Outdoors Weekly Fish Tales Archive

August 17, 2007

ANNANDALE - B.J.'s Bait & Tackle, Bill, west side of Clearwater Lake, between the two public accesses, www.bjsbait.com (320-274-3730) The sunnies have been biting on the weedlines, mostly on worms in about 5 to 10 feet of water out by 2nd island. The northerns have been biting on the weedlines on big sucker minnows, in about 10 feet of water. The walleye bite has been quiet. Reports of a few crappies being caught mixed in with the sunnies in the evenings, behind the island. The bass have been biting well all along, plastic worms and spinner baits are working for them.

ANOKA - Action's Fishing, Jack, 809 West Hwy 10, www.actionsfishing.com (763-422-4890) The Rum River is starting to pick up, with nice smallies and walleyes using redtails and jigs. Try Green, Rush, and Crooked for Sunfish on the weedlines with small crawlers. Crappies in the evening on cubbies and flu-flus. Walleyes and northerns on Diamond Lake.

BATTLE LAKE - Ben's Bait & Tackle, Josie, Junction of Hwy 78 and 210 (218-864-5596) The walleyes have been biting out on Ottertail fishing out on the flats in about 7 feet of water and biting mostly on minnows and jigs or shad raps at night. On Battle Lake they are biting out in about 15 to 23 feet of water on leeches yet. On Stalker Lake they’ve been fishing for walleyes in 20 to 25 feet of water with minnows and some walleyes have been biting on Silver Lake too. For the northerns, they have been fishing the weedlines with sucker minnows and picking up some bigger ones out on Battle Lake, but make sure you know about the slot limits out there. The sunfish are biting on Star, Dead, W. Battle and Clitheral with the most action coming shallow but the bigger ones have come a little deeper in about 15 feet of water using leeches. The crappies are biting on West battle Lake, fishing the same spots as the sunnies but towards the evenings. The bass bite continues to be good all over, biting well on both top water and a jig and a minnow.

BEMIDJI - Bluewater Bait & Sports, Mark Cook, 1 mile north of the Hwy 2 & 71 Intersection, www.bluewater-bait.com (218-444-2248) The guys who were out fishing walleyes last weekend on Bemidji did good trolling lindys with crawlers and redtails. On the rock piles, fish are moving more in 20 to 25 feet of water range with a lot of the walleyes being caught in the 14-15 inch range. Out on Cass Lake, cranks after dark are still producing a few walleyes. The muskies have been pretty consistent; guys putting time in are getting a few. Guys have also been finding some crappies on Big Lake. And the sunnies on most area lakes are biting well.

BLACKDUCK - Timberline Sport & Tackle, Carl Adams, Junction of Hwy 71 and Blackduck Lake Rd. (218-835-4636) Fishermen have been getting a few walleyes on Blackduck Lake in about 7 to 10 feet of water on spinners or crankbaits. On the calmer days, there have been some good Upper Red Lake reports on some nice pike being caught. The panfish are still biting well n the local area lakes.

BRAINERD/NISSWA AREA - S & W Bait and Tackle - Home of Walleye Dans Guide Service 7 1/2 miles North of Brainerd on the East side of Hwy 371 (218) 829-7010 www.sandwbait.com & www.walleyedan.com

CHISAGO CITY - Frankie's Live Bait and Marine, Brad, Corner of Hwy 8 and CR 77, www.frankies.net (651-257-6334) The panfish are biting on both North Center and Chisago Lakes. On Chisago try by the big island anywhere from 8 to 20 feet deep, with the nicer sunnies coming in the deeper water. On North Center, they are having the best luck for sunnies by Nelson Island Bar. The bass are still biting like crazy. And the northerns continue to hit on suckers and some are using redtails too. Sunrise Lake has been a good one for the pike.

