Author Topic: Where in Minnesota? (Read 5678 times)

Ridley · « **on:** Dec 31, 2015, 08:49 AM »

If you could live anywhere in the state where would you choose? I am retired military, lifelong ice fisherman as well as soft water. Enjoy golf, and good deer hunting is also high on the priority list as well. I would prefer an area that had multiple lakes to choose from, walleye, perch, bass and pike are all I am really interested in. Currently in Ohio and the winters here are to inconsistent. Been here 4 years and have been able to ice fish 2. I really miss the northwoods and am getting the itch to make a move. Thanks in advance....

CharlieBrn · « **Reply #1 on:** Dec 31, 2015, 09:57 AM »

Congrats Ridley on your retirement and thank you for your service Sir. Moved from Northern Wisconsin 4 years ago to Alaska and at this point, no where else I'd rather be. Having said that, if I were to choose some where in Minnesota, it would have to be "Ely" for me. Small town and more lakes than you can count not to mention the BWCA. Not sure on the golf cause I enjoy playing as well but, certainly it's a magnificent place I'd lay may hat any day. If I weren't in Alaska that is. Best of luck and happy new years to ya.

redneckdan · « **Reply #2 on:** Dec 31, 2015, 10:06 AM »

Northern Minnesota is definitely a good place for ice. Usually on first ice small ponds in early to mid nov, wheelers on big lakes in early dec.

Have you ever lived in bitter cold before? Like weeks of highs -20F? One year we were laying a tailings pipe line, the lows for a week straight were 50-55 below zero. By the time we got the equipment going it was time to shut down and go home for the day.

mickmickl · « **Reply #3 on:** Dec 31, 2015, 10:11 AM »

I would say any place north of two harbors on the north shore. Lots of lakes and state forest to hunt. Also nothing like being on the great lake gitchi gami. Me and my wife always talk about retiring to the north shore when the time comes.

corny13 · « **Reply #4 on:** Dec 31, 2015, 10:22 AM »

Walker Minnesota.... would fit the bill perfect. Bemidji would also be nice...if you want a bigger town. North central Mn has more golf courses, Chippewa National Forest for Deer hunting lots of state forests also. Great fishing....also Cold in winter..

tjacob · « **Reply #5 on:** Dec 31, 2015, 11:19 AM »

Congratulations on your retirement and thank you for your service. I only made it for seven years myself.

Start with the deer hunting aspect of your request. It can be challenging here in northern MN and if you have never hunted wolf country it adds to the hunting experience along with long snowy winters. Both take a toll on the deer herd from time to time and hunting changes year to year. If you look at a map of MN deer hunting in the arrowhead area from Duluth to Ely to the Canadian border and east of there is often bucks hunting and the theoretical wolf country zone. Lots of public land and a challenging, but rewarding hunting experience. Depending on what you like, but my choice would be north central Mn.

North Central Mn. area would be my choice. Walker, Bemidji, Cass Lake, Grand Rapids, Brainerd areas all work. They are pretty quiet in the winter, but summer populations triple or more. Tourist and second home/cabin owners.

Ridley · « **Reply #6 on:** Dec 31, 2015, 04:03 PM »

Thanks for your replies, other than a couple years in Ga. this is the furthest south I have lived so I am missing the northern winters. I will definitely start some research in the areas you all have mentioned. Again Thanks...

thorson · « **Reply #7 on:** Jan 02, 2016, 01:36 PM »

I just moved to Ottertail county and we love it.

VORK23 · « **Reply #8 on:** Jan 03, 2016, 06:34 PM »

Trust me you don't want to live up here in northern mn it's not like we have world class walleye and pike fisheries like the lakes in Voyageurs national park and the rainy river and lake of the woods. Also endless state forest for hunting grouse and whitetails

budalcorn45 · « **Reply #9 on:** Jan 03, 2016, 08:21 PM »

I love the cross lake area...it gets lots of people in the summer, but I have had days on smaller lakes where I am alone on the ice. I also love th hunting up there.

