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Posts: 15
| Any predictions for the biggest fish in 2011? Which Minnesota Lake will it be, and what will be the surprise area this year? |
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Posts: 53
Location: Mn | Its wonderful that this question has so many options...My pick is Vermillion in the fall when their weght is up. Surprise area Grand Rapids,MN. |
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| Shoepack lake, 27.25" |
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Posts: 3165
| I think Mile lacs is back,,,were gonna see a 59 |
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Posts: 34
| mile lacs never left, biggest fish will probably come out of this lake, couple inches shy of 60" No suprises |
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Posts: 21
Location: Wayzata, MN | Tonka will kick out a 60" fish this year. Whether we see a picture of it and know it's from Tonka is a whole nother deal.... |
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Posts: 670
Location: Otsego, MN | Mille Lacs will do it, closer to the metro and people won't be as eager to pay nearly $4.00 a gallon to head to vermilion. With the added pressure someone will find that needle in a haystack fish, and it will be a giant! |
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Posts: 15
| I think Mille Lacs is going to produce that 60 inch fish this year. I'd love to be on it, but will only get up to bemidji this year. Who knows, the fish up in Bemidji are huge too..... |
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Posts: 425
| 61 from Vermilion! |
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Posts: 1030
Location: APPLETON, WI | 'tonka. |
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| 58" by some walleye angler from iowa |
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Posts: 2089
| 60 X 30 by some retired guide from Iowa. |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | I doubt we will even here about the largest Muskie caught this year. And I also expect a few will not be quite as large as advertised. Same as every other year.
I do expect that there will be many large fish caught this year and more than a few will top 55 inches. And I also expect there will be more big fish caught in WI and Iowa as well.
I expect big things out of many of the guides and especially Steve Jonesi. He rocks!  |
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| Steve-
Will that be in Iowa?? Or are u ficially back in the game? Lots of luck to ya, retired or not. And if it is Iowa I'd be impressed with a 33"X10"...haha. |
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| C'mon guys Tonka?? Really?? I love the lake as much as anyone but she simply doesn't have the ecosystem to compete. I can't make a specific size prediction but...the record will fall this year! I know we've all heard that for years; but with multiple fish caught right at or just over the record in 2010 it appears to be time! I'd say it's about a 50/50 pick 'em as to if it's the Pond or Vermi. Steve, I would have had you on her last year!! I happen to know where one lives that could eat a 60x30! If you want a shot at her you'd better get your a#s in the bow of my boat next fall! |
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Posts: 59
Location: Aurora IL | Lake X kicks them out pretty consistant. |
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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | Tonka,....????? No way, never happen.
The Larry gets the Largest fish in 2011.......65.5 lbs,....The Biggest in MN. will be 60" and 58-59 Lbs.
Mille Lacs or Vermilion will be the place to catch this Giant !
PS..... Ben, you've seen way to much.....................................On the other hand,.... The biggest fish in WI. will be about a 54"-//38.8Lb muskie!!!!!
Sad, but true.
Jerome
Edited by Top H2O 5/25/2011 9:37 PM
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| Let me know when your up Jonesi I'll run the net for ya.  |
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| jonesi you have the size right but it will be in a red ranger |
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Posts: 203
Location: Minnesota | I wouldnt count Jonesi out... Remember that Big Momma he guided a client to right before he retired??? He knows where she lives... and from what I know, nobody caught her since then, let alone fished for her... I wouldnt be surprised if she has been biding her time, eating as much as she could, waiting for her soulmate to finally return to Mille Lacs... I wouldnt be surprised if that happens this summer...
I wouldnt count out Tonka either... Size seems to be increasing each year... and I wouldnt be surprised if theres currently one or two "Mille Lacs" caliber Muskies in Tonka... But then again, its always the dark horse lakes that gets the fame!!!
Edited by Rebel9921 5/25/2011 10:43 PM
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| I am with Ben. I love Tonka as much as anyone, but there is no way she will produce a fish with the same build as the pond or vermilion or lake x.
