minnehaha creek

[macgruber]

so i had this notion of fishing minnehaha creek above nokomis and hiawatha lakes to see if any fish ran in from there..... i went out yesterday and scouted it and discovered the channel from nokomis is blocked off by a concrete embunkment......

so, i was going to see if anybody knew of any other spots a guy could wet a fly line in search of the various species that inhabit that creek....... don't need any secret spots (unless of course you are feeling generous), just other public accesses with some moving water and fish...... i've basically only fished from the river to upstream of the two lakes.....

[PierBridge]

You could head down to Minnehaha Creek where it enters the Mississippi River it does get a little crowded at times, waders would give you more room to fish and a bit of an edge to catch a few fish.

Good Luck.

[redneck]

anyone know if the crik is good around greys bay where it comes out

[PierBridge]

I know with the low water levels that not a lot of water is being let out of Tonka.

[Lunker]

Yes it is blocked by concrete, but I have caught 6 species standing right in that spot where the current hits that embackment, though of course nothing worth bragging about. Pretty much all of the creek has fish in it, surprisingly good fish too. During one summer low oxygen period I saw everything from your normal carp and bullhead to 36" northerns floating. You might think of fishing downstream of hiawatha, you can park right there and walk it, it turns from slow to weedy to fast and rocky aruond there. Down on 39th ave there is a wider deeper spot that can yield some fish, downstream of the falls is a scenic spot to fish. The creek is actually fun fishing. I grew up fishing it from Nokomis to the river, no I live out by it in Edina, and still fish it when I need bait, lots of creek chubs in the stretches I fish plus a lot of panfish and bullies to boot(I don't use the panfish don't worry)

[macgruber]

i'll give that a shot.... i tried from the falls to the river a few times last year and only got a tiny bass or two (though admittedly it was later in the year) and it seems that every time i go down to the mississippi, there's a ton of people down there and it's tough to shoulder my way in, esp. with a fly rod...... i was gonna try downstream of nokomis, buy i wasn't sure the golf course would be keen on someone tromping through and fishing.... but i haven't tried from hiawatha to the falls...... we'll see how it goes....

[redneck]

thanks for the info

[macgruber]

went down on saturday and fished from the falls on the creek to the river..... got two bass in the mississippi and one quillback and one tiny walleye in the creek..... i lost something in the mississippi that was easily the biggest fish i've had on with a fly rod...... never saw it..... had on a small (size 10) bugger and the fish toyed with me by shore for about 10 mins. before deciding it had enough and turned right, heading straight out into the river on a long run until the hook popped..... wish i'd gotten a look-- prolly a big carp, though who knows.....

a couple guys were sitting right at the cofluence of the river and creek and prolly pulled around fifty smallies while we were down there...... no walters seen caught at the river, though.....

[nofishfisherman]

This weekend was really hot down there for smallies. Saturday i did real well for the short time I was out there 3:30-5:00pm . 2 walleye and 3 smallies in 15 minutes, once the wind shifted the bite died.

Sunday was even better from what I heard. But it slowed again yesterday, smallies were still the main fish caught but far fewer. I only had one that I landed but it was a nice sized one 15-16 inches, not huge but still good sized.

I've been fishing a sassy shad on a 1/4 oz jig exclusively.

[Lunker]

Caught 2 smallies, a bunch of gills, and a 15lb carp downstream of the falls a few days ago. The smallies should be in there for a couple more weeks while the water is still high and cool. After that they will head to the main river I imagine.

Fished a short stretch the other day in Edina and found my new catfish bait location. Caught about 20 chubs on as many casts, and some bullheads and gills.

[USPENAMC]

try under the bridge where the minnehaha creek flows out from minnehaha lake or where the dock used to be

[Lunker]

Minnehaha Lake? ummm, not sure that exists

[USPENAMC]

sorry i meant hiawatha lake

[Lunker]

lol, yea I figured. That was one of my childhood haunts as well. Haven't fished it in a few years. But I guess it's time...

[macgruber]

i was just down there today (outlet of hiawatha) and stopped at a few crossings with the fly rod..... saw lots of carp, but i still can't figure them out with any consistency-- seems amazing they are so spooky; i can remember slapping them with canoe paddles when i was ten out on minnetonka with friends.....

caught one largemouth right by the lake and caught a glimpse of a decent northern, but lost sight of him and apparently by the time i'd switched the hare's ear out for a bunny strip he was gone, or at least not interested.....

then went about 5 or six bridges down and found a nice bluegill hole and caught probably thirty-- some on #10 brown bugger and a ton on a little tiny minnow imitation i tied up with silver krystal flash and wood duck flank fibers...... lots of creek chubs on that fly-- couple big ones too..... the gills were all good sized....

not that i'm interested in eating 'em, but are the bluegills in there edible? a couple people were watching me fish..... they were first amazed that i was catching fish in there, and then amazed i was releasing the chunky gills..... i mentioned i wasn't sure they should keep fish in there with all the city run-off.....

[Mr. Pike1]

Nice to see a post on the this little urban creek. I grew up in St. Louis Park and when I was younger we actually fished a little area just inside the golf course. We would have a blast catching pike and bass in there. Once they actually posted picture of a 12lb pike one of the kids caught there tossing the old red and white daredevil.

The creek actually leads into some small lake. Take a canoe back there and you can hammer the pike, crappie, bass, and sunfish.

I would guess fish consumtion would be fine in moderation like many metro lakes.

[PierBridge]

I certainly wouldn't eat them based on past experience...

[Ralph Wiggum]

Quote:

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i was just down there today (outlet of hiawatha) and stopped at a few crossings with the fly rod..... saw lots of carp, but i still can't figure them out with any consistency-- seems amazing they are so spooky; i can remember slapping them with canoe paddles when i was ten out on minnetonka with friends.....

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Carp are weird. Sometimes they spook at the slightest movement, other times they'll swim right at you till you poke an arrow through them. I will say one thing, though, they are curious! Frequently, if I miss one with an arrow, I leave it sit and the fish will turn around and come explore what the arrow is.