Tonka report

[senco 1]

How was your fishing this weekend? I hit tonka for about 4 hours today and only seen one Muskie.

[50inchpig]

ditto - way too nice out there yesterday, heard of one fish caught trolling in the morning

did catch a 3.5lb smallie on a 12 inch suick in 3 feet of water, weird

[Jay Hanson]

fished Tonka Sat 7am to 2pm = 2 follows, Sun 7am to 8pm = 3 follows, Mon 6am to 7pm = 3 follows, i guess i am counting follows on Tonka instead of fish in the boat, not 1 pike or bass......tried everything, tried lots of different depths, lures, structures,trolling, topwaters, not many casters out there, covered alot of water....water temps were rising

[cjac]

Slow sums up 'tonka this weekend from all I've heard. Look to things to pick up in water near the channels and wind swept points with a bit of current. Key on weed edges and transition areas on these spots.

There are still green weeds to be found. Pending on the wind and weather, I have a few areas in mind for the weekend.

[Jay Hanson]

in thinking about Tonka, IMO, i put alot of days on the water and on alot of different lakes, but my experience and my opinion, i feel Tonka is the one.... if not the toughest lakes to catch musky from in the entire state......i have twice the fish on Mille Lacs this yr than i do on Tonka and spent more time on Tonka, dont know how some people nail em out there??? i have been very creative too, fishing off beat spots, trolling, every pattern i can think of, doesnt work out there. sometimes i second guess if there is a decent population in the lake or if maybe its a really low population lake???

[musky5555]

Slow Rollin

Wow! You and I couldn't have more different experiences! I've only muskie fished Mille Lacs 6 or 8 times in the last few years, but I have never caught a muskie out there. However, I have boated nearly 20 muskies on Minnetonka this season alone... all though things have really slowed down for me since the middle of October.

If there was one single most significant thing I've noticed with Tonka is "feeding windows." I can't tell you how many times I've fished that lake without seeing anything for hours. Then, for 45-60 minutes, I will have follows, strikes, and catches before it ends as quickly as it started.

[Jay Hanson]

yeah, i have noticed that as well, when i really feel like i hit a window, i typically get a few follows...or a short hit and never hook up... WOW, 20 fish on Tonka from my experience, IMO is HUGE from my perspective, what really blows my mind is the amount of baitfish off the breaks and in open water (i try trolling thru that baitfish all the time and have never had 1 hit doing it) if your out there you probably see my blue alum navigator trolling off the breaks and out over open water, nothing, zip , zilch and all that good looking baitfish??? i fished it last weekend over 20 hrs=no fish, this past weekend over 30 hrs=no fish... thats awesome you nail em out there, it blows my mind though???

[ec30_06]

My best luck was always early morning out there. Most of the spots that I catch muskies also hold bass, pike, and eyes'. Rock points with cabbage are some of the better spots I have tried.

[cjac]

Hey all,

Thorne Brothers has a message board on their site and there's a thread from Bob Turgeon on fishing Minnetonka. He's had it going all summer. Basically a diary from a very accomplished 'tonka angler who is on the water nearly every day. Great stuff.....

Here's a quote from yesterday: "So the lesson today is to still keep working different depths and be open to mixing things up till something shows preference .......kinda like it has been all year." Pretty much sums it up for me as well this year out there, and for other Metro waters too now that I think about it.....

Slow Rollin: I'd suggest you consider hiring a 'tonka guide next year, even for a 1/2 day. If you're fairly commited to fishing 'tonka for a period of time following, a guide can cut the learning curve immensely and pay for itself many times over. For example: if you're going to fish the lake a fair amount as you've been, book a guide late September/early October and see first hand what the season's emerging patterns are.

I've done it on a few lakes and it is worth it, I'm planning on doing the exact thing next year, as 'tonka is close for me and there's no reason I shouldn't and don't fish it more. Lots of accomplished anglers still hire a guide to get the current patterns/lures/location info first-hand.

Hope ya don't mind me spending your money, but it will help you spend your time more effectively.

[Grunt L]

Going out on Tonka all day tomorrow. From soaking suckers to working some big swimbait protoypes slow and steady. Not sure what this cold front will do but I will find out soon

[Nick Kuhn]

Both Saturday and Sunday the seek and destroy method was best (though Saturday wasn't a muskie day). Pick a spot, cover it quickly, move on to the next spot. Took until nearly sundown both days to find fish, and probably covered 200 acres of good spots on both days. Just use a presentation you like at all the spots (which means something at a speed and depth you are comfortable with, not so much color or action). Sometimes it's better to try run across an active fish then to try tempt the inactive fish.

Another thing to try is fish where the seagulls are sitting. They don't all cluster in an area for no apparent reason you know.

[musky5555]

Slow Rollin

Like I said, things have really slowed down for me since mid October. I too have tried trolling off breaks above baitfish with no success. This time of year I'm also looking for answers. IMO, you just need to be on the water at the right place at the right time.

I think night fishing might be the key...

[JRedig]

If you're finding bait schools near the breaks, i'd highly recommend casting big plastics around them. It's worked very well for me this year! You can do such a versatile presentation this way, swim it, pause retrieve, straight retrieve, jig, over the top, down the break, parallel too, off the deep etc etc etc.

[Grunt L]

Out since 8am this morning. One on a sucker (named Lisa) and he(the musky) got off and took Lisa with him.... Nice cold/windy/rainy day though. Nothing else.