Minnesota Fishing Report - 2019

[FryDog62]

3 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

Okay - where are they then? My past 2 outings have been like a desert. While I'd like to catch a new PB, just getting some that are eating size (2-3lbs) would be wonderful.

If you can skip a weightless wacky worm under docks... I think you could run down a shoreline of 20 docks and catch a good handful of 2-3 pounders...

[MN Fisher]

1 minute ago, FryDog62 said:

If you can skip a weightless wacky worm under docks... I think you could run down a shoreline of 20 docks and catch a good handful of 2-3 pounders...

Thank you Mr. Fry - I'll have to try that my next outing...which will probably be next week.

[thatbasschigger187]

16 hours ago, OperationEagle said:

Hope this long, clear and stable weather pattern will improve fish activity.  Several nights in the low-mid 50's might stimulate feeding?  Crazy how dead this thread has been lately.

 

Was on Tonka Sunday morning and landed a few but it was slow going.  I know there are so many bodies to choose from other than Tonka but for some reason, I want to be able to learn it enough to fish it consistently w better results.

 

Despite the recreational traffic its still considered one of the best bass lakes in the region if not the US.  So many lakes crammed into one.

You have to dedicate yourself to Tonka if you want to catch 4's and 5's there. I fish multiple tournaments on there every year and do rather well. Tonka is a spot oriented lake. You literally have to have 50 to 100 spots on the lake to be consistent. The great thing about Tonka though is that you can fish whatever style you want to and still catch a good bag. So stick to your strengths.

As for the recreational boaters and etc. Yeah they're annoying. And it can get frustrating at times like having having powerboats cut in front of you while fishing a deep point or having jetskiers spook a shallow area you're flipping. But don't look at the negatives cause you'll hate Tonka if that's what you focus on. Instead think "well those power boats generate alot of current on dog days", or the "jetskiers eliminate that area during these times."

 

Don't over look the fishing pressure either and use that as an approach to how to cover an area. Some bays are more popular than others depending on the time of year.

 

I could talk about Tonka all day. It is my favorite lake in Minnesota. I fish it almost every weekend, besides the occasional drive north the big ol' smallie fish factory. But I'll tell you this, once you feel like you can start catching good bags on Tonka, learning every other lake in MN will feel like a walk in the park.

[gim]

The other issue on Tonka in the summer are at boat accesses. Seems like just about every time I go there is a line of 8 boats deep at the access and it’s amateur hour.

 

I know this is a bass forum, but the crappie fishing is phenomenal out there in the spring time. It’s way better than any other lake around here for size and numbers. Plus the muskie fishing isn’t bad either.

[MN Fisher]

4 minutes ago, gimruis said:

The other issue on Tonka in the summer are at boat accesses. Seems like just about every time I go there is a line of 8 boats deep at the access and it’s amateur hour.

Go in the mornings on weekdays. I usually hit the ramp about 7:45-8:00 and at most there's one in front of me.

[FryDog62]

Meanwhile... some sundown smallmouth on a new stretch of river...

[thatbasschigger187]

11 hours ago, gimruis said:

The other issue on Tonka in the summer are at boat accesses. Seems like just about every time I go there is a line of 8 boats deep at the access and it’s amateur hour.

 

I know this is a bass forum, but the crappie fishing is phenomenal out there in the spring time. It’s way better than any other lake around here for size and numbers. Plus the muskie fishing isn’t bad either.

Yeah you gotta be there early. I always get there by first light. One of the most annoying things is getting line caught in your outboard by those people shore fishing. They literally wait for the last second to reel up.

[OperationEagle]

On 8/28/2019 at 9:01 AM, thatbasschigger187 said:

You have to dedicate yourself to Tonka if you want to catch 4's and 5's there. I fish multiple tournaments on there every year and do rather well. Tonka is a spot oriented lake. You literally have to have 50 to 100 spots on the lake to be consistent. The great thing about Tonka though is that you can fish whatever style you want to and still catch a good bag. So stick to your strengths.
 

The more people I speak to, the more I learn that this is in fact the case...and I am learning to appreciate the uniqueness of Tonka ...that its such a huge canvas that 50-100 spots is possible.

 

Takes time (and obsessiveness) to develop this knowledge.  I just also need to figure out the balance between putting in this time and catching fish on all the other lakes.

 

Great comments by all.