CROSBY - Oars-N-Mine Bait and Tackle, Jesse Williams, 22640 Hwy 6 N (218-546-6912) The bass bite has been very good; follow the weedlines of area lakes, in 8-15 feet of water with plastic worms. They are biting all day long. Pike action has been ok; a few in the mine pits, and Serpent and Rabbit Lakes have been good along the weed edges, using sucker minnows and crank baits. Little Rabbit and the Mississippi have been good for sunfish. Smallies are biting on the Mississippi, Clearwater and Serpent Lake. Top water baits are mostly being used. The walleyes on Serpent are biting on live bait, and on Pelican and North Long Lakes the bite has been better on cranks. Trout fishing has been the best in the morning, bright and early on power bait.

CROSSLAKE - Holiday of Cross Lake, 35610 Cty. Rd. 66 Crosslake, Lee (218-692-2708) Held’s Guide Service (218-820-0989)

DULUTH - Fisherman's Corner, Scott, 7 miles north of Miller Mall on Hwy 53, www.fishycorner.com (218-729-5369) The fishing has been terrific out on Lake Superior. The lake trout, coho and chinook are all biting. The cohos are averaging about 3 pounds and the chinooks are in the teens. They are biting between Duluth and Two Harbors. North of Two Harbors there have been more coho and lakers. The walleyes are biting on the south shore and in the harbor. In the harbor they are in a bout 30 feet of water and are right down on the bottom with a slow troll to pick them up. Purple and glow spoons are working best for the salmon and some are starting flies and dodgers. Thunder Bay has been a hotspot too, averaging 15-pound fish. Picking up 10 fish in about 3 hours has been normal.

DULUTH - Marine General, 1501 London Road, on the edge of Lake Superior, www.marinegeneral.com (218-724-8833) On Lake Superior the fishing the fishing has been excellent. The lake trout are biting from the Duluth entry to Grand Marias. The coho and Chinook have been mainly out from the Knife River to Grand Marias. You’ll find the lake trout in anywhere from 40 to 140 feet of water and the salmon are in big pockets. The walleyes are biting on the south shore about 3 miles out in about 80 feet of water, down around 40 feet deep the walleyes in the St. Louis River are right along the bottom, guys are fishing them using a 3 ounce jig bouncing the bottom.

ELY-Babes 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) The dry spell seems to be over, for now. Walleye catches are on the rise again. Limits are coming in once again from area lakes. Trolled crankbaits, and Lindy rigs with leeches and crawlers fished on drops from 6-14 feet are the main producers right now. Seems odd that the walleyes are in this skinny water on the hottest days, but the proof is on the stringers. Minnows under slip bobbers are taking the fish in these same areas after dark. Smallmouth and largemouth bass are falling for cranks and tubes as well in the shallows. Stop in at Babes "The best little bait shop in Ely" for the latest updates.

FOREST LAKE - Mikes Bait on 8, 1/2 mile east of 35 on Hwy 8, Rich (651-464-5150) Dog days of summer… the panfish are biting on the North and South Center Lakes and a few walleyes have been getting picked up out there too. A few better walleyes have been picked up on Clear and Forest lakes. The muskies have still been going pretty good here. The St. Croix River guys have been getting a lot of cats on big suckers or dead bait. Try the channels for cut bait, flats for big suckers… find the deeper holes.

GREY EAGLE - Nancy's Bait & Tackle, Rex, 4 miles east of the Rock Tavern on Big Birch Lake, 4 miles west of Upsala (320-285-2405) Crappies have been biting on Pine Lake, some sunnies too. Little and Big Birch has had some walleye action. We had some rain the last week that helped them out a bit. It has turned the water over a little bit which helped out the oxygen levels in the lakes and has helped get the fish to bite a bit more. Crawlers and minnows have been working well. The bass bite continues to be good, the Mississippi continues to be good, lots of catfish being caught too. For sunnies, there has been a good bite on most lakes, a lot are being caught everywhere. Crappies are also hitting on Kings Lake by Freeport.

