Lake Minnetonka
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Lake Minnetonka Fishing Reports
Stay up to date with the latest fishing reports from Lake Minnetonka. Reports are submitted by local anglers, fishing guides, and our team of fishing experts.
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Smallmouth BassTechniqueDrop ShotSeasonSummerStructureLedgesFishing for smallmouth on Minnetonka is hard, especially in the summer. One way to target them is by fishing steep breaks and deep rock. They set up on places like this that are in cooler water which feels more native to them. Dragging a drop shot is the #1 way to catch them. Having a sensitive rod is absolutely key in detecting the difference between a bite and a fish. I was using a 7’3” st croix victory rod and it’s sweet
- Species
CrappieTechniqueIce Fishing SpoonsSeasonIceStructureOpen Water/BasinHad to work to find them but managed to find some eaters between 4 guys. Pinhead minnow was unmatched today. I recommend getting a good rod for it such as the 13 fishing tickle stick. It really makes a difference in working the bait
Species
Largemouth BassTechniqueDrop ShotSeasonSummerStructureSubmerged VegetationDrop shotting the weedlines. Worked my way along the edge until I caught one, then I would pick apart that one area. I was able to catch a lot of bass this day due to weather conditions allowing them to school. Rods are very important when drop shotting, if you don’t have a good one you should get one.
- SpeciesCrappieTechniqueIce Fishing JigsSeasonIceStructureOpen Water/Basin
Carson Bay, Fished at 25ft from 1am - 6am and crappies with finicky but changing baits periodically helped trigger them to bite. Used anything as small as 2mm Tungsten Jig with plastic and as big as a Z-Darter v2 Micro from Eurotackle. Tons of good eaters but you will be to weed through the small ones. Suspended fish that roams with one or alone seemed to be the bigger of the bunch.
- Species
Panfish / BluegillTechniqueIce Fishing JigsSeasonIceStructureLaydownsBlack Lake - Night Bite Started early morning at 3am and walked onto the lake instead of driving on it due to not knowing the ice conditions before and wanted to try out the smitty sled. 1st hole drilled at 15ft, marked some fish on the bottom, switched the Livescope to forward view and started scanning and found a group of fish 8 ft in front of me. Inside Setup: Drilled two holes, 1 for livescope and 1 for the Dangler Rod Holder. Setup on the Dangler was small treble hook, split shot sinker 8" above hook and small crappie minnow. Today's jigging setup was a small gold/chartreuse 4mm, wonder bread 4mm glow and pink uv tungsten with some plastic. 3am-4:30am: The bite was consistent on the tungsten utilizing heavy jigging and making sure the glow was always luminating triggering some bluegills to come up and hit. Nothing much for size but it was consistent enough to keep you busy and had the random crappie come up. Dangler rod holder was setup around 8- 10ft, fish came from either in front or behind me suspended and automatically took the minnow drop after drop. 4:30am - 5:15am: The bite slowed down on the tungsten jig but the dangler rod holder and minnow continued to produce when a suspended fish was to come through. 5:15am - 6am: The bite started to slowly pick up on the tungsten but more followers then takers. If fish came through suspended they continued to take the minnow. Majority of the time, the crappies came in single or groups of 2. 6am - 6:30: Started jigging a 4mm pink uv tungsten jig with white copee p3 plastic 1 ft off the bottom, bluegills were not interested at all in what I had. Dead sticking the tungsten, saw a fish slowly come up to the tungsten, grabbed the pole and started to lightly jig up, the fish started to follow aggressively, paused and watched the tip. Set the hook, drag slightly pulling, it was a bigger fish, at 1st I thought was a big crappie or bluegill. Felt the head shakes, removed the livescope pole out of the way, noticed the fish tangled my other dangler setup in the hole. Keeping the rod tight, able to pull the fish through. First look of the fish, it was a walleye! Hook was on the edge of the mouth, able to hand it and land it. 6:30-7:30: Bite slowed down, got my limit on panfish and a eater walleye, packed up and headed home.
SpeciesLargemouth BassTechniqueLipless CrankbaitsSeasonIceStructureSubmerged VegetationICE weed line Bass is a great way to speed a day on the ice, inside turns outside turns, points are great places to start. Work the weed line in to shore and drill out a area and drop your Rippin Rap down and bounce it off the bottom a couple time and jig it slowly. Don't over work a Rippin Rap. If you don't bring a fish in in 5 min move to the next hole and start over. Depending on the day you may need to move into 3-5 feet of waater out to as deep as 20. Good Luck
- SpeciesCrappieTechniqueIce Fishing SpoonsSeasonIceStructurePoints
26 feet of water in Harrison Bay. Cut the tail off and put it on the treble of the spoon. Had to weed through some small ones, but the night bite was on. We all came home with a pale of decent crappies. Fished till 230 A.M. fun!
Species
WalleyeTechniqueIce Fishing SpoonsSeasonIceStructureSubmerged VegetationWe are still in early ice, we can't drive on the lakes right now, I like to find a area that has a access point close to some deep water and close to a weed line. The Walleyes are eating perch, sunfish, crappies and other minnows in the weeds. Sun up and sun set are the best times to be out but midday can be just as good. Drill out a area and find the weed line and use your electronics to set up just into the weeds on the edge and drop your spoon down and bang in on the bottom a few time and reel up a foot or two and start working it. I like to use braid as a main line and a mono leader. use a swivel to attach the mono to the braid and use a snap at the spoon or tie direct. One tip is to use the temp feature on your Aqua Vu to find warmer water under the ice, sometimes there are warm slicks of water under the ice. Good Luck!
