Pike near twin cities

[tah1982]

I have been to five lakes in the last week and have not had a bite. White Bear, Battle Creek, Powers, Carver, and Bald Eagle. I am kind of limited by not having a boat but I have been wading out as far as I can. Anyone have any advice on where to go for this type of fishing? Any input would be greatly appreciated. I fished white bear for 8 hours today and didn't have a single bite. Did see a good sized musky sunbathing but he wanted nothing to do with my streamer flies. I figured pike would be closer with the water cooling down.

[fishuhalik]

obviously not having a boat limits you, but you'll get fish on any of the chisago lakes. lots of little guys with occassional nice ones. green, chisago, linstrom, north & south center, & kroon would all be good starting points. hope that helps!

[tolle141]

I'd try the Crow River. I grew up on it and right now the water starts getting clear and the pike get crazy. Otherwise, I'd suggest Minnetonka by Grays Bay or Calhoun. Northerns are a little tough from shore. Have you considered adding a kayak or something to your Christmas list? haha

On the 4th I'll be hitting the Crow with my yak and I always expect a couple northerns and smallies for a few hours. Fly rod presents an interesting challenge tho. PM me if you want any other ideas or suggests

[tah1982]

Thanks for the info. Yak or float tube is on the christmas list!

[mainbutter]

My first year here in MN trying to target northerns from shore came up very short.

My first season with my canoe (a b-day present) was my best year ever for fishing, with lots of great metro pike to show for it. It's amazing how once you can finally get to where the fish are, you can catch 'em.. lol

This time of year last year, I hit one specific lake a few times as the season was winding down, and I ONLY had luck in 15-30 FOW while paddle-trolling shad raps.

[Stick500]

caught one at the Anoka dam (above the dam- nothing much below) and one on the Crow upstream at the Crow-Hassan park- nothing at Mississippi confluence

got a couple of nice bonus walleyes I wasn't expecting though- it was a long day for not a lot of fish but still fun...

still would like to find a hot pike bite around here- I don't even care if they're just little ones

[TRZ II]

Try Phalen right where they put the fishing peer next to teh steel bridge. Get a sucker out to the weed line and you will get pike, it is a very nice drop off and holds some lunker pike come fall, got a few muskies there too. Not a very good casting spot but great for live bait rigging suckers.Good luck and let us know if you fish there. had my best days when ice chunks were floating out of the creek!

[popriveter]

For shore fishing pike, I look for the one magic ingredient, CURRENT! I grew up in the south metro and have caught hundreds of pike from shore. Admittedly, what I get from shore are usually pretty small, but I believe the key is to fish rivers, creeks and drainage culverts. The Crow river is a good suggestion. Additionally, don't be afraid to try small drainage ponds around the inlet and outlet culverts. I had a route for while where I drive to 6 or 8 of these culverts and fish each for 10-15 minutes. On a good day, I'd catch 5 or 6 pike. I rarely ever got skunked. I'd draw some funny looks because I was fishing water that people don't consider fishable. I've also caught a lot of pike in creeks. The designated trout stretch of the vermillion river in Farmington has some big pike (I've seen three 10+ lbers come out of there.) You can't fish designated trout stream outside of trout season, but there are many other creeks around that hold pike. I know one that is only about a foot deep and 3-4 feet wide in most spots, but has one hole by a bridge that is good for 10 little pike every time. You'll have trouble catching from shore if you stick with big lakes. It is really tough to access the deep water where they'll be hanging out.

PS- Don't forge the Mississippi and Minnesota. Especially their backwaters. Wherever you find a big marsh with a little channel, you've found pike.

[rkhinrichs]

Old Ceder Bridge is pretty good

[JBMasterAngler]

When I was a kid, the sunrise river used to be loaded with pike. With waders you'd be able to cover alot more grounds than area lakes. The north and south pool dams are the best starting points, then just walk downstream as far as you want. Largemouths and an occasional walleye are in the mix too.

[maj330]

You really posted that you were fishing pike out of season? Very nice.

Try Phalen right where they put the fishing peer next to teh steel bridge. Get a sucker out to the weed line and you will get pike, it is a very nice drop off and holds some lunker pike come fall, got a few muskies there too. Not a very good casting spot but great for live bait rigging suckers.Good luck and let us know if you fish there. had my best days when ice chunks were floating out of the creek!

[LPCrowRiverFisherman]

Maybe he was fishing on cold fall moringing and ice that formed overnight is flowing out of the creek

[MN BassFisher]

You really posted that you were fishing pike out of season? Very nice.

Look at the date of that post: 10/31/11.