HACKENSACK - Swanson's Bait & Tackle, Jim Tuller, Hwy 371 on the north end of Hackensack, www.swansonsbait.com (218-675-6176) Bass action very good on Stony Lake. Multiple groups that did very well with numbers as well as size. Stony Lake's bass regulation requires that all bass over 12" be returned to the water immediately. The regulation does allow one bass over 20" for that fish of a lifetime. Brown, Black, and Green Spinnerbaits or Watermelon colored plastic worms work well. If it is a little bit overcast; an orange or chartreuse may work. The other spot to sport fish is Ten Mile Lake for northern pike. There has been a regulation in effect for 10 years now on the northern pike. All fish over 20" must be released, no trophy exceptions either. In the past few years the pike numbers have increased as has their size. Trolling in 25-30 feet of water during the day has been productive. There are also a number of nice northern being caught trolling in the deep water an hour before sunset. Black and silver lures have been working well. I also like a Firetiger Shad Rap for the pike out there; it has worked well for me in the past. Crappie action has remained hot. Birch Lake and Pleasant Lake are still holding crappies in 14-16 feet of water, above the weeds. One group reported a mess of nice perch caught on Leech Lake along with a few nice sunfish.

KABETOGAMA-NAMAKAN - Gateway Store, Phil Hart, US Hwy 53 & Co Rd 122, 30 miles south of Int'l Falls-Canadian border, kabfishingreport.com (218-875-2121) A grand week passes weather-wise, leaving many memories behind for those who were on the lakes. Anglers found fishing to be good for nearly all species. Walleyes were found and are still being caught in shallow water, something less than 18’. Slip-sinker rigs with live bait or a ¼” jig and leech, casted and retrieved in the shallow waters, have been a good producer lately. Mid-day, walleyes and saugers can be found in deeper structures at 30-40’; usually a jig and minnow do the job. This is the time of year that artificial lures will turn on. Try trolling your favorite crank-baits at 12-18’ along windswept shorelines; or you can target fish at 30+ feet with weights or lead-line setups. As fall approaches, lures are exceptionally deadly for pike and smallmouth. Kabetogama and Namakan both provide good late summer and fall fishing for walleyes and pike. The deeper water areas of Kabetogama, like Martin, Cuculus, Green and Larkin Islands, will soon be favorites. As you head into Namakan, finding fishable structures are too numerous to mention. My suggestion is to take advantage of the shallow bite now and sharpen your deep-water skills in the mid-day, as hot sunny weather rules the afternoons.

LAKE OF THE WOODS - Area Tourism Bureau, Denelle Hovde , near Junction of Hwy 11 and Hwy 172 in Baudette, www.lakeofthewoodsmn.com (1-800-382-FISH) Fishing on Lake of the Woods continues to be excellent. Anglers and guides have been having luck while trolling and pulling plugs on the mud flats. West of Bridges Island, south of Stoney, or north of Graceton Beach are all producing nice walleye. Some folks are having luck down rigging in 30 - 33 feet of water as well. Whatever your fishing style might be you're sure to catch your limit at Lake of the Woods. The fish have moved into deeper water in the Rainy River, 21-23 feet has been producing some great fish. Anchored and jigging with a spinner and crawler has been working well. Hot spots can be found anywhere from Clementson Rapids to Frontier Landing. The Northwest Angle and Islands is one of the hottest fishing spots around, the walleye fishing has been good around Little Oak Island, Crowduck, and Oak Island. Jigging with crawlers continues to work very well. The muskie action continues to be hot at the Angle as well.

LEECH LAKE - Anderson's Resorts, Tim, www.andersonsleech-lake.com (1-800-516-0077)

METRO AREA EAST - Blue Ribbon Bait & Tackle, Oakdale, Josh, www.blueribbonbait.com (651-777-2421) A few crappies are biting on Bald Eagle Lake; mainly in the evening in 15 to 20 feet of water is where they are finding them. They are suspended about 5-6 feet off the bottom. A small jig tipped with waxies or minnows has been working. And they have also been biting on Peltier. Bass are biting good all around… the northerns are biting just outside the weedlines. Some sunnies are biting, a lot of small ones. But some good ones have been picked up on White Bear and on Peltier. On Battle Creek, there are a lot biting, but you have to weed through them. Some walleyes are still being picked up in the deeper pools on the St. Croix.

