Minnesota Fishing Report

As the weather warms up, and the rain moves in, Minnesota's ice fishing is slowly dwindling away. The majority of the lakes have solid ice spread across the lake, but the only problem is getting on the lake. The ice is either very thin, or it's plain open around the shores. Take caution if you decide to enjoy the late ice fishing season. Hopefully this report can help you enjoy what's left of the season.

Upper Red Lake (Waskish Access):
Even though it's out of season for Walleye and Northern Pike, Upper Red Lake can still supply you with 15" Crappies. Fishermen have been catching their limits of Crappies during this warm season. If you somehow don't hit the Crappies while you are fishing this lake, the Walleye will definitely keep you busy. Ice conditions are still holding up here. 40" of ice cover the main part of the lake, but it's considerably thinner by shore. Take caution when you fish this lake. ATV's and snowmobile's are reccomended for travel across the shore line.

If you're new to Red Lake, you'll find that it's one of the easier fishing lakes around. The depths are very consistent, considering it doesn't get any deeper than 16 feet of water throughout the whole lake. If you're fishing for crappies, just drive anywhere from 3-6 miles out on the lake. It's reccomended that you find a nice quiet spot by your lonesome. Medium fathead minnows, and large glow jigs are used on this lake.

Lake of the Woods (Rainy Retreat):
The Walleye bite at Lake of the Woods has kept fishermen excited. The weather has been inconsistent way up there, so that's always good for the bite. Always look for a warmup in the forecast and a storm front. This past week, Walleye 20-28 inches have been caught like crazy. There have been quite a few Pike pulled up weighing around 20 lbs. also. Expect the same to happen this week if the weather holds up. There is still a solid 40 inches of ice out there.

Lake Milacs:
The bite has picked up as of late on Lake Milacs. Many limits of perch have traveled off of the lake in the past week. The Walleye bite has also picked up. Conditions are still safe on Lake Milacs, but take caution in where you drive. There are some soft spots out on the lake.

Hot spot of the week - Lake Sylvia:
As the weather warms up the sunfish and crappies have been moving to the shallow waters. You can pick off your limit in 5-10 feet of water already here. It's a bit tricky to get on the lake, though. ATV's have limited access. The north bay has been the hot spot lately. It's only about 10 feet of clear water. You can actually see the schools of sunfish and crappie. They won't bite on anything other than wax worms (maggots) and a small sunfish jig.

Good luck anglers!