Minnesota fishing guide Matt Johnson gives his latest Lake Minnetonka fishing report on February 12th, 2025.
Lake Minnetonka Fishing Report: 2-12-25
We are back in a cold snap across much of the ice belt. The temperatures are cold, and we are continuing to make ice. Ice conditions continue to be great. Most lakes in the Twin Cities have anywhere from eighteen to twenty-four inches of ice.
Overall the fishing has been solid. The bite has been a little more inconsistent, but we are still catching plenty of panfish and anglers are catching lots of bass, northern pike, and walleyes in most lakes in the Metro area.
Lake Minnetonka Fishing Report: Crappies, Bluegills
Crappies and bluegills can be caught on most lakes in the Metro area. We are still finding a lot of fish relatively shallow. Most anglers seem to be focusing on the deeper basins for panfish, but we’ve had a ton of success in the shallow weed beds.
The key has been finding structure. Hunker down in a house and let the fish come to you, especially in this cold weather.
We have been targeting depths between six and ten feet of water. Look for green weeds that are tall. The taller the weeds the better. A 1/32-ounce Clam Pinhead Pro Spoon has been our best bait all ice season and it continues to produce bluegills and crappies. Multiple colors will work, but gold seems to be working well. The Pinhead flat out catches fish anytime, anywhere.
Lake Minnetonka Fishing Report: Bass, Northern Pike, Walleye
We’ve got a few weeks left in the gamefish season. It’s a great time to target bigger species like northern pike, largemouth bass, and walleyes. Ice anglers can except to run into bass and pike while fishing for panfish in the weeds. It seems like the bigger predatory fish are relating direction to the schools of panfish.
Like usual, tip-ups have been a great way to catch them. Smaller sized sucker minnows have been best.
Look for walleyes on main lake points, humps, and don’t ignore the shallow weed lines. Plenty of walleyes can be found along the weed lines after dark.
Set lines paired with a minnow seem to be the best options, but a few fish can also be caught on jigging spoons tipped with a minnow head. The best bite is during primetime hours late into the evening and after dark.