Tikkaman · « **Reply #10 on:** Jan 03, 2016, 08:27 PM »

Walker/Bemidgi area. Lake of the woods, leech, upper red and winni are all nearby

ML Crappie King · « **Reply #11 on:** Jan 05, 2016, 02:39 PM »

I was born and raised in Otter tail County MN. I lived in the Brainerd area for 23 years and moved back to Otter Tail county 6 years ago. Certainly happy I did. Lots of good deer hunting areas around, and Otter Tail County has the most lakes of any county in the U.S. Lots of smaller towns to live in and your not too far from Fargo ND, St Cloud MN, or even the Twin Cities. Thank you for your service and good luck in your search. Let us know where you decide to move to.

Hard Ice · « **Reply #12 on:** Jan 07, 2016, 02:04 AM »

After selling my farm a couple years ago I found myself in that predicament . And traveled all over mn,nd and sd...
If I had my choice where to live it would be northern nd where the ice flows as soon as it gets colder...

SuperFLY91 · « **Reply #13 on:** Jan 08, 2016, 02:13 PM »

I'm retired military as well. I was stationed in Grand Forks for 5-6 years, so I got to explore MN pretty well. The family loved Bemidji, so we found a place there and love it. The town is great but not too big, and the best hunting and fishing I could ask for. If you want any other info, shoot me a PM and I'd be glad to help!

smelloftrout · « **Reply #14 on:** Jan 12, 2016, 04:54 PM »

I grew up in bemidji before moving to Alaska. It's a convenient location to get to some of the popular lakes to ice fish as well as summer fish. I've only ice fished one time there in 12 years and the wheel house convenience was a shocker. If it were me going back to mn id take a hard look at the brainerd area.

CharlieBrn · « **Reply #15 on:** Jan 13, 2016, 08:34 AM »

Your right smelloftrout, Brainerd area would be a good fit. Bemidji not bad as well and still in between Winnibigosh, Leech and even Devil's Lake ND. To be honest, I haven't heard of a bad location from anyone out here yet.

Clear_Ice · « **Reply #16 on:** Jan 13, 2016, 09:03 AM »

Im also from Ottertail County, and its pretty tough to beat that area for fishing opportunities! Plus, if you play your cards right, you can get into some fantastic deer country. Also, I now go to school up in Bemidji, and the area is very similar to home, just add a bunch of pine trees everywhere

The amount of lakes to choose from in both places are staggering, it makes it tough to go fishing just because of making a choice of which water to fish haha.

The only thing that I like more about the Bemidji area compared to Ottertail is just how close it is to both Red Lake and LOTW. Its easy to go up to Red Lake for the day since it's only 45 minutes, and LOTW is a short 2 hour trip.

smelloftrout · « **Reply #17 on:** Jan 13, 2016, 01:46 PM »

Yeah cb just listing the lakes brings back some good fishing memories. I have a buddy from grand forks and he brought me to Devils lake once to fish and that was a good day. I worked at Polaris in Roseau for a year right out of high school and fished lotw a lot in the winter. Red lake crappies was hot while I was still living there so made that trip as much as possible. Deer hunting and grouse hunting was in the back yard although I really never shot anything you'd call a monster buck. Duck hunting was always good but my buddy's that hunted North Dakota really had it going on.

Now that I live in Alaska I realize how convienant it was to recreate in mn. I run a 65-100 mile trap line here but just to get to my trailhead its 200 miles in the pickup one way. I've driven 300 miles one way to do an overnight fishing trip before.

CharlieBrn · « **Reply #18 on:** Jan 14, 2016, 09:09 PM »

I too remember those days smelloftrout when the clouds of crappie on Upper Red were 2 miles wide. 14-18 inch crappies were more the norm than the exception. Not sure where Ariel is but sounds like heaven on earth. Certainly a different way of fishing and hunting all together up here. Literally I was a few steps out my back door for big white tail and great fishing on the famous Flambeau River system. Been up here now for almost 4 years and loving every minute up here. Having said that, I do have a trip planed this summer back on Devil's with friends I use to go with every year. So looking forward to landing some walleye as well as some white bass. Good trapping to you and be safe out there.

capaige · « **Reply #19 on:** Feb 06, 2016, 08:16 PM »

Grand Rapids area. Great fishing, you have golfing, swimming, great restaurants too. My folk live close to there. I get back to see them at least once a year. Miss Minnesota but now my home is in Pennsylvania.

cwavs1982 · « **Reply #20 on:** Aug 26, 2016, 12:03 PM »

Quote from: Ridley on Dec 31, 2015, 04:03 PM

Thanks for your replies, other than a couple years in Ga. this is the furthest south I have lived so I am missing the northern winters. I will definitely start some research in the areas you all have mentioned. Again Thanks...

