Fishing near Saint Michael, Minnesota

Saint Michael sits on the Hennepin County side of Minnesota. It works better as a base than as a bank. Reckoned by road: Prairie Lake out at 1.6 miles, Twin Lake out at 2.0 miles to the south-east followed by Hunters Lake out at 2.5 miles. Prairie Lake rewards a slow walk along the bank rather than a long cast into nothing. The cold season shuts the open water down. The weeks straight after the thaw fish hardest. There is little flow anywhere on this list. Cast to cover rather than to open water. Prairie Lake has mapped parking, which saves a long carry. Water round here typically opens up around early April. Across Hennepin County, recorded fish include bluegill, common carp, largemouth bass, pumpkinseed and black crappie. Everything above falls under the one set of county rules. Anything you fish here counts as Hennepin County water, so read the county rules first....