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GanderMountain Crappie contest


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Has anyone heard the date of the crappie contest on Minnetonka this April. I think it's around the 22nd?

Thanks

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It's on the 29th of April and I'm there for about the 14th time in the last 15 years. grin.gif

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how does one go about getting in this contest i would look forward to competing

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Thanks for the info. My wife is the only female to have won that contest, She won in 1990 ( or close to that)!

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To register or for more information, visit one of the eight Gander Mountain locations. Stores are located in Maplewood, Lakeville, Forest Lake, Fridley, Maple Grove, Minnetonka, St. Cloud and Woodbury.

Get a jump start on the fishing season at the 38th annual Gander Mountain Crappie Contest! Join KFAN, Minnkota, and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in the fight against blood cancers by taking part in the Contest Saturday, April 23.

The event takes place at Lord Fletcher's on Lake Minnetonka, with a silent auction and hourly drawings from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fishing can begin at 12:01 a.m. on April 29, with the final weigh-in before 2 p.m. that day.

There are great prizes to be won! Your contest registration ticket automatically enters you into the grand prize drawing for a boat, motor and trailer. Other prizes awarded for crappies include outboard and trolling motors, and a Old Town kayak.

Bring your family! There are special junior division prizes for children ages 12 and under, plus a free tackle pack giveaway.

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You find the entry forms at the Gander check out counter. Let's hope for good weather this year. It would be nice for a change. crazy.gif

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I am going to be in this contest this year for sure...missed the last couple, anyone know which bays the big fish have been coming out of the last few years? I kinda doubt the winners will even report the correct bay to protect their spot but you never know. I got a spot I will definatly hit because I know I will catch some but I have never seen anything huge come out of it. Just looking for some early tips if anyone is interested in sharing. I think I have heard of some nice ones out of seton. Thanks for replies.

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Alot of people work the Black lake portion of the lake, I on the other hand will have to go east... tonka boy and mark stanley know where I'm heading... wink.gif I always work the northern side of bays in the spring and work them until I find hungry crappies.

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That's what is great about this site, one simple question or request and comes forth a wealth of knowledge. It sound like I'm not the only one cheering for the 'ice breaker'.

Small eastern bays are best on Minnetonka.

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Buzzsaw, The gander in Bloomington, is gone. And store in Fridley is also moving. There is a new store opening soon in Blaine.

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For those of us who don't have a boat and arn't crazy enough to be pulling out the float tube in late April? Has anyone heard of people having any luck in this crappie contest fishing from the shore?

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Fishfry

The winner last year won fishing off a dock. The worse the weather the more likely more folks will be fishing off docks. Go for it and I hope you come in 2nd

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  • 3 weeks later...

I understand that fishing can begin at 12:01a.m. on the day of the contest (4/29) with the final weigh in at or around 2:00 p.m. I am a newcomer to this event this year and am excited to compete, however I rarely fish MNTKA open H2O for crappies. Do people generally have good luck in the early hours before the sun comes up as is the case with conditions just before ice out? I have a general game plan in mind but was just wondering if anybody wants to share theirs as well to keep the thread alive this month. I will focus on the northern sections of several bays that I have done well with on the hard H20. Good Luck to all...

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How many people were there last year in the crappie contest? I have never fished the contest and I am thinking about doing it this year. In the spring I fish for walleyes in the river.

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Be sure to get there EARLY! The ramps fill fast, and you can walk across the boats in Seton. If you are not at the ramp by 6:00am, you likely will not find a spot to park.

And DO NOT park in a no parking area. The locals hand out LOTS of tickets for parking that day.

Glenn

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There are lots of people that participate in this contest, alot of people actually buy tickets and dont even fish because of the drawings at the weigh in. Odds of winning with that many people out there are not too good but the prizes are nice and you got a chance to win something even if you dont catch a big fish. There are lots of giant crappies in tonka and with the numbers of people out there, some always get caught. I am not sure what the winning fish was the last few years because I havnt been there but the are always big fish. Does anyone on here know what won last few years? Seton is a hot spot but way too many people for me. I plan on getting out early and getting my spot before it overflows, I will be fishing a little backwater area right out from where I shore fish crappies in the spring, but I will be in my boat to avoid crowded shores and to get down the shore a little further than I could when I didnt have my boat. Good luck finding the big fish.

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last years fish was a little over 2lbs and was caught off of a dock.

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If you go to Gander Mountain, you can get the official flyer for the event. It catalogues all prior winners and weight of fish. For the most part, they are all slabs.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • JerkinLips
      41.6°F in Stuntz Bay Thursday morning.  Left my boat in the water to hopefully fish more before the lake freezes.  Caught four 9-11" walleyes in 2½ hours before I gave up due to the strong west wind.  Water level has not gone up more than a couple of inches at the most.  May be a good winter to jack my boathouse out of the water on the deep end.
    • Troy Smutka
      The calendar migrators from the Dakotas have been passing through central MN in trickles the past few weeks, and the recent cooler weather has some Canada ducks starting to show up. We have been harvesting mallards, pintails, gadwalls, wigeon, shovelers, greenwing teal, canvasbacks, redheads, bluebills, and ringnecks in decent numbers.
    • SkunkedAgain
      It doesn't look like the lake level has gone up at all. I was up a week ago and struggled to get my boat in and out of the public landing on the west end of Head O Lakes. I used my paddle to push the boat further out to deeper water. I could hear the hull moving over the sandy/muddy bottom near the launch.
    • 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.
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