Please recommend a lake (Minneapolis, Grand Rapids: rental car, rental, hotels)

[80skeys]

I'm planning a four-five day fishing trip to MN. Never been there before but have heard about the fishing.

The type of fish I'd like to target would be a mix of walleye, bass, northern, and crappie. I'm not interested in trophy fish. I'm more interested in quantity and being able to catch a mix of different kinds of fish. I'm especially intereted in walleye because I've never fished for it before.

I'd like to rent a cabin by the lake and be able to rent a boat there. So any regions of the state I should be looking at? If you have recommendations for a specific lake or resort, I'd like to hear it.

[rzzz]

the lakes near bemidji and Grand Rapids: Winnibigoshish, Leech, Cass. There's some smaller lakes with good fishing around that area, too.

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by rzzz

the lakes near bemidji and Grand Rapids: Winnibigoshish, Leech, Cass. There's some smaller lakes with good fishing around that area, too.

So Leech is good fishing ... I was talking with one of the resorts there, this evening, asking about prices.

[rzzz]

I used to fish on Leech with my dad and my uncles. We never caught anything, so I'm not sure it REALLY is great, but it's one of the lakes where all the serious fishermen tell you to go. We had better luck on Winnibigoshish and also smaller lakes further north. There are probably good lakes closer to the cities, too... but I have never been to them.

[dober1]

Andrusia on the Cass Lakes chain. You can go from Wolf lake to Andrusia to Cass without ever leaving your boat.

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by rzzz

I used to fish on Leech with my dad and my uncles. We never caught anything, so I'm not sure it REALLY is great

I'm glad you mentioned this. I was starting to have doubts about Leech after talking with the lady at the resort. I asked her how the fishing was, and she kind-of hemm'ed-and-hawe'ed. I got the impression it might be difficult because she mentioned it might be necessary to hire a guide to ensure catching some fish.

Originally Posted by dober1

Andrusia on the Cass Lakes chain.

this looks nice, but might be a bit too far from Minneapolis? We have to fly into MSP and from there take a rental car and drive to whichever lake we'll end up fishing at. The Cass Lakes chain looks like it's pretty far north...

Maybe instead of targetting a specific lake, we should drive around, stopping to fish at whatever lakes look interesting, and staying in random hotels on the way? What's the motel situation like this time of year? Can we expect vacancies, or do they tend to book up with people on "fishing vacations"?

[demtion35]

The best bloopers ever - YouTube

[rzzz]

Originally Posted by 80skeys

Maybe instead of targetting a specific lake, we should drive around, stopping to fish at whatever lakes look interesting, and staying in random hotels on the way? What's the motel situation like this time of year? Can we expect vacancies, or do they tend to book up with people on "fishing vacations"?

You should be able to find a place to stay, but what are you going to do about a boat?

[601halfdozen0theother]

I'd recommend one of the lakes in the Hackensack region: Tenmile, Birch, Stony, or Pleasant.

There are a jillion mom and pop resorts in the area, and most rent out boats. Go to exploreminnesota.com to find one that suits your needs.

Or really be adventurous and go up to the Lake of the Woods region. Again, exploreminnesota.com will have descriptions of various resorts.

IMHO you really do have to get out of the Mpls/St.P area and go north to have a great MN fishing experience.

[Ghengis]

In general, the better fishing lakes will be further from the metro and generally north although the Spicer area (100 m west) has some nice fishing lakes.

Strib had a feature in the travel section on Sunday that featured many popular resorts although the focus of the article was the resort and area ammenities and not so much the fishing.

check out the interactive map...
Resorts: Greetings from the lake | StarTribune.com

If it's truly the Northern & Walleye fishing experience you seek, the best bang for your buck would be to visit the BWCA and areas nearby. If I were to pick one area that I would send someone to for the quintessential Minnesota resort/fishing experience it would be Ely. Look into the Burntside Lodge, though just a bit on the expensive side the ammenities are top notch and the immediate access to the BWCA would be my choice for a resort in that area.

Area Lakes - Northern Minnesota Fishing Guides - Grand Rapids MN and Deer River MN

DNR's website listing lake characteristics and fish profiles can be found here... LakeFinder: Minnesota DNR