Outdoors Weekly Fish Tales Archive

June 1, 2007

ANNANDALE - B.J.’s Bait & Tackle, Bill, west side of Clearwater Lake, between the two public accesses (320-274-3730) A lot of 14 to 19 inch walleyes are being caught. Mainly in 8 to 9 feet of water, most slip bobber fishing on the humps in the middle of the lake. Lots of northerns are being caught in 10 to 15 feet of water on suckers. The sunnies are in the reeds biting on waxies and flu-flus. The crappies are around the reeds and off the humps.

ANOKA – Action’s Fishing, Jack, 809 West Hwy 10 (763-422-4890) Saturday was slow to start the smallmouth opener, but we rebounded nicely in the afternoon, and Sunday we caught over 50 smallies on the Mississippi. Lots of people went fishing this weekend, we were very busy at the baitshop. Nice largemouth were caught on Lake George, Crooked Lake, Elk and Pelican. Pelican is incredible right now, but its not very navigable - lots of deadheads. Walleyes biting on Buffalo, Centerville and Diamond. Crappies hitting on Constance, George and Green. Try Peltier and Linwood for sunfish.

BATTLE LAKE – Ben’s Bait & Tackle, Josie, Junction of Hwy 78 and 210 (218-864-5596) The bass fishing was good. Not a lot of top water action, more bites were on the sinking stuff and a jig with a minnow in the weeds. Clitheral, Fiske, Stalker and South Turtle Lakes were some good ones. The walleyes slowed a bit with the front that moved through. And they are switching over to seeing more bites on leeches and crawlers now. Lindy rigs in 10 to 22 feet of water on Ottertail seemed to produce some fish. Battle Lake has had a nice night bite on walleyes too. The northerns are biting on suckers along the weedlines. The sunnies and crappies are out of the bays and in deeper water now. Dead Lake was the spot last weekend for panfish.

BEMIDJI – Bluewater Bait & Sports, Mark Cook, 1 mile north of the Hwy 2 & 71 Intersection (218-444-2248) The walleye bite is still going strong. The bite is switching over to leeches now, although a jig and a minnow is still good. Wolf, Cass and Bemidji are still good for walleyes. The fish seem to be scattered shallow to deep. The bass opener was pretty slow, there wasn’t a lot of activity reported; mostly do to the cooler temps that are keeping the fish inactive. The trout bite on local trout lakes has been good still, little spoons or powerbait seem to be the ticket.

BLACKDUCK - Timberline Sport & Tackle, Carl Adams, Junction of Hwy 71 and Blackduck Lake Rd (218-835-4636) The walleye bite on Blackduck is still strong. Limits are being caught. Some good walleye reports coming in on Island and Gull too. Upper Red Lake has slowed a bit last weekend mainly because of the winds stirring things up, but it should be back to normal in a few days when things settle down. The panfish bite has been okay, but still a little slow. We need some sunshine and nice weather and they’ll move up on the spawn beds and we’ll start getting some fish.

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) Fishing has been pretty good. Our guides have been on a lot of the area lakes including: Gull, Pelican, North Long, Mille Lacs, Round and Whitefish. The fish have been at many different depths (10-27 feet). Spot tail shiners and red tail chubs on a Lindy Rig has been the most effective presentation for us. We have boated some nice walleyes between 22 and 27 inches that we have released. No mega-monsters yet, but overall it's been pretty decent fishing. Like always, wind is good when walleye fishing and Lord knows we have had some pretty windy days this spring. Northerns have been biting pretty well too, but mainly on the small side. Bass are raring to go too (aren't they always?). O.K. maybe not always.

CHISAGO CITY – Frankie’s Live Bait and Marine, Brad, Corner of Hwy 8 and Co Rd 77 (651-257-6334) We had a great bass opener. People were catching them all over. With the weeds starting to come up, the walleyes are going into them and the best luck has come bobber fishing for them right in the weeds. Sunfish Lake has been great for panfish; the bite is on out there.

