2024 Minnesota Season Thread

[gim]

Largemouth fishing this morning locally with a friend for about 4.5 hours.  Every fish we caught was still prespawn, including the second biggest largie I've ever caught by weight.  A Neko rig did the most damage but when it was raining for about 40 minutes, I busted out a more aggressive approach with a black spinnerbait which paid off.  Water temp is 66 degrees.

 

 

[Deephaven]

Nice fish!  Grabbed my boat today.  Hope to have a garage next week so I can rerig it for spring.

[Tlauz]

I was out last Sunday.  Water temps 59-61.  Some smallmouth were on beds. I caught three 18's and three 19's.  Three on pink wacky worm and three on drop shot.   I was sight fishing most, but for a few, I was making long casts toward isolated reeds where there might be a bed. I caught a few smaller largemouth in reeds.  It was a great big fish day, but I struggled to find largemouths of any size.  If history is an indicator I may have one or two good trips coming then a couple of weeks where I am sure every fish has died. 

[gim]

On 5/27/2024 at 5:23 PM, Deephaven said:

Hope to have a garage next week so I can rerig it for spring summer.

 

Fixed it for ya 😎

[Bass_Fischer]

First outing of the season on Wednesday, on Lake Waconia.  Water temp was 64-66, bluebird skies and no wind so I was prepared for a grind.  Turned out to be a busy day.  Beds were mostly empty and there was good drop shot action deep (weed edges, 16-17'), keyed on bluegill schools nearby.  Most were 12-14", best was an 18".

[MN Fisher]

3 minutes ago, Bass_Fischer said:

First outing of the season on Wednesday, on Lake Waconia.

Sounds like a good day down there, neighbor. Once I get Bass Trek in the water, maybe duo-boat it on Tonka sometime....perhaps get @gimruis and @Deephaven to make it a flotilla.

[gim]

No drop shotting for this guy.  Never again.

 

I'd be down for a "gathering" of some sort though.  Preferably not on Tonka.

[Bass_Fischer]

3 hours ago, gimruis said:

No drop shotting for this guy.  Never again.

Why?  Not criticizing, just curious.

[MN Fisher]

6 minutes ago, Bass_Fischer said:

Why?  Not criticizing, just curious.

Gim is of the opinion that it's more boring than sitting and watching paint dry or grass grow.

[gim]

2 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

Gim is of the opinion that it's more boring than sitting and watching paint dry or grass grow.

 

I'm tempted to mark this as the solution to the entire thread. 

[WaskaCrank12]

Enjoying watching and reading the posts -- unfortunately an engine issue has kept me off the water -- trying to figure out the best approach to moving forward (- bolt broke off in the water pump housing area when I was looking to replace the auger/pump -- attempt to drill out/re-tap/put a coil in has not worked -- machine shop said they will not try and fix as aluminum is risky to work with and too much liability -- so I am exploring purchase of a remanufactured lower unit/a new lower unit/a used lower unit or potentially purchasing an old 78' Johnson Javelin 85hp engine someone in the neighborhood has and having that placed on the boat -- all options are more pricey than I would like)

[MN Fisher]

11 hours ago, gimruis said:

I'd be down for a "gathering" of some sort though.  Preferably not on Tonka.

Ok - Dutch then (I'm range limited)...or Whaletail, though that one is mostly shallows and chock full of panfish - not much in the way of bass.

[Deephaven]

14 hours ago, gimruis said:

No drop shotting for this guy.  Never again.

 

I'd be down for a "gathering" of some sort though.  Preferably not on Tonka.

Glad to get together wherever.

[gim]

Quite a northern pike recently caught in the Boundary Waters.

 

https://www.outdoorlife.com/fishing/minnesota-record-pike/

[gim]

I went this morning with a friend for about 4.5 hours. We caught 20 largemouth and 4 pike. Biggest bass was 17 inches. I have had trouble catching sizable bass since the spawn. A spinnerbait and a wacky rig around docks were both producing. Water temp was 71 and the weeds are thick. Won’t be fishing again until probably around the 4th of July.

[MN Fisher]

Popped out for a couple hours on the bank...only took the jig/bobber rig and a selection of 1" and 2" plastics.

1 Black Crappie

3 Bluegill

1 Pumpkinseed

1 dink Bass - questionable if it'd score or not.

 

 

At least I got a line wet - but I'm paying for it now...ankle is killing me.

[gim]

Anyone fishing these days?  Been a while since anyone posted a trip report here...

[MN Fisher]

2 hours ago, gimruis said:

Anyone fishing these days?  Been a while since anyone posted a trip report here...

Shore fishing again Wednesday - couple small crappie and a few small sunnies...nothing worth keeping.

[throttleplate]

Went to Detroit Lakes on thursday to my secret crappie/panfish lake only known by me, my wife and all of becker county.

The crappie bite from the bank has ended, we picked off 2 keepers and threw back a handfull of dollar bill sized crappie.

The bluegill are still biting and we filled the stringer. It was chilly out thursday with super low hanging clouds and some light rain  and windy.

I caught a good sized bass on panfish rig, it had a huge head and length at 22 inch but it was spawned out recently as it had a shrunken belly and needed a tummy tuck. 

It poured heavy rain in Fargo ND at 2 am and the basement  sump pump was workin hard. My dam fishing the Sheyene river is not gonna happen again untill fall maybe, due to all the rain the banks are flooded out.

[gim]

3 hours ago, throttleplate said:

My dam fishing the Sheyene river is not gonna happen again untill fall maybe, due to all the rain the banks are flooded out.

Is that the same one that was super low earlier in March? Amazing how that can change so dramatically.

[throttleplate]

32 minutes ago, gimruis said:

Is that the same one that was super low earlier in March? Amazing how that can change so dramatically.

Yes, in march with no snow to melt off the sheyenne was so low i was thinking just another few inches lower and i could walk out to the middle and pick up my snagged lures from the past 2 years.

[Adrift]

Took the kid out the other day and she got her pb. The only fish we could get to bite were shallow. Could see fish on the graph out on the weedlines but they weren't buying what we were selling. 

[gim]

I went this morning in the on and off rain for about 4.5 hours.  Did pretty good.  Finally caught some more sizable fish which have eluded me since the spawn.  I saw one other boat out there the entire time.  Water temp is 73.

 

 

[Tlauz]

I have been out several times in the last few weeks.  The bass are in the thicker weeds.  I have had the best luck wacky worming weed edges and drop-offs.  If the weeds don't reach the top I will throw right on top of them.  I have been putting a small nail in one end of my worm to help it sink faster.  I had a good crankbait bite when it was windier and had some clouds.   I threw a shallow running bait along weeds.  Most bites were on the pause.  I am not a fan of bright sun with little wind, but that has been what I am getting.  Last 2 trips I caught a 21, 20, 19, 18, 17-inch Smallmouth.  The 21 is the longest I have ever caught on my lake.  I also had two  slow trips where I struggled. I catch both SM and LM in equal numbers but I haven't caught a really big LM all year.  As always, I am slaying the rock bass 🙄.  They are everywhere. I am hoping for a cool, cloudy windy day somewhere in my future.  Tight lines. 

[gim]

Good report, a nail weighted wacky stick bait (aka Neko) has been a top producer for me too.  The weeds are right up to the surface where I am though and they've been thick all season.