Fishing Report for 5-10-24

Reminders for a Great Season
Welcome to the 2024 fishing season! These fishing outlooks contain a wide range of fisheries information compiled from local DNR Fisheries staff. You can find more information about the management, habitat and oversight work performed by area fisheries staff, and how to contact them, on the DNR area fisheries pages. We hope you have a great fishing experience. And we also encourage you to take a kid fishing or introduce someone new to fishing!

Check the DNR fishing webpage
The DNR has a fishing page to help answer angler questions. The page links to LakeFinder, which provides maps, special regulation information for individual lakes, other detailed information on lakes throughout the state, and the StreamFinder tool that provides a description, species list, regulations and access information for trout streams throughout Minnesota. The fishing page includes the online versions of the Minnesota fishing regulations booklet in multiple languages. The regulations booklet is available in print anywhere DNR licenses are sold.

Clean In Clean Out
Remember anglers and boaters, Clean In Clean Out when boating or fishing in Minnesota. Protect your waters by following state aquatic invasive species laws. Clean, drain, dispose and keep all plugs out while transporting boats. Find information on aquatic invasive species on the DNR website.

Fishing Outlook
Southern Minnesota lakes are often overlooked as a destination for great fishing in the spring, although the anglers who live nearby tend to know of the excellent opportunities that await them. Anyone can experience good angling by boat or bank-angling given the numerous waters in this part of the state that host fast-growing fish. Sometimes the best kept secrets for fast-action keeper walleye are found in southern Minnesota.

The 2024 season started out as one for the record books with a warm winter, late ice formation, and early ice-out on our lakes in March. No fish winterkill was observed this past winter; however, in the winter of 2022-2023, many shallow lakes had partial to severe fish winterkills. The upshot of those winterkill events is that the fishery recovers rather quickly, producing keeper size panfish and walleye within two years. Put pins in those lakes for trying later
this year and in 2025.

The Spicer DNR fishery office provided a snapshot of the lake’s fishery based on recent netting surveys that evaluate fish populations. The following two lakes in Kandiyohi County are in the “top-12” walleye fishing prospects for the spring of 2024:
• Wakanda Lake  – a shallow lake providing good walleye action each spring.
• Long Lake near Willmar  – shallow lake, high walleye population of all sizes.

Spicer Area Fisheries covers Kandiyohi County and portions of Stearns, Lyon, Chippewa, Lac Qui Parle, Swift and Yellow Medicine counties. Here’s their report:

The majority of lakes managed as fishing lakes in the 7-county fisheries area are found in Kandiyohi County, but the Spicer fisheries management area also includes lakes near Paynesville (Rice and Koronis), Benson (Camp and Monson) and south of Granite Falls (Wood, Cottonwood, School Gove, Lady Slipper and Tyson).

The fisheries area can provide quality year-round shore and boat angling opportunities for species such as sunfish, crappie and yellow perch, and beginning on May 11, walleye, northern pike, and bass (bass are catch and release only until May 25). Don’t forget about the opportunities that other fish species present for both fun and table-fare such as freshwater drum, bullhead, and carp. Be sure to check out our virtual map of these shore-based locations available by request at spicer.fisheries@state.mn.us.

Walleye
Lakes where recent fisheries netting or electrofishing surveys show current excellent populations include Big Kandiyohi, Carrie, Cottonwood, Diamond, Eagle, Green, Koronis, Norway, Minnetaga and Wakanda. The shallower (i.e., warmer) lakes or shallow bays of deeper lakes may be the preferred locations to fish this year at the beginning of the season as the recently spawned-out adult walleye seek warmer water to recover and feed. Also consider targeting inlets coming from shallow or rapidly warming wetlands. Slip bobbers or the classic jig and minnow may be
the ticket.

Bass
Just about every lake starting a few miles north of Willmar in Kandiyohi County is worth angling for largemouth bass with East Solomon, Long (by Willmar), Florida and Norway being particularly good. Smaller lakes with quality bass populations include Monson, Camp and Bass. Lakes with excellent smallmouth and largemouth bass angling are Koronis, Rice, Nest, Eagle and Green. Smallmouth bass angling on Big Kandiyohi Lake has recently become popular.

Sunfish
Lakes where recent fisheries surveys show excellent populations of quality sized bluegill include Florida, Long (near Hawick), Nest, George, Elkhorn, Diamond, Green and Bass.

Crappie
Diamond Lake has another massive year-class of crappie ready (9+ inches). Also look to Foot, Rice (near Paynesville), Long (South) and Ringo lakes for some of the best area current crappie populations. If searching for a trophy, look to Nest Lake where 14-16 inch “slabs” occur.

Northern Pike
Look to East Solomon, Koronis, Rice, Diamond, Florida, Green and Nest for the best combination of numbers and size right now.

Yellow Perch
Cottonwood Lake (near Cottonwood, MN) and Wakanda are the places to be for larger yellow perch right now. Traditional fisheries area lakes that have historically produced “jumbos” are Big Kandiyohi, Long (Willmar) and Minnetaga. Tyson Lake south of Wood Lake, MN also has decent sized perch right now.

Information is from the Regional Fishing Outlooks on the MN DNR website.