I have always lived close to this lake and fished it a handful of times with very little luck.Does anyone here fish phalen that could share some tips or maybe meet up together and chase some fish?

I'm relatively new to the area and hit Phalen pretty hard during the summer from the shore. There's lots of nice bass, and pike. I've caught several nice pike. I hear its a pretty decent lake during the winter. I know there's big fish in there as they stock it with tigers. I've heard good things about the walleye as well. I plan on dragging my portable out there often. Hit me up and maybe we can set some hooks.

Phil

philipaschwartz@gmail.com

for the area and all, phalen is about as good as you can ask for. there is a saddle running right up the middle of the lake. deeper water on either side, 8, or 10 feet of water right on it. fish the edges of the saddle for walleyes, and right on the saddle is great for pike.

I haven't had a lot of luck there. But if you put in your time you will find some fish. I hear it was an awesome lake about six years ago but got fished way too hard. But yea, find the saddle and fish that.

i have caught some walleye there in the spring a couple years ago, but mostly dinks, and quite a few hammer handle northerns. Wasn't so hot for me last year. it gets some pretty tremendous pressure and anymore i think it's dominated by potato chip sunnies.

I love Phalen, but right when I think I got the pattern down on Phalen, I start failing on Phalen again. I have fished this lake ever since I was a little kid. This lake does see some pressure but most of it is just from the shorelines, which I don't think amounts to much. Phalen has good structure, points, and a variety of different bottoms. I think it holds a good number of fish, including walleyes, but its a hard lake to learn. Just a little tip for yo guys, Phalen is one of the few lakes around the Metro area that has a naturally reproducing walleye population. I might be fishing Phalen on Sunday so if you see a green Eskimo portable stop by and say "HI"

I live in St. Paul and have walked around Phalen alot but never fished it. I am thinking about heading out there this weekend or next for the first time. Any recent ice reports?

I looked at a map and the saddle in the middle looks like the most obvious structure but certainly not the only structure.

I agree that most of the pressure is from shore. it has a ton of structure and there are alot of fish in there! the reason i brought up the saddle is simply because its a great starting point for someone new to the lake. and during slow times in some of my other favorite spots out there, i have always been able to slide over there during primetime and find some action.

I think it was three or four years ago that Minnesota Sportsman did an article on ice fishing for walleyes on metro lakes and did a really good job on explaining Phalen's structure. Obviously the saddle jumps out at you first, but there is also some sand bars across from the beach worth trying, and I also like fishing near the weeds right out from the beach. Never really caught anything big there but it's just one of the lakes that I have a "good feeling" about. If it's close I'd definately do some searching on it.

here is the article http://www.minnesotasportsmanmag.com/fishing/icefishing-fishing/MN_0106_01/

Hey Eion,

Good to see you've finally come over to the dark side Give me a shout sometime if you're heading out there, I'd like to give Phalen another shot. Only fished it once, and that was a couple years ago with other FMers. Managed to catch 1 perch. It was fun, though.

Anyway, glad you've decided to join us again!

Is there anything in particular a guy should know regarding ice safety on Phalen? I've lived near it for a couple of years and seems like there are often odd/unexpected open spots or soft looking spots, even when it looks like the rest of the lake is solid. Are there springs or other I should know about, especially this early in the early season??

Thanks for any safety info you have.

I always give Phalen a try each winter, as it sounds like it should be good, but I have never caught more than a couple perch.

I suppose you do need to put in the time, but it is a tough lake to learn.

I end up getting frustrated and driving another 20 minutes north to bigger lakes and in my case bigger fish.

Any ice reports?

Ive tried targeting walleye out there with no real luck. I have met a few people that say they do well every time out, but i have to see it to believe it. Good lake to drop a tipup in though, always do well with those.

It tried going out on Sunday night but they had some holiday light thing going on so the whole park was closed at the main entrance. I saw one portable at the beach but he must have been there before the light show so they could kick him out. I might try it again on Sunday but a little earlier so they can't kick me out. Stay safe and good luck out there.