What I noticed is a lack....

[Captain B.R.K]

NOT ICE....we all know that One question I have for you all -- Where is the participation in this forum?? If Genz were to see the lack of posts- he'd be ashamed to say that he was from the St.Cloud area!

I'm hoping once we get some ice in the area, we can get this forum lively.

Hope to see some of you soon on the lakes.

[Skeets]

Not much going on, everybody must be out fishing...

[Captain B.R.K]

or either at the ice expo. I'll be there in the AM, can't wait!

[only-eyes]

hey i posted my first ice reports, and will continue as they come in, but i agree there tends to be more readers than contributers. Skeets i see your from coldspring huh? Did you hit up the fall eyes on the chain at all. the fish were very healthy, a good number of 23-26" fish.

[Corey Bechtold]

Captain, I think that the fishing is just too good up in this area and everyone just wants to keep it a secret!

This forum is going to go nuts once there is some safe Ice on the lakes.

Good Luck,

Corey Bechtold

[Borch]

For some reson this forum is slow in the fall. I've noticed that there is limited fishing on the St. Cloud area lakes after labor day. Maybe no one knkows about the great fall bite these lakes have every year.

But things will definitely pick up once there's safe ice. I'm guessing even Genz is staying off the local lakes right now.

[Skeets]

I did manage to hit the chain a few times this fall.

I got into a few walleyes, but not much size.

I had much better luck on Big Birch...that is one awesome lake!

[andy j]

Like Borch said, not a lot of people fish this area in the fall, There is some great fall fishing in the area for walleyes, smallies, largies, and even big pike, you just have to know where to look, a lot of people hunt only in the fall, BIG MISTAKE!

[Captain B.R.K]

I hear ya AJ about not being in the boat during the fall. BUT..MAN....is it tough to pull me out of a bow stand

I hope people aren't to tight lipped about spots around here. I don't necessarily need hot spots, but being new to the area- I hope to be able to contribute some tid-bits along the way

[jlm]

Well......this forum usually is pretty tight lipped. That is unfortunate but I guess I can understand. A good fishing report equals masses of people. I don't mind lots of people though so I will report as I do every Winter. Looking forward to trying out a few spots. A couple of spots to consider for early ice where I have had good luck are Becker Lake and Little Rock (for crappies). I am still trying to figure out Ackman and the Spunk lakes. Anyone ever fish Minni right off I-94 in the Winter? If anyone is intersted in drilling lots of holes and doing some lake scouting, let me know!

[Captain B.R.K]

to bad really- but I will do my share on helping others out, at least this is what the site is intended for. I'm not looking for the gold mine for spots, but at least an idea to help myself out.....anytime anyone is going, if I'm not busy, I'd love to tag along.

[Genofish]

jlm, I live on Upper Spunk and i know of a few spots on this lake and others in the area. I heard that minni froze out last winter or the winter before. drop me an email for future fish scouting, if we get ice.

[jlm]

Sounds great, lets do it. Good luck!

[IceHawk]

Genofish and JLM; Hey I would like to join you guys if you don't mind me tagging along? It would be fun fishing with some other fmers locally. I do fish upper and lower spunk in the summer but never fished either in the winter. I know upper has some nice crappies and walleyes as I have boated quite a few in the summer and I do have some spots I would like to try in the winter. Shoot me a email when we get ice and hopefully we can team up.

[jlm]

Actually I will be taggin along with you, you know the area much better than I do. I can drill holes like a wildman though LOL! I will look forward to hitting the lakes together guys!

[WILDEYES]

Hey Captain

I'm new to the area as well. I will be fishing many of the area lakes and I'll be sure to do my part and post my fishing sucesses as well as the not sucessful outings.

WILDEYES

[Captain B.R.K]

I'll be marching to the same tune...success or non-successes, I will share!

[g man46]

jlm,

I've tried Ackman a few times in the winter several years ago, but could only find the small sunfish, My brother and I caught a largemouth about ten years ago that was close to eight pounds. I haven't fished it in years but would like to try again sometime. We have caught some decent sunnies in the spring, but they were few and far between. As far as Upper Spunk there is some pretty good crappie fishing off the island in the deeper water a little later in the year.

[jlm]

Ya, Achman is a tough one to figure out. It is mostly a shallow lake but has one deep hole around 30 feet back in the corner. Yes, there are some serious trophy bass in there. It is not uncommon to catch several over 5 pounds on an outing. I have seen some monsters in there as well that would not bite. I predict a state record will come out of that lake or several other of the real small lakes in that area. Great bass fishing for sure. There is also a ton of northerns in there for those that like to catch and/or eat them. Most run pretty small however. When I fish that lake I target crappies. There are some big boys in there and there is very little pressure so you can have the lake to yourself on most days. However, I have yet to have good luck in the Winter. I am not giving up though. It is a fun lake to fish because the water is VERY clear and you can do a lot of sight fishing. Let me know if you are interested in drilling lots of holes! We can maybe unlock the secret, you never know! Good luck!

[anyfishwilldo]

I'd be interested in doing some scouting with you. I need to find some good fishing spots closer to home. The wife would like me better if every time I went fishing, I wasn't gone for the W/E. Give me a call. 980-6595. I'm thinking about going out tonight to Elk Lake, and going out tomorrow also.

[bturck]

jlm: Could you shoot me an email if you get a moment? [email protected]. Thanks, Bill

[Genofish]

The Avon + Collegeville lakes have bass that could break the state record someday and have crappie that huge.

Shoot me an email to get together.

[jlm]

Sounds great all! Hey, we got some serious ice last night. Several of the lakes that had no ice completely iced over last night! Looks like real good ice to. Hope it holds up, its suppose to warm up again. Bill, you have mail!

[SUNNYD]

Thought I would chime in on this one as I grew up in the area and still live in the area. I do not know why the area is like it is but words "amoungst friends" about fishing locations and hot-bites seem to travel very, very fast in this area and while it may seem like everyone is tight-lipped they are like that for the reason that they do not wish to be fishing one week by themselves or small group and the next week have 100 of their closest friends fishing next to them on the same lake. People who ice fish usually spend a great deal of time to find their "prize" and if only for a short time would like to have it to themselves if only for a couple weeks...greedy??? Probably, but well deserved in the eyes of a fisherman.

My father's best friend, a well known leech and turtle trapper in the area calls this the holy land (A large number of towns begin with "St.") While there are many good lakes in the area we usually do not fish what he calls the holy land very often anymore. Whether on hard water or soft it is kinda nice to see what the other areas of the state have to offer both in scenery and fishing oppotunities.

Nonetheless this is a great area of the beautiful state of Minnesota and I wouldn't trade living here for anything.

Take care!