The dictionary on my computer explains the term, hotspot, as a place of significant activity. For anglers, that would mean a lake where the fish are biting. While no body of water can brag about fish biting all the time because of the weather or other conditions beyond control, there are lakes that have reputations as hotspots due to their ability to consistently provide anglers with outstanding fishing. Here are 36 hotspots that fall into that category.

JANUARY
Boy Lake
Cass County
Natural reproduction maintains a decent population of walleyes in 3,100-acre Boy Lake. Winter anglers will discover that from the access they can head north into the bigger basin and find plenty of deep water to key on. Walleyes will be moving along the southwest shore of this basin as they travel from the midlake saddle to the western bay. Drill near the deeper water and use the sonar to pinpoint walleyes. In the eastern basin, start drilling on the north end and work south until you find walleyes.

Lake Osakis
Todd County
Long points, inside turns and great midlake structure make Lake Osakis a great body of water for winter anglers chasing walleyes. There's no need to follow the crowds on this lake because any of the high-percentage areas will be productive. With a hand-held GPS and a map chip, anglers can drill right on the best structure on the lake without much searching, which means more time figuring out the best technique to trigger bites from Osakis' hungry walleyes.

Lake Waconia
Carver County
Crappies are abundant in Carver County's Lake Waconia and so are the anglers that target them, but there are plenty to go around and they always seem to be biting. This is a lake where following the crowds is not a bad idea. There will be ice shelter towns that spring up over the huge schools of crappies, so find an opening and pitch the portable.

FEBRUARY
Big Carnelian Lake
Washington County
When northern pike numbers jumped to record levels in Big Carnelian, the DNR incorporated some special regulations to try to grow some of these pike into respectable fish. Anglers may keep fish under 24 inches and one longer than 36 inches but none in between. There are loads of pike under 24 inches in this lake, so catching some keepers is no problem. There are also some big pike available, so make sure to take some big sucker minnows along if you want to go toe to toe with a big one.

Greenwood Lake
Cook County
All anglers should take some time out of their busy winter schedules and head north for some lake trout fishing. This species hits hard, never quits fighting and is very tasty. Fishing for lake trout is like turkey hunting. Once you try it, you can't get enough.

On Greenwood Lake, the structure seems endless. Drill plenty of holes and use shiny jigging spoons to attract fish. The water clarity is high, so trout can spot a shiny lure from a distance. Deep water near points and the regions around a midlake structural element are great places to start looking.

Dixon Lake
Itasca County
Everyone loves to find a great walleye lake that is not so large that you need a week to find a good spot or two. Dixon is a small lake with numerous walleyes concentrated in a few areas, so anglers can spend all their time in the south basin finding schools of walleyes over the deep water in the center. Walleyes also like to lounge in the 15-foot hole on the south end of the lake and between the narrows and the tiny island to the south.