Outdoors Weekly Fish Tales Archive

June 22, 2007

ANNANDALE - B.J.’s Bait & Tackle, Bill, west side of Clearwater Lake, between the two public accesses (320-274-3730) The bass bite has been really good along the weedlines, starting in about 10 feet of water up to the shallows. The northerns are biting in 10 to 15 feet of water bobber fishing with sucker minnows. The sunnies are all along the weeds, use small leeches or waxworms. Walleyes are biting on leeches and fatheads in about 15 feet of water on the east end humps. The crappies are biting right at sunset up in about 5 feet of water in the weeds.

ANOKA – Action’s Fishing, Jack, 809 West Hwy 10 (763-422-4890) The weekend saw good smallmouth fishing on the Mississippi river. The stretch from Monticello to Otsego was especially good for topwater plugs and spinnerbaits. The walleye action around Anoka has slowed down, but the Rum River was good in the evening for walleyes using redtails in the deeper holes. Lake George and Crooked Lake have some monster bass willing to be caught and released. Nice panfish coming out of the lakes nearby- stop in for details.

BATTLE LAKE – Ben’s Bait & Tackle, Josie, Junction of Hwy 78 and 210 (218-864-5596) The fishing has been really good. The walleyes are biting on Ottertail and just about everything works. They have been fishing in 7 to 22 feet of water, deeper during the day and moving shallow at night. During windy days, they have been having more luck up on the flats. On Battle Lake and Clitheral the walleyes have been in mostly that 15 to 20 foot range biting on leeches or golden shiners. The bass are hitting good on West Battle, lots of 5 plus pounders are being caught. The crappies are suspended in about 10 to 15 feet of water and hitting on small leeches. Try Battle, Molly Stark, Clitheral and Walker. For northerns, trolling with suckers along the weedlines has been working. The muskies are starting to come up; lots of follows are being reported now. Haven’t heard of anything big being caught yet.

BEMIDJI – Bluewater Bait & Sports, Mark Cook, 1 mile north of the Hwy 2 & 71 Intersection (218-444-2248) The walleyes are still snapping. The bite has been consistently good through out the whole area. The fish have moved deeper on Bemidji and are biting on redtails and Lindys, and crawlers on rigs are working well now too. The northern action is starting to pick up. The bluegills are finishing up on their beds. The muskies are still sluggish; they are starting to see a few more now as the temps come up.

BLACKDUCK - Timberline Sport & Tackle, Carl Adams, Junction of Hwy 71 and Blackduck Lake Rd (218-835-4636) The Blackduck walleye bite is still going on. The mid lake humps with a Lindy rig and a crawler seems to be the ticket. The panfish bite has also been good on area lakes.

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) Check out our web site for a report!

CHISAGO CITY – Frankie’s Live Bait and Marine, Brad, Corner of Hwy 8 and Co Rd 77 (651-257-6334)Fishing for sunnies and crappies has been good in this warm weather. The walleeys are biting in the early morning out in about 18 to 10 feet of water off the hard bottom. The bass bite on Chisago has been phenomenal. Just be reminded that it is catch and release. The crappies are in 12 to 14 feet of water. A lot of the curly leaf weeds have died off.

CROSBY - Oars-N-Mine Bait and Tackle, Jesse Williams, 22640 Hwy 6 N (218-546-6912) Walleyes are being caught on a regular basis on West Rabbit, Serpent and the Mississippi River in the evening hours. Look for the best bass action on lakes such as Serpent, Rabbit, Horseshoe, and Edward on plastics. Most lakes in the area have been good for pike action, with Serpent, Horseshoe, Nokay, Lower Mission and Rabbit being best. For panfish, give Manhomen, Blackhoof, East Rabbit and Clearwater a try. Trout are still being caught on a regular basis around 15-25 feet down in the pits. Musky action has started to heat up a bit on Cedar, and should get better in the weeks to come. Stop in for the up-to-the-minute fishing report 7 days a week!

