Lake Calhoun quick report

I made it out for a couple hours last night. The walleyes were biting from about 30 minutes before sunset to about 7 pm when I quit fishing. We caught 13 in the end with 5 fish being keeper size(15″), and I also had one huge walleye come unglued at boat side(30″ range).

I was targeting the outside of the weed lines in 17′-20′ feet of water(weed edge is 18′). We were vertical jigging, and pulling a live bait rig(3 of us) all tipped with fatheads. All of the fish came from very tight to the weedline, and the big girl hit on top of the weeds when I accidently(sp?) got in too close when making a turn. The fish are very aggressive and are just hammering the bait.

I know there are fish in the weeds, but the milfoil is still standing too high to fish effectively, or to pull cranks over.

We didnt get any incidental pike or muskies, but I am sure they are biting too. The bite is on at Calhoun, we were the only people fishing the lake last night, not even another shore angler!

I will be out on one of the Minneapolis lakes today targeting muskies(still undecided), I hope to have a good report later! The word is the muskies have been biting for the shore anglers on lake Harriet in the usual fall ritual.

Thanks for the report on the fishing. I might have to take your report to heart and head out to Calhoun for a couple hours after work. did you happen to get any of the good fish out there (Bass) while fishing?
Its a little easier to get a way to a city lake for a couple hours then to head to the pond for the night.
Is there any regulation on when you need to be off the lake?
Thanks,
D

We only caught one of the rough fish.

I have never been bothered any time of night in the boat on Minneapolis Lakes. Be sure to park somewhere allowed after 10 pm.

I seen a boat on Calhoun when I was returning home from Harriet this evening.. maybe that was you DanK? I think it was a red Lund on the east side near the access.

Harriet was not productive for the muskies for us today. I had one strike boatside that missed my bait, and another fish slam a sucker and just sit with it later on. The fish still had the minnow, just wouldnt go anywhere. Walleye?

It was a nice day, but Harriet wasnt producing in the mid day today. I had to be off the water at 4:30, so I didnt catch prime time.

I made it out again the evening of 10/30 and had similar results on the walleye numbers, but no larger fish. The fish were averaging on the small side with only a few keeper fish. The fish seemed to be slightly in favor of a 1/4 oz jighead tipped with a fathead vs the live bait rig.

I made it out earlier in the day poking around for muskies with lures. We saw no fish on Isles or Calhoun for the few minutes we fished, but we did witness 2 muskies including a 45″ pure strain caught from one boat using big suckers over deep water.

The fishing should remain good to great until ice up now. The bite will be a live bait bite for muskies and walleyes both.

Thanks for the reports again. I have not made it out to the lakes yet but hope to in the coming week.

Send me a PM when you are heading out, or if you think you might head out. I will probably be on the lake quite a bit until ice up, I often have an open seat.

Im in a grey alumacraft with a merc.

We will be going out there on Saturday looking for some bucket mouths and some muskies. that lake holds some great fish. Any word on how the bass are doing out there latley? I’m guessing that the wood in the Isles or the milfoil would be the best bet. We will be in a red warrior, come by and say hi.

I dont know if your bass are still shallow. Most of the panfish are staged in the deeper water on isles right now, anywhere from the bottom to the surface. We caught several smaller bass one afternoon on Calhoun as deep as 25′ before the walleyes came in.

The water temp is in the low 50’s as of a couple days ago, that wont last long.

Thank you for the info, I will let you know how we do tommorow.

Do you know if the dock is still in by the boat ramp?

They just took the docks out 2 days ago.

How did the fishing go today fishing vet?
what is the water clarity and temp at?
Has the lake turned over yet?

I am thinking about heading out tomorrow morning to mid afternoon for some bass fishing.

Dave thanks for the offer to take me, I might need to take you up on that.

The water is really clear on Calhoun, it hadnt turned over yet as of a few days ago. I plan on being out there tomorrow evening if all goes decent at the homefront throughout the day.

The lake should turn over soon, hard to say how soon. Calhoun doesnt freeze until late, it generally turns a bit later than the other lakes. It could happen any day, I would expect it to happen soon with this cold snap on the way.

What Time are you heading out? Maybe we will see each other out there.

Is Calhoun usually better than Isle in the fall?

Im hoping to be on the water by 3. It could be earlier, or slightly later depending on how everything else I need to get done today happens.

We ended up getting out on Waconia today instead. My brother had an inclinatin about heading there and getting some fish. Well in four hours we got one nice 19 3/4 bass. It was a brute. Nice day out there regardless.

Hope you faired better.

We caught a 45″ Muskie a 6 lbs bass a couple of 5 lbs bass, and a hand full of 4 lbs bass. The water temp was 45 and pretty clear on the main lake, we did go into the Isles and catch some fish too. The water was a little darker in there.

Good report fishing vet! Very nice musky and I must admit the bass are very respectable(I’m not a bass guy). I see you were getting the bass very shallow.

My temp on Calhoun last night read from 49.5 – 50 degrees. Was your 45 degree reading on Isles?

The walleye fishing was tough last night. They were biting very light. I think I caught 4 and 3 were cigars. We missed a ton of bites, my partner only managed to get bit off once and landed no fish.

