Lake Waconia Ice and Fishing Report 12-4-14

We did another ice check yesterday afternoon and continued to see ice thicknesses increasing.  Most of the main areas anglers like to target early season are in great shape.  Waconia Bay has between 7 to 9.5 inches (with a small marked area of 5.5 inches).  The walleye hole between the marinas has ice around 6 to 9 inches.  Ice out towards the Deep hole in Wagener’s Bay and Pillsbury is between 7.5 to 9.5 inches.

We continued our check north of “Under the Wires” between the west end of the island and Lakeview Terrace.  While the ice has grown there too, we still found some spots in that area with as little as 4 inches and up to 7.5 inches.  

We headed to Cemetery as well to get a better feel for the varying ice there, and found anywhere from 5 to 8.5 inches.  The newest ice which formed over part of Cemetery and a little east has caught up nicely, however we have not been out to Anderson’s, Reds or Kegs.  We haven’t assessed if the springs from past years in the 25 to 30 foot areas in the east-central part of the lake are active yet, so keep that in mind if heading that way.

As far as fishing goes, we’ve had some reports of successful sunfish and crappie action off the weedlines of Pillsbury as well as Waconia Bay in 11 to 14 feet of water.  Walleyes have been decent between the marinas in the walleye hole.  Most of the successful bites have been on the north side of the hole as depths climb in the 13 to 15 foot range.  Jigging with fatheads has been working, as well as set-lines with shiners.

With the warm up coming this weekend, it’s a great time to get some sucker minnows and set a tip up or two!  We expect a good northern pike bite for those interested.  Our big fish of the season so far was weighed in at 9 pound 12 oz. pike on Tuesday  by Bob Leistiko.

We hope to see you at the lake!

Lake Waconia Ice Update 11/28/14

We took another ice walk today, and thanks to the extreme cold over Thanksgiving, we were pleasantly surprised with the growth of the ice over the past few days.  We found between 4.5 to 6 inches around the “Walleye Hole” between the marinas.  We headed out to Cemetery, where there is a crack/ridge that goes over the center of the reef and heads toward the east point of the island.  West of the crack (on the west edge of Cemetery) you can expect to find 4 to 5 inches of ice.  East of the crack (which includes the east side AND south point of Cemetery) will be newer, thinner ice in the 2.5 to 3 inch range. That newer, lesser ice extends east toward Anderson’s and north toward Reds, so we advise using extreme caution if you plan on trying those areas.

We continued our walk along the south side of the island where we found 5 to 8 inches of ice.  As we got to “Under the Wires” which is between the island and Lakeview Terrace, we found bumpy ice that was between 4.5 to 6 inches.  We advise using extreme caution if you head north past “Under the Wires”, because that is also where the freshest, thinnest ice continues.  We found 2.5 to 3 inches in that area, which extends toward North Center to the north, and northeast toward Kegs Reef.

As far as Waconia Bay is concerned, we are very happy with the ice, with the exception of the goose hole (which froze last).  Most of Waconia Bay is between 5 to 8 inches.  The goose hole (which is marked with lath board and caution tape) was as little as 2.5 inches.

All in all, the lake ice is improving.  We are seeing anglers get their first taste of Lake Waconia fishing action. We’re excited to hear all your fishing stories!

Don’t forget, we will have temporary hours of 9 am to 5 pm for the time being.  We’ll be extending our hours in the future as the ice thickens.  We are selling Season Passes for lake access again for $25 for the season.   Daily access is $1 for walking out ($2 for driving when we open it up for vehicle traffic in the future).

Stop in and say hi!  We'd love to see you!

Lake Waconia Ice Report - 11/26/14

We look forward to seeing you, as we open for the winter season this Friday, 11/28 from  9 am to 5 pm!  We have a GREAT “Black Friday” special on an Apache Ice Combo, spooled with 6# test for $8.99!