Just wondering where you chose? Happy trails to wherever you put down.

Muskietim · « **Reply #21 on:** Aug 29, 2016, 05:03 AM »

I agree with everyone on the Bemidji area. One of my buddies bought up there years ago and it is always enjoyable to go there to hit different lake or walk the public land grouse hunting. They have also done well deer hunting. Bemidji has most amenities a person would need. Some big box stores, nice grocery store, lots of small shops etc. You get out of town and it is the north woods. Good luck making a decision.

twincities86 · « **Reply #22 on:** Sep 08, 2016, 08:26 PM »

I would also say in between walker and park rapids. I head up there every weekend and it's beautiful.

bsenear86 · « **Reply #23 on:** Nov 30, 2016, 12:08 PM »

Brainerd area is amazing for everything you would want, world class gold and more lakes then you can handle. Great tourism area and great people. Been here a year and no where I woukd rather be, other then north shore which is a great place as well. If you pick either one you will be happy.

Ethan C · « **Reply #24 on:** Nov 30, 2016, 02:30 PM »

Grand Rapids, Walker Brainerd area. Great fishing around Bemidji as well but just not as nice of a place to live.

Mncrappie · « **Reply #25 on:** Nov 30, 2016, 03:05 PM »

I live in south central MN. Rice county to be exact. You will love the deer hunting down here. Way better than up north!! The lakes are also very productive. It's a nice place to live and full of historical towns like faribault and northfield. Also the small town feel is very much alive

drscholl14 · « **Reply #26 on:** Nov 30, 2016, 03:29 PM »

Walker because of Leech Lake and centrally located, Cross lake because of the sheer amount of lakes in the area, or the north shore because of the sheer beauty of it.

Bartb · « **Reply #27 on:** Nov 30, 2016, 09:30 PM »

I am a south central Minnesota guy, mankato to be exact. I wouldn't live anywhere else. Lakes everywhere, great hunting. Plus any lake you want to fish is only a few hours drive away. I would think maybe living parallel with minneapolis/st Paul but a ways west putting me more centrally located. That would be nice for getting to big stone or waubay South Dakota too.

amortec · « **Reply #28 on:** Nov 30, 2016, 10:12 PM »

Another Otter Tail County Vote! Over 1000 lakes ! Good luck and thanks for your service! There's forty acres for sale across the road from my place, with a very unique home . If you're looking! Pm me if you want the details

Hardwater Problem · « **Reply #29 on:** Dec 24, 2016, 05:04 AM »

I live in Nebraska... I have been going to "The lakes region" of Ottertail county for nearly 40 years in the summer. It wasn't until the stock market crash a few years back that my wife and I decided to no longer play the numbers game and invest in a little place of our own up there. There are literally a thousand lakes to choose from, and all have their highlight fish. All lakes in the area are at a reasonable distance and with a small drive you can target whatever fish you wish to catch. With so many lakes to choose from, the pressure never gets super high, unless you like the groups of folks and you can certainly find them on the bigger lakes. This is a bit of a touristy area, but most everybody I have met local or otherwise has been pretty great! The towns offer a nice balance of small town living with a mix of a few smaller cities that offer the conveniences of decent hospitals, schools, shops, and restaurants. The tourist aspect has brought some very welcome additions of micro brews and craft beer/niche eateries. Ottertail county is amazing and has some world class fishing. I am retiring in 6-8 years and fully intend to move there full time when I do. The brainerd area is very nice as well, I just haven't spent a ton of time up that way.

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Author Topic: Where in Minnesota? (Read 5678 times)