Minnesota Fishing Guides and Charters

Fishing in Minnesota

Minnesota fishing spot can be split into three areas from the North East with giants lakes such as Upper Red Lakes, Leech Lake and Voyageur National Park bordering Lake Superior, to the Central Part of Minnesota, with Lake Milles Lacs in reach of Twin City and South Minnesota spattered with medium lake and the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers.

Top Fishing trips in Minnesota

Top Guided Fishing Trip on Lake Kabetogama in Voyageur National Park

Situated on Minnesota's border with Canada, in the land of ten thousand lakes, Voyageurs' National Park consist of four significant lakes: Kabetogama, Rainy, Namakan and SandPoint as well as thirty smaller inland lakes. Kabetogama Lake is where most of our guided fishing trips take place.This natural, glacier-carved 25,000 acre lake has a rocky bottom interspersed with sandy and gravel areas. With average depth just under 30 feet and with a few holes as deep as 80 feet the Lake Kabetogama is abundant with a strong walleye population as well as lesser numbers of sauger, northern pike, smallmouth bass, yellow perch and crappie.

Top Fishing guides on Lake Kabetogama in Voyageur National Park

• Voyageurs Adventures
• Kabetogama 3 Days Ice Fishing Trip

Fishing in Leech Lake

Leech Lake is the third largest lake in Minnesota, and has a proven reputation for some of the best muskie and walleye fishing in Minnesota and across the Midwest. Leech Lake is a lake located in north central Minnesota, southeast of Bemidji. Nearly 80 percent of the lake is less than 35 feet deep and  the main basin east of Walker Narrows has a maximum depth of 40 feet and an average depth of 20 feet, With such ideal depth it’s easy to explain why the lake is so easy to Fish and teeming with monstrous Walleye, Muskies and Northern Pikes that feed mainly on Perch and cisco. Additionally Spottail shiner, mimic shiner, darters, and logperch are common. Insects, such as mayfly and midge larvae, also provide an important food source. As a witness to a healthy water, Rusty crayfish population are present as an established population. What makes Leech lake exceptional is its world class muskie fishery, With 40 inches muskies regularly caught and the common practice of catch and release, this lake has the potential for world record muskies.

Top Fishing guides in Leech Lake

• Steve Nosbisch Guide Service
• TJ's Guide Service
• Big Fish Guide Service

Fishing in Upper Red Lake

The two parts of the lake are known as Upper Red Lake and Lower Red Lake, and only upper red lake is open to public fishing with the lower red lake on the Red Lake Indian Reservation.The lake includes an amazing diversity of fish species.The lake is perfect for beginners fisherman as it’s structure makes it easy to fish with an average depth of 8 feet and maximum depth of 15 feet. TheUpper Red Lake is above all walleye factory who after being wiped out in the 90’ have come back stronger than ever thanks to aggressive rehabilitation programs. Other species include Trophy class northern pike, monstrous perch and Crappies galore.Winter ice fishing on upper red lake is pretty popular thanks to a fantastic winter crappies that are especially delicious fired on a pan in the dead of winter on the ice. Late Spring is booming season season for walleye fishing! Don’t leave aside Northern pike, crappie, and yellow perch fishing, as with low depth and little structure they are particularly active. Come summer time, most fish move a little deeper as the lake starts to warm up, and Walleye can be caught trolling with crankbait and nightcrawler in the 6 to 15 feet range. Some trophy pikes will be caught on a simple spinning spoon, Mepps aglia type by casting in the shallows. As the winter cools down in the Fall walleyes will move back to their spring habitat near the shore lines and rock piles. During winter, Crappies and Walleye will bite on jigs and minnows.

Top Fishing guides in Upper Red Lake

• Bear Paw Upper Red Lake Ice Fishing
• RLK's Upper Red Lake Ice Fishing Trip

Winter Fishing in Minnesota

Ice fishing in Minnesota is so popular that we created a entire cetegory for it. If you're looking tfor winter fishing, look no further and check out our Ice Fishing trip.