CROSSLAKE - Holiday of Cross Lake, Lee (218-692-2708) Held’s Guide Service (218-820-0989) Walleye action on Whitefish Chain is good. Early morning and late evening bite is strong. Redtail Minnows or Leeches on Lindy rigs. Try working the steep drops from 18 down to 24 or 26 feet. Northern action has been hot with fish hitting spinner baits and pike minnows on spinner rigs or bobber fished worked along weed lines. Bass are active in 4 to 8 feet of water plastic worms or spinner baits should provide plenty of action. Try along docks and other shaded areas. Crappies and panfish are hitting small jigs tipped with worms, waxies, and minnows. Look for suspended fish in 12 to 18 feet of water.

DULUTH - Fisherman’s Corner, Scott, 7 miles north of Miller Mall on Hwy 53 (218-729-5369) The best local lake for walleyes has got to be Isle Lake. Out in about 15 feet of water with slip bobber and leeches. Rice Lake back in the shallows, about 3 feet deep with leeches by the stumps has been good too. On Fish Lake, try the weedlines with leeches. There have been some fish caught on the St. Louis River. Lake Superior has had more walleyes caught there locally, the salmon are further up by Two Harbors and have been biting good. The catfish bite has been surprisingly good.

DULUTH - Marine General, 1501 London Road, on the edge of Lake Superior (218-724-8833) On Lake Superior the fishing has been excellent. Lots of coho and lake trout are being caught and the fishing has been fairly easy. They are fishing out in about 80 feet of water about 40 feet down in front of Duluth up to the Knife River. The walleyes are biting on the south shore in about 30 feet of water about 12 to 14 feet down trolling purple stick baits and green is starting to be the color of choice as the water temps finally start to warm up. There are some big walleyes being caught, one was 32 inches last week, with a lot of 25 to 30 inch fish being caught. This is the best fishing we have seen in 10 years as we have good lines to fish. We are starting to see spoons working better for lake trout and salmon.

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) If you haven't been to the Ely area lately, you're missing the boat in more ways than one. The area lakes are turning out limit after limit of nice eatin' size walleyes. Take your pick of just about any lake and the fish seem to cooperate. This is the prime season to fill a stringer. Shagawa Lake, Burntside, Fall, and the Eagles Nest group are the front runners, but don't focus just on these, your possibilities are seemingly endless. Day trips into the Boundary Waters have been paying big dividends as well. Smallmouth bass are busting surface lures in the early a.m., and mid depth diving plugs throughout the day. Northern pike anglers are having a blast with these tackle bustin' brutes. From spoons to spinnerbaits, to live suckers, they seem to engulf just about anything thrown in their vicinity. Stop in at Babes Bait and Tackle for the latest reports.

FOREST LAKE - Mike's Bait on 8, 1/2 mile east of 35 on Hwy 8, Rich, (651-464-5150) The muskie bite has been hot and heavy as the water temps keep warming up. The crappies are out in the deeper water and the sunnies remain shallow. The walleyes are on Clear, Forest and north/South Center Lakes and are coming up shallow at night, 15 to 20 feet deep during the day. The northerns seem like they are turning on, casting or bobber fishing.

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) Call Rex!

