White Bear Lake

I’m thinking of spending a lot of time on White Bear Lake this year. Probably fish for Bass and Pike in the spring then check out the Muskie bite once June rolls around. Also I see the DNR lists Lake Sturgeon in WBL. Interesting.

I have never been on WBL before.

The county park landing seems to be the place to launch. With the overall low water levels in the lake how hard it is to launch? Any idea what typical depths there are around that launch?

Depth is fine. The old sand beach is a good spot to park your boat instead the 1 dock. I have seen the county lot full many times on weekends once it warms up. Get there early or late. Might as well fish past dark too as the launch will not move very fast toward evening with all boats coming in at once. It will be a fun lake to figure out with all the structure. It is fairly clear and the weedline is deep at 14 feet or so. Head to the right to go out into the main lake. Watch out for the sailboats in the summer. Might be a good idea to scout out shallow structure this month before the weeds get thick.

great, thanks! also it doesn’t look like there are any paid launches on WBL?

I bought a used boat this fall. A 18 foot tracker Deep V. My first drive on /drive off so I also need to get out to practice launching and loading. I’m thinking of heading out to Forrest Lake since the city launch on Lake 1 is nice and big.

Gervais might also be a good place to practice (and it’s really close to where I live) but I know that launch can be quite shallow 1.5 to 2 feet deep and no dock. I wonder how early the dock goes in on Forrest Lake? Although I guess I don’t really need a dock to practice launching and loading.

Be prepare to spend many hours out there before you develop anytime of pattern for walleye or musky. It took me awhile to piece any-type of pattern. In the summer the lake get’s awfully crowded with rec boats and the weeds get all chopped up and can be frustrating at times to fish. I will just say with the success I have had, usually I had to think way outside the box. Honestly you are better off fishing the St. Croix.

Parking is in VERY short supply at the county park launch. As has been said, get there early or get there late.

And please, help other anglers and boaters by reporting EVERY jackwagon who parks a single car in designated trailer parking spot! Even if there are other spots available, report these d!cks so that they get ticketed. There are plenty of signs warning dog walkers and other users NOT to block precious trailer parking slots with single vehicles.

Use your lake maps, there is a sunken island just off the landing. I believe the water levels are up enough now that it’s not as bad of a prop wrecker as it was 2-3 years ago, but be careful.

Grouse

musky wise on white bear is a little tough with it being so clear. we have quite the early spring this year so they should all mostly be post spawn with the pattern we are given this year. Fish typical structure for them points, Inside turns, sunken islands ect.. Dont be afraid to chase them deep they will suspend a few cast lengths off of structure.

thanks for all the replies!

since I live in the east metro I’m actually thinking of my main Musky concentration being Bone Lake in WI but I was thinking WBL for something close to home on days I don’t want to travel. Maybe Forest Lake would be better.

It’s too bad there aren’t more Launches on WBL. I know there is a city pay launch with a huge parking lot but the launch looked pretty small and shallow when I checked it out last fall.

I’ve fished Bald Eagle and Forest a few times each for Musky without much success outside of a few follows. Caught quite a few Tigers on Gervais.

I can’t decided if I want to keep splitting time between a bunch of different lakes or just focus on one. Last year I had a 12 foot jon with 6 HP motor and spent all my time on Phalen and Gervais and it certainly paid off spending all my time on 2 bodies of water. But now that I have a big water boat I want to go explore all the new water that’s opened up to me.

I’ve always wanted to get out on WBL but the parking issues sound like a pain. Maybe save WBL for post labor day fishing?

Always some good opportunities on WBL-Bass are numerous but small, as far as parking goes if you cannot get a spot you are probably out too late anyway because the lake is pressured and clear so get out early. Not dawn, first light. Skis are there and ready to bite, Walters are not worth the effort-but that is true for any metro lake. Someone reading this has some spot on the spot at the right time on a metro lake, good for you, keep it hush. We have had governors openers on metro lakes-they go with guides with years of experience on the lake, they are going at a great time of year, fish for 12 hrs. starting at midnight and get maybe a couple.
Crappies can be big out there but patterning them is tricky. Pike are there and numerous, sunnies are plentiful but small except pumpkinseeds if you can find them(the big ones) but don’t tell anyone where they are or even that their are big ones in there! It is a pressured lake so the patterns can be tricky and/or weird and if that were not the case those fish would have been caught.Oh big smallies in there too-if you can find them.