Lake Waconia Fishing & Ice Report 1/24/14

Vintage Snowmobile fun on Lake Waconia this Weekend! Come on out to see some classic Sleds motoring around on the ice! The 24^th annual Snowmobile Ride In Event is always so much fun to see and or visit! Click on this link for more info! http://www.mwvss.com/

The fishing has remained good on Lake Waconia since our last update. Northern Pike are being consistently caught on the weed lines in 10’ to 14’ of water on most of the reefs or bays. Center reef and Waconia Bay have produced several fish very recently. Medium Sucker minnows on Plain hooks, or Sucker Rigs are working great. Tip-up fishing can be tough in the extreme cold that we have been enduring lately. Put that sucker down that hole on the other end of your house and wait out that big Pike!

Sunfish and Crappie anglers have been smiling lately. In 20’ to 25’ hole south of Pillsbury Reef, suspended crappies have been visiting the evening anglers. The weed lines in Waconia Bay, Center Reef, Pillsbury reef and Wagner’s Bay have all been producing Sunfish and Crappies depending on the day and or bite.

Don't forget to weigh your qualifying fish in our FREE Ice and Dice contest!  With less than a month left in the giveaway, bring your Lake Waconia fish in to weigh during business hours to have a chance to win up to $101.  All it takes is a 5.5 oz. Sunfish, a 10 oz. Crappie, a 5# Northern or a Walleye between 16 to 23 inches or over 28 inches to qualify.  We'd love to see you're fish and take your picture!

If you're looking to get on the ice, and want it to be an easy, pleasant experience, try out our Fish House Rentals.  We drill the holes, and the heat is on!  All you need is a license, rods, and bait.  If you don't have some of the equipment, we rent jig sticks either individually, or in buckets for a group.  Underwater cameras are also available to rent!  We also sell licenses, bait, tackle and snacks!  Call (952) 442-2096 to reserve.

We'll see ya on the lake!

Lake Waconia Fishing & Ice Report 1/16/14

Lake Waconia continues to be pumping out fish for the hundreds of anglers trekking on the ice.  The northern pike bite has continued to be very strong with fish ranging in all sizes from 4 to 10 pounds being weighed in.  The usual spots of Waconia Bay, Center and Pillsbury have still been very productive.  Small to medium sucker minnows have generally been the bait of choice.  Walleye action has tapered off a little, but to have the best success we suggest finding depths between 12 to 16 feet of water away from heavy traffic areas.

We continue to catch plenty of sunfish and crappies as well.  Sorting to get keepers is the prevalent theme of the season.  We're catching them in 10 to 14 feet in Waconia Bay, Center and Pillsbury Reefs.  The main difference lately has been the bite in the deeper water south of Pillsbury. Anglers have been finding crappies suspended 4 to 8 feet off the bottom in 20 to 24 feet of water.  So it's been encouraging to see action both shallow and deep.

The ice on the lake is in very good shape, but with the snow and wind, expect plenty of large drifts all over. We will be plowing normal roads when winds diminish.  It's important to mention we did find 1 open spring in the deep water between Cemetery and Anderson's Reefs.  We marked it with lath board and caution tape.  Keep you're eyes open for anything that looks unusual if you're driving to areas that are lightly fished or haven't been traveled to yet.

Last weekend we had a free fishing sunfish and crappie contest to thank our customers with Winter Season Passes.  Some nice fish were weighed!  The winner with the biggest crappie who received a $50 Gift certificate was Mark Young with a 1# 1 ouncer.  2nd Place was Bob Theis who won a Rod and Reel Combo with a 13.5 ounce crappie.  The sunfish winner was Raynard Becker, who won the $50 Gift Certificate with a 5.8 ouncer.  Lee Olson finished 2nd and got the Rod and Reel Combo with a 5.1 ounce sunnie!  Thanks all Winter Season Pass holders for your continued business!

Don't forget to weigh your qualifying fish in our FREE Ice and Dice contest!  With less than a month left in the giveaway, bring your Lake Waconia fish in to weigh during business hours to have a chance to win up to $101.  All it takes is a 5.5 oz. Sunfish, a 10 oz. Crappie, a 5# Northern or a Walleye between 16 to 23 inches or over 28 inches to qualify.  We'd love to see you're fish and take your picture!

If you're looking to get on the ice, and want it to be an easy, pleasant experience, try out our Fish House Rentals.  We drill the holes, and the heat is on!  All you need is a license, rods, and bait.  If you don't have some of the equipment, we rent jig sticks either individually, or in buckets for a group.  Underwater cameras are also available to rent!  We also sell licenses, bait, tackle and snacks!  Call (952) 442-2096 to reserve.

We'll see ya on the lake!

Lake Waconia Fishing & Ice Update 1/6/14

Through the 1st week of the New Year, the fishing action has been very good.  Despite sub-zero temps, we've been pleasantly surprised with the bite.  Most of the activity on the ice has come from 3 main areas. Waconia Bay, Center Reef and Pillsbury Reef have been the most populated spots with anglers, and a lot of the reported fish have been coming from there.

We've had a run of really good Northern Pike fishing.  We've had numerous pike weighed in between 4 to 12 pounds.  Small to medium sucker minnows have been working best, generally between 10 to 14 feet of water.  With the temps warming this upcoming weekend, it would be a good idea to get your tip-ups ready to take advantage of the best pike bite in years.  Walleyes are still biting, although the majority of the reported catches are fish under the legal size limit of 16 inches.

Sunfish and Crappies continue to be plentiful.  Again, 10 to 14 feet of water is the depth range you'll have the best success.  While it's still common to do a lot of sorting to get keepers, we have been seeing a better ratio of bigger ones since the new year.  Sunnies are biting well on wax worms and larva, while the crappies are doing best on crappie minnows.  While the best time of day for the crappies continues to be after 3 pm, we are still getting a daytime bite that has made plenty of people happy.

The ice has been building daily during this arctic stretch of weather.  While we're seeing the majority of thicknesses ranging between 18 to 24 inches of ice, we have still seen some small areas with as little as 10 inches.  We have yet to venture to North, Reds, Kegs or Anderson's to do a thorough ice check, so if you're looking to get away from the large groups, we still suggest to do some checking ahead of yourself before driving a vehicle to an untraveled location.

Don't forget about our FREE Ice and Dice game.  If you weigh in a qualifying fish (sunfish, crappie, walleye or northern are eligible) that meets the weight or length requirements, you will have a chance to win a prize up to $100 if you're really lucky!  Bring your Lake Waconia catch in during business hours (we're here until 6 pm every night) to weigh and qualify your fish, and get your picture taken.

Our fish house rental season has been off to a good start.  If you're looking to get on the ice, and want it to be an easy, pleasant experience, try us out.  We drill the holes, and the heat is on!  All you need is a license, rods, and bait.  If you don't have some of the equipment, we rent jig sticks either individually, or in buckets for a group.  Underwater cameras are also available to rent!  We also sell licenses, bait, tackle and snacks!  Call (952) 442-2096 to reserve.

Winter Season Pass holders, pay attention in the coming days!  We will be having a fishing contest this weekend in appreciation for your business.  All you need to be qualified for the contest is your season pass. We'll give out more details later in the week. Watch signs by the access.

We look forward to seeing you on the lake as the weather gets a little warmer!