The future looks promising

Recently spent an evening fishing Lake Minnetonka with the future of our sport.  Blake and his 2 young sons (2,4) joined me for an evening chasing crappies and whatever else they could catch on Lake Minnetonka.  

The first spot produced enough panfish and bass action to keep the boys occupied for the better part of 2 hours.  The best part about the 2 hours was that they actually begged to stay out.  

These little guys are the reason I do all of this.  To pass along my passion, knowledge, and see the excitement in their face every time they had a fish on was priceless.  These boys love fishing and loved everything about our evening on the lake.  I once stood on the end of a dock at 3 years old with a fishing rod and never wanted to go in.  I witnessed the same thing with these guys.  Who needs video games or tv when you have the great outdoor resources we all have the opportunity to take advantage of.  

Not sure which of us had more fun....the kids or myself?!  ha  Pretty neat that I get to do something I love and enjoy for a living.  We are still catching many of our fish on leeches.  Don't be afraid to still throw some crankbaits for the aggressive big fish.  They are still "chowing".  

The walleye fishing in the metro has still been good.  The Lake Minnetonka and Lake Waconia walleye fishing reports are all positive.  As the water continues to warm many of the fish will start to move out of the shallows and on the where they will summer.  Typically it is deeper water (15-30) that they will resort to once the shallow water spring bite disappears.  All the fish are doing is following both the bait, oxygen, and a little cooler temps so they can continue to feed.  

Until next time, Fish On!  

Brett's Big'n!

Hit the waters of Lake Minnetonka tonight with a couple good fellas and Brett was the first to mine gold.  Brett scored this fish only about 45 minutes on the water and it measured in at 31" long and had  a 16" girth.  Needless to say Brett was pretty excited, stoked, and was thinking this gravel lizard fishing was pretty easy.  

It was a true giant Lake Minnetonka walleye.  Heck this is a big walleye by any ones standard-but to catch giant walleyes like this in the metro has been very rewarding.  All the hard work and time spent on the water has really paid off.

This started out the evening and I think Brett and "Anderson" were expecting this to be the norm.  It's like starting the game with a home run.   

After catching a few other fish we eventually hooked up on another one of these giant raw ryes just to have it break off boat side before I got it in the net.  

We are still catching many of our fish on #2 Gamakatsu Octopus hook tipped with a leech.  I will be back at it tomorrow and I will report back with more pictures and Lake Minnetonka and Lake Waconia fishing reports.  

Until then, Fish On!

Pot Of Gold

Went out on Lake Minnetonka last night in search of "gold" and only had to go to one spot and we found the "pot of gold".  This gravel lizard fell victim to one of my favorite spring raw rye tactics-throw'n Mad Eye Shad cranks.  The fish measured in at 29" and was a very healthy Lake Minnetonka walleye that went back to swim another fight.  It just goes to show how healthy of a fishery Tonka is.  Thanks to the stocking efforts of the MN DNR and many folks practicing catch and release the Metro lakes are in as good of shape as I have ever seen.   

For those of you that have been waiting for a Lake Minnetonka fishing report-I can tell you this.  The lake is in great shape, healthy, and kicking out some nice raw ryes.

I was joined last night on the water by Eric Schultz-aka "Peach".  After landing the one giant gravel lizard we turned our focus to trying to catch a few "eater" size fish for a hot pan of oil.  Eric caught these 2 dandy gravel lizards on a slip bobber and a pink #2 Gamakatsu Octopus hook tipped with a large leech.  

Going to be back on the water this evening, tomorrow morning, and tomorrow evening.  I should have lots of photos and metro fishing reports coming-hopefully the fishing stays good!  Until next time, Fish On!    

Like Father Like Son

Got to spend this evening on the water fishing with a few great men.  One of those included my father and as you can see we were able to catch some dandy gravel lizards.  The walleye bite continues to be stellar and talking my father into joining us was a pretty easy task.  

His first question was, "can I smoke a cigar while I fish"?  Needless to say he got to enjoy a walleye crush session and a nice cigar.  It is a rather rare to get the chance to wet a line with my dad so when he said he was interested in going I had to make sure I had him a rod with a sharp hook on it.  We only fished one little area tonight but that area had some lizards using it.  

We caught all of our fish on live bait tonight and still stayed rather shallow.  The fish are starting to move though with the warming water temps. They are also changing some of their feeding habits due to the big bug hatch and the bait fish that is bringing in.  Tonight was the 2nd night in a row we caught many other fish besides just walleyes.  It had been just plum full of walleyes in the couple areas we had been fishing.  As this week progresses and the water continues to warm the fish will continue to move closer to where they will summer.  

If I do my homework, use past experience, and stay on my game I will hopefully stay on these fish for many weeks to come.  I have a pretty good idea where they are coming from, where they are feeding, and where they are going.  ;)  

This week has been nothing short of amazing-it is grueling at times but worth every bit of the sleepless nights!  I will be back at it tomorrow, the next day, and the day after that......  Until then, Fish On!