Metro lakes

[Troublehook]

Any good metro lakes for panfish walleye or perch?

[Troublehook]

This was originally in the ice fishing section, so are there any good lakes that produce good #'s the above fish for ice fishn?

[Maximum12]

Hey Trouble, if you don't already know about it, check out the DNR web site. They have surveys of most of Minnesota's lakes, & that will give you a good place to start on what lakes in what areas hold what types of fish. It isn't perfect (my favorite bass lake has no bass in it according to the DNR!) but it's a great resource.

If you locate a lake on there that looks interesting, post back here about it, you're more likely to get some replies about specific lakes than a more general question.

Also, the next couple weeks (cool until ice) are some of the slowest around here.

[Matt Johnson]

Are you looking at finding a lake where you can catch all three (walleye, perch and panfish), or just lakes that have a good possibility of catching one of the above?

Perch in the Metro can be pretty tough (at least anything you'd call a jumbo). However, there are still a few Metro lakes that will provide some decent perch action.

For walleye you have a lot of options. The Chisago area lakes usually give up quite a few walleyes every winter. Same with White Bear, Forest, Minnetonka, and Rush Lake. The city lakes like Calhoun and Harriet can also be outstanding walleye lakes too. Out west you have the whole Clearwater/Annandale area lakes that are usually a good bet for walleye. Some monsters roam those waters.

For panfish, you have options just about everywhere. A lot of good panfish lakes in the Metro (believe it or not ), and you can stumble across some nice sunfish and crappie. Most of the lakes mentioned above are also good panfish lakes. Medicine Lake is another good lake for panfish, and is usually a relatively easy lake to fish as well. Medicine has nicely plowed roads, and Joe Harty at Harty's Bait is usually there to provide fishing info and tips. He stays on top of things and he always has some good insight on current fishing conditions.

The Metro is full of excellent fishing opportunities, and often times you don't have to go far to catch fish. With so many lakes scattered across the Metro Area, you can find one that is somewhat close to home that will cater to yours needs...

[Troublehook]

yep i know of the dnr website and use it a lot.

i would prefer to have a lake that holds all three, and a minimum of two of the above. it looks like you allready gave me some so thanx. I have heard a lot about forest so i might give it a a try.

[SFBOY]

If you are looking for numbers of crappies, not much beats Whaletail out in St. Bonnie. Tons of little ones out there on the far eastern bay but there are some very large fish in there as well. It is kinda fun to watch the depth finder on this lake. I have had afternoons out there when I marked almost nothing and then when the sun set, the screen lit up from the top to the bottom. I couldn't tell what was my jig and a fish. The water column was literally full of crappies. A couple of years ago, I talked to a couple of kids that said the day before they saw a 19 incher come out of there. I didnt believe it until I saw the pic in the outdoor news. Can't wait to get some hard water out there and spend all my time taking fish off of my kids lines and watch tip ups. I am so happy that they like to fish on the ice, it really increases the time that I can get out.

[Troublehook]

so they have edible size ones there, and not just a whole lot of skinny ones?

[Troublehook]

is this a busy lake in the winter?

[Guest]

Whaletail is not busy at 3:00 am on Wednesday morning... other than that, expect 30 vehicles out there with 30 power augers all in a 75 yard circle.

Its a very busy lake that gets ice early.

[Troublehook]

darn, i dont think 3:00 on wednesday will work

[minnowdangler71]

another great place for crappies and perch is bryant lake in E.P. the rock pile on the north side-find the right depth, and bam! fish all day long!!