There are fish in the lake that are long. That's not the problem, but no cisco,whitefish or sheepheads(urban tullibee ) means no "special" fish.
Joe |
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| I forgot about the surprise part of the question! Though it shouldn't be a surprise, I think a super fish out of Winnie is a distinct possibility; and don't forget Leech, both are the historic home to super tankers. Joe, I love the "urban tullibee" thing...how about "city cisco." |
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Posts: 719
| Sorry Tonka...no 60's
Much as I love the local pond 55 is about as big as have been caught...and if it lives there it's been caught.
Fish recyling at it's best here in town !!!! |
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Posts: 480
| There are some special Tonka fish are as big as any Vermilion, Mille lacs or river system fish. The key on Tonka is table scraps. People are feeding their own dock muskies to enormous proportions. Protein is protein. Why would a fish eat sheepshead when she can eat leg of lamb? Baby ducks or foie gras? Three meals a day and they only have to swim out from under a dock.
A client of mine installed a buzzer from the dock to the house for when their dock beast wants to eat. Big fish can't live near the metro? The biggest deer in the state lives around Minnetonka right? How do you think it got so big for so long?
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| One thing is for sure a record class fish will not be gracing my boat this year. I will just cut the line I don't want all the criticism that frequent the internet when such claims are made. I will be happy with a couple 40's this season just to stay low key. Lol |
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Posts: 20
| It could come from tonka for sure. But my guess is vermilion in the fall. |
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Posts: 32958
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Jerome,
The largest Wisco fish will be in the 56" to 57" range, and heavy.
Largest MN fish...58.5". Love to see a 60. Vermilion or Mille Lax. |
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Posts: 2089
| Hahahahaha. Looks like I need to put in for some time off this season. Mike D and Bennie O, I'll be there. Just like old times dudes. And Johnny U, I still need to play net man on the 621!! That lake of yours has 'em too! |
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Posts: 639
Location: Hudson, WI | I would guess it comes from a border water, somewhere between Osceola and Prescott. It breaks the current MN record by 5 pounds, but comes about 10 pounds short of Ol' Louie of course. |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | I would strongly disagree with the idea that Minnetonka doesn't have really big fish. First, the fish are of the same strain and have plenty of forage. Secondly, there have been Muskies much larger than 55 inches caught there. They just don't get advertised. No resorts and people don't want their fish questioned. The fish by my login was caught on Minnetonka and I have seen and had on much, much larger fish there. I have fished Mille Lacs and Vermillion and have never seen fish as large on those lakes as I have seen on Tonka. And its not like I haven't seen big fish on Mille Lacs and Vermillion.
The whole thing with the big fish on Tonka is that they are very hard to find. They rarely hang around the smaller Muskies so if you are fishing areas where you've seen a lot of Muskies, you probably won't see them. I have learned that the really big Muskies are loners and keep to themselves. I have a couple of big fish spots that only hold big Muskies if the smaller ones aren't there. I have never see a big Muskie on those spots if I see 40 something inch fish there. I only see the really big ones when the smaller fish are not present or won't show themselves. And I've learned that there are very specific times when those big fish come in from open water. Wind, weather, moon phase, and time of day all play a role.
I have spent the last three years chasing the largest fish I have ever seen on Tonka. I have had her hooked once and have seen her many times. I really don't know how big she is, but she has to be at least four inches longer and is much thicker than the one by my login name. 60 inches - maybe. Upper 50 - definitely. Weight - no idea.
The big fish are in Tonka. They are just much harder to find than the other lakes and much, much harder to catch. But they are there. |
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Posts: 40
| I agree Herb, there are some slobs in Tonka. I don't think they are hanging out in your average community spot that gets pounded everyday. They are out in open water suspended. I would guess these fish are the recycled ones that live on points or edges, these are special fish that avoid pressure...... I will post a pic of it in a few weeks!!! |
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Posts: 51
Location: chisago city,mn. | If I was a betting man and I'AM.The odds are even money on HAMMERNICK on MILLE LACS! |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | I think all the lakes mentioned contain Muskies that are at or near their maximum size potential. I also believe that the best chance for any one fisherman is going to be on which of those lakes they know best. If you know Mille Lacs best, then that is where your best chance will be. If you know Minnetonka best, then that is where your best chance will be. Same for the big V, Bemidji, Leech, Cass, etc, etc. And the better you know your favorite lake, the better your chances.