CROSBY - Oars-N-Mine Bait and Tackle, Jesse Williams, 22640 Hwy 6 N (218-546-6912) Crappies and bluegills have moved off of their shallow feeding areas and into deeper water. Lakes that have been most consistent are Perry, Manhomen, Black and Clearwater. Milfoil is on Perry Lake this year, please be responsible and check for weeds when leaving the lakes and empty your livewells. The majority of these fish have been caught on plastics. Bass opener was a bust due to the weather, but for the very few guys that actually fished Saturday it wasn’t a bad bite, just hard to fish. Wind has been a huge factor here. Best bets for bass have been smaller lakes, such as Turner, June, Horseshoe and even some of the pits. For smallies, the Mississippi has been best, but don’t overlook Serpent and Clearwater. Walleyes have been here and there, still your best bet would be either Serpent in the early to mid afternoon, or Rabbit in the evening hours. The Mississippi wouldn’t be a bad bet here, either. The walleyes on the river have been caught mostly on Lindy Rigs tipped with a crawler. Trout are still being caught in solid numbers, but look for the best bite to be early morning. For pike, give June, Serpent or Edward a try. Stop in for the up-to-the-minute report 7 days a week!

CROSSLAKE - Holiday of Cross Lake, Lee (218-692-2708) Whitefish, Pelican and many smaller area lakes are providing plenty of angling action. Walleye are hitting Lindy-rigs tipped with leeches or shiners in 12 to 20 feet. Try along sharp breaks during the early morning or evenings. Northern action has been good, with bobber fishing big sucker minnows along weedlines. Anglers also report spinner rigs or spinner baits worked near weed lines have produced fish. Crappie and panfish action has moved to the 6 to 12 foot range with small jigs tipped with minnows or waxworms. Try along weedlines and submerged humps.

DULUTH - Fisherman’s Corner, Scott, 7 miles north of Miller Mall on Hwy 53 (218-729-5369) For walleyes, Fish Lake has been good, rig or slip bobber fishing in 11 to 14 feet of water during the day, and moving up to 6 to 8 feet of water in the evenings. On Boulder Lake, slip bobbers with leeches and minnows, on Island Lake try 20 to 22 feet of water with rainbow chubs. On the St. Louis River, buoy 7 and 61 areas seem to be the best. Spirit Island area too. Also try Hallett dock in about 3 to 4 feet of water bottom bouncing with big gold jigs. Lake Superior entry has been good, fish as deep as 70 feet most up in 30 feet of water area. Rapalas and spoons (pink, chartreuse) for cohos. A few steel head further up the shore.

DULUTH - Marine General, 1501 London Road, on the edge of Lake Superior (218-724-8833) Cohos, chinook and lakers have been biting on the top 15 feet of water, mostly on the Wisconsin side. Bright stick baits, bombers, Rapalas… pink or purple and bright metallic colors have been best. The River has been good with walleyes bigger then average being caught, mostly on big minnows and some crawlers. The shore fishing has been ok, guys are getting a few fish.

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) Up in Ely, the fishing hasn't been this good in a long time. Walleyes dominate the scene with limit after limit being reported. Anglers fishing the dam spillway at Fall Lake were reeling them in one after another. Some anglers were coming in for more bait twice in one morning after some frenzied activity. Although no large eyes were reported there the fishermen didn't seem to mind as they were filling their stringers with some great eaters. Out on the White Iron Chain of Lakes, northern pike were the favorite, as many pike up to 45" were the norm. The walleye bite was good as well but anglers had to cull a lot of fish over the slot limit, to fill their stringers. Shagawa Lake as always has been consistent with good numbers of walleye being caught. Babes Bait and Tackle is the place to check in as more and more anglers have found the best bait and latest fishing reports in the Ely area there.

FOREST LAKE - Mike's Bait on 8, 1/2 mile east of 35 on Hwy 8, Rich, (651-464-5150) Forest, Green and North and South Center Lakes were all producing some walleyes last weekend. Jumbo leeches and shiners seemed to work well. The crappies were biting pretty good on minnows or waxies. Forest and Green Lakes had some pretty good bass reports.

GLENWOOD - Fish On Bait & Sport, Kyle, 201 S Franklin St, 2 blocks south of stoplights in Glenwood (320-634-3667) Call us for a report.

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) It was a good Memorial weekend despite the winds last week. Many fish were caught. Little and Big Birch produced many walleyes, mostly using rigs with crawlers and shiners. Big Swan and Long Lake north of Bertram were doing well too on Lindy rigs with crawlers. And there is also a good nighttime bite on Cedar Lake using rattling Rapalas. The bass bite has been good all around, mostly on Cedar and Mound Lakes. The sunnies are biting well on Moose Lake and Swan Lake. Lots of sunnies and crappies being caught.