 

[gim]

So I noticed the water temp in the north metro to be 68 degrees this morning. Are we looking at a shortened season again when it’s frigid cold by mid October?

[FryDog62]

2 hours ago, gimruis said:

So I noticed the water temp in the north metro to be 68 degrees this morning. Are we looking at a shortened season again when it’s frigid cold by mid October?

It started to slide off the edge in late Sept last year and Oct was largely

miserable.  

 

I heard on the radio today that Aug 19 may have been our last 80 degree day of 2019 and if next spring is like this year we won’t see our next 80 degree day until May 19... a mere 9 months in between 80 degree days!  

 

Say it it isn’t so... 

[OperationEagle]

Lol. Come on guys...how about some positivity...maybe this could mean an extended fall?

 

the water was 68-69 pretty much all weekend here in the metro. 

 

In in the next 10 days only one night will it be at 60...all others will dip below that. Lakes could turn over earlier this year?

 

august seems to be my least productive fishing month of the season as the fish are either deep or tight as heck to cover. I’ve got to learn more techniques to at least neutralize this annual downswing.

[FryDog62]

1 hour ago, OperationEagle said:

Lol. Come on guys...how about some positivity...maybe this could mean an extended fall?

 

the water was 68-69 pretty much all weekend here in the metro. 

 

In in the next 10 days only one night will it be at 60...all others will dip below that. Lakes could turn over earlier this year?

 

august seems to be my least productive fishing month of the season as the fish are either deep or tight as heck to cover. I’ve got to learn more techniques to at least neutralize this annual downswing.

I agree a tougher time of year to find/catch fish.  One thing that worked for me the other day was to upsize my Chatterbait.  I went up to a 3/4 oz weedless Project Z.  It stays down better and can bust it through the tighter cover, thicker weeds, etc. with more authority and without going really any faster.  It wasn’t big numbers but really improved and covered a lot of water more efficiently... 

[sully420]

Cold water = rocks, timber, healthy grass

[NathanDLTH]

Caught one last night, was fishing Coon Rapids Park. Water seemed cooler than last week for sure. Swimbait did the work last night. 

[J Fitz]

Spent some time on the city lakes this weekend. My summer patterns are definitely starting to break down and the fish seem to be spreading out. Caught some fish way up shallow, a few grinding a 6xd out deep and some n between. Unfortunately no +4 pound fish to show. Looking forward to things stabilizing a bit.

[bwjay]

I haven't posted in a while because I haven't caught much worth sharing. Bank fishing got worse through the summer as vegetation thickened, and some of my spots got completely choked so I had to stop fishing there. I caught the most fish this summer on a 5" watermelon red flake Senko. Big ones and little ones were eating them with little to no reservation. I caught a few on frogs as well but nothing huge. Sadly I think I am pretty much done fishing since I can't get to where fish are when I'm stuck on shore. I almost bought a pedal kayak but decided to wait until next year since I could get a good deal between now and April/May next year, and even if I bought the yak in early August, I would have gotten maybe a month and a half out of it. Hopefully next year I can slay 'em and post more in this thread.

 

I am going up north for a few days however, for one final canoe trip, and I am hoping for my trip partner to hook into a big laker, but I'll be going for lakers and smallies as well. Hopefully my fishing for the year isn't completely over yet. I'd love to cap it off with a toad!

[SmallBlockMuscle]

Caught 8 between first light and about 8:30 am Saturday. All on a whopper plopper 130 right outside the pad line. The rest of the morning was a tougher bite for sure, caught a couple on a little john md and a few more on ned rigs. Nothing was very repetitive after those morning top water fish. I had only caught a couple pike all year and now all of a sudden they are back and hitting everything, thankfully I didnt lose any gear but they do get quite annoying. Big bass of the day went 4lb 3oz which was my second fish of the morning on the plopper. 

[ThatOneBigKid]

Got out yesterday with my Uncle and leaned on em a bit. Kind of nice that tourney season is over so we can hammer on schools when we find them now. 

 

Left to right: 5.04lbs, 4.15lbs, 3.35lbs

 

 

Best 5 went 18.5lbs for the day. 

[OperationEagle]

@ThatOneBigKid nice catches...where did you find them and what did they hit?

