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Herb_b |
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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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| Hammskie |
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Posts: 697 Location: Minnetonka | |||
| Tim Schmitz |
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| Herb_b |
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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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| Herb_b |
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Posts: 829 Location: Maple Grove, MN | |||
| Al Swearingen |
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| Herb_b |
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Posts: 829 Location: Maple Grove, MN | |||
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