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Posts: 93
| Now, I know that people will argue with me about this, but in my experience, these ar my 10 favorite. Feel free to come up with your own list, and I encourage it.
1. Lake Vermilion-MN.
2. Mille Lacs-MN.
3. St. Lawrence River-Ottawa River-Canada
4. Lake of The Woods-US/Canado
5. Lake St. Clair-MI
6. Lake Bemidji-MN
7. Eagle Lake-Canada
8. Lake Kinkaid-IL
9. Lake Minnetonka-MN
10. Green Bay-WI |
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Location: Lake Tomahawk, WI | In no order, imo
Vermilion
Mille Lacs
LOTW
Eagle
GB
Leech
St Lawrence
Ottawa
St Louis
St Claire
Now how bout a list of the top ten that are 'under the radar'..hahaha
JS |
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Posts: 93
| Under the radar is an awesome idea! Why don't you list it Mr. Badfish. |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | Unfortunately since the birth of the internet not much is able to fly under the radar.
Edited by horsehunter 6/20/2011 7:02 AM
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Posts: 272
| Stupid but related question.....has someone or some entity actually "officially" ranked muskie lakes? There's been a classified ad in the back of Musky Hunter for several years boasting a rental cabin on Webster...... the #3 best musky lake in the country. Going from memory here, don't have the ad in front of me, don't get the mag anymore.
-Eric |
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Posts: 1767
Location: Lake Country, Wisconsin | I guess the question "best" can be interpreted in different ways depending on who is answering the question...Although it wouldn't be my first choice to go trophy hunting by any means, in my world the best place to fish a lake with near perfect factors such as size of the water, structure, numbers of fish, and contained amount of pressure is Lake of The Woods. Mille Lacs and Vermilion probably have some of, if not THE best trophy potential in our neck of the upper midwest but saying they are better then LOTW is quite a reach imo...
Edited by Musky Brian 6/20/2011 11:16 AM
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| There are some Canadian waters with world record potential but no one is going to mention them. |
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| I like many of the lakes listed on your list, but I think your list becomes a joke when you include an Illinois lake (Kinkaid). Give me a break. It shouldn't make the top 500. |
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Posts: 80
Location: Geneva, IL | 1. Lake X
2. Lake X
3. Lake X
4. Lake X
5. Lake X
6. Lake X
7. Lake X
8. Lake X
9. Lake X
10. Lake X
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Posts: 93
| Rick Becker - 6/20/2011 2:03 PM
I like many of the lakes listed on your list, but I think your list becomes a joke when you include an Illinois lake (Kinkaid). Give me a break. It shouldn't make the top 500.
I know, but I'm from Chicago and had to include one of our lakes. We can replace it with Lake Plantagenet. |
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Location: Des Moines IA | I would put Lac Seul way before any IL lake. I had a couple MONSTERS eatin' walleyes in half faster than I could reel them in before I even knew what a muskie was. |
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Posts: 3147
| catch wise or size wise ?????????
catch wise
1, buckhorn lake MN
2,lake Independence,MN
3 Big Lake,MN
4 Deer Lake,wis
5,Lake webster,Ind never been there=Repiutation
6-White Bear lake, MN-maybe were stocking tooo many fish in there
7-Waconia,,MN
8-Forrest lake,MN
9-Okobodji IA,,never been there but they say per hr highest catch rate in midwest
10-Lake Gervais-'tigers' MN
AVG SIZE/ LUNKERS
1.Mile Lacs,,MN
2 St Lawrance River
3,Georgian Bay
4,Lac Seul
5,Vermilion
6,Green Bay
7 Lake Bemidji
8 Whitefish Bay
9 Eagle Lake
10 Cass
Edited by happy hooker 6/20/2011 3:46 PM
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Posts: 1767
Location: Lake Country, Wisconsin | Guest - 6/20/2011 11:32 AM
There are some Canadian waters with world record potential but no one is going to mention them.
this...there's definetely several NW Ontario lakes that have what it takes and are not mentioned in these discussions, either by lack of visits from the Musky world or intentional silence |
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Posts: 93
| Yea, like Long Legged Lake( Stork Lake ). |
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Posts: 1184
Location: Iowa Great Lakes | We average a fish on Okoboji every 14.5 hours over a seasons course.... This year we are averaging one about every 45 hours so far... Based on fishing roughly 40 hours a week every week of season.... Numbers are misleading since you may get 3-5 fish in a couple days then nothing for a couple weeks again.... |
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| My favorites (in order)
1. Rowan Lake, Ontario
2. Osbourne Bay (Eagle Lake, Ontario)
3. Winnipeg River, Minaki (haven't spent a lot of time there but looks promising)
4. LOTW
5-10 Still to be determined....