I expect a lot of big fish will be caught in MN this year. And it might be a guess which is the largest fish. Do you judge by length, computed weight (girth and length) or how they look in a picture? Lets face it, a big Muskie caught by a cute kid looks a lot better than one caught by one of us, uhh, older guys. And then look how much better the ladies look with a fish than some of us and it seems that some of us have little chance.
Just look at my daughters fish from last year. I don't have a chance.
Edited by Herb_b 5/26/2011 12:38 PM
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Posts: 15
| I'm so glad that you all responded, and it seems there are several places out there where that 60 incher could come from. I'm going up to Bemidji at the end of July, and can't wait to do some chubby chasin'! There are some big girls swimming around there, and it will be a blast fishing for them. This definitely beats bass fishing! |
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| It will be a surprise lake in deep water. |
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Posts: 86
Location: north metro, MN | one of the small lakes up north that very few people fish. and very few people hear about when a fish does get cought |
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Posts: 1237
Location: South Portsmouth, KY | it will be a 60 incher caught by me in the bemidji area the first week of july!! hey i can dream cant i!!! |
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Posts: 203
Location: Alexandria, Minnesota | I agree with Ben.......There are some serious monsters in the lakes that this whole sport got its start..
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Posts: 53
Location: Mn | Many of the Lakes in nortern mn have had incredible cisco, tullibee, and whitefish reproduction cycles the last few years. That means fat fish in shallow digesting and eating deep or should I say over deep water not always down deep. Bemidji is a nice sleeper, I could go on but then that might lower my chances. Mark
Edited by scavenger 5/30/2011 8:22 PM
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Posts: 198
| scavenger - 5/30/2011 8:20 PM
Many of the Lakes in nortern mn have had incredible cisco, tullibee, and whitefish reproduction cycles the last few years. That means fat fish in shallow digesting and eating deep or should I say over deep water not always down deep. Bemidji is a nice sleeper, I could go on but then that might lower my chances. Mark
That also means the fish don't have to look hard and long for a good quality meal which can mean a tough bite. Some of these cisco lakes were pretty brutal last year and may be again this year. |
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Posts: 53
Location: Mn | I believe most of the muskies we catch are reaction strikes. So doing something faster or different amongst forage can cause these strikes maybe they just don't like anything harrassing their food. So try to make your baits stand out in a school of forage. |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | All I know for sure is I won't be the guy catching the biggest fish this year. Maybe in my dreams, but not so much in reality. I'm just hoping my kids don't outfish me. |
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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | I'd love to have any of my 7 Kids out fish me..... What a blast that will be !
Come on Guys..... Tonka .....Is a really good body of "Muskie Water".... BUT...... a larger fish lives in Leach, Winny, The Pond,and Big V.
Tonka will never see "The Biggest Fish" ever.
Get over it man. |
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| G-rome, Holy Breeder Batman!!! What, did you start when you were 13?!? How do you have any time to fish let alone any $. I think your family reunion could fill every cabin at Spring Bay! Just get that crew on the water like a search party and you'll find the biggest muskie in the state in no time! |
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| Not saying the biggest will come from here but another sleeper might be Waconia. Lots of 53, 54 even 55 inchers out of there in the last two or 3 years so it could get a mid to high 50 fish and they are really healthy from what I've seen so in the fall a big fat girl could show up forsure. |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | H2O,
Have you actually ever fished Minnetonka? You sound like one of the people advertising the Big V. Just because one lake has big fish doesn't mean another doesn't.
