vacation, where to go?

[Guest]

Hi there, My uncle and I want to take my wife and 4 yr old on a fishing/camping trip. From july 2nd till the 6th. we have never been fishing in Minnesota but want to try. In pursuit of BIGGER fish.lol. we have a camper and a 16 ft tri haul boat with 80 hp merc. any suggestions on where to go? the closer to iowea the better. we have not ruled out the idea of renting a cabin but we would like to keep the cost down. thanks

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brandon

[Maryjl]

The Waterville area is a nice place to go and only about 50 miles north of the Iowa boarder. There are a lot of lakes and campgrounds in that area.
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[Ybone]

There's some good walleye and panfishing in the Waterville area. I think they also call it the bullhead capital. Isn't the bullhead almost like the state fish in Iowa?

[This message has been edited by Ybone (edited 06-08-2003).]

[Guest]

maybe next year if you want bigger fish...go to the arrowhead in NE minnesota in may or june for walleyes....for big pike....end of july or august....crappie.....spring or fall....hope this helps....

[EBass]

Lake Pepin area? Too far north?

[Guest]

i dont think it really matters how far north. I think if the fishing good enough, and the camp grounds are nice enough we'll go there. anybody know of any nice camp sites, by some good water?

[Aquaman01]

I recently got bac from Charles Lindbergh State Park, in Little Falls. It's 1 mile from the park to town, and there is a dam in town with fishing possibilities on both sides. Yer boat may be a little big to go too far upriver (see my report in Mississippi River North) but downriver is supposed to be good fishing. the park has tent and RV sites and you can launch into the river at a nice lagoon, or go to another ramp above the dam. My 4 year old got his first carp (4 or 5 lbs.) on the upriver side of the dam, and I saw a kid catch a small northern from shore while I was there. I've seen walleyes & smallies caught there from shore, and myself gotten smallies & a fair kitty. Plenty of boat-fishing on the river, too. Dunno 'bout your 4 year old, but mine prefers shore most days - more fishin', less hassles. Thanks for coming up here for your hard-earned time off.

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Aquaman
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Peace and Fishes

[Tonka Boy]

Another good spot to try is Laq qui Parle on the western side. I've done real well for walleyes and crappies...some of the biggest crappies I've ever caught. The campgrounds aren't too bad either.

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Tonka Boy

[doubleUcubed]

iowa boy, take a look at the Willmar-Spicer Forum and scroll down to the "Thanks for Advice" by Slothin02 and then further down to "Sibley & Monson Lake State Parks" also by Slothin02. These areas are located North and West of Willmar, MN where the lakes begin! Lot's of good choices in the area!

[IFallsRon]

You can't go wrong with most any state park near a lake north of the Twin Cities and many have a playground, which is a plus with the kids. Sibley is a nice park and the lake produces. I like Itasca and Bemidji (there's penty of additional good lakes within 10-20 miles of each), but they're about four hours north of the Twin Cities. Do some looking around Hutchinson. There's a decent state park on the border near Albert Lea but I don't know anything about the lake other than I've hardly ever seen a boat on it.

[danny berg]

I would hit the Glenwood/Alexandria area lakes lots of good campgrounds around. Also in an eariler post, some one mentioned Little Falls area, if you decide on that area don't forget to visit the fishing museum (sp) in Little Falls. My Uncle was just there and he said it was intersting...