Fishing Forum

Just started fishing it recently and am amazed at the action, particularly in the middle of the summer.

Caught a 44-inch musky last week on only my third time on the lake this year. I was trolling my favorite lure and a small pike hit and then she hit the pike, hooking herself. She jumped once and went under my 14-ft. boat, but I managed to finally turn her belly-up with one hand, get a good grip under her gill flap and hoist her in. Beautiful healthy fish. Biggest musky I've caught, beating my decade-old personal record of 15 pounds, caught on a hammered blue-and-silver spoon on LOTW.

Otherwise, action wasn't great that day compared to my two previous trips. I only caught about a dozen bass and pike combined, although I'd have undoubtedly caught more if half my suckers hadn't died when I went too long adding ice to the minnow bucket. I went through the half dozen I had left in about half an hour, bobber fishing around 11 a.m. Here's a chronology of my fishing two days before. After releasing each fish, I checked the time on my cell phone and wrote it down:

Got on the lake at 9:30 a.m.

9:35

9:39

9:42

9:55

10:00

10:13

10:42

10:47

All of the above were pike caught trolling the 13 ft. weedline, none over 3 pounds
......

Missed two hits
......

11:05 -- first bass

11:18 -- another

11:43 -- bass "quick released" by boat

lunch

12:20 pike

12:42 pike

nap

2:27 bass

4:00 pike

4:25 bass

5:50 bass

6:30 off the lake and off to work.

Biggest bass was about 2 pounds. Some of the fish caught after my nap were on suckers slip-bobber fishing.

My first time on the lake (the previous week), I had comparable action, but my biggest were a 5 and a half pound pike and a 3 pound bass. (I caught 3 pike trolling back to boat ramp that night.) I could probably catch a hundred or so little bass a day using crappie minnows on Tonka, fishing the 13-ft. weedline, but I haven't figured out where the big ones hang out yet. Docks, maybe?

I'm more of a pike fisherman, anyway, although catching the musky was so much fun I'll be focusing on those a little more in the future.

Anyone else fishing Tonka or catching muskies?
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Odin,

Sounds like you had a fun a relaxing day. I rarely get out on tonka since it is so far from where I live, but here is what I have been told. The bass and panfish bite is excellent right now. Walleyes are off and on, some days are good and some don't produce any so don't have to high of expectations. The active muskies are hiding in the weedlines along shore. You will also find alot of muskies under docks, but they don't seem to be active or really looking for food at all.
Further north in MN especially lake vermillion has had some of its best muskie fishing ever, though I think this is just because the growing interest in muskies. I have also been told the lakes around Moose Lake, MN have been producing alot of big muskies this year.
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Odin, thanks so much for sharing your experience! I have yet to fish Tonka. Now that I've got my boat going (finally), maybe I'll make it down there to check things out.
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