Metro fishing is a waste of time

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

That got your attention.

Seriously though I just never seem to do any good around town. My time is better rewarded with a few trips up north from May-June. Come mid July, use the boat for pleasure cruises and just enjoy the scenery.

[bobbymalone]

Something tells me you are a walleye fisherman and you fish for the frying pan. Two tips for good fishin in the metro.

1. Diversify your species portfolio

2. Get out of those cruddy lakes and move to where the real fish swim - the river.

[mainbutter]

Minnetonka, White Bear, and the rivers all did well for me this year.. depending on the species.

[pushbutton]

i think you are both on to the solution......fish the river early(march/april), then take your trips up north for "real fish", go back to the river for july and august, and end the season back up north in sept/oct for some fall feedbag frying pan action; and if you truly wish you were fishing you still have nov/dec. to go back to the river. that would be 9 months of all around truly great fishing!

[Borch]

There is some excellent fall fishing in the metro area especially after dark. Lakes are less crowded andfish are more cooperative.

[Jig Master]

one thing that does stink in the metro is ice fishing. that's a guarantee.

[bobbymalone]

one thing that does stink in the metro is ice fishing. that's a guarantee.

meh, it's a lot better than the ice fishing at the other twin cities on I35

[PerchJerker]

Since we had kids 7 years ago I've taken fewer and fewer fishing trips up north, and spent more and more time fishing metro lakes. There's some outstanding fishing here, for all species including walleye. The lakes are crowded but accept it, deal with it, and have fun out there.

A couple of my favorite things to hear are that fishing in the metro is terrible, or that it's too crowded to go out there and catch fish ..... that's just not true!

[motley man]

I live up north now , but when living in the city I fished all the lakes within 30 miles. Some of the best fishing for big fish was Calhoon & those inter city lakes. Fished the north MPLS. river banks and caught many large cats & carp above 20#. There are many places to fish, just search around Tonka & the lakes down there. Get a permit to fish inter city lakes and you will be surprised!!!!

[CRAZYEYES]

I catch all kinds of stuff around town, Its not always a pretty stringer of walleyes like up north but I do a lot of catching. I agree with some of the other guys, get out on the rivers. Theres also a lot of good lakes within an hour drive that I have caught plenty of walleyes this year. Heading up north every weekend theese days with $3 gas and all the other frills gets expensive.

[CANOPY SAM]

In my experience, to catch decent fish, you need to fish very early morning, and very late evening, or after dark. Many of the metro lake fish simply burrow into the weedbeds while all the daytime boat traffic churns the water to a froth.

Get out there while it's quiet and you'll find nice bass, pike, a few walleyes, muskies, and tons of good panfish!

Minnetonka is an amazing fishery, but it's tough in the middle of the day!

The rivers can be awesome, but I wouldn't plan on eating those fish too often.

[rundrave]

I am sorry I have to chime in here, but some of you guys don't know how good you truly have it. I lived up in the cities for 5yrs, and you guys are so fortunate to have so many lakes in such a close area. Everyday of the week you could head in a different direction and travel no more than a few minutes and you could be on a different body of water hardly ever fish the same one twice. Not to mention you could catch trophy fish in just about all of them, open water or hard water.

How can you complain about that? I really miss the fishing up there just for the convenience of being able to get to so many lakes so close to home. I dont complain about the fishing I have now back here in SD, its great just have fewer lakes to choose from.

Put the time and effort in and you will catch fish.

[Slabasaurus]

It's not Pickwick TN, but it's not THAT bad man!

I've had most of my PB's in the metro, actually. The Gills and Crappie aren't as big as they are where i frequent up north, but there are plenty of fish around.

My favs are the Mississippi and WBL.

I don't have a boat yet so I am shorebound most of the time. If you look around enough you can find any type of fishing relatively easily around the cities. For instance, there's a pier that sits with 30 fow about 25 feet out...

[mrklean]

we have some of the best bodies of water in the country, the smallmouth fishing on the sissippi is awsome, muskies on a number of different lakes with chances of 50" fish, large mouth fishing is awsome, cats on the river you name it you can catch it around the cities. You just have to find the fish.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

I don't have much time to get out, but when I go I just want to catch fish. Unfortunately it takes to much time to learn how and where so my techniques suffer.

It seems like when I fish up north I just have better luck without trying so hard. I just want to have fun, not spend hours fishing with limited catching of stunted fish. Yes, I have had some decent catches, but more times then not metro lakes are pretty, but not very productive. Even the bass play hard to get.

Maybe I should go out with somebody who knows better techniques so I can make my limited time more productive.

[going4it]

its called fishing not catching.

[CRAZYEYES]

People these days are so used to instant gratification. If you want to catch fish you have to put your time in and there are still no guarantees. Going up north isnt always a sure bet either. I've had rough days up north after driving 300 miles and then boating another hour to not catch S!!!. I'd hate to be a guide with the impatient demanding people these days.

