Minnesota Lakes | Minnesota Fishing Lakes

Minnesota is known around the world as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes". Most of these amazing lakes are located in Northern Minnesota which also features the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. With incredible fishing lakes like: Lake of the Woods, Lake Vermilion, Lake Mille Lacs, and Leech Lake, you are sure to catch your limit on these and most Minnesota Lakes. Visit major lake hotspots like the Brainerd Lakes Area, Grand Rapids Lakes Area, Alexandria Lakes Area, Park Rapids Lakes Area and the Bemidji Lakes Area. Minnesota Lakes have outstanding Walleye Fishing, Northern Pike Fishing, Bass Fishing, and there is always the chance at a trophy Muskie. Once you spend your vacation at one of our great Minnesota Resorts you will find it's a place you don't want to leave. With so many lakes there are also Lake Homes and Cabins For Sale throughout Minnesota. Whether you enjoy fishing or just a quiet boat ride, you will find beautiful Minnesota Lakes in every corner of the state. MinnesotaLakes.net is your source for the most detailed Lake and Fishing information for your next Minnesota Fishing Trip.

Minnesota Fishing

Minnesota Walleye Fishing

Minnesota features outstanding Walleye fishing on many lakes and trophy catches can be made throughout the year. Walleyes like moving water, even if it is only a slight current. In the spring, Walleye will congregate where there is a faster flow of water. Towards summer Walleyes tend to disburse throughout the lake with some fish remaining near faster water. Walleyes prefer feeding under low light conditions. On bright days action tends to be better in the morning and evenings. Overcast days will typically produce better Walleye fishing than on bright clear days. Always fish the shorelines that the wind is blowing to. Fish jigs tipped with natural bait, crankbait lures or spinners close to the bottom.

Top Minnesota Walleye Fishing Lakes

Minnesota Muskie Fishing

The Muskie is a true trophy fish in Minnesota Lakes because of the patience it takes to catch one and the huge sizes they can grow to. Muskies like weeds and camouflaging structure from which they can launch a sudden, short distanced attack. A 10-12 inch sucker is tough to beat for big muskies. Try fishing just before a front that's accompanied by an east wind,especially in the summer for a trophy Muskie catch. Here are a few more tips for successful Muskie fishing:

1. Jerkbaits - If a muskie follows a jerkbait when you're making short hard twitches, don't abandon those movements when you get to the boat. Keep slow twitching right into the turn, this is where a muskie often tags a jerkbait.

2. Minnowbaits - You can work these baits either fast like a bucktail or with slow twitches like a jerkbait. Stay consistent. If the fish follows on twitches, keep twitching. If the muskie follows on a fast retrieve, maintain that speed.

3. Bucktails - As soon as you spot a fish on the retrieve, speed up. This can trigger a strike before you reach the boat. Once in the 8, keep thing nice and smooth--speed up in the straight stretches, and slow down on the turn. Keep the turn big and wide and if the fish won't commit, give the bait a twitch or two.

4. Long Rods - Use 8-9 foot rods, which get the lure out away from the boat, as well as deeper. Long fishing rods also ease wide turns while the extra length allows adding more speed in the straightaways.

Top Minnesota Muskie Fishing Lakes

Minnesota Northern Pike Fishing

Northern Pike grow to very large sizes in Minnesota Lakes and there are many great pike fishing lakes throughout the state. Northern Pike like weeds and structure close to deeper water. They will also suspend when the water becomes warm close to shore. Northern Pike are very aggressive when they are hungry and will hit any lure within sight. The large pike tend to feed like their cousin the Muskie. They will feed, fill up and then digest their food over several days. During this digesting period they will not strike at anything. Spinners and spoons are good Northern Pike lures on Minnesota Lakes.