HACKENSACK - Swanson’s Bait & Tackle, Jim Tuller, Hwy 371 on the north end of Hackensack (218-675-6176) We heard reports of crappies, walleyes, and northerns being caught. The crappies were biting on crappie minnows and waxworms in 4 to 6 feet of water. Look for the calm areas, it will be easier to fish and you will be more productive. The walleyes were biting on Pleasant Lake, the bait of choice, a gold jig and a fathead. A jig tipped with a shiner produced a lot of northern pike on Pleasant Lake and also on Birch Lake. The Leech Lake walleye bite is still a good bet. A jig and shiner in 12 to 16 feet of water seems to do the trick. Fish the points and breaks on the windy side of the lake. For the rest of the lakes, try a fathead or leech on a small jig under a slip bobber along the weedline. This is a good way to catch walleyes mid-day when the bite is otherwise slow. Bass have been hitting the crappie and walleye tackle last week. The action has been great. Spinnerbaits and plastic worms have been the most popular bass gear going out the door.

KABETOGAMA-NAMAKAN – Gateway Store, US Hwy 53 & CO Rd 122, 30 miles south of Int’l Falls-Canadian border, Phil Hart (218-875-2121) Most anglers this past week enjoyed catching a variety of fish. Aggressive pike, pre-spawn bass and roaming walleyes are surprising some anglers with their whereabouts. Shallow bays and island points have continued to hold fish of all species. The windward shores holding baitfish is the main attraction. Many reports of nice walleyes above the harvest size are being caught shallow on live bait and lures. The harvest size walleyes appear in the same shallows occasionally, but quantities are found mostly in deeper waters between 30-38'. Jig and minnow the forward offering is giving way to leeches. Jig and leech or slip sinker rigs with live bait, which covers more structure and surface, is now the anglers option. The aggressive pike bite is found on nearly any offering; they favor sucker minnows, but will grab lures, husky pikes and x-raps, working extremely well. Smallmouth are taking live bait offerings and smaller spinners like a #3 or 4 Mepps. Smallies are occupying gravel and rubble shorelines. Anglers must still use a slow presentation to nab walleyes and saugers. As the weather trends stabilize and the water temps increase the walleyes should begin to school up. Kabetogama west-end favors shallow water angling, whereas mid-Kabetogama and the east-end of Kabetogama favors the 30-40' bite. Namakan presently has one of the better harvest-size walleye populations and they are nabbing them on live bait and artificials. Namakan bite definitely favors windblown structures and constricted gaps and waterways between inlands.

LAKE OF THE WOODS – Area Tourism Bureau, Denelle, near junction of Hwy 11 and Hwy 172 in Baudette (1-800-382-FISH) Excellent fishing continues at Lake of the Woods. The Lighthouse Gap and Morris Gap have been producing nice walleye. Anglers have been finding fish in 20-25 feet of water while anchored and jigging. Smaller boats have also been doing well in Four Mile Bay catching northern pike. Drifting in the shallows around Pine Island has also been producing limits of walleye. So however you decide to fish you’re sure to catch your limit at Lake of the Woods. Fishing at The Northwest Angle and Islands has been great all season and continues to produce walleye. The hot spots this week were around Falcon Island and Oak Island. Gold and silver jigs with a minnow, in 20-30 feet of water, have been the way to go this week. The Amundson group from Minneapolis was fishing for walleye on 8-lb line and hooked themselves a 52-inch muskie, which they released. The Rainy River continues to produce nice northern and some nice walleye have been caught as well. Even though the water level in the lake and river are below average all the public accesses are open and you are able to launch your boat.

LEECH LAKE – Anderson’s Resorts, Tim (1-800-516-0077) Fishing on Leech has been great! Main lake action has been mostly on shoreline bars, 10-14 feet of water. Jig and minnow still king. Walker Bay has had some very good fishing with the added numbers of smaller keeper walleyes. Almost everywhere the pike have kicked in high gear. Good number of perch to be had also.

METRO AREA EAST – Blue Ribbon Bait & Tackle, Josh, Oakdale (651-777-2421) Good northern bite reported on Big Marine, Forest, and White Bear Lakes. The bass bite has been descent on White Bear, Big Carnelian and Green Lake by Linstrom. The sauger, walleyes and white bass are biting okay on the St. Croix between Kinny and Prescott. We haven’t heard too much on sunnies and crappies.

