Minneapolis/St Paul fishing hot spots

Hello. This is my first blog in Hub. I hope you find my articles interesting. I am writing to let you guys/gals out there that like to fish/hunt that now is the time when the fish are biting. And around the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul, there are dozens of lakes to choose from. whether your after a few Sunfish, or Crappies or a large Walleye, or a Northern Pike. The surrounding lakes are filled with hungry fish. Now that October is here, and the leaves are turning colors, the lakes temperatures will be dropping and the oxygen levels will start to deplete. Fish feed more voraciously now that the water temp drops.

This past summer of 2007 was one of the worst summers of fishing I have ever experienced. Draught conditions lowered many lake levels here. even Lake Superior, the largest inland body of water in the USA was down 18 inches.lake Mille Lacs, located 50 miles north of Mpls on hwy 65, suffered greatly from the heat, and lack of rain. Lake Mille Lacs is world-renowned in the Walleye it supports. Its fish count is down 18%.from 2005. in the early part of 2000, The State of Minnesota and the Mille Lacs Band of Objibwe decided to put a slot limit on the number of Walleye you & I could fish for, while allowing the Native Americans to spear, and net upwards of 40,000 lbs of Walleye.

Before this law became effective, we could keep 6 walleye per person. Now with the slot limit law, all fish 13" - 19" had to be returned to the lake IMMEDIATELY. Then we could only keep 3 fish, and only 1 Walleye 28" could be kept. This law has hampered the resort owners, the local gas stations and bait shops which depend on our business. Even the casino the Band operates probably has had an income loss. Hopefully with increased rain this fall we'll have higher lake levels for the coming winter. Also the lakes have been over-fished-try catch & release folks!

But anyway back to the fishing hot spots. In Minneapolis. In Robbinsdale, just N of Mpls, there's Crystal Lake (rt off Broadway and 42nd st) This lake is a Muskie breeding lake that the DNR uses. 44" is the size limit. Good Luck finding one that size. A few years ago after one of our more difficult winters a 54" monster washed up onshore after ice-out. I heard it made its way on a wall in the park district's garage. It used to have a plentiful supply of Crappies and Sunfish to keep most of the kids interested. Personally I fish for the big ones, so the Muskies and Northerns are what I try for. A sucker minnow 6" long, or longer, or a red & white Daredevil is deadly on Crystal Lake. They do have a boat ramp, but be careful as it's in shallow water.

Another favorite lake of mine is Lake Calhoun. Located near downtown Mpls., this lake has produced the State Record Tiger Muskie, and hosts a nice largemouth Bass population. During the dog days of summer, I fish this lake for the Muskies, there is a bike/jogging path near the dock I fish at so there's plenty of "Eye-candy" to look at. I fish the 36th St side by the cemetary. There's a dock there in 18 ft of water. I fish near a weed-bed that the little ones hide in. Another lake near Lake Calhoun is Lake Harriet, once again it is fished for Muskie & Bass. Word of warning!!! High levels of Mercury, PCB's, are in these lakes. DO NOT EAT any fish from these lakes. Catch and Release please. No sense dying before ya get to read my next article. yours for now LAR 271