Last winter I was yankin some nice crappies from gray's bay.  I set up about 50 yds. off shore.  I hope to get out there plenty this year too.

"What ever you are, be a good one" Abraham Lincoln

 I lived in Mpls for nine yrs in the 70's. On weekends in the fall I would often camp in my van at a lakeside boat rental place on Lake Minnetonka. With my small motor and one of their boats, I had a blast.  I fished it mostly in the Fall after the first freeze when Indian Summer had set in. The fall bass always seemed big and they were fattening up for the long winter. My favorite spots often seemed located around islands which often had all the structure patterns that I found productive including points and sand bars, lilly pads, brush, fallen trees, flooded timber, boat docks, and proximity to deeper water and the ledges and drop offs leading into the depths. I was told that after the first freeze, the frogs make their move to bury themselves down in muck or vegetation to survive the winter. I admit that I can.t verify the claim,but my efforts with rubber frogs paid off. I liked slowly fishing Bill Plummer rubber frogs with rubber band legs that would tuck in after the lure had been retrieved a few inches. Bass Pro sells some with realistic looking legs, but they mostly sell designs that have lots of spinnerbait skirt strands for legs that have to be fished in frantic jerks and streaks. I prefer the slow and rythmic approach among the lilly pads and brushey or grassy shorelines. Also try jerkbaits in 3 1/2" to 4 1/2" sizes. There are a lot of good models to choose from but my current favorites are banana shaped Yozuris or the Renegade imitations sold at Wal-Mart  for ~$2. Even better are the size 8 and 10 Rapala Xraps. The 1/8 oz and 1/4 oz jointed Shad-Rap by Rapala is a terrific slow moving, 6-8' diving wriggling jem that's good when fish are timid or the bite is off like in cold snaps, in heavily fished areas, or on bright sunny days after a storm front has passed through. A favorite crankbait is Lure Jensen's Speedtrap in 1 /8 and 1/4 oz sizes(dives to 8 ft) fished over submerged weedbeds and along rocky shorelines or really anywhere as long as you slow the retrieve or make it erratic enough so as not to dive too deep. It can even therefore be used as a  suface and shallow water bait. But it can be cranked faster than any lure I know without turning on its side. It always runs true. That can't be said of many lures. Naturally try small surface poppers, spinnerbaits, watermellon -red worms, tube jigs, and jig and crayfish combos. I truly loved Minnesota and Lake Minnetonka. In 1 1/2 yrs I'll retire from my job of 32 yrs and will try to frequent the upper midwest as much as possible. Good luck on one of my favorite lakes.

Yours truly,
Fishbrain 

So where ya at now fishbrain?  I'll make sure to hit Minnetonka plenty for you this spring and summer.

 

 

Lifer since 2005