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Posts: 8
| MN opener tomorrow, where ya headed? I personally might sit this one out due to the lakes being an absolute zoo and 20-30mph winds forecasted for Sunday. Week off from work next week so I might as well wait. |
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Posts: 596
Location: Duluth | Bet you catch a monster on the couch.
In all seriousness maybe not the worst idea to save yourself for the open week. I'll be on the river up here.
Edited by CincySkeez 6/5/2020 1:04 PM
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Posts: 154
Location: MN | Went to Island near Sturgeon, great to be on the water. The muskie fishery is on the decline here in MN. Sad to say. |
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Posts: 902
| Hit Big Mantrap with the wife. Not until about 1:00 pm. I’ve fished Mantrap on opener probably 20 out of the last 23 years and it’s the most trailers I’ve ever seen in the over flow parking.
That’s why I didn’t go this morning. LOL
Wifey had one small chaser in the back of the boat. I didn’t see squat.
Talk at the landing was fish we’re moving but not biting. |
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Posts: 59
| Same story on Minnetonka Saturday morning. Saw 2 fish in the mid 30s, but neither wanted to eat. Tons of muskie chasers out there. One boat saw I had a follow from my long figure 8, then started bombing mag dawgs a few feet from our boat! |
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Posts: 3136
| Horseshoe chain,,4 follows 1 biter 73 degrees curly leaf pondweed everywhere. |
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Posts: 714
| Rob C - 6/7/2020 6:45 AM
Same story on Minnetonka Saturday morning. Saw 2 fish in the mid 30s, but neither wanted to eat. Tons of muskie chasers out there. One boat saw I had a follow from my long figure 8, then started bombing mag dawgs a few feet from our boat!
Sadly that is the current scene out there...if you don't get run over first. |
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Posts: 2280
Location: Chisholm, MN | bturg - 6/7/2020 4:42 PM
Rob C - 6/7/2020 6:45 AM
Same story on Minnetonka Saturday morning. Saw 2 fish in the mid 30s, but neither wanted to eat. Tons of muskie chasers out there. One boat saw I had a follow from my long figure 8, then started bombing mag dawgs a few feet from our boat!
Sadly that is the current scene out there...if you don't get run over first.
You guys should have seen vermilion. There were 2-3 boats lined up to fish every spot all day Saturday and after the rain Sunday wasn’t much better. This is the first year that I blanked on opener since 2008. Rough start. Nice to cast though. I had one 43ish eat a hawgwobbler and get off, other than that we saw a few more but there were very small. I know of a few other fish caught but definitely tough. Please open the border! |
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Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Huge numbers of folks in the Midwest unemployed. Way more people fishing. |
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Posts: 2280
Location: Chisholm, MN | sworrall - 6/8/2020 8:43 AM
Huge numbers of folks in the Midwest unemployed. Way more people fishing.
Yup. I saw a lot of people that looked like they were just trying out muskies for the first time. Which is great. It was definitely a shock though. I’d say there were 10x more fisherman than a normal year. |
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Posts: 59
| Kirby Budrow - 6/8/2020 7:29 AM
bturg - 6/7/2020 4:42 PM
Rob C - 6/7/2020 6:45 AM
Same story on Minnetonka Saturday morning. Saw 2 fish in the mid 30s, but neither wanted to eat. Tons of muskie chasers out there. One boat saw I had a follow from my long figure 8, then started bombing mag dawgs a few feet from our boat!
Sadly that is the current scene out there...if you don't get run over first.
You guys should have seen vermilion. There were 2-3 boats lined up to fish every spot all day Saturday and after the rain Sunday wasn’t much better. This is the first year that I blanked on opener since 2008. Rough start. Nice to cast though.
Only saw a couple spots that had lines on 'Tonka, but one well known community spot had 5 boats lined up. You would think they would just go and fish other productive water rather than waste time sitting around! About 100 yards away from where that long line was is a spot I have seen and caught fish, and I don't think any other boat fished that area besides me that day.
