Minnesota

[CPerry1]

Just wondering if anyone can give me some past experience advice on a nice place to stay in Minnesota. Never been and kinda wanting to get to a secluded spot with some cabins at a reasonable rate. I would kind of like to stay away from the real big lakes. Oh ya, would have to catch plenty of fish as well. If anyone has any ideas or advice I would appreciate it. Thanks

[zaach6]

we usually go up to ottertail lake. its a big lake, but not too busy depending on when you go. not too many people jet ski or water ski too much because most of the people on the lake are walleye fishing. there is also a small lake connected to it (Walker Lake) that has places to stay if you can get ahold of cabin owners. tons of walleye and big pike in Ottertail Lake and Walker has everything: bass, gills, pike, crappie, walleye, rockbass, perch, and theres smallmouth in the OT river that runs through both lakes.

[Mendizzle]

I went up to Thunder Lake a few years back and we would catch our limit of walleye in the morning and go do stuff during the day. And this was in August.

[WalleyeMarsh]

We used to go to Bowstring Lake to Snug Harbor Resort. It is secluded in the woods, the lake is not too big. They have huge perch and some nice walleyes, not to mention the pike and bass. We had no problem finding fish and the people were great. It is exactley what you expect in a Minnesota vacation!!! Snug Harbor Resort and Campground on Bowstring Lake - Deer River, Minnesota

[Kiskadinna]

Originally Posted by Mendizzle

I went up to Thunder Lake a few years back and we would catch our limit of walleye in the morning and go do stuff during the day. And this was in August.

Shhh. Ignore any comments about Thunder. There are no fish there.
-Erik

[dupont rocks]

This is the web site for one of the resorts on the lake on which I have a cabin. They are good people and run a clean resort. They have a lot of newer cabins and a playground if you have small children.

People catch panfish all the time. The lake is very clear and therefore the walleye bit is usually at night. There are largemouth bass and a lot of people target them. The lake is full of 22" northerns that will bite at anything anytime.

I do not get a finders fee if you stay there.

Paradise Resort near Bemidji Minnesota, Itasca State Park

The resort is about 540 miles from Norfolk NE or about 150 miles east of Fargo ND.

[Chasin eyes]

You might want to check out Ice Fishing Minnesota, Hunting & Wisconsin Fishing and go to the forums page. They break the state down by area. Ottertail and the Brainerd lakes area are very good fishing with lots of lakes to choose from as well as Lake Vermillion. Depending on what you want to fish for will make your decision on when to go. Walleyes mid may through first 3 weeks of June or second week of august through october. Last part of June and July are tough since the lakes are full of baitfish at that time and walleyes don't feed for very long. Pike - june- august is the best. LMB - Late May - September. Panfish Late May - Early September.

[zaach6]

yeah i was going to recommend that site as well. thats where we always go to get the latest reports for whatever area were vacationing to.

[dupont rocks]

Another thing to try is search for the bigger towns in northern Minnesota with Google or Yahoo. With a little trial and error you can usually find a list of links to area resorts.

Alexandria, Brainard, Bemidji, Grand Rapids, Walker are towns that come to mind.

You said you didn't want big water but if you change your mind Mille Lacs or Lake of Woods are at the top of the list.

[Fisherman Zach]

A good place to check out is in-depthangling.com There is a bunch of Upper Midwest fishing info on there, places to stay and guides if you are interested in that. Mille Lacs is on the top of my list but it's big water. Good Luck!