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Posts: 3480
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Wondering about experiences, population, resorts, etc. Wife and I might add a second summer trip, and this area has piqued my interest to an extent.
Any info that you are willing to supply is well appreciated. Ive never been in that area before, but it looks downright beautiful.
Are there good Hydro maps available as well?
Thanks.
Steve |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Yes, quite a bit but many years back. really liked the area, fishing was very very very good for Muskies, Walleyes SMALLMOUTH to the max, and big Pike. |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | I've got a hydro map at home that somebody marked up for me. PM me if you need some info. Looks like awesome water. I don't think the resorts are as plentiful as on LOTW, which could be another plus. m |
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Posts: 2270
Location: SE, WI. | Steve; Minaki is good water. My wife and I had many successfull trips there. Kind of miss it. Scenery is spectacular with bluffs and steep cliffs. We had many 12 to 27 fish trips there with many fish over 40". Resorts seem more resonably priced there. The drawbacks I found were that there was some pleasure boats and pwc, with Minaki right there. Also seemed once you learned the water, that there was limited good spots, and had to sometimes get in line to fish them.
The early mourns were good there along with the evening bite. Get your butt up early. The fish liked to feed there early...5- 7 AM. I took breaks mid day, then go back out 5- 11PM.
JIM  |
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Posts: 401
| I have not been there for a couple years but prior to that we fished it for 10 years straight. It is a very nice area. We stayed at Paradise Cove. The walleye numbers really went down over the years so our group decided to try different places.
If you need map help let me know.
Keith |
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Posts: 1767
Location: Lake Country, Wisconsin | Biggest Fish I have ever seen in my life was there... |
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Posts: 17
| I was in Minaki in September staying at Bayview Lodge. The last couple of years I have seen far fewer walleye fisherman. This September was very quiet and I had good portions of the lake without another boat around. Not many muskie fishing, unlike July and August. Cabins are reasonably priced. Water levels were the lowest I have seen. I didn't see a 50" plus on this trip. Others did better during the same week but at least I wasn't sleeping with an ice bag on my hand from cranking cowgirls all day and half the night. If your looking for an occassional fish, beautiful scenery and good hospitality you'll like the area. |
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Posts: 580
| I've been up to the Minaki area several times, usually early in the season, right after the opener. It's similar in a lot of ways to the stained water areas of LOTW, as obviously its part of the same watershed. I've also been fishing LOTW annually for the past 10 years or so, so the Minaki area is easy to compare.
Population-wise, there is a good density of muskies, basically comparable to LOTW for numbers...maybe slightly less. As for size distributions, my experiences are that the average-size fish that you will encounter is a bit better. Again comparing to LOTW, I think you sacrifice action a little bit in favor of size. There are some absolute monsters in Big Sand and Little Sand. I haven't fished up in Rough Rock as much, but there are obviously some beasts up there as well. Up until this past summer, the biggest muskie I had ever laid eyes on was on Little Sand. Followed in a manta and was a true hog.
I haven't been back to Minaki for awhile now and the biggest reason is that I've found fishing pressure to be a bit on the high side. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of water up there, but in early to mid-summer you'll find pressure directed at alot of the best spots. Pretty disappointing to be in the remote Canadian wilderness and pulling up to the key spot on your milkrun and seeing another boat pounding away on it. I like LOTW because I can still find areas that are relatively pressure-free.
The walleye and smallmouth fishing is fantastic. I know a group of guys that go up in mid to late June (I used to go with them) every year targetting mostly walleye and they seem to be doing better and better every year. Great numbers and some big ones also.
Very beautiful area up there. Good luck. |
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