Minnesota Fishing Reports - 2018

[FryDog62]

2 hours ago, JackKlassen said:

Was out on Bald Eagle on Friday. First time out there but was able to put a nice little pattern together. Fish were buried in the foil in 8-12 FOW. Water clarity was about 2 feet give or take. Flipping with a slither rig seemed to produce the best but we also caught a few dragging t-rigs and ripping jig worms. Awesome little lake, excited to get back out there.

I use the Slither Rig too... anyone using Grassmaster jig from All-Terrain?  I’ve used a ton of jigs for the deeper slop but the GM seems to come through better than most.  

[ThatOneBigKid]

3 hours ago, JackKlassen said:

Was out on Bald Eagle on Friday. First time out there but was able to put a nice little pattern together. Fish were buried in the foil in 8-12 FOW. Water clarity was about 2 feet give or take. Flipping with a slither rig seemed to produce the best but we also caught a few dragging t-rigs and ripping jig worms. Awesome little lake, excited to get back out there.

This lake is very fun for sure. Have fished it numerous times for tournaments and always have a good time out there. Your pattern sounds very similar to what I have done out there with good success. 

[RiggityBop]

What's up everybody!

 

Newbie here with my first contribution to the board!
this place has been a great resource to me so far, so i'd like to pitch in what little info I have. 

 

precursor- I grew up with a dad who was into fishing walleyes/crappies/panfish but never bass, so all this is new territory to me and i've been having a lot of fun trying new tackle and techniques. Getting my hands on my first baitcaster this year has been very exciting!

so on to the report...
I don't have a boat, and i live in NE Minneapolis, so i've been hitting the Mississippi after work trying to get in some late night action... usually ~7-10pm . 

 

Lately I've been by the Lowry Bridge area, and have had some success with smallies, catfish, walleyes, etc. If you have recommendations for bank fishing around this area I'm all ears!

 

my smallie catches have been:

- Mississippi river -  july 24

    - first smallmouth on my new bait caster, using 5 inch senko t-rigged https://youtu.be/mr0vzB8edhI

- Mississippi river - Early August up to present

    - 2 little smallies on rebel pop-r  perch color, really close to the bank

    - 1 little smallie on Rapala original floating minnow - black/white , also really close to the bank

    - lost count how many, but most catches have been on a bobber/split shot/small hook drifting a nightcrawler or leech. this seems to produce the most for me at this location, but maybe it's because my other techniques need polishing. This tech. also produced walleye/catfish here.  

 

I'm going to pick up some more shallow-diving crankbaits to see if that produces some larger smallmouth... 

 

- St. Louis River in Jay cooke State Park - 8/12/18

    -hiked and threw a bunch of tackle but went back to what i know works well here... throwing a small jig head with       a 3 inch chartruesse mister twister tail slow retrieve, produced a couple smallies and a nice northern. 

 

Going to get out on Clearwater lake in Annandale this weekend and will have access to a boat, so i am super stoked to chase bass all weekend and try all these new lures i've bought this last month. gonna hit it hard in the morning, take a lunch break then all evening. Not sure exactly what my plan of attack is going to be yet, but couldn't be more stoked. 

 

Thanks to all you regular posters here for the insight you've shared. 

 

Regards, 

Riggity

 

[ThatOneBigKid]

Welcome @RiggityBop. I am new as well, but this MN section has been good so far. 

 

 

Tried to get out on Tonka to pre-fish on Sunday after church but had electrical problems the second I got on the water. Couldn't get it fixed so put it on the trailer and headed home. Never picked up a rod. 110 miles of driving for nothing. Got the issue fixed now, but dang it this boat is becoming a PITA. Going to try to sneak out of work early on Friday and get a half day of fishing in, but well see how that goes. 

 

@punch @rascalP have you guys gotten out there yet?

[FryDog62]

11 minutes ago, ThatOneBigKid said:

Welcome @RiggityBop. I am new as well, but this MN section has been good so far. 

 

 

Tried to get out on Tonka to pre-fish on Sunday after church but had electrical problems the second I got on the water. Couldn't get it fixed so put it on the trailer and headed home. Never picked up a rod. 110 miles of driving for nothing. Got the issue fixed now, but dang it this boat is becoming a PITA. Going to try to sneak out of work early on Friday and get a half day of fishing in, but well see how that goes. 