Hope the OP can get out and enjoy some muskie fishing with less crowding than we experienced. At least around where I am more places are starting to hire, and people are slowly getting back to work. That should clear some water up and provide less crowded fishing. |
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Posts: 3136
| This is the same every year,,over a thousand views but only 5 actual reports,,what is everybody afraid of?? Admitting a blanking and forfeiting a million dollar potential
sponsorship and damage to your rep or giving away 'clue's in a catch and release sport. This is like going to a pot luck picnic and only three people bring food.
It's been 6 months let's hear some reports good or bad.
Edited by happy hooker 6/8/2020 2:23 PM
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Posts: 3136
| I got skunked
Edited by happy hooker 6/8/2020 2:20 PM
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | I rarely fish the spots on Minnetonka any more. Years ago I fished from 15 feet and shallower. Lot of the time I was up in 2-5 feet. Used to catch a lot of fish up shallow, but haven't seen many decent fish up shallow for a long time. Now I fish mostly 15-30 feet deep. Due to my bad back and shoulders, I can't cast so much any more either. I mostly just troll medium to deep diving crank baits these days. Not as exciting as casting, but we still catch a few big fish each year. Getting old kind of sucks. If you aren't seeing anything, you might want to try going out deeper with maybe a big bulldog or something else that gets down there.
I fished Mille Lacs Saturday. Just one small fish landed. Didn't see anything decent. Going to try Minnetonka later this week.
Edited by Herb_b 6/8/2020 2:44 PM
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Location: MN | Fished Vermilion. The last time I was there on opener I think I saw one other muskie boat. Felt like I was fishing Tonka with how much pressure there was this opener. Moved a bunch of lazy fish. No bites. Gonna be a busy summer if Canada doesn't open up. Campgrounds that are typically only busy on the 4th were completely full. |
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Posts: 3472
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | I was up in the Longville area...busy as I have ever seen it as well...
Wabedo access...full
Little Boy access...full
Baby Lake access...full
Water temps upper 60's to 70. Did hear of some action, met a guy who was in the high school I subbed in back in 97...he had some good action and caught one this morning.
In our conversation, I did get some troubling news on Baby...evidently quite a few lake owners there are against muskies, and evidently they blocked the access a few years ago for the Shneider tournament? And then somehow lobbied to get Baby off the waters? My father is a part of that lake association, but this was the first I have heard of this type of action... made me very sad as Baby has gone downhill tremendously in the past 7 - 8 years or so. Can't even buy a follow out there anymore... Tremendous lake for natural reproduction, but I have a sneaking suspicion, that has fallen off quite a bit...
Wife had one follow by a small 30'sh fish...that was it for us...
Steve |
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Posts: 4269
Location: Ashland WI | happy hooker - 6/8/2020 2:17 PM
This is the same every year,,over a thousand views but only 5 actual reports,,what is everybody afraid of?? Admitting a blanking and forfeiting a million dollar potential
sponsorship and damage to your rep or giving away 'clue's in a catch and release sport. This is like going to a pot luck picnic and only three people bring food.
It's been 6 months let's hear some reports good or bad.
I'm at least a few of those 1000 view (I have checked a few times). I was home this weekend in northern WI. Didn't fish, my son graduated HS this weekend.
Just stopped by to see how others did. |
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Posts: 8
| sworrall - 6/8/2020 8:43 AM
Huge numbers of folks in the Midwest unemployed. Way more people fishing.
Local bait shop guys jokingly told me the government should keep the country closed due to business being so good. Hahah.
Have definitely noticed the increased number in people fishing this year.
Many look like they’re fishing for the first time ever or at least in a very long time. Last time I was on tonka this season it felt like a Saturday even though it was only midweek. Probably wont be able to go this unless I go tonight or if the rain holds off over the next few days. We shall see... |
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Posts: 11
| A buddy of mine fished Detroit Lakes area this weekend and moved about 2 dozen fish, 2 were definitely over 50. No takers/strikes. He doesn’t throw bucktails anymore since he believes MN fish won’t eat them regularly anymore and relies on plastics.
