05-24-2006, 02:20 AM
Here are a couple fishing reports I picked up from around the state. Let me know if you've got any new ones or updates!
Metro Area:
"The bass must have known the season was closed, cuz that is all that was biting! Embarassed I threw a huge spinner with a heavey steel leader, but only got two nice bass. Mitch our best GEM fishing guide boated a huge bass over 21inches and full of eggs. No pike not even a hammer handle, no crappies, one kid got a couple of sunfish on waxworms." (thanks Michael Thompson for the report and the great work you do with the kids!!)
(a pic from the trip that Michael Thompson took the kids on)
![[Image: joshbass.jpg]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/Cyberfish8/joshbass.jpg)
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"He went out for 5 hrs Saturday and 4 hours today. (Yes, I am so cool I didnt complain about him going out fishing on Mother's Day Very Happy ) He was a bit chilly when he got home both days but all was well!! Walleye for dinner tonight as he brought back his limit both days!! Go BABY!!" (thanks Goddes Sara!!)
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"Hit the St. Croix both Saturday and Sunday with my brother-in-law. Not exactly a major "opener" spot, but it's a great fishery. Walleyes have to 15" to keep on this water body, and wouldn't you know we found quite a few at 14", 14.5", 14.7"...you know how it goes. But the fishing overall was good, here is a breakdown:
2 keeper walleyes, 10 or so shorts
2 muskies (one went 43")
1 northern (about 36", with a lamprey)
12 or so smallies, one of them VERY nice
uncountable sheephead and white bass" (thanks Jon Keller!)
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"Considering the weather, I did better than expected. I ended up with 4 eyes on Saturday and 13 on Sunday here in the metro. All C&R'd.
It seems like the walleyes have already begun their Summer patterns on Minnetonka. I found the lions share of eyes in 24-28 FOW following pods of baitfish. Aggressive jigging took most but I expect the trolling bite to take off with some stabil, warm weather...at least until the milfoil comes up and makes it too difficult." (thanks Tonka Boy!)
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Up North:
"White Iron Lake a few miles from Ely, MN. The weather was terrible but despite that we still ended up with a few keeper walleyes. I also caught a 14" and 16" crappies. We also had time for a few northerns and that was a blast they were 5-6 pounds average. It was a great time!!" (thanks Ferch the Perch!)
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"I took as many as seven Pike in nine casts using the silver one.
I must have relaesed about 30 pike taken on this lure.
I did not have simular success on any other spinners that I tried.
I can not say enough about it... it simply CREAMED the pike.
We hit these pike in the pinch of a bridge in fast water.... the lure would get hit many times as soon as it hit the water.
Smitty was catching walleyes on a lindy-rig type slip sinker and both live minnows and night crawlers. He also used gold plated jigs to take many of his fish.
I did take most of my walleyes on plastics... the red/white tail Ring-N Grub was hot.
I mostly rigged it on a Bait Rigs OddBall Jig in yellow/green. These fish wanted chartreuse-green or gold and would NOT hit red or orange for me.
We fished the moving water going into the pinch on the slope of a 30' drop that came up into 15'. The Eyes were staged about 18' to 15 ' and the pike were in about the same... to shallower in 10'. it took better than a 1/4oz to get to bottom and more weight as you sent shallower in the fast water.
We caught some fish below the bridge in "down curent"... but most were above in water moving into the pinch.
This was a GREAT time... lots of keeper fish. We ate all we wanted and released the rest." (thanks Hoggie!!! You and the Catch-N Kids rock!!)
(some pics from the trip that Ferch the Perch and Hoggie are talking about)
![[Image: DSC01391.jpg]](http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d90/jillhoggard/DSC01391.jpg)
![[Image: DSC01384.jpg]](http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d90/jillhoggard/DSC01384.jpg)
![[Image: DSC01380.jpg]](http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d90/jillhoggard/DSC01380.jpg)
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Metro Area:
"The bass must have known the season was closed, cuz that is all that was biting! Embarassed I threw a huge spinner with a heavey steel leader, but only got two nice bass. Mitch our best GEM fishing guide boated a huge bass over 21inches and full of eggs. No pike not even a hammer handle, no crappies, one kid got a couple of sunfish on waxworms." (thanks Michael Thompson for the report and the great work you do with the kids!!)
(a pic from the trip that Michael Thompson took the kids on)
----------------------
"He went out for 5 hrs Saturday and 4 hours today. (Yes, I am so cool I didnt complain about him going out fishing on Mother's Day Very Happy ) He was a bit chilly when he got home both days but all was well!! Walleye for dinner tonight as he brought back his limit both days!! Go BABY!!" (thanks Goddes Sara!!)
----------------------
"Hit the St. Croix both Saturday and Sunday with my brother-in-law. Not exactly a major "opener" spot, but it's a great fishery. Walleyes have to 15" to keep on this water body, and wouldn't you know we found quite a few at 14", 14.5", 14.7"...you know how it goes. But the fishing overall was good, here is a breakdown:
2 keeper walleyes, 10 or so shorts
2 muskies (one went 43")
1 northern (about 36", with a lamprey)
12 or so smallies, one of them VERY nice
uncountable sheephead and white bass" (thanks Jon Keller!)
----------------------
"Considering the weather, I did better than expected. I ended up with 4 eyes on Saturday and 13 on Sunday here in the metro. All C&R'd.
It seems like the walleyes have already begun their Summer patterns on Minnetonka. I found the lions share of eyes in 24-28 FOW following pods of baitfish. Aggressive jigging took most but I expect the trolling bite to take off with some stabil, warm weather...at least until the milfoil comes up and makes it too difficult." (thanks Tonka Boy!)
----------------------
Up North:
"White Iron Lake a few miles from Ely, MN. The weather was terrible but despite that we still ended up with a few keeper walleyes. I also caught a 14" and 16" crappies. We also had time for a few northerns and that was a blast they were 5-6 pounds average. It was a great time!!" (thanks Ferch the Perch!)
----------------------
"I took as many as seven Pike in nine casts using the silver one.
I must have relaesed about 30 pike taken on this lure.
I did not have simular success on any other spinners that I tried.
I can not say enough about it... it simply CREAMED the pike.
We hit these pike in the pinch of a bridge in fast water.... the lure would get hit many times as soon as it hit the water.
Smitty was catching walleyes on a lindy-rig type slip sinker and both live minnows and night crawlers. He also used gold plated jigs to take many of his fish.
I did take most of my walleyes on plastics... the red/white tail Ring-N Grub was hot.
I mostly rigged it on a Bait Rigs OddBall Jig in yellow/green. These fish wanted chartreuse-green or gold and would NOT hit red or orange for me.
We fished the moving water going into the pinch on the slope of a 30' drop that came up into 15'. The Eyes were staged about 18' to 15 ' and the pike were in about the same... to shallower in 10'. it took better than a 1/4oz to get to bottom and more weight as you sent shallower in the fast water.
We caught some fish below the bridge in "down curent"... but most were above in water moving into the pinch.
This was a GREAT time... lots of keeper fish. We ate all we wanted and released the rest." (thanks Hoggie!!! You and the Catch-N Kids rock!!)
(some pics from the trip that Ferch the Perch and Hoggie are talking about)
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