MILLE LACS LAKE – Chris Kuduk's Guide Service, Chris Kuduk (320-630-1761) Lots of walleyes are being caught all last weekend long. Lots of limits and some nice big ones caught and released too on both the rocks and mud. On the rocks, slip bobber fishing with leeches and crawlers on a 1/32 ounce jig head. On the mud, work the edges really slow with blown up crawlers. It’s a great time to go right now, the action has been hot.

MILLE LACS LAKE – Malmo Market, Lynwood Elliott, State Hwy 47 and 18 East, NE corner of Mille Lacs (320-684-2295) We had another good week on Mille Lacs. Anglers that were able to fish through last week’s rain, wind and cold fronts did well. The fish seemed to be more sporadic, turning of and off with the weather.Anglers trolling rigs on the north sand are still doing well. Fish the breaks to 22'. The sand/gravel from fishers to lakeside was also good during the day. Try fishing the shallower rock piles with lighted bobbers and leeches toward evening. 19'-13' as evening progresses. Action on the mud is also starting to pickup, a good bet for a big fish. Best overall bait is still leeches. We have not had the 90 degree days we did last year, so the crawler bite has not yet kicked in. Don’t forget to stop in and check out our premium hand picked jumbo leeches.

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) Walleye reports keep pouring in positive, from the deeper sand to the north to the shallow evening rocks. This looks to be a better summer than last so get up here and fish!

LAKE MINNETONKA - Wayzata Bait & Tackle, Tim or Bob, half mile west off I-494 on Hwy 12 (952-473-2227) Lots of people were out fishing last weekend. Look for the walleyes to be mainly in and around the weeds in 8 to 15 feet of water, using fatheads on floating jig heads. A few have had luck in 15 to 18 feet of water dragging crawlers. The northerns are biting on sucker minnows still fishing the weed edges. The sunnies are starting to come up to make beds, target them in 6 to 8 feet of water on waxies. The bass bite was inside the weed lines throwing plastic, 6 inch center worms. For the muskie opener, target them in about 12 feet of water on top of the weeds. Good luck!

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) We have had some great walleye fishing on Gull, Pelican, North Long and Mille Lacs. Shiners have been the ticket on Gull. We have been catching lots of nice 15-18 inchers along the weedlines in 13-15 feet of water. It has been mostly a Lindy rig bite. The night bite has been good in the shallows for anglers trolling Rapalas. On Mille Lacs the north end sand has been good in 14-22 feet. Long snells and a nice lively leech has produced very well. The rock piles are also producing some fish in the evenings. Our pike action continues to be fantastic on Gull. Just about all of our walleye spots are holding a few pike. The pike are hungry and are just slamming the baits. You can still find a few crappies hanging around in the bulrushes.

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) Wind, wind, and more wind on Osakis. Lots of northerns going, with some real quality fish caught over the weekend. Chucking spinner baits and spoons along emerging pencil reeds beds they way to go. Crow pt, Miller's pt, and Two-mile all producing big numbers of fish. Walleyes over the fifteen inch mark still some what elusive. Have to sort through lots of short fish to find a few keepers. Bobber fishing produced many fish in Moon bar and the big rock pile, the bigger the bait the better. Big shiners and jumbo leeches the preferred baits. Lindy rigging has also produced some nicer fish on Johnson bar working the tip in 12 to 16 feet of water.

PARK RAPIDS – Delaney’s Sport Center, Kevin, East 1st St (218-732-4281) The walleyes are still going strong. Good bite on Potato Lake in 14 to 15 feet of water on leeches and crawlers. Island and Big Sand have also been good, a little deeper there; look in about 20-21 feet of water. Fishhook Lake has been good for northerns in 9 to 10 feet of water on suckers. The bass opener went ok on Fishhook Lake, spinner baits cast up into the pencil reeds seemed to produce. Big Man Trap is your best bet for a good crappie bite, mainly in 8 to 10 feet of water. The sunnies are still biting on the Crow Wing Chain in mainly 6 to 8 feet of water on waxies.

PELICAN RAPIDS – Park Region Sport Shop, Lee Brenna, Intersection of Interstate 59 and 108 in downtown Pelican Rapids (800-962-8553) It was very windy last weekend. Guys that were still getting out were catching fish. The bass were biting on Prairie and Lizzie and smallmouth on Lida. The walleyes were biting on Pelican and Lida. The sunnies are up in the shallow weeds on Crystal and Franklin Lakes.