We took our first ice walk of the season to parts of the lake on Tuesday afternoon, 11/25.  We found was ice that varied by several inches everywhere we went.  In Waconia Bay, we found as little as 1.5 inches in a small area that finally froze over late due to birds keeping it open.  We found the majority in Waconia Bay between 3.5 to 6.5 inches.  As we headed toward the “walleye hole” between the marinas, we found a lot of 3 to 4 inches with some as much as 6.  We were not able to make it out to Cemetery Reef or beyond to the east, because that area had even less ice, as it was one of the last areas to freeze. 

We also went to Wagener’s Bay for a quick check, and found anywhere from 3.5 to 7 inches in the holes we punched, so that does vary a lot too.  It’s important to know that the last areas to freeze were near North Center, Kegs, Reds, Anderson’s and Cemetery, so those will have the least ice. 

Remember, we can’t cover every area, and it’s possible to find less ice in areas we have checked.  We highly recommend you use caution your first time out.  Chisel ahead of yourself, and drill numerous holes to get a feel for the ice.  Now that we have an extra 2 to 3 inches of snow due to today’s (11/26) snowfall, it will take a little longer for the ice to thicken because of the snow’s insulating factor.

Be safe this Thanksgiving!  We are thankful for your business and look forward to a great ice fishing season!

Opening for the Winter on "Black Friday" 11/28/14

We will be opening for the winter season on “Black Friday” November 28^th with temporary hours of 9 am to 5 pm.  Thanks to an unseasonably cold November, the ice fishing season has arrived earlier than usual!

Although it’s been extremely chilly of late, it’s important to know that Lake Waconia does still have some areas of open water that were kept open by heavy wind and birds.  On Thursday, 11/20, we estimated that around 40% of the lake still had open water over North Center, Kegs, Reds, Reinke’s, Anderson’s and Cemetery Reefs. By Friday, 11/21 there was a thin glaze on most those areas.  There is potential for these glazed areas to open back up with predicted weekend weather above 32 degrees and rain/snow with strong winds on Monday.

There is also a small area of open water in Waconia Bay near popular early-season fishing locations (Birds are keeping this spot open).    We have not done an ice thickness check, but will be doing one next week before we open for the season.  Check here for future updates.

We look forward to seeing you!

Nickle Dickle Day is coming this weekend. Come join us!

Don't miss out on our Free Kid's Fishing Prize Pond on Nickle Dickle Day (this Saturday, 9/13). Kids 12 and under can "fish" for a free prize from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm. We have specials in the store for this weekend, which include 25% off our existing stock of Rods and Combos. We also have a special early buy on an Ice Combo worth checking out! While here, enter into our drawing for a FREE Weekday Fish House Rental (7' x 14', 6-hole Fish House for 6 hours, valued at $89) for this winter! We hope to see you!

Lake Waconia Fishing Report 8-28-14

The end of Summer is fast approaching and since the kids are off to school, you'll notice the lake will have less traffic, which is good news for fishermen!  It's been an unusual summer, and since we never really had any long stretches of extreme hot weather, the lake bite has been better than most years during August.

We've continued to have some nice bass reported and brought in to share before releasing. Fishing the weeds on Center, Pillsbury and North Reefs have been productive.  Sucker minnows have been good for those using live bait.  If artificial lures are your thing, spinnerbaits, Texas-rigged worms and Jigs are working. We still recommend trying shallow water with topwater baits as well for a fun bass bite. Also, after a rainfall, its always good bass fishing near the Carp Trap (Peterson's Creek) on the NW side of the lake.

Crappies and sunnies continue to be active for those of you looking to get some fun action with kids. A lot of sorting is needed to pick out keepers, but it's possible to get some for the fry pan. The north side of the island is still a popular spot in 10 to 12 feet of water. Of course, fishing the weedlines of Center, Pillsbury, North and Kegs reefs almost always produce a good amount of panfish, with some of the bigger ones coming from those locations.

