I'm new to Monticello, and I like tip up fishing. Are there any good lakes for tip up fishing around here? I see Pelican Lake and Buffalo Lake are pretty close. What do people usually catch on these lakes? Any help would be great!

Peilican and Buffalo both have good pike but for fast tip-up action try Maple north end is already froze and also Big Lake is pretty good, other than that Pelican is pretty much a panfish lake and Buffalo gets pretty crowded

I second the maple lake sugestion. Limestone is also a good pike lake for tip-ups. It can be feast or famine though.

I have lived in Buffalo 5 yrs I can count on 1 hand the number of pike I have caught on Buffalo in the winters.

Are you serious Jim?

It use to be a tradition with me and my family to spend the a the first weekend in Feburary tipup fishing northerns on Buffalo. The action was always fast and furious but the size was nothing to brag about. A lot of 3-5lbers and maybe a 7+ on a good day.

Maybe it has changed though - haven't done it for the last couple years. I know when I am out for crappies it has gotten pretty rare to run across any northerns. Use to catch a northern everytime I was out for crappies.

Hey JJ,
Have you targeted them? Like the above poster we usually get a few on the tip up while looking for crappies. They are never real big but they are out there.

My buddy got a 10# northern out there about 3 years ago, other than that, not much.

I would set out a tip-up while fishing crappies. 90% of the time I would not have a hit on my tip-up at all. I know it's goofy I go to lake harriet in the metro. When fishing Harriet I set out a tip-up, and catch walleyes, pike and even perch. usin g the same type of baits.

I would go to pelican. There are some huge pike out there!

I second Drewski I've seen 20 lb pike come out of pelican from spear shack and the people that spear pelican say there bigger ones in the lake.

are there a lot of Bass in there to?

Thanks for everyones advice. If I catch anything this year I will let you guys know.

While out duck hunting I found an old skull/jaw from a monster pike on shore. I picked it up and pretended liek I was jaws, it looked like a fricken shark skeleton, maybe there are freshwater sharks in Pelican.

yes in the 38 foot walleye hole out there

Isn't this lake depleated of all its sizeable panfish now. I thought I heard that the DNR took a bunch of Crappies/Sunnies out to stock kids fishing ponds in Minneapolis. But I know the [PoorWordUsage] slough snakes are still there, I bet they taste extra muddy.