XnForums

We are thinking of driving up to your neck of the woods for a fishing trip...do you know of some resorts that have boat rental and probably a guide for at least half a day to find our way around...our youngest gets out of school today so after spending 5 hours yesterday with two women and a three year old trying to catch a fish,I told mom last night...lets get out of this match box before it catches on fire and take a fishing trip up north somewhere...pack up and roll somewhere and fish just you and I...I don't think I want to haul my boat up there so I need a place with cabins,marina and a guide.

Mom about fainted and said "dad wants to get out of the box"

So mostly just a lake with several resorts because I'll just drive up there and check them out and pick one. I would like to pack a cooler with some crappie and maybe some wallyeye.

Not a simple question. There are 10,000 (actually, about 15,000 in a wet year) lakes in MN.



You want to get north of my neck of the woods, I'm practically in Iowa and we all know what a hellish mess of bullhead-filled mudholes that is........right, Doc?



So we know you gotta get north.......question is--northeast or noirthwest?

I suspect you'd be in an area where I-29 would be convenient to take you north. In that case there are some good farm-country lakes northwest of Fergus Falls in Ottertail County. Rush, Big Pine, MacDonald and Ottertail Lakes come to mind. Most of them have resorts, I think......some have several resorts.

These lakes would be the closest good lakes if you're where I think you are.......BUT, if you want to get into the piney woods and sand areas for a little more northern woods experience--you'll need to continue about 50 miles farther northwest into the Hubbard County area. If you do that you absolutely MUST visit Itasca State Park to the headwaters of the Mighty Mississippi. The park has lodging of several kinds although reservations might be required. Lots of nice lakes and resorts in that area.

Of course, if you're coming up I-35 instead, you could just push right on through the MPLS/St. Paul area and continue to just south of Duluth where you take highway 33 and then 53 up to 169 which takes you right into the canoe outfitting town of Ely. Then you're REALLY in the wilderness. Lots of nice resorts there, too.

Maybe if you let me know what area you'd be most likely to try, I can then give you some details.

This is a good time to do it.......the fish will still be in fairly shallow although the move to deeper water will be starting.

Also, the gas prices are still fairly good.



Pax!

I see what you mean Logos...I've been looking at an expanded map in my atlas at Minneapolis/St. Paul and I see a zillion lakes...Ive been trying to google some of the lakes lakes around there but so far haven't seen what I'm looking for...if you google bucksaw clinton missouri and click on it when it pops up,you will see an example of what I'm looking for...maybe you know something about that area OR if you go to the bucksaw site you may know of one similar.

I may end up just driving up there and nosing around some of the bait shops and go look them over if they know of any and I'm sure they do...I'm looking at White bear lake surly if I nose around up in there I can find something...looks like 440 miles to St.Paul from K.C.

You have to drive a little farther.

From K.C. the western route up I-29 would be your shortest and easiest route to acceptable fishing. This DNR site will allow you to take a look at those lakes I mentioned above. (The county is Ottertail.)

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/lakefind/index.html

If you choose I-35 you end up in a very heavily populated area.

And at that point you will be competing with millions of people who are trying to get to good lakes farther north.

White Bear Lake is only a few miles out of St. Paul.......it's a Metro lake......urban, crowded and overfished.

Once you're at that point the next thing I could recommend is about 75 miles north and that would be Mille Lacs Lake.

On this huge lake you have the fairly unique option of launch fishing. I don't know how the day trips go, but I've heard that they catch a lot of walleyes on the night trips.

You can also just get a guide or do your own thing. Nice resorts and a casino just in case you like that sort of thing.

http://www.millelacs.com/activities/fish.htm

If you have things you can't seem to Google, ask me, I might be able to find them.

Pax!

Fritz I just realized that I said that Rush, Big Pine, MacDonald and Ottertail Lakes were Northwest of Fergus Falls......I meant to say Northeast of Fergus Falls.

That area is just far enough from MPLS/St. Paul that it's fairly quiet......and still has a few good fish. Very rural farm country.

Here's a link that might help:

http://www.google.com/search?q=resort+ottertail+county&rls=com.microsoft:*&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1

If you check out those lakes on the DNR Lakefinder link you'll find they are quite highly regarded.