Top Minnesota Northern Pike Fishing Lakes

Minnesota Bass Fishing

You can find Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, and Rock Bass in most Minnesota Lakes. Smallmouth Bass like rocks, weeds, brush and underwater reefs. They prefer gravel or rock bottoms and are known for being great fighters. During the warm Minnesota summer months, big Smallmouth Bass seem to turn on when it's really hot and muggy and the barometer is falling. If you can fish just before a storm moves in, you'll have a better shot at a trophy bass. As for water clarity, 3-4 feet of visibility is a good place to start. Clear water often makes Smallmouth Bass more skittish. You can also find Largemouth Bass around weedbeds, brush, stumps and logs and worm-like lures can produce nice catches. Largemouth Bass love to hang out under heavy cover in the warm summer months. Here are a few tips on how to land soft, precise underhand casts for landing that big Largemouth Bass:

1. The Setup - Heavy-cover fishing requires strong line - 20 to 25 pound-test mono. Start with a 1-ounce lure in your left hand about even with the reel. While keeping slight tension on the line with your left hand, put the reel in free-spool and press your right thumb against the spool to prevent any movement.

2. The Swing - Hold the rod at waist level, extend straight out in front of you. Your casting-arm elbow should be bent and relaxed. Let go of the lure to start a pendulum-like swing. As the lure swings, raise the rod upward and outward by about a foot. Release thumb pressure on the spool so the lure flies with a low trajectory. If it lands right in front of you, you released the spool too soon. A high-flying lure means you let go too late.

3. The Landing - As the lure reaches the target, thumb the spool to slow its flight and lower the rod slightly so the bait hits the water with a gentle blip. Above all, remember that you're swinging the lure to make this cast, not throwing it.

Where To Find Fish in Minnesota Lakes

If an angler is to catch fish with any degree of consistency in Minnesota Lakes, it is essential that you present your lure or bait "where the fish are". Therefore it is important to know the fish's habitat as well as its habits. Structure, both above and below the water's surface, are clues to the habitat of game fish. Other features such as birds, fellow fishermen, and water temperature, are also indicators of the location of the fish.

Points

Points attract bait fish and provide shelter from the sun's rays for all game fish. Fish the side of the point adjacent to the deep areas in the shade. Find and fish the end of the point particularly if it has a good dropoff.

Islands

The reasons for fishing a point could also be applied to an island. The downstream end of an island provides a backwater in which fish will lie in wait for food being drifted into the eddy.

Sunken Islands

Sunken islands with deep water adjacent to at least one side are excellent fish habitat. If the island is covered with weeds, stumps or boulders, it could be one of the best spots in the lake. Sonar is a great help in locating these hotspots.

Narrows

Narrows between lakes and in rivers cause an increase in the rate of water flow which usually results in a cutout channel. These channels provide oxygenated water and shelter which attracts fish.

Overhanging Banks

Where a current is present, such as at the bend of a river or near a high bank, the bank is often undercut. Food is washed into these undercuts which attracts fish. They also offer shelter from the sun's rays. They are great fish-holding areas.

Dams, Falls and Rapids

Below these structures and geo-physical areas the water is highly oxygenated which draws fish, particularly Walleyes and Smallmouth Bass. Spring is the best time for these areas. These are also excellent areas to fish in the summer months particularly in the evening and early morning.

Bay Entrances

The mouth of a bay often has a sand or gravel bar running from one side to the other. Fish migrate onto these bars to feed, especially in the evening and during the night.

Weed Beds

Weed beds provide shelter, safety and food for game fish, and as such are "fish magnets". Northern Pike and Largemouth Bass are notorious for spending a lot of time in the weeds.

Channel Markers

These markers denote the edge of a navigation channel which is usually one of the deeper areas in a lake. A marker is quite often placed over a sunken shoal. Fish around these channel markers, especially on the deep side of a shoal or bar.

Inlet Streams

Streams and rivers entering a lake bring food to the fish as well as oxygenated water. These are superb angling areas, particularly if weeds or other shelter features are present. Rivers and streams are good areas to fish during and after the spawning runs.