Best Area Of Minnesota For Large Panfish.

[trappingaddiction]

I'm looking to make a few trips up north this ice season and was looking for some good general areas of the state to find large panfish, with the chance at a trophy or two as well. So far it sounds like the Grand Rapids area has these opportunites, with plenty of water to snowmobile into and find some of these fish. Any other areas that would be worth looking into? Not looking for lake names, just general areas/counties that have these opportunities without a ton of pressure.

[Rick G]

Detroit Lakes area, Park Rapids area or Black Duck area...

[monstermoose78]

Ditto on Blackduck area and any where in the northern 1/3 of of the state.

[theharvester]

Brainerd ,alexandria

[fishuhalik]

If you wanna catch the biggest, most unpressured panfish in the state, put on your snow shoes or cross country skis & head to the BWCA. Lots of lakes will provide limits of 14"+ fish. It just takes a whole lotta work to find em. Also, Rainy & LOTW have some giants left still & are a little easier to access. Most of the hit crappie spots on Rainy are up on the Canadian side though.

[Bluegill1510]

In my opinion and have discussed with alot of my fishing buddies, and I spent alot of time on researching big panfish lakes, mainly bluegills because that's what I love fishing for, crappies are a close 2nd. But as a state as a whole we have many "good" panfish lakes that can produce large fish if the proper lake conditions (food, cover, predator fish, CPR, lack of or to much fishing pressure, lake bottom, growing season, winterkills, etc.) But there are some "great" panfish lakes that just produce large fish and can produce a good number of "keeper" and even "trophy" type panfish. Plus everyone has their own opinion on keepers or trophy sized panfish anyways. It's putting in the time to find them and know where to fish and when to fish for those big panfish. Best area in the state? Some were already listed, but for me personally I have fished from Willmar to the arrowhead/Canadian border for bluegills and crappies and my best advice is fish the lakes or rivers that people "over-look" or blow off or drive by, those are the ones I do my best at. If its a hawg you want Grand Rapids is a good start, if its a meal of nice crappies or bluegills Alec or Brainerd are good ideas. People always think to go north to get big panfish but there are some fine central Minnesota lakes that produce big panfish as well, and that's all I will say on that!

[clayton08]

My favorite spots for hit big panfishing is west central mn pick a lake and put in your time and dont believe all the dnr net reports there not all correct. When I scout for lakes I usually read my lake books and just look at the lake type. Usually by looking at a lake most of us guys that fish for these panfish know what to look for. My favorite panfish lakes are under 30ft deep and hold good populations of all fish sizes. Just because your on small fish doesnt mean that there arent big ones in there. Keep fishing and sometimes hitting lakes others dont can put a big smile on your face!

[delcecchi]

I have caught some very nice sunfish and a few nice crappies on west end of Vermilion. Basically I see very few people fishing them (I get the sunfish by accident typically). Crappies get fished in the spring is the only time since most people (like me) don't seem to be able to find them in summer.

[fishuhalik]

My favorite spots for hit big panfishing is west central mn pick a lake and put in your time and dont believe all the dnr net reports there not all correct. When I scout for lakes I usually read my lake books and just look at the lake type. Usually by looking at a lake most of us guys that fish for these panfish know what to look for. My favorite panfish lakes are under 30ft deep and hold good populations of all fish sizes. Just because your on small fish doesnt mean that there arent big ones in there. Keep fishing and sometimes hitting lakes others dont can put a big smile on your face!

^This too. My biggest crappie came from a lake in Itasca county right off a pretty major dirt road that gets passed by tons of people going to bigger, more known lakes. Never saw anyone fishing it but I checked out a map, saw a 36' hole & started digging holes. About 100 holes later I found em suspended 10' off bottom in 32'. That crappie was the 3rd fish of the day & still the biggest we've caught outta that lake, but we still get limits of 12-14" fish every time we go, along with lots & lots of 7-10" fish. I've seen a few other holes drilled out there but I can't imagine they're getting em cuz if they were they'd be back more.

My favorite lake is back in the middle of nowhere. I'd fish it more but it's just too darn hard to get to! We actually found it while scouting for ducks. It doesn't have a name or any maps & the only way to access it is to take a snowmobile trail about 5 miles then park the sleds & hump it about a mile in. It's only about 50 acres & must be spring fed cuz it doesn't have any creeks flowing in but it has a small 28' hole that's always full of big crappies. Aside from URL in its heyday, that's the only lake that I've taken a 4 man limit of 14"+ crappies out of in a single day.

With all that being said (this post is getting really long!) I have yet to break the 16" mark. That big un was 15 3/4". And I can count my 15" crappies on one one hand. Between URL & these few other lakes I bet I've got more than 1000 14-14 7/8" crappies, but it seems like that 15" mark is pretty elusive. I remember guys saying they were getting limits of 15"+ fish on URL. Boulogne. When you aren't used to seeing fish that big, use a ruler to verify your fish before you start bragging

[trappingaddiction]

This is exactly the kind of info I was looking for! Thanks for all the tips!

[fish_eat_sleep]

One thing I can add is with Panfish, theres really no slot and they aren't managed too seriously. Location and timing is everything. I don't think there is a specific region of the state that is superior to another. Just try to stay away from people. Dinky weed and algae infested farm Lakes, metro lakes, mille lacs, and places like Upper Red all big have fish. Most of my big crappies and sunnies came from metro lakes, although the one overlooked place is the river lakes. Literally any sandy lake with a river flowing through it has HUGE panfish certain weeks of the year.

[th64]

Oh the river rats are out there but they are pretty mum.

[fish_eat_sleep]

Theres very intriguing off the map places for big fish but if someone stumbles over one..Its tight lips! You're right about that!!

[Garett Svir]

x2 on finding lakes that others overlook for big gills. Lakes that have a large population of medium sized bass are always on the top of my list because they keep the population in check and prevent large stunted populations. Also check the food source, shrimp is a high calorie food source and helps bluegills to grow large fast. Keeping big fish genetics in our lakes is the key to having big gills in the future. Don't forget to release the monsters and keep smaller more abundant fish for the fry pan:)

[live4chrome]

It would be a lot easier if people would stop knifing every big panfish that comes up the hole. Keep those smaller medium sized fish and let the big ones go. No need to be the great white hunter anymore for what will amount to a few extra bites of crappie.

[trappingaddiction]

I couldn't agree with you more. Every year it seems word gets out of a decent panfish bite on one lake or another in my area and the majority of people that head out and get on some of those fish always have a bucket with their biggest fish in them. It's not to often that I keep any panfish but when I do its usually the gills under 8 inches and crappies under 10 inches.