 

@punch @rascalP have you guys gotten out there yet?

I’m due to sneak out of work pretty soon too - our remaining days to fish this season will start to get numbered very soon... 

[punch]

1 hour ago, ThatOneBigKid said:

Welcome @RiggityBop. I am new as well, but this MN section has been good so far. 

 

 

Tried to get out on Tonka to pre-fish on Sunday after church but had electrical problems the second I got on the water. Couldn't get it fixed so put it on the trailer and headed home. Never picked up a rod. 110 miles of driving for nothing. Got the issue fixed now, but dang it this boat is becoming a PITA. Going to try to sneak out of work early on Friday and get a half day of fishing in, but well see how that goes. 

 

@punch @rascalP have you guys gotten out there yet?

Negative. I just spent the weekend up in Vermillion (which was AMAZING. I need to make a post about that). I might get out Thursday evening or even maybe Friday night. 

 

If you're out there Friday and I get out there, we should grab a beer! I gotta get your #

[sully420]

Hey everybody,

Fishing has been really good lately and two techniques have really been standing out for me lately. Crankin deep and punching pads and mats in 4 to 8 feet of water. Finding schooling bass off weed edges and points with a 5xd has been good in lakes with clear water and deep grass. Punching pads and weed mats is working for me in dirty shallower lakes. Docks have been inconsistent for me lately I think this is due to falling water levels. I'd like to wish all the guys fishing the greenhorn this Saturday good luck and I think Minnetonka is going to be a pretty interesting Lake this weekend and whoever wins is going to earn it.

[rascalP]

8 hours ago, RiggityBop said:

What's up everybody!

 

Newbie here with my first contribution to the board!
this place has been a great resource to me so far, so i'd like to pitch in what little info I have.

so on to the report...
I don't have a boat, and i live in NE Minneapolis, so i've been hitting the Mississippi after work trying to get in some late night action... usually ~7-10

riggity, Welcome.  Many years ago, I too had no boat.  Once in a while we would rent on Chisago or Bald Eagle. Then a buddy got a canoe. That opened it all up - for awhile. Keep shore fishing and get into anything that floats.

 

6 hours ago, ThatOneBigKid said:

 

 

@punch @rascalP have you guys gotten out there yet?

  Was out there today.  Breaking it down just like any new lake, except every bay is a new lake without pulling the boat out. Frustrating at times, but getting getting enough bites to build some confidence.  Gotta step up the game to keep up with punch and ThatOneBigKid.

[ThatOneBigKid]

7 hours ago, rascalP said:

Breaking it down just like any new lake, except every bay is a new lake without pulling the boat out.

This is what worries me. I have very little previous experience on this lake and there is so much water. If I get out Friday I may just focus on one or two bays unless I figure out something specific that I can try to pattern on other bays, but i am only going to have 6 or 7 hours out there so it will be a challenge. Still beats working! 

[RiggityBop]

Got out to the Mississippi river in the downtown area for about an hour last night, and I hooked into 6 nice little smallies. maybe only about a pound or so,  but lots of fun. 

 

I was throwing a Ned rig parallel to the bank and working it at all different speeds... but they all hit on very aggressive retrieves. First time using a Ned Rig, so that was really cool.

 

Anyone been on Clearwater Lake in Annandale lately? any pointers? 

[punch]

13 hours ago, rascalP said:

riggity, Welcome.  Many years ago, I too had no boat.  Once in a while we would rent on Chisago or Bald Eagle. Then a buddy got a canoe. That opened it all up - for awhile. Keep shore fishing and get into anything that floats.

 

  Was out there today.  Breaking it down just like any new lake, except every bay is a new lake without pulling the boat out. Frustrating at times, but getting getting enough bites to build some confidence.  Gotta step up the game to keep up with punch and ThatOneBigKid.

I'll be honest... I'm not going to put that much effort into the 'Tonka derby. Work's really busy this week and we've been running around the state camping/fishing the last few weekends. I'm a little burnt out and definitely can't devote the time/focus it would take to try to win on Sunday. I'm just glad we got into the TOC!

 

That being said, i'm still going to get out there and do a very small amount of practice. I just really hate making that drive from Andover to 'Tonka... especially with 169 down to one lane through Champlin. 