MILLE LACS LAKE – Chris Kuduk’s Guide Service (320-630-1761) We had some jumbo perch and some walleye action last weekend. The walleyes were caught bobber fishing on the rocks and the perch were picked up going along the shoreline. The muskies are biting in the bay, just not a lot of people fishing them. There is a muskie tourney this weekend on the east side.

MILLE LACS LAKE - Malmo Market, Lynwood Elliott, State Hwy 47 and 18 East, NE corner of Mille Lacs (320-684-2295) Some muskies are biting in the north end bays and the smallies are biting. Walleyes are being caught out on the mud with cranks and a few walleyes are moving up shallow as they are chasing crawfish.

MILLE LACS LAKE – Johnson's Portside, Kelly or Steve, 1 mile north of Isle on Hwy 47 SE side of the lake, www.johnsonsportside.com (320-676-3811) If you are headed up to Mille Lacs to do a little walleye fishing try the deep waters mud or gravel, pulling crankbaits or even bobber fishing in 28-32 feet. Muskies have been spotted everywhere from the North sand to Isle Bay, and around Hennepin Island area. Smallies are the hottest bite happening right now, throw rubber baits, or crawler and bobber around the shallow rocks, 10-14 feet.

LAKE MINNETONKA - Wayzata Bait & Tackle, Tim or Bob, half mile west off I-494 on Hwy 12 (952-473-2227) The northerns are biting on the weedlines with big suckers. The muskies are on the edge of the weeds too and are biting pretty aggressively. The new hot bait we have is a big tinsel double blade and the bulldog has been good too. A few 50 plus inchers have been caught and we generally hear about at least one bigger then 50 inches getting caught each day. The bass are still biting on small jigs and plastics in the weeds.

LAKE MINNETONKA – Minnetonka Outdoors, Gary or Gregg, south frontage road to Hwy 7 between Vine Hill Rd & Old Market Blvd in Shorewood, www.minnetonkaoutdoors.com (952-470-8800)

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, www.sportlandbait.com (218-963-2401) The big bass fishing continues to be just awesome. The bass fishing has been going strong lately but we are starting to see the walleye action getting a little better. We are still fishing weedlines with redtail chubs. It has been a variety when fishing close to the weeds, walleyes, bass, and pike. Both Lindy rigs or jigs have worked well.

LAKE OSAKIS – Buck Point Resort on the N.W. corner of the lake, (Brad) 115 miles west of Twin Cities on I-94W, take hwy 3 North out of Osakis to hwy 10 west, www.lakeosakisresorts.com (320-859-2530) The northerns are biting along the weedlines. The sunfish are biting out on half-mile bar on waxworms. A few walleyes have been biting here and there but it really hasn’t been a study bite. If you work at it, you can pick up a few fish.

PARK RAPIDS - Delaney's Sport Center, Kevin, East 1st Street, www.delaneyssports.com (218-732-4281) The walleyes are biting well on Long Lake and Fishhook out in 14-20 feet of water on crawlers and leeches. Bass pretty much biting everywhere on plastics, wacky rigs. For smallies and large mouth bass, try Potato Lake. The bluegill and crappies are biting in about 14 feet of water along the cabbage weeds on crappie minnows and a jig. The pike and muskies are fairly active and are being picked up trolling buck tails with sucker minnows on the weed edges.

PELICAN RAPIDS - Park Region Sport Shop, Lee Brenna, Intersection of Interstate 59 and 108 in downtown Pelican Rapids (218-863-5701) We’ve had good walleye fishing, and lots of bass biting on the outside edge of cabbage weeds. Try in about 17 to 20 feet of water for bluegills. All and all, fishing has been good. We have been having some good muskie fishing right now too. Lida and Star have been the best walleye lakes right now, out in about 25-30 feet of water.