HACKENSACK - Swanson’s Bait & Tackle, Jim Tuller, Hwy 371 on the north end of Hackensack (218-675-6176) If the fishing follows the pattern that it has been all year, the cool weather will not affect the fishing too much. Walleye reports are still good on Leech Lake. The main lake is producing numbers of large fish, expect a bunch of the fish you catch to be 20"+. I talked to a bunch of guys that were consistently catching fish over 25" on nightcrawlers, silver spinners were the color. Walker Bay is where the "keeper" fish are being caught. The fish that are caught in the bay are mostly 13-16 inch fish. Jig and a minnow on the humps or a nightcrawler fishing the points and flats. Ten Mile is giving up a few Walleyes on green and yellow spinner rigs with leeches in 22-26 feet of water. Trolling in the evening has also been productive, try an Original Rapala Floater in 12-20 feet of water. The bigger sunfish have been picking up a little bit; hopefully the cool-down won't hinder them. The smaller lakes have been better for the bigger fish because they warm up quicker. Waxworms and small ice fishing style jigs have been catching the most Sunnies. Crappies are a quiet, they have moved into 10-14 feet of water, most anglers are trying for the easier to catch sunfish right now. Those that are still trying have done pretty well with a beetle spin and crappie minnow, remember to troll extremely slowly with an electric motor. If it is windy, head into the wind and set the motor just fast enough to make the boat move forwards. Look for weeds that have grown a few feet tall, pull the bait just over the tops of the weeds. As always, evening hours are the best. Northern pike and bass fishing has been excellent. Webb Lake anglers have seen lots of pike action, regardless of what they are fishing for. Ten Mile has also been pretty thick with them as well, can't keep them if they are over 20" but they provide some exciting action. Smallmouth bass have been biting better than the largemouth, fish a flu-flu or other small jig that falls slowly to entice the smallies. Cruise along rocky shorelines with gravel or rocky bottom and look for the fish. Some are having luck casting under docks also. There are a few largemouth being caught in the weeds in shallow water with plastic worms or spinnerbaits. Others are being caught in 12-16 feet of water on hard baits.

KABETOGAMA-NAMAKAN – Gateway Store, US Hwy 53 & CO Rd 122, 30 miles south of Int’l Falls-Canadian border, Phil Hart (218-875-2121) Fishing and catching were both good, about mid-week until Monday, optimistically, fishing should remain strong into this week. Reports of mayflies emerging from the lake bottom tell me the hatch isn't far off. Walleyes have been after the emerging mayflies in the soft bottom structures recently, providing anglers with success when fishing the sand and muck bottom areas of the lake. Anglers report good success in shallow both mornings and evenings and at a give or take 30' level mid-day. Bait choices vary however leeches presently lead the pack. Night crawlers are coming on strong and minnows remain the ticket for saugers and perch. Northern pike are scrambling throughout the lake, several 40" plus northerns again reported, however the norm is 2-4 pounds. Best bet for pike has been the well known weedy bays, where weeds are just emerging. Troll or flip baits over the week tops. Crappies seem to have moved out to suspend in their summer hangouts wherever that is. Saugers, nice 15" plus saugers continue to bite strong surprising anglers. Concentrate your effort for these bonus fish a little deeper and us minnows. Remember sauger is not in the restrictive size range like the cousin walleye is. The walleye size restrictions are, once again: you must immediately release all walleyes between 17"-28" to the water.

LAKE OF THE WOODS – Area Tourism Bureau, Denelle, near junction of Hwy 11 and Hwy 172 in Baudette (1-800-382-FISH) Great fishing at Lake of the Woods continues! Anglers have been limiting out around the Lighthouse Gap, Zippel Bay and Pine Island areas. The fish are moving out to deeper water; 27-31 feet seem to be producing some nice numbers, along with a few trophies. Anchored and jigging with a frozen shiner, minnow, leech, or crawler has been working nicely with a 3/8 ounce jig. Some anglers have tried drifting with spinners, and a few have already started down rigging, all seem to be producing nice fish. Our licensed guides are sure to put you on the fish; they know all the secret hot spots. Fishing at The Northwest Angle and Islands has been good around Oak Island. Gold and chartreuse jigs have been working the best while anchored and jigging in 21-22 feet of water. The lake has risen about a foot around the islands due to recent rain fall. The Rainy River has started to produce nice numbers of walleye and sauger, along with a few smallies. Some massive sturgeon have been caught and released in the last couple weeks on the Rainy River. Sturgeon season opens July 1st, and a special sturgeon tag must be purchased. You are allowed to keep one sturgeon per license year, and it must measure 45-50 inches or over 75 inches. Don't miss the experience of catching one of these prehistoric fish.