Believe me, you want to stay away from Mpls/St. Paul.

Pax!

Photos of happy tourists with fish.

http://www.shadygroveresort.com/content_46.php

They look well-fed.

Here's the DNR info on Rush Lake.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/lakefind/showreport.html?downum=56014100

This is one of the best all-around fishing lakes south of Canada, but is often overlooked as people assume they have to go farther north to find good fishing.

Then there's Big Pine, which is not quite as good all-around, but better for walleye (I think Rush has more crappies and bass).

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/lakefind/showreport.html?downum=56013000

Here's an example of a resort on Rush.

http://www.rushlakeresort.com/

Take a look at I-29, Fritz......this has been the chosen route for people from your area for forty years.

Thanks Logos

I see your point about the S.t Paul area and was looking at the places you posted but so far haven't seen what we are looking for...It seems most of them are aimed at a family vacation instead of a so called fishing camp...also no mention of guides or marinas with boat rentals.

My buddy Leroy is a pro bass guy and I'm going to see if he knows anyone on the pro bass tour that lives up in there...we also are going to look at Texas and Oklahoma since those crappie grow all year and I know Leroy has fished down there...we mainly wanted to catch a cooler load of crappie and walleyes...there are walleye in Missouri and you get one once in awhile usually by trolling.

I know it's strange for two people that are retired to need a vacation but we baby sit our daughters little girl several days a week and even this week end we were dog sitters for our oldest son while they went to Omaha to the zoo...if our daughter is off she and Madison want to go or the others...we went yesterday and by the time she got over we didn't get on the water till 10 and naturally didn't catch anything so it's hard to get out early when the fish are biting...we are thinking of going in the evening maybe that will produce a few fish dinners.

So it.isn't so much where but how far away Bucksaw is two hours but our kids would follow like bloodhounds...I don't know if you have tried to fish with 3 year olds on a boat but they kept everyone busy and will not be ignored.

Mom and I were heading out early this morning by ourselves but of course it rained with more on the way...it looks like rain till wed or thurs.

Ah, patience, hungry man.

There's fish in your future. North or south. I can see that in your fierce determination.

I am looking at Oklahoma this morning and found some good looking areas and not that far...in the North East corner close to Tulsa are a lot of lakes one is Oologah and a few miles away is Lake of the Cherokees oologah is corp of engineers and seems to have the same facilities as Buck saw but there is a lot of water within a fifty mile radius...surly with a little looking around we can find what we are looking for.

Yeah, I don't think the fishing is really all that good in northern MN.......people come for that northwoods experience and clean water more than they do the fishing. I think if you really want good fishing you have to go to Canada......and way north, too.

Of course, fishing down south.....who knows? You may get neither fish nor scenic beauty.

Just a lot of rubbing shoulders with rednecks. Good luck with that.

oh yea...a Yankee in NASCAR country...when work was bad here in 1974 I worked in Tulsa for month then went to Pasadena Texas for a couple of weeks which was actually very nice and then out to Armadildo talk about cowboys and girls and nothing to see but red dirt...well the trip is what my wife calls "getting you out of the box".

Well, Fritz......I guess it will have to do for now.

When I get a few more oil wells (and they actually manage to send me the money they owe me) I'll send my plane for you and we'll spend a couple weeks up at Oak Island off the Northwest Angle in far, far northern MN.

(That's the way to do it--money for nothin' and fish for free.)

Oh......I suppose we'll have to take Doc along so he can see what a fish other than a bullhead looks like.

Sounds good Logos I won't hold my breath though...Our plans are to take off Sunday morning and cruise down and look the lakes over and arrange something for Monday morning and probably come back Thursday morning...we are going to change it up today and take the boat out late in the afternoon and fish till 8 or 9 for a change...since by the time we get kids gathered up in the mornings it's 9 or 10 before we get on the water and the lake is only 30 away..lousy time to fish and usually people are pulling their fishing boats out when we get there.

Logos

Whole new game plan...my best friend and his wife are going with us and we are just going down to Bucksaw where we have gone for several years AND it's only two hours away....booked a cabin for Mon-wed and will grab our boat on the way out of town...also booked a covered slip for 15 bucks right there so we don't have to put the boat in and out.wheeeeeeeeeeee