I would never say never on any lake. There have been plenty of years when Minnetonka produced larger fish than any other lake in the state. Keep in mind that the "advertising" is often encouraged by resorts looking to improve their business. There are no resorts on Minnetonka and many people who fish there don't talk so much. Not even the guides like to talk so much there. Keep in mind that Minnetonka has been stocked since the early 70s - long before many other lakes.
I would agree that people fishing only community spots on Minnetonka will most likely never see a really big fish. Big fish on Tonka are hard to find because they are rarely where one normally looks for Muskies. There is a lot of water and structure for them to roam and the big fish are usually deep and often in open water.
My experience is that there are very large fish on many lakes in MN right now. Some have a higher size structure than others, but many have at least a few real monsters. I would not rule out any lake that has Muskies stocked since the mid-80s. Any one of those lakes could produce an upper 50 inch and possibly a 60 inch Muskie. And any one could produce the largest fish this year or next year.
If I was a betting man, I would list the following lakes as strong candidates for the largest fish:
- Big V
- Mille Lacs
- Bemidji
- Cass
- Minnetonka
- Leech
- Big Detroit
- West Battle
- Alexander
- Waconia
There are other lakes as well that have big fish. Those are just my best bets.
Good luck. |
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| Mille Lacs has my bet. Plantan would be my wildcard pic. |
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Posts: 313
Location: Bemidji, Lake Vermilion | I fish Bemidji, Plantan, Cass all quite a bit and have for some years now. Don't think Bemidji or Plantan can get the length of fish from Mille Lacs or Vermilion. Fish to 56-57 inches yeah. But not over that. Cass - who knows, they can get long there but usually don't carry the weight that well when they do.
Vermilion or Mille Lacs - someone will hit a "certified" and likely well publicized 60in fish anytime now. I'm certain they likely have already, minus the publicity. They are also more likely to still carry the weight in those lakes. Vermilion has had bumper crops of all kinds of forage without any significant die off for years now. I've trolled with bands of tightly packed cisco's 10-15ft thick that literally run for miles long and probably close to 1/2 mile wide, easy. There are monsters out there that are putting on size/growing like most of us could never imagine. |
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| JW - 6/6/2011 10:09 PM
Plantan would be my wildcard pic.
I think most everyone knows that "Leech" gets credit for many of the super fish caught on Plantan. That's perfectly fine because that lake doesnt need any more pressure, its tiny.
In all reality many lakes can put out an upper 50 inch fish, but few of them will have the weight like they do on Mille Lacs and Vermillion.
Boy, did Detroit have a coming out party last year. That could be the sleeper here.
The biggest musky I have ever seen was on Bemidji. It was an incredible fish. It was back in my earlier fishing days and it literally scared the crap out of me. I honestly didnt want that thing in the boat with me in fear of what it might do to me because I was sure it had eaten small children. |
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Posts: 1425
Location: St. Lawrence River | come on guys we all know the overall big girl for 2011 will come outta my neck of the woods :D. the St. Lawrence |
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| JakeStCroixSkis - 6/7/2011 9:12 AM
come on guys we all know the overall big girl for 2011 will come outta my neck of the woods :D. the St. Lawrence
Since when did the St Lawrence become part of MN? I must have missed that on Fox News. |
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Posts: 1425
Location: St. Lawrence River | Captain - 6/7/2011 10:16 AM
JakeStCroixSkis - 6/7/2011 9:12 AM
come on guys we all know the overall big girl for 2011 will come outta my neck of the woods :D. the St. Lawrence
Since when did the St Lawrence become part of MN? I must have missed that on Fox News.
thus me saying the OVERALL big girl for 2011...not the biggest in minnesota. Thanks though, grab a t-shirt on your way out "captain"..... |
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| JakeStCroixSkis - 6/7/2011 9:45 AM
Captain - 6/7/2011 10:16 AM
JakeStCroixSkis - 6/7/2011 9:12 AM
come on guys we all know the overall big girl for 2011 will come outta my neck of the woods :D. the St. Lawrence
Since when did the St Lawrence become part of MN? I must have missed that on Fox News.
thus me saying the OVERALL big girl for 2011...not the biggest in minnesota. Thanks though, grab a t-shirt on your way out "captain".....
