APRIL
Otter Tail Lake
Right after ice-out, the jumbo perch in Otter Tail Lake move up onto the shallow sandbars and roam in packs.

To catch them, use a live-bait rig with a crappie minnow on a short leader and drag it slowly over the tops of the mid-lake structure.

The best time to target the perch in Otter Tail is during the low-light periods of morning and evening. On cloudy days, the bite can last from dawn to dusk.

Lake Minnetonka
Shallow bays abound on Minnetonka, and after ice-out, the crappies move up into these black-bottomed bays and feed voraciously. Expect a lot of company where the schools of crappies are feeding, but there are loads of fish, so expect plenty of action as well.

Mississippi River At Red Wing
Spawning walleyes migrate upstream until they hit the dam. Anglers drop their boats in at Red Wing and migrate up to the dam to pitch jigs tipped with minnows. Take a lot of jigs, because the bottom will eat them up. And expect a good deal of company, because this is a popular destination in April.

MAY
Lake Sakatah
May signals the opening of walleye fishing on the lakes in Minnesota, and anglers who are looking for productive water during this early-season period should consider the pothole lakes in southern Minnesota.

Sakatah is only 10 feet deep at its maximum point, so it warms up fast after ice-out, and by the opener, the walleyes are hungry.

On heavily stocked Sakatah, walleyes can be coerced with crankbaits, minnow-tipped jigs or live-bait rigs loaded with a leech. Pick a walleye tactic and it will work on Sakatah in May.

Hendricks Lake
Hendricks is a border lake with South Dakota, so anglers can chase walleyes there through the entire month of May (be sure to check the regulations to pinpoint this year's actual starting date). If you troll or cast crankbaits, use flashy silver rattling lures that are shad-shaped. Drifting slip-bobbers and leeches is another high-percentage tactic on Hendricks Lake.

East Rush Lake still provides some fine muskie fishing, and the fish are big. These muskies don't get fooled easily, but a topwater prop bait near the narrows is great for turning followers into hitters.

Lake Okabena
Heavy fishing pressure is a fact of life on this pothole lake sitting right on the edge of the town of Worthington, but the heavy walleye stocking program keeps Lake Okabena as a productive option. When the season opens in May, the walleyes will be ready to bite, and there aren't any techniques that won't work on this lake!

JUNE
Blackwater Lake
Anglers are discovering that there are some big largemouth bass in the lakes up north where the walleyes have typically received all the attention.

Shallow cabbage beds and stands of bulrushes are seeing a lot of spinnerbaits and jigs these days. On Blackwater Lake in Cass County, the largemouth bass are protected by special regulations, and they must be released, but you should put those 4- and 5-pounders back anyway. These bucketmouths even fall for a topwater when the water is calm.

Big Birch Lake
Pick a rockpile on Big Birch, toss a topwater right on top of it, and twitch it back. Be prepared for a tremendous explosion when a big smallmouth bass tries to have it for lunch. Tube jigs also work well on Big Birch when the surface is being roiled by the wind.

Big Lake
Muskie anglers tend to follow the hot bite. The past few years, that has put a lot of muskie anglers on Mille Lacs and Minnetonka. That also means many great muskie lakes aren't getting near as much attention as they should. Beltrami County's Big Lake has a nice mixture of bulrushes, cabbage, coontail, some great rubble points and a couple of rockpiles. There are also some big muskies that roam this structure while waiting for an easy meal. Big Lake muskies are more apt to hit than follow the lure, which is a sign they aren't as conditioned as muskies on the more popular lakes.