Top fish species in Minnesota

Walleye

The walleye is native to most of Canada and the Northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European zander.Their excellent vision also allows them to populate the deeper regions in a lake and choppy or turbids waters.Since walleyes have excellent visual acuity under low illumination levels, they tend to feed more extensively at dawn and dusk, on cloudy or overcast days, and under choppy conditions when light penetration into the water column is disrupted. In Minnesota, the walleye is often fished for in the late afternoon on windy days aka "walleye chop" or at night. Greater numbers of walleye may be caught with live bait, but artificial baits such as crankbaits of various styles seem to produce larger fish. As such large Walleyes are best caught best on light tackle using a small jig or spinner, or a “Lindy Rig” tipped with live bait (minnows, leeches or night crawler). Depending on their depth, good results are also had trolling or casting.

When and how to fish Walleye in Minnesota

• Spring: Walleyes spawn in early May usually just after ice out. Walleye fishing is very productive during these early season weeks with lots of fish remaining in 8 to 10 feet of water to warm up and feed. Starting in May  until June The walleye can be found a bit deeper (10 to 15 feet). 
• Summer: When the water starts to warm in late June, they head for deeper (30-35 feet) flats and begin to concentrate there. By then the larger walleye can be challenging as they will hide in the deepest parts of the lakes. 
• Fall: As the water  begins to cool in late August, the walleye start to be active again and this later season fishing can be amazing right into Fall!

Northern Pikes

Northern pike are found in fresh water throughout the Northern Hemisphere, including Russia, Europe, and North America. In the USA and Canada Northern pikes range roam the waters from far north Alaska all the way to West Virginia. Pikes usually will hunt at dawn, dusk or cloudy days and are triggered by bright colors such as red, chartreuse and dull colors such as white and light grey on cloudy day.Don’t try your luck and use a steel leader or stealth braid.

When and how to fish Northern Pikes in Minnesota

• Spring: Pikes will hunt in depths up to 6 feet weedy and shallow bays where forage fish and small perch are found. Use Spinnerbaits or spinning spoons with a bucktails such as the MEPPS Lusox Anglia or a Perch crankbait from livetargets.
• Summer: Big pikes will tend to move a little bit deeper into the 6 to 15 feet range and come out in search of prey when the water cools down in the evening or early sunrise. Lots of pike are caught on a jig along a drops or the bottom of a cliff. A typical spots for pikes in the summer is probably in the shade of a sunken trunk above a rocky bottom or sandbar in the evening.
• Fall: The best season for pikes. Same balance of lures from flashy silver spoon with a red bucktails to perch-like crankbait.

Muskellunge or Muskie

The Muskie also known as muskellunge is the largest member of the pike family and live in the northern water along the US/Canadian Border in the Great Lakes region.Muskies are typically 28–48 in (71–122 cm) in length and weight weigh 15–36 lb (6.8–16.3 kg).

When and how to fish Muskies in Minnesota

Muskies are most active during low light periods such as dawn, dusk and cloudy days and If you have a limited bait selection, Chartreuse and Fire Orange are good during the day and alternatively red colored bait will work in the evening. Don’t take any chance use steel leaders at all times, preferably black.

• Spring: In early spring Muskie fishing is best done in the shallow waters, such as bays with submergent and emergent weed growth.Casting Small twitch baits, crankbaits or jerkbaits slowly retrieved over weed beds are pretty effective at this time of year. 
• Summer: As the water warms up in the summer, muskies will move to shallow rocky structure,and muskies will primarily hunts forage fish in the submergent vegetation and the rock/gravel reefs. Here casting top water bait, or floating bait will land a few records. Spinnerbaits, Spoon with black bucktails, such as Mepps Giant Killers will trigger muskies into a frenzy. 
• Fall: Fall can be tough, because muskies go deeper in the water column, but this is when you can land a trophy. The best fishing techniques for muskie fall fishing are probably trolling with deep-diving bait such as perch or chartreuse colored crankbait, heavy jerkbaits above drop-off and deep weed beds.

