Shore Fishing Report for 9-29-25

Late Summer/Fall Shore Fishing Report
By Tyler Gilson
Fisheries Technician at Spicer Fisheries and New London Hatchery

Walleye – Green Lake has kicked out few eaters from docks after sunset, remember the walleye limit on Green Lake is 3 walleyes. They can be caught on bobber and leeches from shore/docks. Ringo Lake can be hit or miss due to high amounts of forage in there (perch and shiners) so the bite could be very tough for walleye anglers. Willmar and Foot lakes are a good choice for walleyes, just look for flowing drainpipes or under the bridge.

Northern Pike – Lake Florida and Florida Slough have been producing fair numbers of decent sized pike. Ringo and Willmar lakes have better numbers of legal harvestable sized pike (less than 22” and larger than 26” are common in both lakes). Occasional 35” plus northern pike can be caught from Willmar Lake from time to time.

Bass – Green, Nest, and Calhoun lakes continue producing good action for largemouth bass. Lake Wakanda isn’t known for its bass fishery but several 18-20” largemouth and smallmouth bass are caught recently as they’re feasting on high numbers of crayfish at this moment. Remember smallmouth bass season is catch and release only (September 7th, 2025 thru February 22nd, 2026) so please release any smallmouth bass during this period.

Crappie – If you want big (13” plus) crappies, try Green Lake or Ringo Lake, otherwise Foot and Willmar lakes have better numbers of eating sized crappies. Nest Lake is also producing decent numbers of big crappies at public fishing spots. Live fatheads seems to work for crappies in most situations, but white plastic lures can trigger crappies into their striking mode.

Sunfish – Now is a good time to go after big sunfish in shallows before water temperatures decrease. Green, Foot, Willmar, and Games lakes continue producing 8 to 10” bluegills. Upper/Tadd Lake did suffer a summerkill recently, however the latest trapnet survey revealed fair numbers of bluegills and a handful of big hybrid sunfish. They will be bigger next year. Big hybrid sunfish (8 to 10” ones) can be caught at Green and Nest lakes. George Lake is also a good lake for big bluegills/pumpkinseeds, but remember, you can only keep 5 sunfish from George Lake. Small leeches or red wigglers under bobber are good choice for large sunfish as they can be picky and not interested in large baits (nightcrawlers).

Yellow Perch – Point Lake was stocked with large sized perch last spring. Big Kandiyohi Lake is the area’s best choice for eating sized perch and they can be caught in the various channels and ditches from shore. I’d recommend using small bright color plastics for Big Kandiyohi perch as smaller perch can be annoying and stealing live bait intended for large perch.

Rock Bass – Now’s a good time to chase big rockies on Green Lake as 11-13” fish are being caught by shore anglers recently. They are fair table fare and can be fried similar to sunfish/crappie.

Bullhead – Mill Pond dam has been producing a few big bullheads lately.

Channel catfish – Big Kandiyohi Lake is the area’s best channel catfish fishery. Cutbait (alewife or sucker works well) or chicken liver will catch cats. While most cats in Big Kandiyohi are smaller than 20”, there are a few trophy cat’s that hit 35” to 40”. Other local lakes do have catfish but in much low numbers.