Photo by Ron Sinfelt

There are hotspots for bass, walleyes, panfish and other species that anglers target with a great deal of success. There's nothing wrong with a lake that is well known for only one type of fish, but if the bite is slow on that particular outing, you are out of luck. Luckily, there are numerous lakes around Minnesota that feature not one, not two, but three or more game species of fish in ample numbers, with some trophy potential.

Terry Tuma is a multi-species fishing guru from the Twin Cities who loves going after walleyes, bass, panfish and northern pike at different times for different reasons. He has his specialty lakes, of course, but he really loves fishing a body of water for bass or panfish one day and then returning the next to key in on the walleyes or northerns.

"A hydrographic map is a must before fishing, and you should also contact a local bait shop to determine what's biting so you can plan what species to pursue," Tuma said.

Once you've done this, the next step is to use the map and dissect the lake by choosing the specific locations that have the best potential for holding fish. Within those areas, determine where you are going to fish for a specific species of fish. "I used to fish lakes with the idea that I'd hit multiple spots for multiple species but what I found was that I lost a lot of time transitioning from one place to another," Tuma said.

He admits that he's caught walleyes while fishing for largemouths, but unless he can't keep the walleyes off his hook, Tuma sticks with his plan of fishing for largemouths that day. "Not only am I learning more about the lake but now I have a spot to begin fishing when I come back to go after walleyes," he said.

The biggest mistake anglers make when fishing these lakes is going where everybody else seems to be fishing. "Usually those are locations that were hot before the word got out and now they've shut down because of the added pressure," he said. Instead, try fishing nearby secondary locations or find an area with similar features elsewhere on the lake.

Here then are 10 of the best multi-species lakes around Minnesota.

LAKE MINNETONKA
With catchable populations of walleyes, pike, muskies, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappies and bluegills, Lake Minnetonka is a multi-species paradise. Doug Warren has spent his lifetime on Minnetonka, and now serves as the point man for the Lake Minnetonka Guides.

Warren prefers fishing the lower end of the lake near Wayzata but said the entire lake has great potential. His preference is based on the fact that the lower lake has the most varied structure, with milfoil beds, deep water, rocks and gravel bars. Finding the weedline is the key in late summer.

"The fish are right on the edge of the milfoil, and when I'm guiding we do a lot of trolling with deep-diving crankbaits along that edge, catching just about everything," he said. Live bait or small plastics in these areas will also yield crappies and bluegills.

July and August are his favorite times for walleyes, and again, he keys in on the area between the edges of the weedline down to around 25 feet deep. "I'll troll a spinner rig with a bottom-bouncer at a fairly good clip using a Berkley Gulp Worm or Power Bait to prevent the bluegill from picking it off," he said.

The west-metro fisheries office said walleyes and muskies are regularly stocked in Minnetonka and have relatively stable populations of each species. Fishing for muskies has really picked up in recent years, and anglers are catching more and more fish in the 50-inch range every year.