[jwmiller33]

there are definitely some first class fisheries in the metro... some people just dont know they are there or dont put the time in to figure them out. the rivers hold tons of large fish with a fish trophies thrown in... ive personally seen a few wall hanger walleyes caught in the metro... we have 3 amazing rivers in the croix, sippi, and sota which hold so many big fish of all different species.. .. you just have to put in your time and maybe fish for a new species every now and then. also learning the seasonal migrations in the rivers and when to go after what species in the fall and spring is huge.. take sturgeon fishing for example... there are only two places in the whole state that you can target them, and one of them is right here in the metro and most people dont even know that or have never gone fishing for them once...

some fisherman are only fair weather fisherman... or only fish up north.. i have nothing against that but if you can only catch a walleye up north on your go to lake and not in the metro, thats too bad for you... try expanding your horizons once in a while unless you are fine with only being a fisherman when you are up north

[fishuhalik]

I'm not too much of a metro walleye fisherman, just cuz i haven't spent the time to learn the rivers, but i know they're definitely in there! The bass, catfish, sturgeon, carp, and muskie fishing can be world-class. I've actually got a couple of my personal bests within a half-mile drive of mpls, and my best smallie ever came within view of skyscrapers. And i grew up "up north", by grand rapids.

[mrklean]

i think when ppl put more emphasis on just catching fish then really enjoying being outdoors and having the opportuity to fish your not gonna really notice how good you have it.

[fishuhalik]

i think when ppl put more emphasis on just catching fish then really enjoying being outdoors and having the opportuity to fish your not gonna really notice how good you have it.

funny, after growing up where i did and moving down to this area, i have to just focus on catching fish, the being outdoors with all the jetskis, wakeboards, and pleasure boaters gets me more reved up than not catching fish!

[Joe's Kid]

I can be off work at 4:30 and on the water wading, or in the boat by 5:00 at one of a dozen different places.

Less driving = more fishing.

I'm just happy I have such a great opportunity here.

There is a lot of pressure on the metro lakes, but I can think of a few lakes up north that are just as bad.

Sometimes I do alright, sometimes not so good, sometimes great.

Like any place, you have to put your time in to learn a body of water and that can take a while.

The jet ski's, etc. don't bother me because people generally don't use them on the parts of the river that I fish,

and they aren't allowed on the lakes I frequent.

I do dearly love to be in remote places where the only people around are bears, but I can't do that all the time.

On a philosophical note, time spent fishing is never wasted.

[MinnesnowtaWild]

funny, after growing up where i did and moving down to this area, i have to just focus on catching fish, the being outdoors with all the jetskis, wakeboards, and pleasure boaters gets me more reved up than not catching fish!

This is the main reason why I don't spend a lot of time on metro lakes...just too much going on for me. I live in Long Lake and I love fishing Minnetonka but it's hard in a 16' Alumacraft when you have cruisers and jetskis who don't have any respect for other boaters and fisherman. Even Long Lake gets annoying with the wakeboarders going back and forth.

Hopefully the Minnesota River never turns into that kind of freakshow. I saw for the first time though this year people on the river being obnoxious as all heck. A group of kids going back and forth, two jetskis and one speed boat. They had no respect at all for us and they came within 10 yards of our lines multiple times.

[GlassEyeangler]

fishing the metro is like skiing Buck Hill...follow me on this one. skiing Buck Hill is nothing like skiing in Vail or Aspen; however, it will teach you how to deal with various types of snow conditions. you can make three times as many runs on Buck Hill than out west, and where did Lindsey Vonn come from...hmmm?!?

i really enjoy fishing the metro as it makes me a better fisherman when i go up north. i do get frustrated with the bite from time to time; however, try going up north and catching seven different species in a day. another example, which has already been mentioned...have fun with the rough fish! the rivers are insane in early spring and late fall...big walleyes, northerns, etc.

it's all a matter of managing your expectations!

[chickeywing]

My first thought was "you're right! More room at the boat launch." I also love the comments that rivers are only full of carp and bullhead. OK, you're right! Realistically, you just have to adapt your tactics to the water you're on. My favorite way to fish Northern on trips is with a slip bobber. That doesn't work one of my favorite metro lakes. Back troll a yellow jig and sucker and look out!

Within 15 minutes of my driveway there are at least a dozen boat launches on lakes with great fishing. Drive another 15 minutes the number of lakes jumps through the roof. I'd rather spend $10 for gas and bait combined than hundreds to head up north. My own bed is pretty comfy too.

Labor Day a few years ago, my mom caught a Walleye pushing 10# on a west metro lake. We had a jet ski running on one side of us and a wake board on the other side. 8' of water. The fish are there.

TC