Best Ice Fishing Lakes in Minnesota,\r
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WALLEYES\r
Lake of the Woods\r
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PERCH\r
Lake Winnibigoshish\r
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Leech Lake\r
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PANFISH\r
Western Hotspots\r
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Clearwater Lake\r
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NORTHERN PIKE\r
Upper Red Lake\r
best fishing lakes in twin cities,\r
Top 10 Fishing Lakes for Minnesotas Opener in the Twin Cities Metro\r
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10. Lake Nokomis: I wanted to give a Minneapolis lake a nod and I assumed it would be Lake Calhoun. But after talking with DNR fisheries managers, we came to the conclusion that at least for the opener, Nokomis has a better population of walleye. The DNRs West Metro fisheries manager Darryl Ellison tells me thats because theyve really increased the walleye stocking program in Nokomis\r
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9. Medicine Lake: One thing I really like about Medicine Lake, located in the Plymouth area, is it provides really good fishing inside of the 494/694 loop. In fact, it may be the best metro fishing lake inside of that loop. While DNR reports indicate the average walleye here is over three pounds, they are not plentiful. Medicine Lake is not an ideal walleye lake, its generally shallow and is probably better suited for bass and northern pike. Bass dont open up for another couple of weeks, but nearly half the northerns surveyed by the DNR were over 24 inches, which is decent\r
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8. White Bear Lake: Despite complaints that the water level is dropping, White Bear remains an excellent fishing lake. The lake is actually up five inches this spring after our 80 plus inches of snow. So thats a good thing, but the lake is still historically low. Im not sure whether fish are aware of lake levels, but I have seen some nice walleye come out of here in the last couple of years. White Bear, like Lake Minnetonka, is probably better known for bass and muskie, but it does have a viable population of walleye.\r
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7. Forest Lake: In the summer, Forest Lake can get a bit weedy, but thats not something to worry about this time a year, especially coming off a cold winter with a late ice out. Forest Lake is a decent walleye lake and also has a growing population of Muskie, which of course doesnt open for a few more weeks. For fishing, this is a boaters lake, not a lot of opportunity here from shore. Forest Lake also holds some nice crappie.\r
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6. Lake Independence: Ellison tells me there is a very healthy population of walleye in this lake. Wayzata Bait and Tackle owner Tim Sonenstahl told me that the DNR once shocked a walleye here that weighed in at more than 19 pounds, easily a state record. But he says that was decades ago. What I take from that is that this lake is capable of growing trophy size fish. \r
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5. Clear Lake: This is a lake Im dying to fish. Its not hard to find, you can see it on the east side of I-35 in the Forest Lake area. I hear so many stories about good walleye fishing here. Gerry Johnson, the DNRs East Metro Fisheries manager backs up those stories saying this lake has the highest catch rate for walleye in the East Metro. One reason its a quality fishery is that the people who live on the lake have really gotten involved. \r
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4. Lake Waconia: This is a big body of water and wide open, better to have a good size boat. Id check out Dave Dahls forecast before hitting Waconia. You can get away with a smaller boat on a calm day, but any sort of wind on Waconia and youll get a pretty good chop out there. This lake has a healthy population of walleye. As one local bait store owner told me, it fishes more like a mini Mille Lacs and if you look at satellite pictures it has about the same shape. There are also some big muskie in Waconia too.\r
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3. Big Carnelian Lake: I have fished this lake north of Stillwater several times. Each time it was an adventure. Ive caught more bass and northern here than walleye, But the DNRs Gerry Johnson assures me there are plenty of walleye here too. We were trolling crank baits here last year and had something very large on, but it got off the line before we got a look at it. \r
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2. Lake Minnetonka: The metros biggest lake at more than 14,000 acres. Most anglers think of this as more of a bass and muskie lake. But it holds walleye too. The population of northern pike here is not great. But thats a testament to the success of the muskie stocking program here. Some anglers are happy about that and some are not. No time for that controversy here, muskie are simply out competing northerns on Minnetonka. \r
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1. Bald Eagle Lake: Surprised? I was. But after talking with the DNRs Gerry Johnson how could you not say this Hugo area lake is tops this year. Fish surveys last week, yes just days before the opener found the mean walleye size was four pounds! Thats nearly unheard of in a metro area lake.
