Minnetonka Panfish

Still very active – can catch gills and crappies in the weeds and the weededge. Crappies are also biting out deeper. Red glow jig with minnow in the 20ft+ depths worked last night. We quit around 11pm and the fish were still biting. Plenty of ice but some access sites are a bit tricky from the last spell of warm weather.

Any ideas on what bays to try first?

I was in Phelps but almost any bay with a 30ft hole in it will work. Fish the weededge or shallower during day for sunnies and ocassional crappie. Move out to 20ft depth or so at sundown. Look for steep breaks and any points projecting into the deep hole. I’m going to be checking out some other bays weather permitting. Yesterday I fished Pelican Lake in Wright county with a friend. We caught about 8 keeper sized and very thick crappies. A group next to us had over a dozen crappies over 10″ biggest was 13″. Worth the trip. It is a 5pm to 8pm bite.

I was out on Tonka searching for crappies yesterday and found similar results. Sunnies were all over from 8-20ft and managed a few crappies around the weedline with a short flurry around sunset.

Ditto PBR – all my fish came between 6:30 and 8:30. Suspended over 21ft – 5 to 10ft down. Smaller fish were higher up. Got some decent size by dropping my jig down to about 15ft and reeling it up to about 7ft – crappies would follow it up and smack it. Minnows had to be active too or I wouldn’t get a bite. My slip bobber got more fish but they tended to be small. Trying a different spot tonight.

Thanks for the update guys!!!

Was out the last couple nights on Tonka and found fish both nights, 1st night caught quite a few but a lot of small fish, I think 12 over 8″ so not bad if you are into cleaning they were in 22ft and some were on the bottom and some were 12-14′ off the bottom. Also caught 2 that were probably 3.5″ they looked like a rattle trap.

2nd night went to a difft spot fished shallower I think I ended up catching 9 but none under 9 with 10.5 being the biggest. fished in about 12′ right in the weeds close to the edge of a steep break, also fished deeper off of the break but not many fish out there.

Probably going out again tonight in the blizzard.
still over 2ft of ice and there is hardly anyone on the lake.

I’m heading out tonight in Carmens Bay – might switch to Phelps if I feel a real need to catch something. Tuesday I nailed two northerns over 30″, one 15″ walleye, lost two fish that broke off and 0 crappies. Wrong spot for now but what a gas All that happened in 15ft moved out to 20+ (ran out of jigheads) and was attracting fish at 7 to 12ft but just couldn’t get them to bite. I know the crappies are staging somewhere in that bay and I’m going to find them.

Crappies are going strong 20ft steep drop into 30 with weeds close. Really a mixed bag but not many over 9″. Bigger fish seem to be in small schools in the weeds. Going out again tonight looking for larger fish in the shallower water probably 12-14′. Fish do seem to be bighting later into the night better than a week ago but they do definately slow down after about 8pm.

Some access are getting a little rough but it was making ice the other night still 20″+

Make sure you bring waxies I am probably 15-1 waxies to minnow fish.