15 hours ago, FryDog62 said:

I agree a tougher time of year to find/catch fish.  One thing that worked for me the other day was to upsize my Chatterbait.  I went up to a 3/4 oz weedless Project Z.  It stays down better and can bust it through the tighter cover, thicker weeds, etc. with more authority and without going really any faster.  It wasn’t big numbers but really improved and covered a lot of water more efficiently... 

Fry, I see only 1/2 and 3/8 oz available...I have been wanting to try a heavier version but always worried about it getting in the weeds.  Didnt know these were weedless which is awesome.  I think my regular chatterbaits are 3/8 oz.  I will try a 1/2 unless there in fact is a 3/4 oz version.  Let me know if you have a favorite color as most of my success has come off of a chartreuse and white.

[FryDog62]

Mel, you can find the 3/4 oz Project Z on TW: https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Z-Man_Project_Z_Chatterbait/descpage-ZMPROZC.html

 

They used to have the 3/4 oz with a weedguard too earlier in the season, but now appears to only be 1/2 oz.  

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Z-Man_Project_Z_Weedless_Chatterbait/descpage-ZMWC.html

 

I have both, honestly I would opt for the 3/4 oz without the weedguard even though it might work to have a few 1/2 oz too and see what you prefer. 

 

Breaking Wind is my preferred color... er... I mean Bream... with an Ultra Vibe Speed Craw Trailer in either Bull Frog or Green Pumpkin Orange Claws: 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Zoom_Ultra_Vibe_Speed_Craw_35_12pk/descpage-ZSDC.html

 

Let us know how it goes!

[punch]

I'm going to crowdsource this question..  has anyone fished Pelican Lake in Orr? I know it's the Linders home lake haha. 

 

I'm going to hit it this fall and I'm hoping to gather some information. Smallie hunting of course. 

[MN_FishNut]

Been on Lake Steiger (Victoria, MN) lately as I love that lake but really no action. I fish out of a kayak. Been trying every lure and trick in my bag. Even got a Garmin Striken 4 fish finder which showed plenty of fish but no action ... I live in St. Paul (Highland Park) and very close to Hidden Falls Park. Tried the river (every location possible) and again no luck ? But I persist and never give up. I caught a few over on Hyland Lake (nice little lake) and also a smaller lake down in Eagan called Blackhawk Lake. Blackhawk has been almost impossible to fish because of thick vegetation, except a few places around the lake. I was there one  eve back in July and caught  7 HUGE  (4-5 lbs) bass with the last one breaking my line and taking the hook and the bait with him. All from the same spot.  I also tried the Bass Ponds over in Bloomington and again no luck. I am beginning to think that I'm just plainly unlucky ?   I would love to hook up with some local Twin Cities guys and go fishing. Learn from the pros. Been living in MN for the past 13 years and this year I got totally HOOKED on bass fishing. Just like that ...

[rascalP]

On 9/3/2019 at 11:51 AM, ThatOneBigKid said:

Got out yesterday with my Uncle and leaned on em a bit. Kind of nice that tourney season is over so we can hammer on schools when we find them now. 

 

Left to right: 5.04lbs, 4.15lbs, 3.35lbs

 

 

Best 5 went 18.5lbs for the day. 

Nice.  I agree about post-tourny season.  I've only gotten out twice in the last couple weeks and both days, wind was howlin'.  Time to catch up on "homework".  One day we got them super tight to brush cover, and a few offshore, but the wind made that bite tough. 

        I was on Big Marine on Thursday and that south wind made all my offshore spots tougher than heck to fish.  Kept telling myself we gotta deal with these conditions in a tournament, so better learn to deal with them now. Got a few fish on t-rigs. Surprisingly, nothing on a deep crank. Wind died after I was beaten down and got into a bunch of small fish on a ned. Too late to go looking for bigger fish.

 

  BTW, Big kid,  Nice job on 3rd place. You guys have really been fishing well the past few years and have been giving those advanced teams something to look at.

   Also, shout out to Brian and Josh for doing a great job as TD's. 

[umdivx]

On 9/6/2019 at 9:39 PM, rascalP said:

Also, shout out to Brian and Josh for doing a great job as TD's. 

No problem. Our group is so laid back and drama free so makes it really easy. 

[Hawkeye21]

I'm heading up to the Alexandria are for a fishing trip Next week, how's the bass fishing going?  Sounds like it's been pretty tough in the south and it's been tough here in Iowa.  Hoping they are transitioned over to the fall bite now.