“The beach area is a good one because it has vegetation, as well as a good sandy area where they feed and prepare for spawning,” Mase added. You can find more information at www.fishandgame.com/intowne, or by calling Mase’s In-Towne Marina at (952) 442-2096.

MILLE LACS
The ice-out crappie bite on Mille Lacs is storied, with both numbers and sizes being caught. Interestingly, the action tends to drop off significantly once the water warms. Some would theorize that anglers are too busy chasing the other popular game fish such as walleyes, smallmouth bass, northern pike and muskies.

While there may be some truth to that, the fact is Mille Lacs is a tough summer bite for crappies. Diehard walleye and smallmouth anglers who fish areas where the crappies may be holding up don’t report accidental catches of crappies.

“People think they’ll catch them, and some of them get a few, but finding where they hide is tough work,” said Kelly Deneen, assistant manager of Johnson’s Portside.

Tuma’s assessment was pretty much the same. “Nobody fishes them in the summer, because nobody can find them.”

On the other hand, both Deneen and Tuma admitted that there’s a lot of water out there and said the crappies can’t be too far away. Tuma thinks the crappies spend the summer in the big bays relating to the sparse weed growth, though it’s a mystery to him that virtually nobody is able to catch them.

Great spring locations for crappies include all the bays and marinas, but especially Mac’s Twin Bay, Izaty’s Bay, Wahkon Bay and Isle Bay. Deneen said there were some summer catches last year in the area around Malone Island, though it’s not a consistent location. Tuma said the Garrison area is also a good location in the spring.

Additional information can be obtained by calling the Mille Lacs Area Tourism Council at 1-888-350-2692, or go to www.millelacs.com.

SPRING LAKE
Located in the southwest metro just down the road from Prior Lake, Spring Lake is a 580-acre hole with an up-and-coming crappie fishery.

The west-metro fisheries office reports that the crappie population is producing larger-sized slabs, but not necessarily numbers of fish. A survey conducted in 2004 revealed that 90 percent of the crappies were larger than 8 inches in length.

Tuma’s favorite locations include the two major points on the south end of the lake and the area around the outlet on its northeast corner.

“Spring Lake can sometimes give you a tough bite, but it’s worth it to stick it out with some finesse tactics that will work anyplace, but especially on Spring Lake,” Tuma said.

Downsizing bait is one way to coax crappies to bite. Instead of throwing them shiners and fatheads as a rule, try crappie minnows or wax worms on a 1/64-ounce jig.

“We get too hung up on crappie minnows and bobbers, but there are many other tactics that work for crappies, including live-bait rigging and trolling,” said Tuma. “The key is to move, move, move, whether fishing early season or midseason.”

Additional information can be found at www.priorlakechamber.org or by calling the Prior Lake Area Chamber of Commerce at (952) 440-1000.