Outdoors Weekly Fish Tales Archive

September 7 , 2007

ANNANDALE - B.J.'s Bait & Tackle, Bill, west side of Clearwater Lake, between the two public accesses, www.bjsbait.com (320-274-3730) Catching sunnies on worms in 10 to 12 feet of water, a lot of nicer sized ones lately. The crappie bite has picked upon the weedlines in about 10 to 12 feet of water with minnows. The walleyes are biting out in 20 to 25 feet of water with deep running shads and cranks. The northerns are biting all over from the shallow weeds to deeper water on cranks and spinners. Our big northern tourney is this weekend.

ANOKA - Action's Fishing, Jack, 809 West Hwy 10, www.actionsfishing.com (763-422-4890) Excellent weekend. Fish of all species are hitting everywhere. Rivers were fantastic, especially for smallies. Sunfish in the evenings on top water poppers. Try that presentation for some whoppers.

BATTLE LAKE - Ben's Bait & Tackle, Josie, Junction of Hwy 78 and 210 (218-864-5596) The walleyes are biting well on Ottertail, mainly on minnows now, fatheads and shiners, up shallow in about 6 to 10 feet of water. Some are using crankbaits too. On Battle Lake, fishermen are using crawlers and shiners in about 18 to 25 feet of water or jigging in 30 to 35 feet. On East Battle fishing with crawlers and shiners in 18 to 23 feet of water and on Rush Lake they are using shiners or fatheads in about 16 to 21 feet of water. The northerns continue to bite everywhere; Clitheral, Silver, Johnson, South Turtle and West Battle have been the better lakes. Fishing for them mainly on the deep weedlines with suckers or trolling crankbaits. For sunnies, the best lakes have been Star, Fiske, Norway, Deer or Clitheral in about 10 to 15 feet of water. For crappies try East or West Battle Lakes. The bass are biting all over… Johnson, Eagle, Fiske and Clitheral have been the best. A few muskies are being caught on Battle, mostly by trolling. Some are using big sucker decoys.

BEMIDJI - Bluewater Bait & Sports, Mark Cook, 1 mile north of the Hwy 2 & 71 Intersection, www.bluewater-bait.com (218-444-2248) The walleyes are biting on Bemidji. Some with cranks after dark and some are now picking them up with a jig and minnow in 20 to 25 feet of water. They are also getting them on Plantagenet with a jig and a minnow. Cass Lake has been tough, some are catching them on redtails. The muskie bite has been ok, seeing a few fish. As for crappies and bass, not much to report there. We haven’t been hearing much.

BLACKDUCK - Timberline Sport & Tackle, Carl Adams, Junction of Hwy 71 and Blackduck Lake Rd. (218-835-4636) We are starting to see a fall bite pattern emerging. Pimusch and Rabideau have been good for panfish. The bear hunters have done well and the early goose hunt has been good for the hunters too.

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 bite has been excellent on Chisago between the aframe and the big island in about 18 to 20 feet of water. The sunnies and crappies have been biting with the occasional walleye being picked up. Also biting on North Center Lake off the big island in about 12 to 20 feet of water. The bass tourney is on Chisago this weekend.

CROSBY - Oars-N-Mine Bait and Tackle, Jesse Williams, 22640 Hwy 6 N (218-546-6912) Well, the cold snap brought some tougher fishing, but this recent weather pattern has picked up the bite a little. Walleyes are being caught on Pelican in the evening hours, as well as the Mississippi during the day and a few on Rabbit in the mid-late afternoon. On Rabbit, fish shallow. Bass fishing has been decent but should be very good for this weekend. Pike action has slowed a bit, but most fish being caught now have been in the weeds on spinnerbaits tipped with a small sucker. Trout reports have been few and far between, but there are quite a few nice smallmouth and pike coming from the pits. Crappie action has been good, with most fish being caught in the live weeds during the day and in 14-18 feet in the evening on Puddle Jumpers or tube jigs. For panfish, give Little Rabbit or East Rabbit a try. Big bluegills have been coming in from the river consistently, with most fish caught right with the walleyes and smallmouth. Smallmouth action is heating up on the Mississippi and Clearwater on surface lures. Musky action this last week was very good on Cedar, with several multi-fish days reported. Try throwing a black bucktail here. Goose opener is this Saturday, and the outlook is promising. Birds have started to group up a bit, and bird numbers seem to be pretty good. Stop in for the up-to-the-minute fishing and hunting report 7 days a week!