RAINY LAKE - Rainy Lake Tourism, www.rainylake.org (1-800-FALLS-MN) Weather will be an important factor in fishing for walleye, forecasts promise cooler temperatures and more overcast skies than we’ve had for a week or so. Predicting how that might affect fishing is difficult, but the place to start will be around the submerged reefs. Walleye have been deep, but may drift upwards a bit if the weather is cooler. Crawlers and leeches have been a good bet, but that too might change. Be prepared to try a couple different baits and presentations. The upcoming International Falls Bass Championship is again drawing tournament anglers for some pre-fishing. This is a tight-lipped group (they have their reasons) but in general terms they’ve reported pretty good success. The tournament includes both Rainy Lake and Rainy River. The annual Sturgeon fishing championship is coming up as well, and there have been reports of good sturgeon fishing near the mouth of the Littlefork River and below the rapids at Birchdale. There have bee few reports of crappies and northern pike lately; weather also affects their patterns.

RED WING - Ike's Bait & Tackle, Ken, 2109 Old W Main St, Red Wing (651- 388-2111) The walleyes eyes and sauger are still hitting in Lake Pepin in the deeper water, pulling plugs, crawlers and minnows too. Northerns are also still biting around the Rush River area and Pine Creek casting red eye spoons and large suckers. As far as panfish go, we haven’t heard much about them. The Catfish are biting up by the dam; they are doing well with stink bait and suckers.

SAINT CLOUD ¬ Stop Light Bait, 45 8th Avenue SE, St. Cloud (320-255-9689) Sunfish have been biting on Horseshoe Lake, Silvia and Big Birch. Northerns and bass have been biting on many of our area lakes. Try Pearl and Clearwater. The Mississippi River levels should be going up a little with our recent rains. Fishermen are still catching catfish, walleyes and smallmouth bass on the Mississippi. Big Sandy Sports and Pizza on Big Sandy Lake reports nice catches of sunfish, bass and northerns. And Lake Minnewawa is still a good spot for nice sunfish.

SAINT PETER - Hermies Bait, Brad, 43539 French Hill Rd. St.Peter MN 56082 (507-931-6875) The catfish are still biting. Guys are using frozen cutbait and fishing the deeper pools in the river. The sunnies are biting in Shields Lake in 10 to 12 feet of water. The recent rains could change things, stop in and talk to Schmitty in the bait shop for the most up to date reports.

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, www.axelstacklebox.com (507-362-4444) Panfish and especially northerns are doing very well here on Tetonka and Sakatah. Trolling spoons and spinner bait seem to be the ticket for getting the toothy critters. German Lake is also doing well for sunnies and crappies. Lake Francis is also doing quite well for sunnies. The recent storms haven’t affected water levels so far, we are expecting another storm tonight, and hopefully this helps the area lakes to get more up to level.

WACONIA - Mase's In Towne Marine, Cindy, corner of Lake and Elm (952-442-2096) Sunnies are being caught working the weedlines from 5 to 10 feet of water, try out on Andersons Reef. Northerns have been slow, and the crappies too. For bass try the drop on south side Cemetery Reef, and Anderson’s Reef too. And also the shore area and under the docks. The muskies are biting on the south side of Anderson’s Reef and the beach area. Also try North reef and the big weed beds. The walleyes are up on Anderson’s Reef and North Reef, in about 12 to 16 feet of water on the weed edges off the reefs.

WINNIBIGOSHISH – Walleye Visions, Tom Neustrom, 21622 Airport Rd, Grand Rapids www.mnfishingpros.com (218-327-2312)The heat has started to subside and cooler weather has settled in for a few days. Big Winnie has been an on again off again del with the shoreline bite being the ticket. There haven’t been a lot of anglers on the big lake and the walleye fishing has been pretty consistent, as long as you fish shallow. Many of the weedbeds along the East side near Highbanks and Musky Bay have been producing on jig and minnow and a crawler and rig. Ravens Point has been another spot that has produced and the Spine of Raven's has been the best. Stony Point has been OK, but the wind has to be blowing in for better results. The North Shore has been good, with many anglers pulling Shad Raps and Minnow Raps in 8-11 feet being the best. There are some nice northern pike showing up and many fish over 5 pounds have been taken. The crappie and bluegill bite has been sporadic, but look for that to improve as the water begins to cool. There are not a lot of fishermen out right now, and there are very few boats to contend with.