The walleye is the state fish of Minnesota and both cities of Garrison and Baudette, Minnesota claim to be the "walleye capital of the world." Bragging rights notwithstanding, ice fishing for walleye--and northern pike, jumbo perch and other prized catches--attracts thousands of anglers to Minnesota's lakes each winter. Some lakes are more equal than others when it comes to the daily catch but the one in your backyard may still be your best bet for dinner.
East of St. Paul, Lake Owasso is 375 acres of ice over walleyes in the winter. The walleyes here are keeper size and there are even a few trophy-size fish to be had. Get to the lake from the northeast corner by North Owasso Boulevard. You can take a vehicle out on the ice when it is thick enough, but you can walk to wherever you want to set up fairly easily for most of the winter. According to a report in Minnesota Sportsman Magazine, a local bait shop owner says the best ice fishing is in the center of the lake where there is a weed-choked flat area the fish like. But even if the middle of the lake is dotted with ice houses or portables by the time you get there, you can usually find plenty of fish on the periphery of the action.
Near Shieldsville in Rice County, Lake Mazaska holds a consistent pike population. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has tested the lake for 10 years and found two to four pound pike with some fish larger than 30 inches. The lake is a popular fishing ground so it is stocked annually. Access points are along the southern shore of the 680-acre lake. Northern pike are found along the weedline near the southern and eastern shorelines and in a few deep pockets that drop off from a pair of sand bars as well as in the center portion of the 50-foot deep lake. Catch walleyes and panfish here in the winter when the pike aren't biting.
Lake of the Woods has the most anglers, most walleyes, jumbo perch, saugers and occasional lake sturgeon. At about 70 miles long and wide, Lake of the Woods is the sixth-largest inland freshwater lake in the U.S. and has plenty of places to cut a hole in the ice. Minnesota Sportsman Magazine says that anglers swear by Four Mile Bay, the Rainy River mouth and a shoreline break off Pine Island, all areas near landings and winter fishing resorts. The Baudette-Lake of the Woods Chamber of Commerce says fifteen hundred to three thousand ice fishing shacks dot the lake during the season. The portable ones follow the fish from around 20-foot depths to as much as 38 feet of water as the season progresses and the fish move to better feeding grounds. Pine Island, 16 Mile Reef, Zippel Bay, and the reefs around Long Point and Arnesons Reef are places to pitch an ice shack. Lake of the Woods Tourism Bureau maintains an information service for ice fishing and lake activities at 800-382-FISH (3474) and at lakeofthewoodsmn.com
