Glen Schmitt

It’s tough to give a fishery like Crow Wing County’s Gull Lake its proper due in a limited amount of space. There are so many pieces to this 10,000-acre system that warrant talking about, it’s difficult to cover them all in detail, but here’s some of what you need to know.

With an abundance of vegetation above and below its surface, Becker County’s 632-acre Lake Ida is built for largemouth bass and panfish. It just has the right components to consistently produce high numbers of bass, bluegills, and crappies.

Wet a line in Pine Mountain Lake near Backus and you have a legitimate shot at catching just about any freshwater creature that swims.
In a part of the state that’s loaded with quality fishing opportunities, Pine Mountain might not be the most talked about Cass County lake on the map, but this 1,617-acre fishery certainly is one of the immediate area’s finest mixed bag fishing options.

If you want to wet a line and consistently get strikes – maybe you have some kids who enjoy catching fish, or simply want to put a few fish on the dinner table – and you happen to be in the Fergus Falls area, Wall Lake might be a safe bet.

If you’re a structure fisherman, then Big Sandy Lake in Aitkin County is one system where you can challenge yourself. Located just north of McGregor, this 6,526-acre lake has endless structure opportunities in the way of humps, bars, bays, points, islands – and the list just continues.

Technically, Coon Lake and Sandwick Lake are two separate fisheries, but the reality is that the two basins make up one body of water; commonly known as Coon-Sandwick Lake. The DNR manages it as a single water body, locals know it as one lake, and there really isn’t a whole lot of difference between the two basins.