Glen Schmitt

If someone were to walk into Christopherson Bait and Tackle in Alexandria and ask about Lake Oscar, the shop’s associate would likely mention that it’s a fun lake to fish and that it has just about every kind of locally available fish in it.
While that’s somewhat of a general assessment, it really couldn’t be more true.

So where does one start looking for fish? The short answer – “just about anywhere” – seems unhelpful. But the truth is that with all of its structure in the way of humps, points, bays, saddles, and islands, that’s probably the most accurate answer one could receive.

Located in northeastern Aitkin County near McGregor, Lake Minnewawa is one of the area’s largest and most popular year-round fisheries.
But the physical features of this 2,300-acre lake don’t seem to follow the script that do most bodies of water in this region. While it’s an excellent panfish and walleye lake, Minnewawa is more like something you might find in the southern part of the state.

Certain lakes just seem to be built for walleyes and smallmouth bass. With an abundance of rock, sand, and gravel, along with a robust rusty crayfish population that’s nipped away at its vegetation, Woman Lake in Longville is one of them.

The best way to describe North Center Lake in Chisago County might be as such: It’s a fishery that holds a little bit of everything and one that always seems to have something biting.

The first characteristic worth noting about Boulder Lake in St. Louis County is that the fishery really does live up to its name. Located just north of Duluth, Boulder is largely a shallow basin, but quite complex with numerous bays, points, shallow reefs, and an abundance of shallow rock.

Lake Tetonka is sure to please the multi-species angler. As part of the Cannon River system, this Le Sueur County fishery seems to hold a little bit of everything – the typical lake suspects and a wide variety of river fish species as well.

For a first-time visitor, Itasca County’s Wabana Lake could appear a bit intimidating, which is understandable. After all, it’s a large, deep body of water, consisting of numerous sunken islands, holes, bays, points, and turns – not to mention that its water is extremely clear.
While it’s a bit daunting, most of the aforementioned features are also what makes Wabana a fine fishing lake.

In a part of the state with a seemingly endless number of lakes, Otter Tail County, from a fishing standpoint, has something to offer every stripe of angler. From jumbo perch to muskies to walleyes and crappies, and from big lakes to small lakes and everything in between, there’s no shortage of options.