I don't even know where to start with the stories and pictures from this past weekend.  It was a weekend that I will never forget.  It included three different lakes and numerous different fishing partners.  Due to the late ice out the bass are a week or two behind on their spawn.  That means that these fish are pre-spawn and when you find them they are aggressive and hungry.  We may not get this good of an opener again for 10 years.  I could not have asked for better conditions.

Long time friend and fishing partner Tony came up from Chicago for the weekend to take part in the MN bass opener.  Tony is originally from Minnetonka so he was excited to be home.  His son Sam (pictured above)  was able to catch a few nice bass!

Tony and I started Saturday morning on Lake Minnetonka.  We spent the first few hours searching fish out in the shallows and caught some 2 pound males.  We figured out quickly that the females had not moved up to spawn yet.  After we moved out a bit and started throwing crank-baits we were able to pick up a few nice females.  The wind made it very hard to fish and hold on many of the areas we were trying to fish, so we decided to load up and head to Whaletail lake in St. Boni and try our luck there.  Once again we found lots of males up shallow and a few bigger fish out on the edge.  Aside from the 25 plus mph winds it was a great day!

Sunday morning Gunner and I started back on Minnetonka.  The conditions had changed drastically over night.  It was over-cast and the wind was blowing 10-15 mph out of the south.  It was shaping up to be a crank-bait fisherman's dream day.  We bounced around in search of some of the deeper weeds but realized that much of the weed growth is also behind due to the late ice out.  When we found good green weeds we found nice females wanting to inhale a mag-wart.  By 2 o'clock we were ready for a change.  We loaded up and headed to Waconia to fish the afternoon and hopefully get closer to home in case the severe storms were headed our way.  This was a god sent decision.  From 3-6 p.m. I boated over 30 bass, many of which pushed 3 plus pounds.  I caught 4 bass over 4 1/2 pounds(pictured) and enough 2-3 pounders to give a guy black and blue ribs from hook sets.  Gunner did not fair as well out of the back of the boat, but he still managed to catch 15 plus fish and numerous fish over 3.  He did not get to catch any giants, but there is always next time.  The bait of choice was an All-Terrain Tackle swim jig tipped with a Net Bait Paca Chunk.  The conditions were ideal for this pattern.  Severe storms skirting the metro, a slight breeze and partially over cast.  It had them going crazy.  They would bite it on the fall, while reeling it, or while pausing it when retrieving.  It did not seem to matter.  They were just eating it!  

After such a crazy bass bite we decided to try our luck with the walleyes before the sun went down.  Jay met us about 8 and we headed for my favorite walleye hole.  About 8:40 we boated our first walleye and about 15 minutes later we boated another and that would turn out to be the end of the action.  The fish did not cooperate as I would have liked but it still made for a great evening on the water.  We have been catching the walleyes out a bit deeper now that the water is starting to warm and having our best luck on a jig and a minnow.  That's all for now, but I will be back with more stories and pictures later this week.    

The nice weather this past weekend gave Betsy, Matt Rauenhorst, and I a chance to get on the water and chase some panfish on Minnetonka.  Betsy was able to land this "giant" largemouth bass while fishing for crappies.  She also learned how to bait her own hook and take fish off.  We will see how well she does this weekend with fish that have teeth.  It was a good day on the water.  We caught in up wards of 75 plus crappies, a bunch of sunnies, and a few bass.  If we are lucky we will have photos with a few walleyes from this coming weekend.         

I apologize for the lack of reports lately but with this bitter cold that has set in I have not been out as much as I would like.  When the weather broke over the weekend we did get out on Minnetonka.  Friday evening we fished Browns bay and did not catch any walleyes in my house, but about 100 yards away we had guys in another house and they did catch a few nice eyes.  Since shiner minnows have been non-existent we have resorted to small suckers for the set lines.  They are producing our better fish.  The weather is going to break again tomorrow and we will be back at it this weekend.  Stay warm!  

Mille Lacs is finally starting to kick out some nice fish.  The boys are not catching a ton of fish but they are getting one or two real nice ones (25+") each night with a few small ones.  I am going to try and get up and get in on some of the action.  If you or anyone you know is interested in heading to Mille Lacs or Red please let me know.  We have some weekends available on Red in March.     

Lake Minnetonka continues to kick out some nice walleyes.  It has started to slow a bit, but if you put in your time you will be rewarded with walleyes like this 25" er.  This fish hit a rattle reel with a big shiner at 2:40 a.m. and as you can see I was a bit sleepy yet.  More photos and stories to come soon.  Headed to Red Lake next week, can't wait!