LEECH LAKE – Anderson’s Resorts, Tim (1-800-516-0077) Leech Lake has been hot. Try Little Hardwoods with a jig and minnow (yes, minnow) has been one of the most intense bites on the Lake. Bigrock Reef has really turned on also. There a leech and Lindy rig is the ticket, 6 to 7 ft snells, red hooks. Little spinners if you have enough wind to work them. Lots of big fish being caught, 27.5 incher caught by an 8 year old boy (first walleye ever) he is hooked on walleye fishing now! Water temp is on the way up with all this nice warm weather. Pike are more aggressive. I have heard of a few big muskies also. Sub Island and Red Rocks! Panfish in Steamboat Bay has been great. Play the wind and fish the twilight for the best fishing but they seem to bite on and off all day. We have been pleasantly surprised on the number and the weight of the fish this year, they are not missing any meals up here. Come enjoy Leech this summer or plan for next year.

METRO AREA EAST – Blue Ribbon Bait & Tackle, Josh, Oakdale (651-777-2421) The bass and northerns are biting good on Big Marine, Big Carnelian and Bald Eagle. The sunnies are biting on Little Lake by Lindstrom, Peltier and White Bear Lakes. The crappies are biting on the St. Croix, Bald Eagle, and Jane in the evening. The walleyes and sauger are on the rivers, both the St. Croix and the Mississippi. A few muskies have been caught around the area, nothing big yet.

MILLE LACS LAKE – Chris Kuduk's Guide Service, Chris Kuduk (320-630-1761) The walleyes continue to bite like crazy on the rocks, mud and the gravel. Up on the rocks, simply use a slip bobber and leech and on the mud troll with crawlers and a spinner rig or a Lindy rig. Call now and book a trip and get in while this great walleye bite is still going on. And looking ahead, book now for a muskie trip later in the summer.

MILLE LACS LAKE – Malmo Market, Lynwood Elliott, State Hwy 47 and 18 East, NE corner of Mille Lacs (320-684-2295) The Mille Lacs walleye fishing still above average. Anglers are starting to transition out to the mud flats; anglers are also starting to report better luck on crawlers. Anglers have done well fishing Blue Jug, Deans flat and Schultz's flat. Start on the edges. Long lined rigs tipped with leeches or crawlers seem to be working well. The 2 mile area has also been holding out, try fishing deeper water in the area. Agate Reef has also been a good spot to slip bobber fish towards evening.

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) Fishing has never been better. Try heading to the deep gravel and the mud flats. Drifting with a Lindy rig and crawler or jumbo leech. Now that the night ban is off, your lighted bobber will come in handy when hanging around the rocks at night with a bobber and a leech! There are a lot of 23-27" fish being caught.

LAKE MINNETONKA - Wayzata Bait & Tackle, Tim or Bob, half mile west off I-494 on Hwy 12 (952-473-2227) The fish continue to be in the weeds. For northerns, try a spinner tipped with suckers in about 15 feet of water and shallower. The sunnies are biting everywhere. The crappies are in the channels at day break feeding before they move out deeper as the day goes on. For walleyes, work the weeds in about 15 feet of water with a jig and a leech. The water temp has come up big time through out the last week.

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) Sunny, windy & hot weather has changed the fishing bite. Fish have moved deeper, some bass are post spawn now. The warmer water temperatures should increase the pike and musky bite this week. Trolling deep and fast should be the ticket. Crappies and panfish are on the deeper weed edges. The Walleye bite has slowed down again, they seems to be laying low and deep, time of day seems to be the factor. Leeches seem to be the bait of choice or fat heads - nothing too big yet. We do reel repair and rod tips in house, other rod repair can be sent out. We also have Dry Ice for your picnics and shipping needs.

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) It was a pretty busy weekend in the Nisswa area. The weather was great on Saturday. I think it is safe to say that summer has arrived. The warmer weather has the lake temperatures up into the 70s, which makes it a little tough on the live bait, but it has also increased the activity of the fish. The bass, pike, and panfish are all feeding up now. The key now is to look for the fish to be hanging near the weed flats or edges of the cabbage weeds. The bass are hitting leeches for live bait, or Gulp plastic worms. The pike are slamming spinnerbaits tipped with a medium sucker minnow. Trolling in 8-15 feet of water has produced the best results. For crappies and sunnies check out 8-10 feet of water. The crappies have been most active in the evening hours while the sunfish are biting all day long. Walleyes have been sporadic. The best lakes this week have been Gull, Pelican, and the Whitefish Chain. On Gull we have noticed a shift of the bigger fish into the weeds. It always seems to happen about this time of the year. You can still catch a few fish out on the weedlines but those fish have been running on the small side. The best tactic has been fishing through the weeds with a bottom bouncer and a redtail chub. Another good tactic is anchoring with a slip bobber and a redtail or a leech. On Pelican and Whitefish we are catching them on a live bait rig and redtails. Most of these fish have been hanging along the weedlines. Mille Lacs Lake continues to be the hot bite of the state. You can fish any way that you want, anywhere that you want on Mille Lacs and catch fish right now. Tip of the week: Don’t forget the kids. It is a great time to get the youngsters out on the lake. The bugs haven’t been too bad yet and the fish action won’t get much better.

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) Walleye action continues to be good on Osakis. Two mile bar producing lots of quality fish at sunset and thereafter. Bobber fishing with leeches and shiners were the preferred methods for nicer fish. Bass have really taken off with many fish in the two pound range coming out of the outlet area. Spinner baits, or bobber fishing with jumbo leeches are both being effective. Northerns are everywhere on Osakis this year, with lots of fish around the pound and a half to three pound range. The bigger the live bait the better, big suckers, creek cheebs, and big golden shiners all producing nice northerns along the deeper weed edges 10-16 feet.

PARK RAPIDS – Delaney’s Sport Center, Kevin, East 1st St (218-732-4281) The walleyes are biting on Long Lake in 14 to 19 feet of water with leeches. For northerns try Fishhook Lake in 12 to 14 on a jig and a minnow. The crappies are on Big Man Trap in 16 to 18 feet of water suspended on the deep weed edge. The sunnies are biting on the Crow Wing Chain in about 9 to 12 feet of water with waxies. For bass, try spinners in the pencil reeds just about everywhere.

PELICAN RAPIDS – Park Region Sport Shop, Lee Brenna, Intersection of Interstate 59 and 108 in downtown Pelican Rapids (800-962-8553) The fishing has held up on Lida for walleyes. Lizzie has been good for walleyes to on crawlers and leeched in about 18 to 20 feet of water. The sunfish and crappies have pretty much moved out of all the shallow bays due to the rising water temps. Look for them out in the cabbage. A few muskies have been caught and released out on Pelican, but no real big ones reported yet, but the action is starting to pick up.

RAINY LAKE – Rainy Lake Tourism (1-800-FALLS-MN) A graph will help locate walleye which are not behaving in any consistent pattern. Some have been found in 25-30 feet of water on submerged reefs and some in shallow bays. Minnows and leeches are working on jigs and spinners with some popular spots being near Blueberry Island and Kettle Falls and around the east end of Sand Bay. Lake levels are getting pretty near normal with the recent rainfalls, and fishing patterns may change quickly. Anglers are expecting the bite to get better for smallmouth bass and Crappie very soon. Northern Pike are hitting from the weedy edges of Black Bay and Cranberry Bay. Water Clarity in Rainy River drops off with the in-flow from the Littlefork and Big Fork Rivers. Try in the deeper channels upstream from those tributaries.

