Lake Waconia Marina Spring Update 4-23-14

The ice is FINALLY off of Lake Waconia as of today and we will be preparing our marina in the coming days and weeks to get ready for the open water fishing and boating season!  When weather cooperates we will be installing and building our dock system.  Because it takes several work days to get a head start on that process, the shop and access will not be open immediately. We ARE looking forward to opening for the season on Friday, May 2nd! Our shop will be open from 8:30 am to 7 pm for that week leading up to the fishing opener.  We will be open ALL NIGHT on Friday, May 9th for the Fishing Opener, closing on Saturday, May 10th at 8 pm. Sunday, May 11th our hours are 6:30 am - 8 pm.  We will announce future hours after the opener weekend at a later time.

Once open, we'll be here for your fishing and boating needs!  We'll have a full assortment of bait, and great tackle options for the spring bite!  If you need a new rod and reel, we've got great prices on some nice combos spooled up with line.  We will announce later when our Boat & Motor and Pontoon Rental begins, but if you like to plan ahead for the summer, we're happy to take reservations.  Gas won't be immediately available on the lake, but we'll be working to get it ready and will announce when it's up and running.

Thanks for your patience while we get ready for what we hope will be beautiful late Spring and Summer!

Closing for the Season after Sunday, March 2nd.

We want to thank all of our customers for another good ice fishing season on Lake Waconia.  We will be closing our shop for the winter season after Sunday, March 2nd.  We will leave our access open for use while we're closed, but will not be keeping it plowed after the 2nd.  The access will be shut down if there is too much March snow or when it deteriorates after Spring warmth.  Our Spring shop hours will resume when the ice is off the lake.

Thanks again, and we look forward to seeing you when there is open water!

Lake Roads are OPEN! 2/22/14

Good news! We were able to plow roads past Waconia Bay, to Center Reef and around to Pillsbury Reef today.  The roads are much narrower than usual, so drive slow and use caution when passing other vehicles.  If you are looking to fish near the road, please park so you don't clog the lane and drill all holes at least 25 feet from the road so you don't potentially flood it.  There is a lot of weight on the ice now from all of the heavy snow, so don't expect much freeboard.

We'll be doing our best to keep the current roads open, but pay attention for any future snow.  If we get any more measurable snowstorms, it will be increasingly more difficult to keep the roads open and to retrieve permanent houses off the ice.  Don't forget permanent fish houses must be off the lake by March 3rd.

Quick Lake Road Update - 2/21/14

Due to the extreme snowfall last night and the continuing blowing snow, the current lake roads are non-existent at this time. They are blown completely shut and will be until further notice. It will all depend on the winds we get in the coming days and the difficulty plowing.  We will be doing our best to create a road if possible to the main areas of Waconia Bay, Center Reef and Pillsbury Reef.  We will NOT be plowing a road to Cemetery Reef, or beyond the areas listed above.  We'll update this blog with more reports in the coming days.

Lake Waconia Fishing & Ice Update 2/2/14

The wind has been blowing, and the snow has been flying on Lake Waconia! We have been out with the plow trucks, and the lake roads are open! We maintain roads that go to the major fishing spots! On the roads you can make your way out to Waconia Bay, Center Reef, Pillsbury Reef, Wagner's Bay and Cemetery Reef. There are plowed areas along the road to exit off. Off roading is getting more difficult, especially when pulling a wheel house. Make sure you have a capable four wheel drive and a shovel if venturing to far off road.

The fishing has remained good on Lake Waconia! Northern Pike have continued to bite on small or medium sucker minnows. Folks are still catching them along the weed edge in Waconia Bay, Center Reef and Pillsbury Reef. Any good weed edge could produce pike right now.

In the daytime crappies and sunfish have still been doing well along the weed edges. The same areas the pike are being found are good places to find them too. The beauty of the shallow areas is the mixed bag potential. The deeper water in Wagner's Bay (17'-25' of water) has still been producing lots of crappies in the late afternoon/evening hours.

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 1/24/14

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!