Why dont you start a post for where the "overall" big fish will come from then so you can chime in? I dont like t-shirts. I prefer tank tops. |
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Posts: 315
| Anyone that fishes very often in this state definitely knows that the biggest fish of the year will be coming out of Eagle lake in Henn County. Reports statistically show that based on the angle of the sun and time of Aurora Borialis that there was a giant crop of 4 inch bluegills in 06 which has resulted in gigantic muskies!! There you go...scientifically proven! |
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Location: St. Lawrence River | Captain - 6/7/2011 11:57 AM
JakeStCroixSkis - 6/7/2011 9:45 AM
Captain - 6/7/2011 10:16 AM
JakeStCroixSkis - 6/7/2011 9:12 AM
come on guys we all know the overall big girl for 2011 will come outta my neck of the woods :D. the St. Lawrence
Since when did the St Lawrence become part of MN? I must have missed that on Fox News.
thus me saying the OVERALL big girl for 2011...not the biggest in minnesota. Thanks though, grab a t-shirt on your way out "captain".....
Why dont you start a post for where the "overall" big fish will come from then so you can chime in? I dont like t-shirts. I prefer tank tops.
ohh your one of those goes that everyone snickers at cause they think they look jacked in a tank top hahaha. Also, i dont particularly need your permission to chime in.. do you even have a username or? |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | I wouldn't mock Eagle Lake. Back in the early to mid 90s, it had as large of Muskies as any lake in the state. I know of three different 54 inch Muskies that were kept out there in those years. One 54 incher is on the wall at the baitshop on Bass Lake Road not far from there. I also helped a guy release a very fat 55 inch Muskie there in 1998. There were very few Muskies of that size being caught anywhere in MN during those years and it is quite possible Eagle did produce the largest fish in MN for several of those years.
Unfortunately for Eagle, the times have changed. Fishing pressure has gone up drastically on Eagle along with many inexperienced fishermen who keep Muskies or kill them from poor handling. Combine that with a decreased forage base and other lakes now having more mature Muskie fisheries and yes, it is extremely unlikely that Eagle would ever produce the largest MN Muskie again. Actually, it is unlikely that Eagle could produce another mid-50 inch fish with the current conditions.
I fish Eagle maybe once or twice a year now just for old times sake. But the fishery is nothing like it once was. Kind of sad really.
But then one never knows what swims in any lake. |
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| JakeStCroixSkis - 6/7/2011 12:53 PM
Captain - 6/7/2011 11:57 AM
JakeStCroixSkis - 6/7/2011 9:45 AM
Captain - 6/7/2011 10:16 AM
JakeStCroixSkis - 6/7/2011 9:12 AM
come on guys we all know the overall big girl for 2011 will come outta my neck of the woods :D. the St. Lawrence
Since when did the St Lawrence become part of MN? I must have missed that on Fox News.
thus me saying the OVERALL big girl for 2011...not the biggest in minnesota. Thanks though, grab a t-shirt on your way out "captain".....
Why dont you start a post for where the "overall" big fish will come from then so you can chime in? I dont like t-shirts. I prefer tank tops.
ohh your one of those goes that everyone snickers at cause they think they look jacked in a tank top hahaha. Also, i dont particularly need your permission to chime in.. do you even have a username or?
Well, you were posting in the largest MN fish section about fish from out of that area so perhaps you needed a geography lesson. Actually I do have a username, but I cant remember my password and when I sent my retrieve password request (or reset) I never received an email with instructions so I dont know what email I even used. It was several years ago I set it up so who knows what I did. |
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Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | Herb,
I mean no disrespect but ,,Your WAY to in love with Tonka.....
Reread the post's from B.olson, bturg, and uptown....... These guys know Tonka extremely well and like Ben said,.. Tonka doesn't have the ecosystem to grow super tankers like the Northern Lakes do....
Yes Herb I've fished Tonka, since I live about 25 miles away,.....but...... I hate fishing Tonka because of some of the Rude, inexperienced muskie fishermen and the other 80,000 boats and jet skiers that are on that water.