RED WING – Ike's Bait & Tackle, Ken, 2109 Old W Main St, Red Wing (651- 388-2111) Guys have still been out pulling plugs despite the warmer temps and still getting a few walleyes and sauger. The flats have been good. On Rush River they have been getting a few big northerns on Red Eye spoons and large sucker minnows. Bay Point Park has still been good for sunnies and the crappies are up in the back waters and people have been getting a few.

SAINT CLOUD – Stop Light Bait, 8th Avenue SE, St. Cloud (320-255-9689) Anglers are happy about the sunfish bite. They have been catching fish on Pearl, Big Birch, Clearwater and Big Swan Lakes. The fish have been in depths ranging from 2 feet to 8 feet. Anglers are using waxworms, beaver tale worms and panfish leeches for bait. Walleyes continue to bite on Mille Lacs, Big Birch and a few on Grand Lake. Most anglers are fishing with leeches and night crawlers. Bass and northerns are both biting well on Clearwater and Pearl Lakes. Mississippi anglers are catching smallies, walleyes, crappies and catfish. Catfish are also biting on the Horse Shoe chain. We continue to stock bulk panfish, lake-run and jumbo leeches.

SAINT PETER – Hermie's Bait, Brad, 43539 French Hill Rd. St.Peter MN 56082 (507-931-6875) The panfish bite has been good. A few walleyes are being caught tout ion the 2nd and 3rd points on Washington and a few sunnies. The northerns are biting on Lake Elysian and he bass are going on German Lake.

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 is the "Talk of the town" this week, with northerns and muskies again being caught. A 49" muskie and a 45" northern were just two of many, many caught this past weekend using suckers and chubs. Between the lakes (the canal), crappies and big bass were being hoisted in by shore fishermen. Lake Francis is doing well with plenty of panfish. Lake Elysian is doing well again with walleyes being jigged or trolled with leech/crawler rigs.

STARBUCK - Minnewaska Bait, Larry Jensen, Hwy 29 near the Starbuck Marina (320-239-2239) The walleyes are still hitting good on leeches and spinner in about 14 to 18 feet of water on the flats on the Glenwood end and the points. The surface water temps are now up into the 70’s. The bass are biting all over the lake, lots of them. The sunnies are all over too, they are up in the bull rushes on the north side of the lake. Some walleye reports are still coming in from Mary and Emily Lakes. And a lot of small northerns are biting on Minnewaska, nothing big.

STILLWATER - Jimmy's Bait and Tackle, Stillwater (651-430-2554) Anglers are going out for walleyes on the river using fatheads and crawlers. The crappies are biting in spots on the river too.

WACONIA - Mase’s In Towne Marine, Cindy, corner of Lake and Elm (952-442-2096) A couple of muskies, 42 and 44 inches, have been caught and released out here last week. And there have been a lot of follows reported. The sunnies are in 8 feet of water and less, or out in the 20 foot range. The northerns are biting real well; we had a 9 pounder in last week. The crappies are of the reefs and deeper. The bass are in about 4 feet of water and shallower up into the weeds.

WINNIBIGOSHISH – Walleye Visions, Tom Neustrom, 21622 Airport Rd, Grand Rapids (218-327-2312) Summer is moving along nicely and the walleye bite on Big Winnie has been pretty consistent all season, so far. Even with all the storms of late and the rising water levels, the walleyes seem to be biting all over the lake. The humps and bars have been out producing the shoreline fisherman of late and most are using a slip sinker rig and a leech or crawler. There was a bug hatch this past week and that has been the determining factor, as always, when the walleyes will move deep and prefer something else other than a jig and minnow. The outside edge of Raven's Point, the Humps in the mid-lake and Bena, Long, Sugar and Moses are all giving up nice catches of Walleyes. Use your electronics and keep moving until active fish are contacted. The northern pike fishing has been good and the weed beds around Sugar and the Third River Bay have been turning out nice pike. Thinking of coming up to the Winnie area in the Fall, and interested in booking a guided trip, now is the time to call. Our group has a limited amount of openings. Give us a call at 218-327-2312 for more information.