RAINY LAKE – Rainy Lake Tourism (1-800-FALLS-MN) Walleye fishing has been good on Rainy Lake and Rainy River. Many anglers have been heading east on the lake, fishing in Saginaw Bay, near Big Island and around the Fox Islands. Minnows and leeches on a jig are working well; the best depth depends on the current and wind. Crappie action has been picking up in Black Bay, and the weedy areas around Cranberry Bay are holding some sizeable northern pike. In Rainy River, look for walleye in the stronger currents above and below the dam at International Falls.

RED WING – Ike's Bait & Tackle, Ken, 2109 Old W Main St, Red Wing (651- 388-2111) Walleye fishing has really started to pick up. They are pulling plugs at the head of the wakes, also in 12-18 feet of water around Long Point. The panfish are on their beds now, Baypoint park landings have been really good. The northerns are biting around the Russ River area, using red eye spoons. And the bass and crappies are doing really well on Lake Pepin area on the rocks.

SAINT CLOUD – Stop Light Bait, 8th Avenue SE, St. Cloud (320-255-9689) The bass opener in our area was good. Anglers on Clearwater, Grand, Pearl and Little Rock were reporting a good bass bite. One pattern that was producing was to drift the weed edges in 10 to 16 feet of water while using a spinner baits during the day. Sunnies have been biting on Clearwater and Pearl Lakes. Crappies have been biting on Julia, Sugar and Sylvia Lakes. Mississippi River anglers reports catches of walleyes, crappies and small mouth bass. Sucker minnows are a favorite of many anglers catching smallies on the Mississippi River. We still have bulk quantity leeches for sale.

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) Lake Tetonka and Sakatah were most likely the hottest lakes around this weekend. Minnow rigs were getting walleyes by the dozen, Watervillins were getting the northerns, and crappie minnows were doing a number on crappies also panfish leeches were working well. Clear lake (Waseca) most likely the best crappie lake around gave a bunch up as well on minnows. Many bass were caught also on area lakes; people want the state record back here in Waterville so that also helps out. Gorman Lake was hot with walleyes after shiner minnows. Another good week ahead for weather, so grab your pole and come see me for your bait needs and newest reports.

STARBUCK - Minnewaska Bait, Larry Jensen, Hwy 29 near the Starbuck Marina (320-239-2239) The bass opener was tremendous on just about every area lake. Jumbo leeches under a bobber, spinners... all worked well. The walleye bite was still good, mainly on spinner rigs with a crawler. Other walleye lakes that were kicking out a few fish were Emily, Mary, Long and Oscar. The sunnies are still biting, but guys can’t seem to find the crappies.

STILLWATER - Jimmy's Bait and Tackle, Stillwater (651-430-2554) The crappies are biting on Big Carnelian and some walleyes too. There is also a good bass bite on Big Carnelian too. The little lakes are producing panfish right now. School and Boot have been producing some nice sunnies. Anderson’s Bay on the river was okay for walleyes last week. A few big fish were reported caught. There has been a lot of fishing activity off the walk way in downtown Stillwater. Some nice eater sized catfish are being caught and some white bass on rooster tails.

WACONIA - Mase’s In Towne Marine, Cindy, corner of Lake and Elm (952-442-2096) The wind has been a factor lately. The bass were biting like crazy, a lot being caught on the lake on all baits. The walleyes are still biting well in the 18 to 20 foot range during the daytime, and at night moving up on the reefs. Lots of limits of 18 to 20 inch fish are being caught. Moving around is the key to catching fish. Drifting over the reef edges and trolling to stay on them. Lots of pre-season muskie follows have been reported. It should be a good muskie opener.

WINNIBIGOSHISH – Walleye Visions, Tom Neustrom, 21622 Airport Rd, Grand Rapids (218-327-2312) The winds continue to blow on a daily basis and the walleye fishing on Big Winnie has been an on again, off again situation. There have been days when the walleyes are ravenous, and there are days when they just grab the bait and hold on. Light jigs and shiners have been the best choice and until the water warms up shiners and rainbow chubs are working the best. Stony Point, The Three Sisters area, Ravens and Little Stony have had the best results. Many areas of Big Winnie will explode if we get a little more consistent and warmer weather. The northern pike fishing has been better of late and with the increase in weed growth, that too will continue to improve. The best depths for the walleyes have been 5-9 feet, and occasionally the walleyes have been as deep as 12-14 feet off Highbanks. The panfish bite continues to be slower than normal, but that will improve with warmer weather.