Shore Fishing at the U of M-Twin Cities...

[andrew chadwick]

I was thinking about going down there. I dont think I will be going with out a buddy and my M3 trenchknife. sounds like the fishing is good though. cant wait till I turn 21 and can get a conceal&carry permit. Peper spray might not do you ay good if the person is drugged. Maybe a tazer?

[cubicleboy]

hey, I'm a grad student in st paul and have just started fishing at Hidden Falls.Am just shorefishing so am looking for others to fish with. Lemme know if you're having luck at any spots in the cities.

[UncleKes]

The area dioresctly under the 35W bridge is pretty good for smallies and eyes and catfish. Unfortunately the bridge is now in the river as you no doubt know and the police will not allow anyone in the area. The river is a bit low at the moment anyway.

I agree about shore fishing. If you have a car many of the lakes in the twin cities have fishing platforms/piers/decks, docks (whatever you want to call them and are a short drive from the U of M campus.

I have had good luck on the Mississippi River in the spring and fall from the 694 bridge over the Mississippi River to the Coon Rapids Dam. Unfortunately due tothe Bridge disaster the water is being kept abnormally low at the moment. That will not last I am told and as soon as all the bodies trapped under the bridge have been recovered the water level will be allowed to rise in the river below the Coon Rapids Dam.

Another good bet is to fish the Rum River at Anoka from the Dam down to where the Rum empties into the Mississippi. Lots of small mouth this time of the year and in the fall the bait fish will stack up at the Anoka Dam on the Rum and the walleyes and smallmouth will follow them. Anoka is only about a 20 mile drive north on East River Road/Marshall Street from the campus. You can also do well in the fall by fishing the Rum north of the dam.

Finally, if you are new to the area I would try to hook up with one of these guys (myself included) and ride along when we fish the Twin Cities lakes and rivers. Anyway late in Auguest things start to slow down it has been my experience unless you are up for some night fishing. Maybe some of the other guys have had luck in the day time on one of the area rivers or lakes but I have always found August to be real tough. Wait a month until late September when things strat to cool down and things pick up again. But, August can be real tough.

[Scott M]

I used to drive up to Chisago area lakes in the winter. But for shore fishing I mostly followed the DNR FIN maps and suggestions, and what everyone has suggested, MPLS chain of lakes, Minnehaha, and other parts of the Mississip.

Are you a Minneapolis or St. Paul student? Como Lake is pretty close to St. Paul and there are some nice channel cats in there.

[Shack]

At the 35w bridge area, I would fish all night and never be bothered by gang bangers or anyone. It was a nice place to fish. A little slow on the fishing, but good times.

I think any were you shore fish; you have to be aware of your surroundings. I would say the Minnehaha Falls area is the roughest!

[PierBridge]

Quote:

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I would say the Minnehaha Falls area is the roughest!

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Guess I'd have to respectfully disagree with that.

Never had or have seen a gang banger or any incident in the area for the 30 years Ive frequented and lived in that location.

I do feel a little edgy around Honk your Horn but never had problem there either.

[erickol]

I have seen a few spooky things down by the confluence of minnehaha falls, but I have met more cool fishermen willing to chat and share ideas then I have met freaks. So I guess so far so good.

That said, I do not fish there at night or in the evenings during the summer. Early mornings in the spring, and afternoons in the spring. When it gets hot people tend to squat out in the woods and alot of drinking and drug use goes on. I do seem to remember a guy being beaten to death down there in the late '80s or early '90s.

Funny enough, Lake Harriet, just a few blocks from my home, is where I have felt the most scared! I have talked with gangsters down there while carp fishing at 1am, felt safer than I should have shooting the breeze with 9 stoned guys carrying guns. 2hrs later, still fishing for carp on the other side of the lake, a freaky wierdo sneaked up to me and.......anyway, I left in a hurry and called 911 when he was out of earshot. I have been roaming the city of mpls at night, all night, fishing, walking, biking etc for over twenty years. Common sense and trusting your gut will do you just fine.

I usually am not on the river in a boat, so I tend to explore alot for good areas to shore fish. If I see lots of camp fire rings, broken bottles etc. I generally know that the fishing might be good here, and that I should not go fish it at night in the heat of summer. Just today I found one of these spots, and I will only fsh it during the day. My gut says so.

[Shack]

PierBridge,

Just trying to detour people away from your spot.

I never have yet to have a bad thing happen to me out fishing yet, knock on wood!

I would say the only place is Minnehaha Falls were I had a couple guys close (that were not fishing) and it got weird. All it was, was just a feeling. Nothing else!

Last week, fishing up by Elk River area, I had a run in with some young punks. A couple of words said, but no action.

[Grant]

shack- made the riverbanks in ER this year, or have you been in the SS Shackbash exclusively?

[BehindtheHead]

its sad that we have to be worried about being harmed while fishing.

from the stories i have read on this thread i dont think i will ever fish in the cities unless im in a boat. maybe that the smalltown in me though.

[mattbass]

i've honestly never had one problem shore fishing in the metro area. i've fished the U, hidden falls (the entire fishable shore area), minnehaha park. always by myself too. i would say you have to watch what times you're fishing though. i would never go to most of those places at like 5 in the morning or late at night.

[Urbanflyguy]

I have never had an issue fishing any of those areas either and ive lived here for 20 years in some of the worst areas of minneapolis. I fish cats at night at hidden falls St.Paul side and minneapolis side with never an issue other than other rude fisherman that need to fish so close to me they are almost casting over me because they saw me catch something. I fish from boom island to the ford dam all shore line fishing, and i gotta say the only real issue ive ever had is coming across men doing things i wish i hadnt come across (enough reason to avoid that spot again, wasnt good fishing anyways) and when they saw me they offered terrible things. now im not saying theres not gonna be a time where i come across someone with ill intent but if you carry yourself like your not prey they will not look at you like your prey just look meaner than them lol. and if that dont work and you really need/wanna fish it there is always conceal and carry

Also a tip get a flyvest for your tackle so you dont have a big tempting tackle box.

stay safe and good luck fishing