3 hours ago, RiggityBop said:

Got out to the Mississippi river in the downtown area for about an hour last night, and I hooked into 6 nice little smallies. maybe only about a pound or so,  but lots of fun. 

 

I was throwing a Ned rig parallel to the bank and working it at all different speeds... but they all hit on very aggressive retrieves. First time using a Ned Rig, so that was really cool.

 

Anyone been on Clearwater Lake in Annandale lately? any pointers? 

If you want to toss something that river Smallies (and walleye) love, rig up a 1/4oz jig head and a Keitech swimbait. That's been a good producer for river fish, especially from the bank, for me over the years. 

[ThatOneBigKid]

6 minutes ago, punch said:

I just really hate making that drive from Andover to 'Tonka... especially with 169 down to one lane through Champlin.

You're telling me. I am either coming from work in WBL or home in Isanti. Fish until dark and then you don't have to worry about the traffic. ?

[gim]

9 hours ago, RiggityBop said:

Got out to the Mississippi river in the downtown area for about an hour last night, and I hooked into 6 nice little smallies. maybe only about a pound or so,  but lots of fun. 

Hey Riggity, you're doing it right if you have to fish from shore this time of year.  Rivers are a better option.

 

I went out with my Father today and fished the river.  We caught 25 smallmouth in under 4 hours, mostly on topwater.  The water is so warm its like a bath tub but man they are so aggressive.  I am fully convinced that it does not matter what lure it is, as long as its in the right spot, they will smack it.  Several of the fish we caught were spitting up crayfish too, so its obvious what they're eating.  The biggest one was a 19 incher below.  Most of you know what river I'm talking about...

[NathanDLTH]

Today through Sunday big blow out at Joes! 

[RiggityBop]

23 hours ago, punch said:

If you want to toss something that river Smallies (and walleye) love, rig up a 1/4oz jig head and a Keitech swimbait. That's been a good producer for river fish, especially from the bank, for me over the years.

Thanks punch, I'll give it a shot! Much appreciated my man. 

 

17 hours ago, gimruis said:

ey Riggity, you're doing it right if you have to fish from shore this time of year.  Rivers are a better option

Thanks Kicker, i'm still trying to figure everything out.. it's been a lot of fun. And wow... that sounds like a helluva day catching smallies! Nice Pics!

5 hours ago, NathanDLTH said:

Today through Sunday big blow out at Joes! 

oh man that is so tempting.

 

I'm rocking a 6'6 medium action spinning rod, and a 7 foot medium action baitcasting rod.

 

what would you guys recommend for picking up a 3rd rod to help round out my collection??

[NathanDLTH]

A heavy action rod-probably 7-7’4 depending on size. Daiwa, Shimano, G-Loomis, or Abu Garcia for brands.

[FryDog62]

Was out fishing today... have been finding largemouth consistently on jigs in 4-10 fow for weeks now... that is until today.  They’ve definitely moved... 

 

81 degree water temps might have something to do with it!

[Dubtee]

Man, awesome reports everyone!  Definitely some good info to use if one hasn't been out in a while.

 

Been out a couple times a week over the last month.  I really haven't been trying anything real shallow.  I have a lake where I can usually catch some good ones on jigs into grass in about 6-7 FOW, but any other west side lake I go to I am focused deeper (12-20) and on any kind of point I can find.  Whether main lake or some kind of submerged hump, I try to find the points and where the grass line is.  Once I find the grass line, big worms, jigs, swing head creatures, and drop shots have all caught them.  Ran this pattern on Waconia the other night and caught something like 20 out of 25 casts on a drop shot - no giants but all of them 2-3lbs.  I have never run into a group wadded up like that.  However, I literally had to make the exact same cast from the exact same spot to get them to eat it.  If I executed, I could call my shot, pretty fun.

 

Will be my first fall with a boat this year, so looking forward to how things will change over the next couple months.  Keep the reports coming!

[punch]

On 8/16/2018 at 7:08 AM, NathanDLTH said:

Today through Sunday big blow out at Joes! 

 

I got sucked into this and the bait monkey got me for a AGS guide tatula elite spinning rod for half price. 

[SmallBlockMuscle]

I might have to run over there on lunch today...