I don't work for any resort but every chance I get I bypass Tonka and spend about 400hrs a yr. fishing where the 60 inchers do live...... I agree that Tonka has some big fish, but the Biggest Mn. Musky in 2011 will not come from Tonka jmho......
Good Luck to you Herb, keep that fire burning in that little girl of yours.
Jerome
Herb_b - 6/6/2011 4:00 PM
H2O,
Have you actually ever fished Minnetonka? You sound like one of the people advertising the Big V. Just because one lake has big fish doesn't mean another doesn't.
I would never say never on any lake. There have been plenty of years when Minnetonka produced larger fish than any other lake in the state. Keep in mind that the "advertising" is often encouraged by resorts looking to improve their business. There are no resorts on Minnetonka and many people who fish there don't talk so much. Not even the guides like to talk so much there. Keep in mind that Minnetonka has been stocked since the early 70s - long before many other lakes.
I would agree that people fishing only community spots on Minnetonka will most likely never see a really big fish. Big fish on Tonka are hard to find because they are rarely where one normally looks for Muskies. There is a lot of water and structure for them to roam and the big fish are usually deep and often in open water.
My experience is that there are very large fish on many lakes in MN right now. Some have a higher size structure than others, but many have at least a few real monsters. I would not rule out any lake that has Muskies stocked since the mid-80s. Any one of those lakes could produce an upper 50 inch and possibly a 60 inch Muskie. And any one could produce the largest fish this year or next year.
If I was a betting man, I would list the following lakes as strong candidates for the largest fish:
- Big V
- Mille Lacs
- Bemidji
- Cass
- Minnetonka
- Leech
- Big Detroit
- West Battle
- Alexander
- Waconia
There are other lakes as well that have big fish. Those are just my best bets.
Good luck. |
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Location: Latitude 41.3016 Longitude 88.6160 | The forage base in Mille Lacs will help pump out a 60" fish in the next year or 2. |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | Jerome,
I hear you. Finding big fish on Minnetonka can be very, very difficult. But that is what allows those fish to get so big. The whole thing is that those big fish do not hang out where other Muskies hang out. The people you mention are all very good fishermen, but that doesn't mean they are fishing where the largest Muskies on Tonka are or throwing the right bait at the right time in the right spot.
The Big V is almost the opposite. The big fish there are much easier to find. I was finding +55 inch Muskies last summer on my second day there. Getting them to eat was another story, but finding them was easy. Can you say "around the rock bar in the middle of the lake"? Same can be said for Mille Lacs. Lots of water, but still only so much structure.
Minnetonka has so much more structure for the Muskies to hang out in. Miles and miles of milfoil weedlines, many shallow areas with cabbage and/or rocks, every single bay - both large and small, many sunken humps, the many points, the deep edges, the secondary breaks, and the open water with all the schools of baitfish can all hold Muskies. I sometimes find Minnetonka overwhelming by the amazing number of locations the fish can be. They can be virtually anywhere and all to often it seems they are nowhere. Just finding any Muskie on some days is a challenge in itself. Finding the really big ones is often like looking for a needle in a very large hay stack. Which bay? Shallow or deep? Deep edge or secondary break? And then try to fit that into a six hour outing? Good luck.
That is why many people don't see the really big Muskies on Tonka. Finding them is almost impossible. Sometimes I wonder why I even fish the ^#@$@#%!!! lake!
OK, now I'm just complaining.
Good luck on the Big V this year. Hope you catch one of those big girls.
Herb
Edited by Herb_b 6/7/2011 4:59 PM
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| That's very interesting. I never knew Lake Minnetonka was so structured, and big fish were hard to find. It makes me want to fish it more for the challenge.