CROSSLAKE - Holiday of Cross Lake, 35610 Cty. Rd. 66 Crosslake, Lee (218-692-2708) Held’s Guide Service (218-820-0989) Walleye action remains good on Whitefish Chain and Crosslake with fish being caught in 24 to 30 feet of water. Try Lindy-rigs with Red-Tails during the early morning or evening hours. Northern action has been great with spinner rigs & large pike minnows or spinner baits worked along outside weed line and out into 30 feet of water Also try Rapala crank baits trolled in 20 to 30 feet of water. Bass are hitting surface baits and plastic worms. The best spots have been around docks and rafts and the outer weed line. Crappie and panfish action has been good with fish been taken in 18 to 20 feet of water. Try small jigs and waxworms or minnows.

DULUTH - Fisherman's Corner, Scott, 7 miles north of Miller Mall on Hwy 53, www.fishycorner.com (218-729-5369) Boulder Lake has still been the best place for the walleyes up here. Guys are getting limits of nice 2 to 2 ½ pounders on minnows. Fish Lake has been the best for crappies out in about 12 to 14 feet of water. Out on Superior, the fishing continues to be good out from Two Harbors. Guys are fishing about 80 feet down with spoons and getting plenty of Lake Trout and the occasional salmon. The upper St. Louis River has also been great because of the low water the fish are concentrated in the deeper pockets and guys are really doing well on smallies and walleyes.

DULUTH - Marine General, 1501 London Road, on the edge of Lake Superior, www.marinegeneral.com (218-724-8833) The fishing has been terrific. We are getting cohos and chinooks that are averaging 7 to 8 pounds. The fish are out in over 140 feet of water, which is about 8 miles out, but they are suspended in about 80 feet of water. Glow spoons are working the best, greens, oranges, white glow or purple with glow backs. Some guys have been running flashers and dodges with flies tipped with smelt. The walleyes are still biting in the harbor on a jig and a minnow and in the lower bay they are dragging stick baits behind bottom bouncers for the bigger ones.

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) Walleyes are beginning to bunch up, and where you find one, there surely are more close at hand. The eyes are moving a bit deeper, a trend that will end in the deepest holes the area lakes have to offer. Right now though the best catch rates are coming from lakes like Shagawa, White Iron, and to a lesser extent Burntside. Try fishing the 12-20 foot breaks, where hard rocky bottoms give way to mud and sand. This transition may be difficult to find if you don't have a good quality bottom machine, but do your homework, check the charts and even ask the locals where these areas are and save yourself a lot of time searching, and a lot of that high priced fuel in the process. We now are getting back to jigs and spinners with a half crawler or minnow trailer. Slow trolled crankbaits are also producing a few nice fish. Slow down your presentation, as the fish tend to prefer this tactic right now. The smallies are dropping down a bit in the water column too, so select baits that will get down to the 8-15 foot range. Big lipped cranks and jig and tube combos really work for those football shaped rocket powered eating machines. The northern pike seem to respond to the cooler temps by putting on the feedbag. They still are in their skinny water haunts, and can't seem to resist BIG shallow running crankbaits, spoons, and the deadliest of all, sucker minnows under a bobber.

FOREST LAKE - Mikes Bait on 8, 1/2 mile east of 35 on Hwy 8, Rich (651-464-5150)

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) The muskies are biting on Shamineau Lake just off hwy 10 by Motley. Lots of nice 45-48 inchers being caught. The sunnies and crappies are going on Big Swan and Long Lake. The walleyes are switching over from crawlers to minnows now on Big Birch. The bass continue to bite everywhere. We have a good supply of all varieties of minnows.

