Living in the Twin Cities leaves you pretty far from all the best Minnesota fishing lakes up north. But there are still some good fishing spots in the Twin Cities Metro. Here we will take a look at some of the best fishing near the Twin Cities.
Best Fishing Lakes
Lake Minnetonka
About 15 miles southwest of Minneapolis you’ll find Lake Minnetonka, which is a 14,528-acre lake popular for all sorts of water activities. This is the largest lake in the Twin Cities. Here you can find some good fishing whether it be summer or ice fishing in winter.
Lake Minnetonka has a good population of largemouth bass, muskie, northern pike, walleye, sunfish, and crappies. It is a very popular lake though—so in peak season expect it to be a little overcrowded.
Cedar Lake
Location directly in Minneapolis, Cedar Lake is a small 169-acre lake that has some good fishing if you’re looking to stay in the cities. There are fishing piers and several areas to fish from the grass where you can get good acess to the lake.
Here you can find largemouth bass, tiger muskie, crappie, northern pike, bluegill and more.
Lake Rebecca
Northwest of the cities in Hennepin County you’ll find Rebecca Lake—another great fishing spot. This 263-acre lake is home to northern pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, bluegill, crappie, and channel catfish.
Along the lake, you’ll find some excellent spots to fish from shore.
Vandais Lake
Just north of Saint Paul, you’ll find Vandais lake which is home to walleye, northern pike, largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, and more.
This lake is best fished from shore, as there is no boats allowed on the lake. In some areas the shoreline access is restricted at certain times of the year, so you may want to check with the Minnesota DNR before you head there.
Lake Johanna
North of the Twin Cities in Ramsey County resides Lake Johanna. This lake has a public shoreline that you can access from a park to fish, but much of the area is sandy beach which you cannot fish from. This lake is popular for boating, but due to this it may be a little crowded for boat fishing at times.
The lake is known for having above-average size walleye and northern pike, in addition to largemouth bass, bluegill, and several species of panfish.
Snail Lake
About 15 minutes north of the twin cities in Shoreview you’ll find another decent fishing hole in Snail Lake. This lake has boat access and some good shore fishing, but the only drawback is the fish tend to be smaller than average in size compared to other lakes in the area.
The lake has a good population of northern pike, but lower populations of its other fish like walleye, largemouth bass, and panfish.
Tanners Lake
East of Saint Paul in Oakdale you’ll find Tanners Lake which is a 101-acre lake home to largemouth bass, walleye, northern pike, and panfish. There is good parking areas, picnic areas, a swimming beach, and good fishing piers which makes this a good family-friendly fishing spot.
Snelling Lake
Snelling Lake is located right in the middle of the Twin Cities between Minneapolis and Saint Paul. It is a 101-acre lake home to largemouth bass, northern pike, and panfish. Here you can rent fishing poles if you don’t already have your own.
The lake has some great fishing piers for easy access, but there is a park entrance fee—so be prepared for that.
Colby Lake
In Woodbury, east of saint paul you’ll find some of the best panfish populations in the twin cities. Colby Lake is a small 70-acre lake with great shore fishing areas to cast from. This is another great family-friendly fishing spot due to the large panfish populations, but don’t expect to catch anything trophy-sized in the small lake.
Crystal Lake
Crystal Lake is another excellent fishing lake located just south of the Twin Cities in Burnsville, MN. ON the west side of the lake you will find boat access for fishing from your boat. The north side of the lake has a fishing pier if you prefer to cast from the pier, and there is also great spots to fish from shore along the west side of the lake.
This lake is home to northern pike, largemouth bass, bluegill, and other panfish. The fish tend to run a little small in this lake, but the populations seem to be thriving.
Twin Cities Fishing Reports
If you’re looking for fishing reports near the Twin Cities you can check out the below links for updated info:
