Outdoors Weekly Fish Tales Archive

May 18, 2007 - Opening Weekend Report

ANNANDALE - B.J.’s Bait & Tackle, Bill, west side of Clearwater Lake, between the two public accesses (320-274-3730) It was a great opener, lots of northerns caught. The best bite was out in about 10 feet of water along the weedline drops with minnows. 8 pounds was the biggest we saw in the shop, but a lot of fish in the 3 pound range were caught. The walleye bite was okay, most coming in the 8 to 19 feet of water range on the humps and the narrows with shiners and a slip bobber. Typically we are a Memorial Day bite for walleyes. Lots of nice sunnies are being caught in the Greenshed and Glenwood bays. Some crappies are being picked up on the humps on the East end. The surface water temps are between 65 and 69 degrees.

ANOKA – Action’s Fishing, Jack, 809 West Hwy 10 (763-422-4890) We had a heck of a weekend. The water temps are up and the bass and crappies are spawning or have spawned already. The opener on the Mississippi river was good with lots of walleyes being caught. We also had some walleyes caught on Briggs, Crooked, Buffalo and Beebe Lakes. We should have a good supply of leeches and wild minnows (creek chubs) this week and there has been some great catfishing going on the river right now too.

BATTLE LAKE – Ben’s Bait & Tackle, Josie, Junction of Hwy 78 and 210 (218-864-5596) The walleyes were biting pretty well on Ottertail Lake, pretty shallow, in the 8 to 15 feet of water range and coming shallower at night. Silver Lake produced some nicer fish, but the numbers aren’t there. Look for them in about 10 to 16 feet of water. Some other good walleye lakes are Rush and big pine. Mostly everyone was using shiners and on Ottertail some had good luck with leeches. The crappies continue to bite on W. Battle Lake and Clitheral. The sunnies are biting on Deer Lake.

BEMIDJI – Bluewater Bait & Sports, Mark Cook, 1 mile north of the Hwy 2 & 71 Intersection (218-444-2248) The reports from the weekend were all good. The walleyes were biting on Plantagenet, Big Wolf, Cass and Bemidji Lakes. Working the rushes with long shank jigs and shiners. Limits on Bemidji were caught using cranks. The mornings tend to be better then the evenings. Blackduck River and Upper Red Lake both were good with lots of fish being caught. The numbers of northerns caught were very high, but no big ones report to be caught. The biggest we saw was about 10 pounds. Cass and Kitchy were good northern options. The trout action on Newman was fair.

BLACKDUCK - Timberline Sport & Tackle, Carl Adams, Junction of Hwy 71 and Blackduck Lake Rd (218-835-4636) The walleyes on Blackduck were biting well. The best area was in about 10 to 16 feet of water with a jig and a minnow. Low light, early morning times are the best with a white or chartreuse jig. The panfish bite has been decent on area lakes. On Upper Red Lake, a lot of walleyes were caught, limits for all. The crappie bite was good too. Just move around until you find them, best luck was on the first break in the 3 to 5 foot range.

BRAINERD – www.sandwbait.com & www.walleyedan.com - S&W Bait and Tackle - Home of Walleye Dan's Guide Service, 7 1/2 miles North of Brainerd on the East side of Hwy 371 (218-829-7010) Make sure you look through our new website at www.walleyedan.com

CHISAGO CITY – Frankie’s Live Bait and Marine, Brad, Corner of Hwy 8 and Co Rd 77 (651-257-6334) The fishing has been good so far this spring. The crappies are out in the main part of the lakes now, off the docks and moving towards their summer pattern. Chisago, South Lindstrom and Kroon Lakes have all been good for crappies. The best luck has been on small leeches and waxies on flu-flus. Cubbie jigs have also been hot. Target the eyes in 8 to 10 feet of water in the sand.

CROSBY - Oars-N-Mine Bait and Tackle, Jesse Williams, 22640 Hwy 6 N (218-546-6912) It’s been a busy weekend up here, as I am sure it is all over the state. Trout fishing has been spectacular, with limits being the norm. Pennington, Sagamore, Manual, and Huntington are the best bets for a limit of these fine fish. Pike have been active on most lakes, with some nice fish coming from lakes such as Rabbit, Edward and Clearwater. Be sure to fish the deeper sides of the weed edge. For walleyes, Serpent had a great early morning bite going this weekend around Minister’s Point, as well as an evening bite on the Crosby end in front of Pumphouse Point and the City Hall. Shiners seem to be the meal of choice for these fish. Rabbit had a good jump in the early morning hours this weekend, with most fish coming from 10-15 feet during these times. Walleyes can also be had on the Mississippi for the anglers willing to dodge some boulders here and there. Crappie reports have been limited due to Walleye Fever, but the few reports we have had have been pretty good. Give Clinker, Turner, or Little Rabbit a try for panfish.

CROSSLAKE - Holiday of Cross Lake, Lee (218-692-2708) Below the dam at Crosslake they did well on walleyes with a jig and shiners. The walleyes were also biting well on the White Fish Chain in 18 to 20 feet of water on a jig and a minnow. Pelican Lake was okay, guys were using a minnow or a leech fishing the drop offs in about 20 feet of water. The best times are right at dark in the mornings and the evenings. The panfish bite is still going good; they are still in the shallows.

DULUTH - Fisherman’s Corner, Scott, 7 miles north of Miller Mall on Hwy 53 (218-729-5369) Pretty darn good fishing going on right now. The walleyes were biting on Fish Lake in 8 to 10 feet of water on rainbow chubs. Island Lake has also been producing some walleyes in 16 to 19 feet of water. All lakes are producing a ton of northerns on shiners. The St. Louis River is down about 3 feet and because of that the walleyes are stacked up in the channels. People are having the best luck on crawler rigs for the most part, and in faster water switching to a heavy jig and a minnow. Big crappies were caught at Fish Lake in the shallows, up in 1 to 2 feet of water. Out of Lake Superior, the cohos are biting around the point area as well as some browns and lakers too. Some loopers are still being caught at the rivers up in the arrowhead; the Minnesota Brule river is producing some nice fish.

DULUTH - Marine General, 1501 London Road, on the edge of Lake Superior (218-724-8833) The fishing was all good for the opener weekend. The coho, lakers and loopers were all biting out on the big lake for those out trolling. Guys were trolling with bombers, rebels, Rapalas… silver/blue or chartreuse seemed to be the hot colors. The walleyes on the St. Louis River were biting well. Most in the 6 pound range. And a lot of bigger fish were caught. Big shiners seemed to be the ticket, the bigger the better.

ELY - Babe's Bait and Tackle, 451 W. Sheridan St., Ely, MN, first business on the left as you are entering town of Ely from the west on Hwy 169 (218-365-6930) This is prime tie to catch those bragging size crappies. We currently have a nice crop of minnows and all the related gear to catch a mess of these slab sides. Ely has one of the largest selections of quality lakes within a short hop of town. Stop on in to find out which lakes are currently on our "hot list".

FOREST LAKE - Mikes Bait on 8, 1/2 mile east of 35 on Hwy 8, Rich, (651-464-5150) Fishing was good last weekend. The walleyes on Clear, Forest and North South Center lakes were biting okay. Slip bobber with a leech seemed to be the most popular. The panfish were biting on N. South center and Forest Lake seems to be putting out some bigger fish.

GREY EAGLE - Nancy’s Bait & Tackle, Rex, on CR 2, four miles east of the Rock Tavern on Big Birch Lake, four miles west of Upsala (320-285-2405) Lots of walleyes were caught on the Mississippi River by Little Falls and Little Birch Lakes. A jig with a minnow on the river and bobber fishing with a spot tail shiner on little Birch in about 15 feet of water seemed to work the best. Some were trolling with leeches. The river and Little Birch were the only places we heard of where limits were being caught. The bite on the river should continue to be good for the next few weeks. Cedar Lake had a good night bite in about 3 to 4 feet of water trolling rapalas. The northerns were biting well on Big Swan Lake with sucker minnows. Some sunnies and crappies were biting on Moose, Little Birch and Big Swan Lakes.

HACKENSACK - Swanson’s Bait & Tackle, Jim Tuller, Hwy 371 on the north end of Hackensack (218-675-6176) We had a very good and busy opener last weekend. We saw more people out then we have in the past few years. Lots of walleyes were caught out on Birch, Pine Mountain and Pleasant Lakes. Most were fishing with minnows, (shiners, redtails, and fatheads) on a jig and a few using Lindy rigs. And a few had some luck with leeches, but the majorities were using minnows. The crappies are still biting well on area lakes, but they are more suspended now out deeper, in about 12 to 15 feet of water. The water temps are mostly in the 60’s. All and all it was a good opener.

