Muskie are available in the metro area. If you’re looking for trophy muskie lakes, you will have better luck heading farther up north. However, if you’re in the Minneapolis metro area and you want to go after muskie, you do have some options here.
Lake Minnetonka
Lake Minnetonka is a 14,528-acre lake and it is only about 15 to 25 miles away from Minneapolis, depending on what part of the lake you are fishing. The lake is an irregular shape with numerous bays and islands, which helps make up around 125 miles of shoreline. Lake Minnetonka is known for its tremendous largemouth bass fishery. You can also catch northern pike, walleye, smallmouth bass, muskie and panfish.
St. Croix River
The St. Croix River is a little farther from Minneapolis, especially if you head up to Taylor Falls. The Taylor Falls area is very close to the Chisago Lakes area, so combining a day on the river with a Chisago Lakes trip could work out perfect. The St. Croix River is known for its smallmouth bass and white bass fisheries in this area. You can also catch many other species of fish here such as walleye, catfish, northern pike, muskie and more.
Prior Lakes Area
The Prior Lakes area offers that small town lake community vibe and is located about 30 minutes southwest of Minneapolis. The lakes here offer good fishing for a variety of species. The lakes right in town are North Prior & South Prior Lakes. Head just outside of town and there are many other lakes that you can fish as well. Anglers target largemouth bass, northern pike, walleye, muskie, panfish and more here.
Bald Eagle Lake
Bald Eagle Lake is located just north of the City of White Bear Lake. It has been the most popular muskie lake in the east metro area and it offers plenty of options for other fish too. Anglers target walleye, largemouth bass and northern pike here and some quality fish are present in the lake. Bluegill and crappie are here in good numbers with a low abundance of perch.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Forest Lake
Forest Lake is a popular fishing lake in the metro area. Largemouth bass and walleye are the main targets for most anglers here. This lake does have a lot of vegetation growth in the summer with plenty of recreational boaters, so you may have to get out early on the weekends or during the week if you want to hit all your favorite fishing spots without being crowded. Other species of fish here are muskie, northern pike, bluegill, crappie, rock bass and perch.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Lake Waconia
Lake Waconia is a 2,996-acre lake with a maximum depth of 37 feet. It is located in north central Carver County, just north of the city of Waconia. It is a good lake for a variety of fish. It is managed for walleye and muskie, but the lake has better numbers of crappie, bluegill and largemouth bass. Northern pike are big in this lake, but they are not here in large numbers.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Using Leaders for Muskie
Muskie have some serious teeth. Use quality steel leaders to avoid bite-offs. If you are fishing clear water, you may need to go with a fluorocarbon leader to get bit. Most anglers will not go any lighter than 100 lb. fluorocarbon for muskie and don’t be shocked if you lose a big fish due to a bite-off. Some anglers go as heavy as 140 to 150 pound fluorocarbon. Ideally, you want to be as stealthy as you can so you can get more bites, but if you go too light with the fluorocarbon, you risk losing fish and possibly killing some big fish due to the lures getting stuck in their mouths.
Best Baits for Muskie
There are many types of baits to target muskie. Anglers don’t have as many options when using live baits since many of the fish that muskie eat can not be used as bait. Suckers and big chubs are usually the best options for most anglers that want to use live bait. For artificial lures, there are a variety of big baits to throw. Most anglers fish with bucktail spinners, some type of swimbait, topwater lure or jerkbait when chasing muskie.
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Best Rigs for Muskie
There aren’t too many different rigs for muskie fishing because you only have so many options for throwing some of the gigantic baits needed. Also, most anglers use lures for muskie or big sucker minnows, so you really don’t need too many rigs to target muskie. However, there are still several rigs you should know about, especially if you are going to be using live bait.
The Carolina rig, drop shot rig and quick strike rig are some of the best rigs for muskie.
Best Techniques for Muskie
Anglers use a variety of techniques for muskie. Casting is most popular, but jigging and trolling are also very effective techniques. Learn more about some of the best techniques for muskie page.
Learn More About Muskie
Our muskie fishing section has tons of tips on the best lures, live baits, where to catch them and how to catch them.
Visit our muskie fishing website to learn more.