I am fishing Cass/Bemidji in July, and i have a feeling the Bemidji could produce the heaviest fish. Mille Lacs might win that one too. |
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Posts: 697
Location: Minnetonka | I love Tonka just as much as the next guy but I don't think the biggest fish in 2011 will come from there. Especially since Herb says all the big ones from Tonka are kept a secret, and nobody but Herb can catch them because they're all on weird spots and only respond to obscure presentations. :-P
At the risk of sounding cliché, I think the "biggest" fish of 2011 will come from Mille Lacs or Vermilion, judging by the results of the last decade... at least the results that I am aware of. Maybe the secret file of documented Tonka 50-lbers will be leaked to the public this year as well???
Herb_b - 6/7/2011 4:48 PM
The Big V is almost the opposite. The big fish there are much easier to find. I was finding +55 inch Muskies last summer on my second day there.
If I ever fished a lake where it was easy to find 55+ inch muskies, I'm not sure I'd waste my time on any other lake, especially if that lake was scenic Lake Vermilion. |
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Posts: 540
Location: MN | Andy I'll email you the top-secret tonka 50# file later today. Then if your not busy tonight we can go chase a few of them down. LOL |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | Never said that I'm the only that can find big fish there. Hardly.
What I am saying is that the big fish in Minnetonka don't hang out on the community spots. That and most people fish at or near the community spots. In over ten years of Muskie fishing on Minnetonka, I can remember seeing only two really big fish at community spots. The big fish seem to move off the community spots very quickly and go to areas of the lake where they aren't harassed so much. The smaller fish often seem to frequent the community spots no matter how heavy the fishing pressure gets. Sometimes there are four or five boats on a spot and the fish are still there. Just not the really big ones.
As for the 50 lbers, the one near my login was near that size and I have seen larger fish as well. But then seeing and catching are two different things. I have also seen pictures of larger Muskies caught from Minnetonka. Like the other lakes, the fish do seem to top out around 40-50 lbs. Not many caught in any lakes that are much larger than that.
As for the structure on Minnetonka - just look at it. With few exceptions, the miles of shoreline throughout the entire lake are wrapped with milfoil in the 7 to 12 ft depth range. There are many different bays and a lot of water to cover. There are many points, humps and rock bars scattered throughout the lake. Combine that with the Muskies being very mobile and moving often and it makes the fish hard to find at times. I have talked to many fishermen who don't fish Minnetonka because its just to hard to find the Muskies there. The truth is that the smaller metro lakes are much easier to fish and its not like the smaller lakes don't hold nice fish too.
And I am not saying that I think the largest Muskie will come from Minnetonka this year. Could, but not likely. If I would make a bet, I'd guess Mille Lacs or the big V as the two most likely to produce the largest fish. Why? There are more large fish in those lakes and the fish are, generally speaking, easier to find there. But the biggest could come from many other lakes too.
Minnetonka is just one of many good lakes in this state. I fished Leech Lake this weekend and we saw a couple of +50 inch Muskies. And one of those big fish hit my daughter's lure on a figure-8. All she got was a big splash at boat side, but she hasn't stopped talking about it since.
The important thing about fishing is to have fun. If what you're doing isn't fun, then do something else. Lots of lakes to choose from. The MN DNR has done a tremendous job, haven't they?
Good luck all.
Edited by Herb_b 6/13/2011 9:45 AM
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| About 10 years ago my boat partner and I discovered a clue as to the curious Minnetonka pattern. It seemed our smallest fish were next to the largest mansions and the biggest fish were located near the smallest cabins. Perhaps there is a pattern developing in regards to finding the obscure locations. |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | Actually, the big fish tend to just move away from the fishing pressure..... |
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| 40#???? 50#?????? Wow, these numbers get thrown around an awful lot. 80% of muskie anglers have never seen a LEGIT one(40 or 50#) , let alone held one. They are a different class altogether. More rare than we think. |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | The point I'm trying to make is that the really big fish tend to be in different areas. And just because you don't see them doesn't mean they aren't there. That holds true on most lakes.
40# to 50# fish are indeed rare and catching one is even more rare. But they are becoming less rare every year.
What I find amazing is how some of the guides such as Luke, Gregg, and Jason, can find and catch those big fish year after year. |
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