KABETOGAMA-NAMAKAN – Gateway Store, US Hwy 53 & CO Rd 122, 30 miles south of Int’l Falls-Canadian border, Phil Hart (218-875-2121) Everything looks favorable for a shallow water success for walleyes and northerns. Jig and minnow should prove to be the best choice for walleyes, and pike will probably surprise anglers taking the same bait as they should be plentiful. Light jigs or floaters over shallow gravel beds might be a good start before moving to mid-depth reefs. Anglers might find some action on leeches; however, those wanting jumbos may have to wait. DNR early reports show a pretty strong sauger population which will help anglers with the new regulations. All anglers remember the Namakan basin, which includes Kabetogama, Namakan, Sand Point and Crane Lakes have a new experimental walleye regulation. All walleyes between 17" and 28" must be released immediately. The new bag limit is 4 walleyes with two additional saugers allowed. Simply stated you may take a combination of 6 sauger and walleye, of which not more than 4 may be walleyes.

LAKE OF THE WOODS – Area Tourism Bureau, Denelle, near junction of Hwy 11 and Hwy 172 in Baudette (1-800-382-FISH) WOW, another great opener was had at Lake of the Woods! The weather was great and the fish were definitely biting. It looks like the beginning of a very promising summer season. Anglers saw great numbers of walleye in Four Mile Bay and the Lighthouse Gap. The hot spot for finding the big fish was around the Zippel Bay area in 8-12 feet of water, using minnows, leeches, or crawlers. Some anglers moved out to 14-18 feet of water, using a pink ¾ ounce jig, and found themselves some nice eating size walleye. The Rainy River also produced some nice walleye and northern over the weekend. Clementson Rapids and the Silver Creek area produced some nice fish, and I saw plenty of boat in the Baudette Bay over the weekend as well. The water level is low but you are still able to launch your boat at any of the public accesses. The Northwest Angle and Islands also had a fantastic opener. The hot spot was around Oak Island in 14-17 feet of water, with orange spinners being very popular, but white or gold jigs also worked well. Reports included a lot of 28-30 inch walleye, along with some nice “smallies” perfect for a shore lunch. The weather looks great for the upcoming week, mostly 60’s and 70’s with the possibility of some much needed rain on the weekend. The summer walleye season is off and running, don’t miss your chance to experience fabulous Lake of the Woods.

LEECH LAKE – Anderson’s Resorts, Tim (1-800-516-0077) We had a wonderful opener up here on Leech Lake, lots of walleyes to be had, Pine Point, Ottertail Point and Stony Point were all very active and held smaller fish, the Big Lake has fish but most of them are slot fish. We have seen many people very happy with the numbers and the healthy fight of the fish. The lake is definitely on its way back, come give it a try!

METRO AREA EAST – Blue Ribbon Bait & Tackle, Josh, Oakdale (651-777-2421) Some walleyes were caught on Big Marine and some nice pike too. The river has been good; lots of white bass are being caught on the St. Croix. Phalen has also been good. The Griz says now is the time to get out and hit that top water with a fly rod above the emerging weeds for the panfish.

MILLE LACS LAKE – Chris Kuduk's Guide Service, Chris Kuduk (320-630-1761) The fishing was excellent all over the big lake. On the rocks with a slip bobber and leech in the early evenings and morning, and trolling the sand with Lindy rigs and shiners during the day. Was some of the best fishing I’ve seen in years with many eaters being caught and some nice big fish too. It’s going to be a great summer, call now to book your trip.

MILLE LACS LAKE – Malmo Market, Lynwood Elliott, State Hwy 47 and 18 East, NE corner of Mille Lacs (320-684-2295) Great opening weekend on Mille Lacs. The weather and fish both cooperated. one of the best openers in years for the North End. Everyone seemed to be doing well with many limiting out. The North end sand seemed to be the spot to be anglers did the best fishing in 20’-25’ of water drifting or trolling rigs with leeches or minnows, many slot fish with a few 23”-27” eyes mixed in. Anglers also did well from hunters to lakeside bobberfishing or trolling 22’-24’ of water. The sand and gravel in front of Fishers was also great anglers did well in 20”-21” of water. Agate Reef was also a good spot to bobber fish anglers were spread out from 12’-21’ using leeches. Overall a great opener. Get up soon and get in on some of this GREAT walleye action. Don’t forget to call for reports. Hope to see you soon.

