Minnesota Lakes are famous for Outstanding Walleye, Northern Pike and Muskie Fishing.   Find detailed information on Minnesota Fishing, Minnesota Lake Homes, Top Fishing Lakes, MN Fishing Resorts, Lake Property, Fishing Guides, Lake Maps, Boat Ramps and More                                             Click a Region to visit Minnesota Fishing Lakes

The State of Minnesota is home to over 10,000 Lakes, so if you enjoy Fishing, Boating, and Water Sports, this is an excellent vacation destination.  Minnesota is known for great Walleye Fishing, Northern Pike Fishing and Bass Fishing. With incredible Fishing Lakes like:  Lake of the Woods, Lake Vermilion, Lake Mille Lacs and Leech Lake, you are sure to catch your fishing limit on these and most Minnesota Lakes. Make sure you spend some time at one of our many great Minnesota Resorts and Minnesota Campgrounds, which are perfect for both Fishing and Family vacations.  There is also beautiful Minnesota Lake Property for sale throughout the State, so you can find your Dream Lake Home.

Minnesota Ice Fishing Reports

Chisago Lake Fishing

Anglers are fishing the middle basin of the lake for walleyes or crappies. Try 24-28 feet using crappie minnows, jigging small jigs, eurolarvae or waxies.

Gull Lake Fishing

Walleyes going in the afternoon hours, try the south end of Gull in 12 feet of water with rainbows and golden shiners. Pike hitting in shallow water on a sucker minnow.

Lake Kabetogama Fishing

Anglers using chubs with small gow jigs are fetching some walleyes, mostly late afternoons. Try angling in 28-35' of water, as usual reef edges or bay entrances where there is current hold the most fish.

Leech Lake Fishing

The Walleyes hae been biting during the dusk and dawn periods and occassional action after dark.  The Perch should keep you busy during the day.  I would look in 10-12 feet of water for the Perch and also for the Walleyes.  The humps in Walker Bay are also producing Walleyes during Dusk and Dawn hours.  Perch around Sand Point during the mid morning hours in 9-13 feet of water.

Lake Mille Lacs Fishing

The reefs along the shoreline on the west side from Shermans to Garrison off the edges of the reefs, Mudd Flatts in the middle of the lake are producing walleyes and perch. Some mud flats to try are Shultz's Flat, Blue Jug, 7 mile, and the East Flat. Fish on top during the day and the edges during the evening using chubby darters from Salmo or Rattle Spoons from JBLures.

Ottertail Lake Fishing

Walleyes - anywhere from 19-35 feet using either a golden shiner on set lines or jigging with fat heads, seems like red or green are the colors to try.  Northerns -   fish the weedlines in around15-20 feet using tip-ups with a sucker minnow.  Sunnies - 17 feet around the weeds or either shallower.  The bigger ones coming out of the deeper depths.  Crappies - 15-25 feet using crappie minnows, or even fatheads.

Rainy Lake Fishing

Anglers reporting big walleye hitting on minnows, particularly in Sand Bay where the ice road is plowed.  The best bet has been fishing midway on the submerged reefs. Crappie action has also been good. Walleye have been most active early and late in the day.

Lake Superior Fishing

Walleyes and crappies biting in the bay on Lake Superior by the airport.

Upper Red Lake Fishing

Walleyes are taking gold jigs during the day, jigging spoons best at night with glow.

Lake Winnie Fishing

Many of the flats in Big Winnie are holding numbers fish including northern pike, perch, and some walleyes. The best ones to try are Bowen's, Tamarac, Stony point and Raven Flats. These areas have scattered rocks and weeds that the fish move from spot to spot looking for food. Drilling lots of holes in 10-14 feet and spreading out can help.  Walleyes are still providing some decent action on the north humps, with the late afternoon hours the best. Depths of 20-25 feet have been best.

Lake of the Woods Fishing

Walleye and sauger are biting in 25-30 feet of water with a steady bite through out the day. Hot colors seem to be gold, pink, or silver but even a plain hook with a minnow is working well.

Minnesota Walleye Fishing Tips

Walleyes have been known to be cautious eaters, but oftentimes, when the fish tries to bite, it’s the angler that gets excited and loses the plot. This is a common problem, the solution to which lies in a two pronged approach. For one, you have to understand the eating habits of Walleye. In some cases, a walleye will slash the bait like a muskie or pike would do. But generally, walleyes tend to swim up to the bait with flared gills, inhaling it along with the surrounding water and if they sense anything untoward at this point, you will get a short strike or no bite at all.

The second part of the solution is for you to change your presentation in the best possible way so as to minimize resistance in the lure cum line combo. Here are a few tips to help you achieve the same:

When Walleye fishing, go light with the Line: One of the best ways to minimize drag or resistance on a lure is to use a light, smaller diameter line. Preferably something that is good enough for a 4 to 6 pound test. A light line is critical because it lets the walleye suck the lure in without much effort.

Use a Bottom Bait Bouncer: If you plan on using live bait, experts recommend doing so with a bottom-bouncer rig. A bouncer is basically an L-shaped wire with a lead weight attached to the shaft. When you use a bouncer, the weight bounces off the bottom as you retrieve the line. The bouncing motion creates a slack in the line which enables the fish to inhale the bait without much trouble.

Use Short Strokes: A common mistake that many fishermen make is to pump the rod using long vertical strokes that can tug the bait out of the walleye’s mouth. This is why it’s recommended that you use shorter gentler strokes in order to hook the fish effectively.

Try to offer larger bait to the fish so that there’s a greater surface area which will be acted upon by the sucking force of the walleye. The same effect can also be derived by adding a plastic body to the jig. The greater the surface area of the bait, the easier it is for the fish to draw it in.

Go with the Flow: While fishing, if you find that the surface of the water is choppy, then you should try and roll with the waves as it provides that critical bit of slack to the line. The more relaxed your line, the greater your chances of landing walleyes in your boat.

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