Thanks for the reports guys. Just moved to MSP this summer from Ohio… been very fortunate so far – made 2 Mille Lacs trips and 1 LOTW so far this fall with buddies. Hopefully you can help me out…. how is the shore fishing on Lake Calhoun? It is pretty convenient for me to get there but I have no boat. I’d like to catch walleyes but have heard about the muskies and looks like some nice bass in there as well.

I did try the other day up on the north end of the lake where the channel goes to the Isles but the weedline makes it tough! Caught a small northern with a HJ but got frustrated with the weeds. Any thoughts / help would be appreciated. Thanks and look forward to your response.

My temp reading was in in the Isles. I am not sure how I would fish from shore on this lake, Probially put on some chest waiders and go to the beaches and be able to fish a little further out than most shore fisherman. I have caught a lot of nice fish on topwater on the lake. Mabyee try a smaller muskie lure and try for both bass and muskie. Or soak a sucker on a quick strike rig by the beaches and try to stay out of the weeds.

Bris

There are good shore fishing opportunities all over Calhoun. The docks can be decent, but they are out now. 90% of the East and west shores are very fish-able from shore. The weeds are still standing pretty high, so a crank will have issues with the exception of some areas without heavy weeds. The solution is to try different presentations. If your bass fishing, its tough to beat a spinnerbait when the water is warmers, or soft plastics now. Most areas you can cast beyond the weeds which is 16′-18′ of water in calhoun. Some areas you can easily cast into 30′-40′ on Calhoun from shore. Choose your lure presentation to what the weeds will allow you to fish. The west side of the channel you were fishing is also a great location in the fall. The weedline is very thick near shore, but it quickly drops into 20′ of water just outside those weeds very near shore. This used to be a very popular area for fall lighted float fishing for walleyes, and a good number of muskies are caught there every year. If you wander to the west from the channel, check out the area where the iron railing ends and a wood railing runs a 45 degree angle up the hill. You can cast the shore for about the next 100 yards to the west with very minimal weed issues because your bait is landing in 25’+ along the steep break. Just to the east of the railing is a big underwater bar/flat that is very shallow and weedy.

I dont think there is a bad place to fish Calhoun from shore. Lake of the Isles can be very good for bass and the occasional musky in many areas. The south half of the lake is usually best.

Harriet also provides great shore fishing opportunities.

All I can say is get out there and fish, you will find some productive areas, and often you may run into regulars that will sometimes point you in the right direction too.

Thanks a lot for the good info David! I will definitely try some different presentations and areas. Look forward to getting out there some more before ice over.

Fishing vet-
I am thinking about giving Calhoun a try on Saturday, barring the weather. Where you getting your bass on Jigs mainly? Looking at you pictures it appears the fish where relating to wood. Make sense as that ends up holding more heat this time of year.

Fishing Vet/David-
In a usual year how long does the lake stay fishable from a water temp? I understand it freezes late but when the temp gets in high 30s I have had very limited success.

Thanks,
Dan

I dont fish for bass, so if thats a bass related question, I really dont have the answer. I have never targeted them in near freezing water.

Walleyes and especially muskies can be caught all the way to ice up. Slowing down and live bait are a must the colder the water gets.

Dan,

if you are going to work a jig-n-pig, usually white or black/blue are usually great colors this time of year, usually you have to find structure that the fish will be relating to since the weeds are dying off. so wood and docks are usually the next things to look at or fish around. work the jig slowly across the bottom and find out how they are biting. some will be light and others will be hard and almost rip the pole out of your hand. also you might want to try some slow top water in shallow. hope you get into a few hogs.

shane

david
sorry I haven’t got back to you sooner but I am up in the deer stand as I am writing this. I will be fishing for bass until the ice is on the lake. yes the wood can be good now but also look by the retaining walls, they hold a lot of heat also. pretty soon they will be headed to their wintering holes and will mainly be caught draging a bass jig and a shiner or redtail. also great chance at a muskie. the colder the water the slower you fish. good luck

My buddy and I got out for 4 hours on Saturday Morning and ended up getting 10 bass (My buddy 6). The biggest fish was a solid 19” that was very healthy and fat. I am guessing that it weight closed to 5 lbs. All the fish came on pig and jig in the 4-7 feet of water and came off individual pieces of wood/weeds. The fish came after shaking the jig in place for a bit and then you would feel some dead weight. We couldn’t get a bite in areas that was choked full of weeds or woods. It seemed like the fish preferred the isolate pieces. I will post the picture later today.

We chucked some muskies baits, spinnesbaits, topwater and cranks and didn’t have any hits or follows. The water temps was 43 when where getting off around 12.

Thanks for reports on these lakes because it is just downs the street from me. It is a great feeling ripping back on those fish when they hit.
I am hoping to get out again in the coming week, if weather permits.

Is anyone getting out this weekend?
I am hoing to get out for a couple hours in the coming days, barring weather and wind.

My brother and I ended up getting out on Calhoun on Saturday. We where thinking about heading into Isle but quickly realized that was going to be impossible when we where greeted with Ice in the channel between then. After seeing the frozen lake over in the distant we knew Isle was going to happen.
We fish for ~4 hours on the north and west shoreline without seeing a fish or getting any bites.
It was a nice day out and glad we got off when we did as the wind really picked up. Oh well, there is always next time.

do they allow boats onto lake calhoun. i thought it was close to motor boats. let me know what is actually the fact. thanks.