MILLE LACS LAKE – Johnson's Portside, Kelly or Steve, 1 mile north of Isle on Hwy 47 SE side of the lake (320-676-3811) WOW! What an Opener! Limits were being caught everywhere from early morning sand on the North End to bobber fishing on the shallow rocks in the evenings. Positive reports all weekend long. Water temps at 52 degree. If this is any indication in what the summer bite is going to be I myself think that this will be one of the best walleye seasons in years! Check our website for updated reports, www.johnsonsportside.com, or email me your reports to kelly@johnsonsportside.com

LAKE MINNETONKA - Wayzata Bait & Tackle, Tim or Bob, half mile west off I-494 on Hwy 12 (952-473-2227) The walleyes were being caught in less then 12 feet of water on a jig and a minnow, early and late in the day were the best times and the big bays seemed to produce the best. The panfish are still biting in the small bays on the west side. Try Maxwell and north arm. The water temps in the bays are about 70 degrees. The northerns are biting best trolling shad raps in a bout 12 to 15 feet of water.

LAKE MINNETONKA – Minnetonka Outdoors, Gary or Gregg, south frontage road to Hwy 7 between Vine Hill Rd & Old Market Blvd in Shorewood (952-470-8800) Call or visit our web site for a report!

NISSWA - Dave’s Sportland Bait & Tackle, Jason, 2 miles south of Nisswa at the Intersection of Hwy 371 and Cty Rd 77, next to Schaefer’s Foods (218-963-2401) The 2007 Minnesota fishing opener is in the books. The fishing was fair to good for most boats. With the perfect weather on Saturday the lakes were plum full of boats chasing the fins. The walleye action started out pretty decent on the first morning then the mid-morning sun popped out and the fishing slowed until later in the day. We had guides from the Nisswa Guide Service on a number of lakes. They each reported similar results from Pelican, Gull, Round, and the Whitefish Chain. Sunday the wind picked up and so did the fishing. The walleyes were biting pretty well on Gull along the new developing weed edges in 13-15 feet of water. A Lindy rig or a jig tipped with a spot-tail shiner was the key to success. The crappies are starting to move out of the shallow water. There should still be a few stragglers in the reedbeds over the next few days, after that the bluegills and bass will take over the shallow water areas. The pike action was very good over the first weekend. Anglers fishing walleyes reported lots of pike striking their walleye rigs. We are on the water pretty much everyday this week with trips so be sure to check back with us for the latest hot spot. Good luck and we will see you on the water.

LAKE OSAKIS - Holiday Resort, Adam, 115 miles west of Twin Cities on I-94W, take 71N to Co Rd 10W to Falcon Dr in Osakis (320-859-4360) Lots of good fish reports from the weekend on Lake Osakis. Lots of walleyes in the 16 to 18 inch range were pulled on Saturday morning. The best bite was on jig and shiner combinations. Moon Bar, the Rock Pile, and Johnson Bar produced fish in 12-15 feet of water. Northerns were also abundant over the weekend. Lots of fish in the two pound range were found along the shallow weedlines. Big minnows were the best bet.

PARK RAPIDS – Delaney’s Sport Center, Kevin, East 1st St (218-732-4281) It was a good opener; the walleyes were biting on all area lakes. Long Lake in about 18 feet of water on leeches. Big Sand out in 25 feet of water with leeches. Island Lake in 9 to 14 feet of water on shiners. Potato Lake in 8 to 14 feet of water with shiners… pretty much everywhere they were biting. For northerns, the best reports I heard was from Fishhook Lake in about 6 feet of water casting spoons. The crappies are still biting well on the Crow Wing Chain.

PELICAN RAPIDS – Park Region Sport Shop, Lee Brenna, Intersection of Interstate 59 and 108 in downtown Pelican Rapids (800-962-8553) The fish are biting really good… so good that Lee didn’t have anytime to talk, he was so busy. That should say it all. Stop in for the latest and best reports for the area.

RAINY LAKE – Rainy Lake Tourism (1-800-FALLS-MN) Fishing Rainy Lake has been a little hard to predict with the changeable spring weather. Anglers out for the opener found walleye around bay edges and they responded to Rapala style lures trolled from the shallows into the deeper water. Northern pike were pretty active, going after just about any flashy lure, the venerable daredevil would be a good choice. Smallmouth bass are expected to pick up as shallow bays with dark bottoms warm up. Rainy River has had a good bass bite below the dam at International Falls, and walleye are a good bet at the confluence of the Littlefork River near Kuttes Landing at Pelland. For river walleye, try jigging with a small minnow. Walleye fishing should soon pick up below the Ranier Rapids, an area easily accessible from Pat Roche Access just east of International Falls.

