Fishing For Beginners | Outdoors Dan: Northern Minnesota Hot Spot For Fishing

Q. I make two trips a year to Canada, in June with my wife to Indian Lake near Vermillion for walleye, and in September with a group of guys to a fly-in at Savant Lake for walleye and lake trout. Both are fantastic trips. I think I have read that you have been to Savant Lake. This year, my wife and I want to take our 9- and 10-year-old granddaughters to northern Minnesota for walleye, smallmouth bass and crappie but don’t have any resorts in mind. I have checked many websites but it is difficult to discern the good from the below-average.

If you could give me a few possibilities in the average price range, I would appreciate it. Plentiful walleye in the 15- to 20-inch range are the priority, but for kids at that age, if they catch good numbers of any species they will be happy. We have our own boat and will not take any pets. I appreciate your knowledge and experience and will research your suggestions.

A. I have a couple of lakes in northern Minnesota that have great smallmouth and walleye fishing that I love to go to. One is Turtle Lake up by Bigfork. It is considered one of the best lakes for smallmouth and has good crappie and walleye fishing as well. Mike Lang has a resort up there called Wilderness Lodge and he is a great guide for smallmouth fishing.

Another is Lake Winnibigoshish, or Lake Winnie, as the locals call it. It is up by Deer River near the Chippewa National Forest. It has great walleye, crappie and bass fishing as well. I would recommend either lake for a trip, and I am sure you will get a bite!

Q. I just retired and am hoping to do a lot more fishing. The time has come for me to invest in a GPS fish locator. I have been told there are GPS location cards or maps of some bigger lakes and you insert them in your locator. I don’t have a lot of money available. Please advise on what you recommend.

A. I spoke with my buddy at Waters Edge Marine, and he recommends you look at a humminbird 581i combo. This is a combo fish-finder/GPS unit for $349. It has a 5-inch screen with 640 x 320 pixels, and it will accept the Navionics Hotmaps chips, which you can purchase by the region for $119. The north region would have all Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota and North Dakota lakes for $468 for the whole setup. For the money, this is a good choice for you that will have you covered around our area of the country.

Q. I wonder if there are any upcoming seminars for beginners wanting to learn the basics of fly-fishing.

A. There will be several free fly-fishing seminars at Sportsman’s Warehouse this year. They will have the dates posted on their website at s portsmans- warehouse.com .

These will be a great starting point for you, because they will teach not only casting techniques but how to tie your own flies and lure selection tips as well.

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