Fishing in the Park Rapids Area

Ice conditions have deteriorated slightly in the Park Rapids area, but with a few predicted days of cold weather, ice travel will be very good.  Vehicle travel is possible on some lakes, but anglers should be wary of variable ice conditions.  Most lakes have 12-14 inches of solid ice, but there are still areas with less.

Panfish action in our area is currently very good, but fish are being caught in various locales depending upon the lake you’re fishing.  Some anglers are having continued success in depths of 10-15 feet of water, while other anglers have moved to deeper to target suspended schools in 20-30 feet of water.  Small jigs tipped with maggots will catch both bluegills and crappies, while crappie minnows are also productive for the deep water slabs. 

Walleye activity has slowed down a bit, but anglers are still catching fish.  Look for deep-water flats in 20-28 feet of water.  Firm bottom is key, with rock, gravel and sand being your best substrate options.  Jigging spoons tipped with a minnow head and set-lines or tip-ups with whole live shiner minnows are all effective right now. 

Northern pike action continues to be hot and numerous big pike have been caught in the past few weeks.  Anglers using tip-ups with large minnows are having good luck, but those jigging more actively are getting more fish to react and hit.  Green weeds are the key to catching more and bigger pike in the Park Rapids area and depths of 8-15 feet have been most productive.  

For more information on fishing the Park Rapids area, contact Jason Durham of Go Fish! Guide Servie Inc. at 218-252-2278.