Good luck to anglers south of the border - My friends and I start Northwestern Ontario in three weeks time (we live in Manitoba, Canada). |
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Posts: 1188
| I couldn't tell any difference, as the east metro lake I went to is always pretty much full every weekend, unless it's raining. Typical weekend is like a merry-go-round. Fish your spot, move to the right, the whole lake just rotates one spot. If it gets a little busier, it is like musical chairs, and you can shut out, if your not ready when the music stops. Had one follow (low to mid forties) between sunrise and moonset, in 4 hours of fishing. |
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Posts: 735
| What are most of you guys whining about? On the chain where I live in Wis., the lakes have already been turned over to the pleasure boaters, tubers, and the jet skiers. Sucks. Kdawg |
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Posts: 2280
Location: Chisholm, MN | kdawg - 6/9/2020 5:54 AM
What are most of you guys whining about? On the chain where I live in Wis., the lakes have already been turned over to the pleasure boaters, tubers, and the jet skiers. Sucks. Kdawg
That’s no way to live. So I choose to be in a quiet place. Which is extra busy this year. |
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| Kirby Budrow - 6/9/2020 6:50 AM
kdawg - 6/9/2020 5:54 AM
What are most of you guys whining about? On the chain where I live in Wis., the lakes have already been turned over to the pleasure boaters, tubers, and the jet skiers. Sucks. Kdawg
That’s no way to live. So I choose to be in a quiet place. Which is extra busy this year.
I think that in addition to people who are laid off, here in northern WI, we are seeing people who have shifted from working in an office to working from home, which can be done in a cottage, lake home in N. WI as easily as your house in Illinois. A few weeks back I could hardly go for a couple mile walk without seeing a Spectrum Truck outside someone's home, they are the biggest internet provider in the area. Yesterday evening we had as much pontoon traffic as we would see the week of Fourth of July, normally the busiest week of the year. The fact that it was pontoons tells me it is people with a place on the lake. We are seeing more fishermen as well and that may well be for the reason Steve gave, people on lay off. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | the # of boats on the water is insane any given day. Was out for our 1st tues night league a week ago in Madison it looked like July 4th with pleasure boaters and jet skis.... really not enjoyable. |
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Posts: 2280
Location: Chisholm, MN | Kids sports also keep a lot of Dads off the water normally. Not this year. I certainly hope they get kids into fishing. The whole thing isn't bad, but it's just going to be a tough season. Going to have to think outside the box. Again...please open the border! |
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Posts: 596
Location: Duluth | Moved two on the river. Ran into a buddy on the river who bagged a nice fish in the same area I had the two up.
River was luckily not crowded with muskie guys |
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Posts: 55
Location: Zimmerman | Fished ml Vineland on mon evening, water temps in mid 60’s, weeds are just starting to come up, fished 4’ to 10’ with not even a follow, 3 25” walleyes thou. More boats than I would have thought for a mon but no crowding.
Fished rush this tues am, temps in low to mid 70s, well developed weeds, 1 maybe 2 follows, couple other boats throwing but spots always open. |
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Posts: 200
Location: Twin Cities | Fished tonka for a few hours on Saturday morning, saw an upper 40s one but that was it. Guy at the launch boated a 42. Definitely a lot of boats out and of course got cut off a few times on spots |
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Posts: 323
Location: Elk River, MN | Fished Detroit Lakes for opener as we usually do. Found one on SI immediately and got it to eat, was an exciting first 10 minutes of the season. The rest was slow and smaller follows. The last 2 years have been tough getting the fish to show themselves on opener. Weather pushed us off Saturday evening and winds of 25+ combined with upper 90's temps kept us off for Sunday as well. |
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Posts: 1000
| fished west metro. moved 9 on jerks and cranks . all 40in and less. no eats, just addresses
Edited by tolle141 6/10/2020 9:17 PM
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