How to Plan a Multi-Species Fishing Trip with Your Family

When it comes to fishing, the single-species pursuit is alive and well, too. If muskies or tarpon are your thing, then again, it’s understandable. When it comes to a fishing trip with the family, the idea of tossing giant bucktails for three follows a day while the kids complain nonstop is a bad one.

Instead, the goal should be to catch not only a variety of fish, but also as many as possible. If you can mix in the potential to land some big ones, that’s even better. Where do these bodies of water exist that will offer up this kind of tight-line action for everyone in your fam?

I live in the heart of Minnesota, a state known for having 10,000 lakes. In reality, it’s something like 14,000, and there isn’t one that is dominated by a single kind of fish. But there are quite a few that are known for their keynote species.

This is as good of a start as any to begin a little research, but you should ask yourself what would make the family happiest to catch. If that’s crappies or walleyes or bluegills, which you hope are destined for a bath in 350-degree oil, then a meat mission it is. If you’re low on desire to eat fish, but high on a desire to watch them smash topwaters all day, then you might want to focus on lakes with mixed populations of smallies and largemouth, with some pike and muskies tossed in for added excitement.

In a couple of weeks, I’m heading over to Wisconsin to find some lakes that qualify for the latter category. I’m allergic to fish, so eating them is a one-and-done proposition for me. We like to catch the kind of fish that will gobble up a kermit in the lily pads, or chase down a buzzbait on the weedlines.

To figure out where best to go to get a chance at multiple species, with some that should be bigger than average, I used to scroll through creel survey data. Now I just turn on a couple of layers on the onX Fish app and start looking.

This shows me the fish species that are present, the abundance of each, and the average size we are likely to encounter. Since we are tight on time because we’ll be doing some deer setup work for our Wisconsin trip, I want to maximize the chances of my daughters tying into something really cool. To them, that’s a muskie, but I know they’ll need pike and bass to keep them engaged and on fish. I have four lakes marked that offerup all of those species, and boat ramps that can handle my bass rig.

Merely identifying a lake or river system that holds a variety of fish for the family to target is one thing. Catching a bunch of different fish is another thing altogether. Some species, like largemouth, bluegills, and northern pike, can be found by targeting weedbeds. I like to use the Recent Imagery feature on onX Fish to scroll to the exact week we’ll be fishing and then zoom in on bays, points, and other areas that might be chock-full of lily pads, pencil reeds, and cabbage beds.

Other fish, like perch, walleyes, muskies, and crappies, might not be so keen to fin away in the slop. This means you’ll want to focus on contour lines, rock piles, sand bars, and any structure in deeper water. A lot of lakes offer both, but not all.

Some lakes are just big bowls, while others feature tons of small bays and channels and other areas to hide away. This might not seem like a big deal when you’re planning your trip, but it can be an issue if the wind blows hard enough during your vacation. You don’t want to research a lake that is chock-full of a bunch of species that you want to target, only to find out you’ll be fighting four-foot rollers all day if the wind picks up.

Due diligence to identify fishable water that works for your crew is great, but consider scouting some backup locations, just in case.

There are some presentations that will limit your ability to catch a variety of fish, while others expand them. Since you want everyone to catch fish, the easiest way to start here is with live bait. Everything eats minnows, and most fish eat nightcrawlers. If nothing else, live bait is a good starting point.

You can also consider forage species in each of your target lakes, and try to match them. Again, that’ll likely be minnows, so swimbaits, swimming jigs, and crankbaits might be on the menu. Maybe the lake is known for healthy crayfish populations. Now we are talking jigs, crankbaits, and chatterbaits.

The key is to consider what food sources are likely present, then match them as best as possible because you know that if there are a bunch of little crayfish scooting butt first in the rocks by the landing, that rock bass, walleyes, perch, smallmouth, and about every game fish in the lake will eat them.

The thing about a family fishing trip is that it they are built on a simple foundation. If the fish are biting, the trip is good. If not, well… Because of this, pay attention as you’re learning the new water. Lean into whatever works, and try to expand on that.

This is open-minded fishing, where you might have had your heart set on dragging leeches around dropoffs for walleyes, but for some reason, the smallies keep blowing up off the islands. Let the fish tell you what to do, and when they give you a clue, pay attention.

This is true for the kids, too. If you want to target crappies on diving docks, but the kids are having a blast catching pike on spoons or swimming jigs, pivot. After all, you planned a multi-species trip for a reason.