[Tlauz]

Fished Wednesday night and Thursday morning and night.  Water temps were around 78.  Dead calm both days with sun.  Caught quite a few little fish and a bunch of rock bass. Really struggled finding a consistent pattern or bigger fish.  Spots that had produced last week did not on this trip.  Wacky and popper were the two most productive baits.  Still fished weed edges and drop-offs in the 5-10 foot range. I could see fish cruising, but had a hard time getting them interested.  The lake I fish is really clear and I could see hundreds of small sunnies, bluegills, bass right above the weeds on every spot I fished.  The surface of the water was just popping with small fish.  Had at least a half dozen small fish under my popper every cast. Going back out Monday. supposed to be cooler with some wind. Thank God!

[FryDog62]

8 minutes ago, Tlauz said:

Fished Wednesday night and Thursday morning and night.  Water temps were around 78.  Dead calm both days with sun.  Caught quite a few little fish and a bunch of rock bass. Really struggled finding a consistent pattern or bigger fish.  Spots that had produced last week did not on this trip.  Wacky and popper were the two most productive baits.  Still fished weed edges and drop-offs in the 5-10 foot range. I could see fish cruising, but had a hard time getting them interested.  The lake I fish is really clear and I could see hundreds of small sunnies, bluegills, bass right above the weeds on every spot I fished.  The surface of the water was just popping with small fish.  Had at least a half dozen small fish under my popper every cast. Going back out Monday. supposed to be cooler with some wind. Thank God!

Totally agree, they are definitely moving from where they’ve been the last month...

[sully420]

What's up guys,

Went out this morning and unexpectedly got on the best frog bite I've had all season. I was fishing a bank with laydowns and scattered lilies. All the bites came on a really slow walking retrieve in 1' of water the biggest was 5+ and there was plenty of 3lb fish as well. After that I flipped some arrow head lillies in 4' of water and got bit consistently until noon. My original thought going into the day was going to be a finesse fishing deep edges maybe cranking I started off with that for the first 45 minutes didn't get any bites I saw the bank over there and trusted my instincts and went with the frog. Lesson of the day don't get locked into what you think the fish should be biting sometimes it pays off to take a chance and to trust your instincts.

[RiggityBop]

Wow, picked up the heavy rod and threw frogs all weekend... It had to be one of the most fun fishing experiences to-date. I worked the weeds/bulrushes with a white frog and boom, boom, boom.  lots of action. 

So, I know what i'll be doing next weekend!

Still trying to figure out how to get more bites midday in deeper water... Only landed one on a white chatterbait. tried shad raps, and a couple different worm presentations as well. ? i guess i'll keep reading and experimenting. 

 

Riggity

 

 

[punch]

Minnetonka was quite the experience. We had our final Greenhorn TOC derby yesterday. It seems that most people had a terrible practice. Ours was garbage. We fished twice after work and got probably 5 bites.. one keeper. Going into the derby we were pretty depressed. 

 

Then the magic of the Minnetonka morning bite kicked in at 7am. That lake is a whole different animal before all the boat traffic fires up. We went to a few of the spots in Crystal bay that we couldn't fish during practice due to the chop/traffic. First spot we pulled up on we caught 4 fish, all over 2lbs.. within about 20 minutes. We were just flipping a super bug D-bomb (best color ever btw) on a powershot with a 3/4th weight. Making a lot of quick pitches close to the boat. It was so much fun. We ran the powershot/dbomb + coontail pattern all day and ended up with 16.6LBS and a 5th place finish. 

We did get tired from flipping all day so we mixed in dead-sticking some jigworm senkos.. and caught a few nice ones on that. Same spots.. just letting the worm sit and do-nothing. 

 

I still hate that lake.. but the tournament ended up being super fun. 17lbs won it, and 2-5th place were all 16lb bags so the competition was TIGHT. We caught a ton of 2 & 3lbers. That +4lb kicker elluded us. Our biggest was 3.85lbs. 

 

I got a new found respect for the Dennys Super 30 series guys who fish Tonka all year, and do it at such a high level. That place is a beast. So much water, so much structure, so much pressure, so many boats. Plus one part of the lake is muddy, the other part is gin clear.. it's like 10 different lakes in one. A buddy of mine who fishes tournaments all around the state (and fishes Dennys) says Minnetonka is the single hardest tournament lake in the state. 

 

That was probably my last tournament of the year. Now on to fall fun fishing!