RED WING – Ike's Bait & Tackle, Ken, 2109 Old W Main St, Red Wing (651- 388-2111) The walleyes are biting at the head of the lake pulling plugs or a jig and a minnow. The panfish continue to bite in the back waters, mainly using beetle spins. Some smallies are starting o bite in the rip rap on Pepin, casting rattle traps up on to the rocks.

SAINT CLOUD – Stop Light Bait, 8th Avenue SE, St. Cloud (320-255-9689) Fishing opener was a success and many anglers are happy. Walleyes are biting on Mille Lacs, Clearwater, Koronis, Grand Lake and Big Birch. Fish were found in depths of 9 to 12 feet in our area lakes and leeches and minnows seemed to catch most of the fish. Sunfish and crappie anglers are still having on and off results. In some lakes it seems as though the crappies have not started to bite yet. Mississippi River anglers are catching walleyes, catfish and crappies. We still have jumbo, lake run and panfish leeches available in bulk quantities.

SAINT PETER – Hermie's Bait, Brad, 43539 French Hill Rd. St.Peter MN 56082 (507-931-6875) Give us a call for a report!

SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA – Axel's Tackle Box, Axel, 2 blocks north of Hwy 60 on Hwy 13, next to Casey’s, on Lake Sakatah in Waterville (507-362-4444) Expected Elysian and Albert Lea lakes were complete disasters. Walleyes were reported just a few days before opener but then "disappeared". However the good news is that Tetonka had a lot of walleye and northern action. Walleyes were taken on "Axel's" crawler rigs tipped with a jumbo leech. Northerns were taken on "Watervillin" spinners. Gorman was another hot spot for walleye as was Sabre and Horseshoe lakes. White bass are starting to make their run on the creek behind the store, must mean summer is near. Bullheads were also being caught and found themselves into a lot of area smokers.

STARBUCK - Minnewaska Bait, Larry Jensen, Hwy 29 near the Starbuck Marina (320-239-2239) We had some great walleye action out on the lake in front of the high school and the first little point on the south side. Fatheads, shiners and leeches on a plain lindy rig anywhere in the 15 to 20 foot range. Lake Mary was good for both walleyes and Northerns. Oscar Lake also was giving up some walleyes. I didn’t hear any good reports coming from Reno. Lots of sunnies are being caught in the Starbuck Marina, but only every 1 in 10 is a keeper, but it’s great entertainment for the kids.

STILLWATER - Jimmy's Bait and Tackle, Stillwater (651-430-2554) Fish were being caught all day this past weekend in the channel at Hudson. There were 30 to 40 boats fishing for walleyes in the channel. Big Marine and Big Carnelian were some other spots were people reportedly caught walleyes.

WACONIA - Mase’s In Towne Marine, Cindy, corner of Lake and Elm (952-442-2096) Our numbers of walleyes are in good shape from eaters to trophies. We have some nice northerns available in the lake too. For live bait, we are set up. We have shiners, suckers, fatheads, leeches, and crawlers. We are open 7 days a week now, the bait shop and access. Call for current conditions and stop in. We’ll point you in the right direction. We have a new website now with more information. Check it out at www.intownemarina.com

WINNIBIGOSHISH – Walleye Visions, Tom Neustrom, 21622 Airport Rd, Grand Rapids (218-327-2312) Fishing Opener took off with a bang and the overall fishing was good. The walleyes on Big Winnie were doing well and there were a lot of fish taken early and in the middle of the day. Limits were caught in several different areas with Raven's Point, Stony Point, Mallard, The Dishes and Haubrich's Bay being the best spots for action. Again a Green Northland Fireball jig and shiner was the best and depths of 6-10 feet were the preferred depths. There were a lot of slot fish taken as well, and it's always fun to catch bigger Walleyes and let them go to fight another day. Cutfoot was a good bet as usual and there were plenty of fish caught as well.The shiners have moved into the shallows and the walleyes are close by. The fishing will remain good, and only get better. There were several anglers using leeches with good success and several fishermen doing excellent on slip bobbers. The reports from around the area were good, and I thought that the weather was the best we had in years. I guided at the Governor’s Opener on Leech and the fishing was pretty good there also. I think Governor Pawlenty was very pleased with the results and the Walker area did an outstanding job. Get out and enjoy the walleye fishing on Big Winnie.