Water · Twin Cities metro

Lake Minnetonka

The big metro room west of Minneapolis. Bays, boats, and enough docks to make a muskie file a noise complaint.

Boat kit

Usual tray for this water

Picks from the species that actually live here, already on the gear guides. Click a card if you want it in the boat. We still will not invent a bite.

Storm WildEye Swim Shad 03, Fire Tiger product photo from Amazon

Storm WildEye Swim Shad 03, Fire Tiger

Storm

Pre-rigged soft shad with holographic flash and that WildEye stare that looks slightly judgmental. Cast it along weed edges and riprap when Minnesota bass want a baitfish without the drama of live bait.

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Mepps Musky Killer Inline Spinner Bucktail, Hot White product photo from Amazon

Mepps Musky Killer Inline Spinner Bucktail, Hot White

Mepps

The classic inline that muskie anglers argue about the way people argue about pizza toppings. Slow-roll early, burn it later — the blade starts spinning without needing a TED Talk.

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Rapala Original Floater F03 product photo from Amazon

Rapala Original Floater F03

Rapala

The wounded-minnow that started arguments in more Minnesota tackle boxes than we can count. Twitch it, drown it, or just believe in it.

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Johnson Standard Minnow Spoon, Gold, 2-3/4 inch, 3/4 oz product photo from Amazon

Johnson Standard Minnow Spoon, Gold, 2-3/4 inch, 3/4 oz

Johnson

The original weedless wonder still earns a seat in Minnesota pike boats. Cast it through pads and cabbage, keep a steady wobble, and tip it with a trailer if the fish want a little more meal. Gold 3/4 is the listing we can actually buy today.

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Clam Drop Jig, Size 12, 1/16 oz, Wonderbread product photo from Amazon

Clam Drop Jig, Size 12, 1/16 oz, Wonderbread

Clam

Minnesota ice-house tungsten with a flat tie-eye that puts the hook where soft-mouthed crappies keep their secrets. Small, dense, and weirdly charming in Wonderbread paint.

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Rapala CrushCity Mayor Soft Plastic Paddle Tail Swimbait, 3 inch product photo from Amazon

Rapala CrushCity Mayor Soft Plastic Paddle Tail Swimbait, 3 inch

Rapala

Paddle-tail kick for swim jigs, underspins, or a plain jighead. The Mayor is the soft plastic you throw when the lake is pressured and you still want a clean baitfish profile.

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Usual suspects: Largemouth bass, Muskie, Walleye, Northern pike, Panfish

Minnetonka is the lake the Twin Cities means when somebody says they are “going to the lake” and then needs three more sentences about which bay. It is a system of rooms, the source of Minnehaha Creek, and the closest thing the metro has to a big-water argument.

Bass tournaments, a stocked muskie fishery, walleye and pike for the people who still believe in a weeknight, and panfish that keep a kid busy while the grown-ups argue about a launch. Place vibe only. No invented dock that “always has one.” If a real report shows up, it lives in Reports.

What’s happening

We are watching the calendar. Nothing on the books for this water that we can stand behind. When a real lake day shows up, it will land here — not a daydream with a date slapped on it. See all of Events.

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