Grand Lake
Grand Lake in Stearns County is a big bowl with little structure, so crappie anglers will have to take along some extra gas for the ice auger and stay on the move until they find some fish. But when the crappies are found -- and there's plenty of them -- they will often be two-to-the-pound and larger. It's worth the time it takes to find them.

MARCH
Rice Lake
Rice Lake could be described as a backwater of the Mississippi River as it migrates through the city of Brainerd. Fortunately, those backwaters get iced-up enough to give anglers in search of big bluegills access to some very productive water.

As in most river systems, the bluegill numbers don't reach high proportions, but in the winter months, expect those fish to congregate in the shallower vegetation. Don't be afraid to incorporate bigger lures and even crappie minnows to entice a bite from the big "bulls" down there.

Lake Winnibigoshish
There are so many places to chase perch on Winnibigoshish that anglers cannot get to all of them during the hardwater season. If an angler wants to find some high-quality fishing, then it's a matter of drilling over spots that haven't had any earlier ice-fishing pressure. Get out a map, a good GPS and work spots where there are no signs of previous fishing activity.

Birch Lake
In March, crappie anglers head to Cass County's Birch Lake because they know these fish will be sliding up into 20 feet of water to stage in front of the bays where they will migrate when the ice is gone. There are a half-dozen of these prime locations, and a popular spot is in the deeper main basin just outside of the narrows into the shallower eastern basin. If you get there before this transition period, key on the deepest water around the island.

APRIL
Cross Lake
Finally some open water arrives in April, and anglers are pulling out all the stops to get to some productive crappie fishing. Cross Lake in Pine County provides a great early-season crappie fishery due to high numbers of both black and white crappies.

Just pick an end of the lake on this long, narrow body of water and set up with a slip-bobber and a minnow on a plain hook. Crappies can be anywhere from 2 down to 20 feet of water, so a little searching is in order.

Stuart Lake
Since the bluegills are not relating to the shallow cover in April, it requires an almost ice-fishing-like approach to target this species when the water opens up. Lakes like Stuart in Otter Tail County are perfect options because the bluegills are high in numbers there and they are nice-sized. Stick to water from 12 to 20 feet deep in front of what will soon become the big weedy flats on the south/southeast part of the lake.

Mule Lake
Small and deep bodies of clear water, full of crappies -- that's what anglers need to feed their crappie cravings in April, and Mule Lake is a good one for that. You don't have to travel far from where you launch your boat to find some of the best crappie fishing on this Cass County lake.