"Jackpot" John SchroederFo |
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Posts: 247
Location: Uxbridge Ontario | There are many Central ontario lakes on the Georgian bay side that scream new world record. All the delta systems in these area (where Ken OBrien's Ontario record fish came from in '88). Since Georgian bay is a gigantic place, I would list several delta systems off of the bay in the top 10 world record potential spots. But with the populations of Walleye almost extinct due to drag fishing, the potential might not be there any longer.
http://www.musky.ca/ontario-record-muskie-ontario-record-musky.htm
No specific order, but I think the next Wold Record is coming from one of these... Not trying to be Ontario Bias, but going by the potentials that have been could the last few years
LOTW
Lac Seul, Ontario
Eagle Lake, Ontario
French River/ Nipp-issing Ontario
Moon River Delta Ontario
Gananoque (1000 islands), Ontario/ NY state
Edited by HomeTime 6/21/2011 11:49 AM
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Posts: 247
Location: Uxbridge Ontario | I suppose when you refer to best muskie waters you are not just talking world record potential though. |
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Posts: 437
| 10 Favorites for what? Catching numbers? Size of fish? Scenery? How crowded they are?
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Location: Hayward ,Wisconsin | From the lakes listed, you must be talking world record waters ? I like 8 out of your 10 that you listed but failed to mention Lac Suel and the Chippewa Flowage. |
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Posts: 536
| I think he is just listing his own personal favorites and asking others to post there's |
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Posts: 335
Location: Minnesota | leech lake strain - 6/21/2011 9:14 PM I think he is just listing his own personal favorites and asking others to post there's
OR - listing some lake names that he read on the internet and thinks they must be awesome based on what he has read. Or possibly the only lakes he has ever actually visited.
My top ten list would include Vermillion, Mille Lacs, Green Bay, and 7 other lakes in Canada. Any list that isn't Canada heavy is questionable in my opinion. |
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Posts: 93
| Yes, I am listing my personal favorites, and I've fished some of them, and some friends have fished the others. This is just my opinion, and I encourage everyone to list some of theirs. That's the point of this. I'm not looking to be the one who thinks he knows everything because I don't, and this list could be changed. I want to see yours. You say 7 Canadian lakes should be on the list. Which lakes are those? |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | For me it would be pretty much any Muskie lake I can find time to fish.
I wouldn't rule out Leech lake. We fished it a couple weeks ago and had the big fish going. Lots of action and my 11 year old daughter almost had a +50 at boatside. Never thought her eyes could get so big. 
Lots of good lakes in MN, WI, and Canada. Even Iowa has good Muskie fishing these days. |
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Posts: 2015
| We do? My list of Top 100 lakes would not include one from Iowa
Edited by IAJustin 6/22/2011 4:33 PM
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | Mud Lake
Bass lake
Pine Lake
Lost Lake
There need not be any others. |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | Justin,
I agree that Iowa probably doesn't have Muskie fishing on the par with the Big V or Mille Lacs, but you have to agree that it is getting better. And if you live near the Iowa lakes, they sure are worth a try. Probably better than playing golf in the corn fields.
Keep in mind that the season does start in Iowa before MN and a few lakes in Iowa are open year around. I have driven down to Iowa in late April for a little early season fishing. That is more than a month before the MN Muskie season opens and about two months before the Canadian season. So, at that time of year, I would say Iowa has some of the best lakes in the upper midwest. Granted, we didn't catch anything big, but we were fishing.
Just my opinion, but I think think the Iowa DNR has done a pretty good job with what they have to work with.
Herb |
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Posts: 2015
| Not saying you cant catch them in IA - I catch 30+ muskie every year from IA. But this thread is about the BEST waters.....I can go catch walleyes and Bass every day of the year too in IA....But there is not a lake in IA that would be Top 100 for either of those species either. I have easily 10x the amount of hrs on IA lakes vs MN & Canada.....yet of the 23 fish 48" + I have ever caught 4 are from IA .......not mention the scenery (or lack there of)
Edited by IAJustin 6/23/2011 1:18 PM
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Location: Contrarian Island | the question is so relative..."best" lakes for what? size? action? avg size? etc etc....you ask best in the title but then list your 10 "favorite"....favorites may or may not be best?
I have fished about 60 lakes with musky in them to date from IL, IA, IN, WI, MN, MO, MN, and Canada...fortunate enough to have spent some time on some most would consider in the top 25 ....
listing your 10 best might not be what someone else thinks is best...some say a lake like Eagle lake Ontario...
it wouldn't make my personal top 10...I have others I like to fish more, have just as big of fish, and are easier to catch...
I also fish some 200 acre potholes that might be in my top 10 for other reasons besides size...
so the list is so subjective and based on opinion...
oh but i love that Pleasant Creek Justin! teehehehheee
Edited by BNelson 6/23/2011 1:29 PM
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Posts: 785
| I agree with Justin, we have decent enough lakes but nothing great. I think Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky have some nicer musky lakes than IA's... and none of their's would make my top 100 either. I do see what your saying though. |
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