Crappies

Crappies are popular pan fish belonging to the sunfish family. They feed essentially on smaller fish zooplankton, insects and freshwater crustaceans. During day time crappie will around weed beds or logs,  boulders and submerged structure. They tend to be more active during dawn and dusk and will hunt along the shores and open waters. Some of the most popular lures are plastic jigs with lead jig heads, crankbaits or small spinner spoon of chartreuse or silver colors.

When and how to fish Crappies in Minnesota

• Spring: Right after the ice-out crap[pies will move to shallow and warmer waters, such as bays with submerged vegetation.  
• Summer: By late June, crappie leave the shallows and move to slightly deeper and cooler water along a drop or above a deep weed bed, here again they’ll bite on white or chartreuse grubs or jig heads.
• Fall: By fall they tend to be more active again and will move back to shallow waters, feeding on insects and forage fish and will hang there for the winter.
• Winter: They are some of the most active fish in winter and a prime targets for ice fishing, you don’t need to fish them more than 10 feet deep in the winter.

Smallmouth Bass

There are also good opportunities to catch hungry smallmouth bass during the slower walleye weeks. The cold, clear waters means a  healthy population all around Kabetogama making smallmouth bass one of the top 3 fish games in Minnesota. Best caught on light tackle, they're great fun to catch. Poppers can be used in the heat of the summer in dormant lakes when the water is really warm.

Fishing Season in Minnesota

Depending on when you decide to visit Minnesota, the type of fishing changes. There’s really two main seasons to keep in mind when it comes to fishing in Minnesota. 

• Spring, Summer and Fall: For Minnesota, this is usually from March to September. For these warmer seasons, lake fishing and fly fishing on the Freestone and Spring Streams is among the best in the country.
• Winter: Generally starting in late November and lasting through March, these winter months are best for some grandiose Ice Fishing on almost any lakes in Minnesota. 

Fishing Regulation in Minnesota

You will need a Minnesota Fishing License at anytime during the year wherever you’re Ice Fishing on your own or fishing with a guide.

Keep in mind that any out-of-state licenses are not valid in the state of Minnesota. Even if you merely plan to release all of your catch, a license is required. You can purchase  here a Minnesota fishing license online from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources online. 

Tips/Need to know

Below are a few tips and tricks to help you enjoy your fishing charter to the fullest potential. 

• For any fishing charter, fishing guides or outfitter that have booked, be sure to arrive at least 30 minutes prior to the arranged time. This way you don’t forget any last minute things that need to be done or waste time finding a parking spot. 

• In summer time, make sure that your arms and head are covered as you will experience a great deal of sun exposure. Do this by either wearing a hat or covering up any sensitive skin with long sleeves. 

• Apply sunscreen and wear sunglasses for extra protection. 

• Bring a cooler bag for any fish that you catch. 

• In winter, needless to say that you will need to bring a torch and very warm clothing.

Fishing with Kids

For those with kids on board, it is important to find a guided trip that isn’t out for long, preferably around 4 hours. Also keep in mind that a lake fishing charter option will allow the young ones to learn how to cast.

Fishing Charters for Novices

When it comes to learning a new skill, it can be exhausting. If you or your friend are just starting to learn how to fish, choose a fishing trip on a charter lasting at least 4 hours so that no one gets overwhelmed. 

Couple’s Fishing Excursion

Going out fishing as a couple can be a great memory. For these outings, choose a longer trip and make sure you bring a decent lunch so that you can make a stop on a lake shore.

Fishing with Friends

If you looking to bring your friends on a guided fishing trip, then look no further. A guided trips may be the best opportunity for you and your buds to have a stress-free fishing experience that will be remembered for years. If you decide to drink on the boat, be mindful of the guides service and don’t get sick.