Minnesota Fishing

[Mr. Camper]

Hi,
I hope everyone had a great Turkey day. We've still got a couple of days before we go back to the class and started a conversation about where to go next summer for our long vacation. We prefer places we've never been to before and settled on the Cass Lake region of north-central Minnesota. Even though we live in Arkansas we usually fish for catfish and sometimes bass. We fish from the bank or pier if available. Catfish aren't found in that part of Minnesota so we were hopeful that some of you experienced anglers might offer suggestions on what gamefish we could target with some success from the bank and whether live bait or artificials will work best and which kind? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Mr. Camper]

Hi,
I hope everyone had a great Turkey day. We've still got a couple of days before we go back to the class and started a conversation about where to go next summer for our long vacation. We prefer places we've never been to before and settled on the Cass Lake region of north-central Minnesota. Even though we live in Arkansas we usually fish for catfish and sometimes bass. We fish from the bank or pier if available. Catfish aren't found in that part of Minnesota so we were hopeful that some of you experienced anglers might offer suggestions on what gamefish we could target with some success from the bank and whether live bait or artificials will work best and which kind? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Joe-K]

Hi Campers,

I'm sure someone from Minnesota will jump in and post about the fishing there, but when I saw you post about catching catfish, it brought back memories of fishing as a kid.

I grew upin Pennsylvania near the Ohio river just downstream of a couple power plants. These power plants were the large type with huge cooling towers we typically see in Pennsylvania. Although the plants don't discharge directly their cooling water, they do discharge secondary cooling water which tends to keep the river a bit warmer downstream in the Winter.

As a kid, we used to go catfish fishing on the banks just downstream of those plants. I remember frequently catching catfish in the 20-30 pound range and rumors used to circulate that there were 40+ pound fish in the river.

Last year, a local fisherman caught this 47 pounder in the Ohio river on 12 pound test line. Good luck and have fun fishin'

[woodburner]

Minnesota = Bass/ smallmouth/ largemouth , walleye, northern pike and all the usual panfish such as bluegill crappie, perch. Never caught a muskie there but maybe?

[Mr. Camper]

Joe-K
Nice looking flathead. We had someone catch a 36 pounder on Lake Dardanelle (a great fishing widespot of the Arkansas River a week or two ago.

I know the species available in Minnesota, so what I'm looking for are what can be caught from the bank, not in deeper water from a boat.
Thanks.