Eagan Fishing???

My wife kept an article from the Pioneer Press about the excellent fishing opportunities in the little lakes and ponds around Eagan. I recently moved there and was wondering if any on the board has any experience fishing Eagan. My boat is perfect for dragging into these little ponds from canoe accesses. Also, they mention lots of good shore fishing. It looks like mostly bass and panfishing, not my preference, but if you can bring a rod to a family picnic -then who can argue w/ that!

Holland lake in Eagan has some great fishing opportunities. We fish it mostly in the winter and it gets hammered pretty hard, but I don’t think as much in the summer. Its perfect for a small boat/canoe and there is some shore fishing. We have caught northerns and rainbow trout there as well as panfish (great if you have kids).

Last summer the family had a picnic at the shelter on Holland and fished off the pier and caught 3-4 inch sunnies as fast as I could cast the lines in. Great fun for my 3 year old. Nice spot to spend a few hours with the wife and kids. I think you could catch bigger fish from the pier but I was targeting the little ones that would bite quickly. I’ll be taking my two year old there this year.

Give Fish lake a try. It’s located off Pilot Knob Rd. Lots of sunnies, few crappies and some nice largemouth. It is very small and no motors are allowed. There is a public DNR fishing pier there as well. Good Luck. Let us know how you do.

Thanks for the tips guys. I am intrigued w/ Holland. Stocked w/ Browns and rainbows? 30 arce and 50+’ deep w/ a large shallow arm…nice structure for panfish/bass or trout. Any idea what kind of access it has besides the dock?

The only access I’m aware of is from Cliff Rd. There is a gravel area next to the road just East of the park. Pull off to the side and it’s a pretty good drop to the lake. Ok for a canoe but might be tough for anything larger. Yellowlab and I can carry the canoe down so it isn’t terribly steep but if you’re with kids you’ll probably have to work a bit to get back out. Fish Lake looks good too. Never fished it but have stopped by and launching would be much easier. Let me know if you want directions to Fish. It’s right near where I work but I can’t remember the street names offhand. Took me a couple trips around the neighborhood to find it.

davb- the city of Eagan has a small book made by their parks and recreation department on the lakes in Eagan, it is probably just what you need, each lake shows what is available and tips and access info also. the front of the bood shows a map of Eagan with all the lakes so you can get a general idea where they are. I’m sure the books are free, just call the parks dept. Jack.

A little known spot in Eagan is Lemay Lake it is off of Lone Oak rd. and is a hot bed for crappie and sunnies but the only way I know about it is the apartment complex that it is next to was where I used to live and some of the guys that live there hated the “outsiders” learning about the huge fish they catch. On many occaions with info from many different anglers I was told that the crappie were some of the largest the person had ever seen.