Any reports on Cedar lake near Aitkin?

Are there specific spots to focus on in spring vs the rest of the season? I’m new the the lake and hoping to get some info, just looking to catch & release fish, I’m not a fan of keeping/eating them..

I’m headed up tomorrow for a week. I will give you a quick report when I get back.

The lake seemed ahead of schedule and was very weedy. We caught most of our fish on spinnerbaits slow rolled and plastics worked very slowly at the first drop offs. The fish were pretty negative, but were beginning to suspend last night and become more active as compared to being buried in the weeds. The small pike bite was strong over the weed beds also. We were targeting bass and caught several around 2 pounds with the biggest pushing 4-5. Most all appeared spawned out and in post spawn mode. Water temps when we left were around 72-73.

thanks for the report!

Walleyes have been slow. They are there, just not aggressive at all. Tried bigger spoons and darter types all the way down to small minnows on plain red hooks. Been really frustrating this winter. Fished all my usual winter spots and some new ones. Nothing really to speak of.

Small perch everywhere I have fished for walleyes. Tons of em. Sometimes I wonder if the Eyes are too well fed…….

Thanks for the report, please keep them coming!

any 2017 reports for Cedar? I got an early look at the spring 2017 DNR Muskie trap net results, a 52″ was caught…

I got a small one(32ish)and lost a big one(48/49 ish)opening weekend on Cedar, no followers just the two bites over two days. Last weekend was all walleye fishing for me on Cedar, which was brutal. Anyone have any tips for walleyes on Cedar? I pulled a slow death rig from 14-30 ft around th big islands in the big basin, also what I think is called the “Gold Coast”, and the rocky neck down area in the middle part of the lake. Nothing but a few bass. Spent yesterday evening jigging with a jigging rap and ripping rap on some rock 12-30 feet deep with zero bites.

Seems like everyone is only fishing Muskies these days. Walleyes are always tough on Cedar. So far I haven’t seen any eyes in the mid summer type spots like humps. They have all still been shallow. 4th of July-ish is when I start fishing mid lake structure.

I noticed that too…I think the pressure will drop a bit when the Gull muskies reach a “fishable” size in 5 years or so.

I’ll maybe do some looking shallow for walleyes. In the weeds or inside? So far learning Cedar has been challenging, can use any help I can get, thanks.

I’ll be an active contributor in this thread once I finally get my boat in the water at Cedar. Been working on fixing the cabin the past few years…

Trust me, it’s challenging for most of us. I have fished here most of my life. I like that it’s tough because it keeps the walleye pressure relatively low.

Wind is important just like any lake. But keep moving if you aren’t getting bit. The lake has too much structure for the fish to choose from and most of the time, there aren’t 20 fish on a spot. Usually 1 or 2.

I’ll be honest, I consider 2-3 eyes a night, a good night…. Other lakes, that would be embarrassing.

About the weeds. Like other lakes, I think there are always weed walleyes and fish that are on weedless structures, at the same time. If you are fishing wind blown weeds, try slip bobbers with a leech about 8-10 feet down.

Dan Kane wrote:

Trust me, it’s challenging for most of us. I have fished here most of my life. I like that it’s tough because it keeps the <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleye pressure relatively low.

Wind is important just like any lake. But keep moving if you aren’t getting bit. The lake has too much structure for the fish to choose from and most of the time, there aren’t 20 fish on a spot. Usually 1 or 2.

I’ll be honest, I consider 2-3 eyes a night, a good night…. Other lakes, that would be embarrassing.

The DNR survey report that showed several eyes netted that were 30+ inches long makes it worth the effort

It will be interesting to see how the numbers change after the results for this year’s survey are released.

Yea the survey is always interesting. Where are you guys on the lake? My family’s place is on the main deep basin.

Dan

I’m on the big deep lower main basin bay before the boat launch

Cool. I have a buddy coming up this weekend. I’ll let you know if I find anything.

Howd you do in the cold front conditions?

Brutal.