keep there limit. large panfish are good for one thing, and thats catch and release. since they are such a blast to catch on ultra lite gear.

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Scott S Enthusiast

Scott S

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Hey hollywood moulton is a great lake and its quiet, until the sun starts to go down. Then your donating to the mosquito blood bank. Where do you fish on the lake, am familiar with it but fished it only for walleyes. Shoot me an email [email protected]

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DoctorB Enthusiast

DoctorB

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Gun is just like Rat and that is not even close to what it used to be. You can thank the readers of Outdoor News for its (Gun) demise. Both used to be a lot of fun and frankly, the bigger panfish were pretty easy to predict and catch. The problem is that people just don't catch and release nice panfish. I go to Minnewawa when I'm in the area and would like to catch decent panfish now.

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GRUMPY1962 Explorer

GRUMPY1962

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YUP... I GREW UP ACROSS THE ROAD FROM LOWER MISSION. A NEIGHBOR LADY NEAR THE PUBLIC LANDING TOLD ME THAT A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO PEOPLE WERE HAULING PANFISH OUT OF THE LAKE BY THE 5 GALLON BUCKET FULL. THAT DIDNT TAKE LONG. AND ON UPPER MISSION A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO THEY NAILED SOME FIBS WITH WAY OVER THEIR LIMIT TOO. THEY WERE FINED AND ORDERED TO PAY RESTITUTION BUT WE ALL KNOW HOW LONG IT TAKES FOR A LAKE TO COME BACK AND YOU CAN THANK THE RESORT ON UPPER FOR ALLOWING THIS BEHAVIOR! AND NOW I HEAR ONE OF THE BIG RESORTS HAS BOUGHT THE ONLY RESORT ON LOWER AND THEY ARE GOING TO PUT IN CONDO'S AND THAT STUFF. I DONT GET IT,THE LAKE IS A WEED HOLE IN MID SUMMER! I ALSO HEARD THE SAME IS PLANNED FOR LAKE EDWARDS! WHAT A SHAME. PRETTY SOON IF YOU WANNA GO TO A LAKE YOU WILL HAVE TO STAY AT A PRIVATE RESORT.

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