Fishing in the Edge of the Wilderness

Edge of the Wilderness Resort Area
Fishing

These Minnesota Fishing Resorts Give Vacationers and Anglers ‘The Edge’ in catching a meal or a lunker!

The Edge of the Wilderness Resort Area is home to more than half of Itasca County’s 1,400+ lakes and some of the best Minnesota Fishing Resorts in the entire State of Minnesota. With all those lakes and water you know the lakes are teeming with lunkers lurking in the depths - waiting for you to outfox them. Many of the lakes within the Edge of the Wilderness Resort Area are spring fed and are stocked regularly by the Minnesota DNR with walleye, muskie or trout.

A wide variety of Minnesota gamefish inhabit the lakes and rivers here. These include walleye, northern pike, muskellunge, yellow perch, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, rock bass, black and crappie, bluegill, sunfish, brown trout, rainbow trout and bullhead.

Many of the resorts here can provide you with a fishing guide service. Just ask your hosts about it when you are making your lodging reservation or when you arrive for your stay.

Please keep only enough fish that you will use, and practice Catch & Release. The future of good fishing depends upon conservation and your sportsmanship.

Looking for the Perfect Minnesota Fall Fishing Vacation?

Each September and October, Anglers in the Edge of the Wilderness Resort Area find some of the best fall fishing Minnesota has to offer. Action is usually lively for muskie, walleye, northern pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie and panfish.

There are more than 400 lakes in the Edge of the Wilderness Resort Area and nearly all of them offer great fall fishing. You may have the best luck if you target the shallow weeds with a jig and a minnow. Nightcrawlers will also work but you won’t get the perch and northern pike action like you will using jig and minnow.

This time of year is also a good time to try crappie fishing since they are in their fall patterns. Move out into open water looking for a school on your fish graph. Try dropping a jig and minnow in on them and if they are active you can get your limit in a hurry.

It’s not unusual to see good panfish action well into late fall. Expect decent size bluegill and sunnies to come out of the rushes until the water temps starts to drop dramatically.

Go to our lodging directory and find the perfect resort, motel or campground for your Minnesota fall fishing vacation.

Incredible Ice Fishing Opportunities on the Edge!

Anglers return to the Edge of the Wilderness Area each winter for some of Minnesota’s best ice fishing. The hot bite you’ll find here from northern pike, jumbo perch and crappies, combined with a variety of resorts and motels that offer fully modern, comfortable cabins or rooms and easy lake access, make us a great destination for your next Minnesota ice fishing trip. We’re the perfect base of operations to ice fish lots of different lakes during your stay. If you need an ice fishing guide service to help you get on top of the fish, just ask your hosts - they’ll set you up with some of the area’s local expert guides.

Ice fishing for jumbo perch is a favorite of winter guests. When ice fishing for perch, use a small jig or spoon and fish near the bottom - usually no more than one foot off the bottom, six inches is preferred. The key to catching perch under the ice is finding them. They tend to school together so if you find one, others should be nearby. When the perch are biting well, you may not need to bring your bait all the way down to the bottom again, usually the aggressive ones will meet your bait on the way down.

Crappies are another popular form of ice fishing because they’re easy to catch and provide a nice sporting fight. They tend to school together and wander all over a lake - so sometimes finding them can prove challenging. Try using the following tackle: small split shot, a small shiner or fathead minnow, small bobber, small hook, and a light action ice fishing rod. Hook your bait just behind the dorsal fin....and hang on!

Ice fishing for northern pike is one of the most exciting species to target. They are aggressive predators and will take almost anything you offer them. While the majority of anglers prefer “tip-ups” when ice fishing for northern pike, jigging works well also. Northern pike tend to be loners, and are found at nearly all depths. Try fishing 1-4 feet just below the ice to start. Use large, sharp hooks and remember to use a steel leader since northerns will snap your line faster than you can say - RATS!

Book your next ice fishing vacation with one of our lodging properties.

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