The muskie bite has started to turn on.  While it has been an up and down season for them, we've had some of the nicer reports of this summer during August.  The big fish of the season on our shop's photo counter came in on 8/16 from Kelsey Johnson.  She got into a 52 incher on her first attempt at fishing for these monsters.  We've also seen and heard of several in the mid-to-upper 40 inch range as well.  Fishing around the island and reefs like North and Anderson's are good bets.  Bucktails and big spinnerbaits have been some of the baits of choice for these successful catches.




Walleye activity has been hit or miss for a lot of the summer.  While we've certainly seen an increase in successful catches, they are still generally under the legal slot size of 16 inches.  Lately, we've been hearing of anglers getting action on Red's Reef in 14 to 17 feet of water off the rocks.  Kegs, North and Anderson's reefs, right off the weedlines have also produced some "marble-eyes".

After Labor Day, we will be starting new shortened hours.  Starting on Tuesday, September 2nd, our hours are Monday-Friday 10 am - Sunset, and Saturday/Sunday from 8 am - Sunset.  We will be renting boats and pontoons into early September, but please call (952) 442-2096  to reserve as we have limited staff this time of year.

We want to thank our staff for another great summer this year!  Most of them are back to college or heading back to high school soon, and we're lucky to have such quality employees.  Earlier in the the month, we had an Employee fishing contest, and this year's winners were Carl Wenning and Nick Hughes, who teamed up to catch the most weight in bass for the night.  Here's a nice pic of the crew... from left to right (Avery Aalfs, Carl Wenning, Isaac Kluver, Eric Wolf, Jimmy Mase, Ben Mase, Curt Hodgin and Nick Hughes).

Lake Waconia Fishing and Lake Report 8-04-14

GREAT NEWS! The Carver County Sheriff has lifted the remaining wake restrictions on Lake Waconia. We are now back using the lake under the normal laws!

Now that the weather has finally settled down and things are back to normal at the lake, it's time to take advantage of the rest of the summer and get boating or fishing on Lake Waconia!  We're here with all of the basics to make your day on the lake a memorable one!  If you need re-fueling, we have 91-octane non-ethanol marine gas.  If you need the latest word on the bite, bait, tackle or if you just want to stop in for a snack or ice cream, we'll be here to greet you!  If you don't have a boat, we rent fishing boats with motors and have nice options for pontoon rental as well.  Take advantage of our Weekday 20% Off coupon for pontoon rental, which expires on Thursday, 8/21.  Just call to reserve at (952) 442-2096.

The bite has been good during this stretch of summer.  Bass have been active with multiple depths and styles of fishing working.  With the August algae bloom, it's always a great idea to throw topwater baits, like Scumfrogs in the shallows, especially early in the morning.  Some of the most fun is watching a lunker largemouth slam your bait at the surface!  If you're not into fishing the shallows, anglers using live bait such as leeches have had success in the weeds or on weed edges in 10 to 15 feet of water in areas like North, Center, Pillsbury and Cemetery Reefs.  If you're into artificial lures, some good options are Texas-rigged worms, jigs and spinnerbaits.

Sunfish and Crappie action has been surprisingly steady this summer.  There has been no shortage of panfish caught, although sorting has to be done to get keepers.  Working the weeds around Coney Island has been a good bet all year and continues to produce between 8 to 14 feet of water.  Fishing any of the reefs with good weeds is also productive.  Chunks of night crawler or wax worms have been the bait of choice for sunnies, along with crappie minnows for the crappies.

Walleye and northern pike have been more active this summer compared to previous years.  The walleyes have been best during low-light times, with action coming from Kegs, Anderson's and North Reef, and between the marinas.  The weed theme continues, as we're hearing of more fish coming from the weedlines than the deep water.  Expect to do a lot of catch and releasing for the walleyes, as a majority of the catches have been under the 16 inch Lake Waconia size limit as of late, although we've seen our fair share of keepers this summer too.   As for the pike, we've been seeing anglers bobber fishing with sucker minnows, as well as using artificials like spinnerbaits and trolling with cranks or spoons. 

We hope to see you at the lake!

Here are some of the best pics of the month of July...