HACKENSACK - Swanson's Bait & Tackle, Jim Tuller, Hwy 371 on the north end of Hackensack, www.swansonsbait.com (218-675-6176) Fall is fast approaching, and so is the fall fishing. As the water is cooling down the Walleyes are once again getting active. Night crawlers have still been doing well and minnows are really starting to pick the Walleyes up. Fatheads have been the most popular choice. Birch Lake and Woman Lake have both produced a few 'eyes the past few days on fatheads. Leech Lake Walleyes are hungry for redtails and still some night crawlers. The main lake has been the most productive. Perch fishing on Leech Lake has heated up as the temps cool. Fatheads and waxworms are the ticket there. Fishing the weedy flats in 10-14 feet of water are where most of the fish are being caught. Muskie are also starting to show up more aggressively. I have heard from a number of people that they are seeing more fish now then they did all summer. The fish that they are seeing are also much more aggressive than before. Boating multiple fish in one day has not been unheard of. Bucktails and large spinerbaits are the lures to throw right now. To get back to our smaller bodies of water, sunfish are biting on waxies and small night crawlers on most lakes. Spend some time at it and don't be afraid to move every 10 minutes if you are not catching big fish, you will find nice sunnies. Enjoy the weekend and Good Luck Fishing!

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) The weather was great for the Labor Day Weekenders. Warm weather dominated the weekend. Water temps edged up to 70 degrees again during the day. Anglers found the most consistent walleye bite in the 28-35' range on Kab, and 30-40' range on Namakan. The exception to the aforementioned is the shallow bite where scattered walleyes are still being caught at 6-15' depth, especially the windswept points and bays. Weed edges great for northern pike, casting or trolling the big artificials, or live bait such as sucker minnows will get you a limit. Smallmouth open on Kab till September 10th, and they remain very aggressive. Crayfish type baits shallow or deeper divers on reef edges. Great time of year to troll crank baits for all species; get them down deep for your rewards. Minnow are the best live bait now for walleyes, jig heads or slip sinker rigs moved along slowly or drop shot style should catch you fish. Bear season opened on September 1st, and judging from first day tallies, it is a good opener. We weighed in a 410# bear dressed out taken out of the Himes Bear Camp. Grouse season is only a couple weeks away and bear hunters report lots of grouse, should be a great season. This is a sportsmen's dream come true in this area, fishing, big game hunting and some of the state's best grouse hunting all at the same time.

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) As we turn the calendar into a new month the change is becoming more noticeable around the Lake of the Woods area, trees turning, temperatures dropping and numerous small shiners starting to show up in the river. The majority of the Walleyes are still out on the lake; however limits are starting to be taken around the Clementson area with more people bait fishing. This past week down rigging was still the most productive fishing. Anglers are seeing luck 3 miles out from Long Point in 28 foot of water. As well as 22 foot of water outside the Lighthouse gap out to 30 foot of water. The action has been good all the way down to the Morris Point gap. The walleye bite remains steady at the Northwest Angle. Fish are being caught around Oak Island, Flag Island and Crowduck area.

LEECH LAKE - Anderson's Resorts, Tim, www.andersonsleech-lake.com (1-800-516-0077) Call us for a report! Muskies are hitting!

METRO AREA EAST - Blue Ribbon Bait & Tackle, Oakdale, Josh, www.blueribbonbait.com (651-777-2421) The St. Croix has been good for walleyes, trolling spinners and crawlers just south of Afton. The crappies have been good on White Bear and Peltier in the deeper waters. The northerns have been biting everywhere. Lake Jane has had a nice bass bite lately, catch and release only, on plastics. The muskies are all right on Whitebear and Bald Eagle on the top water baits and bucktails trolling pretty fast. Some nice cats are being caught on the Mississippi River with fatheads and suckers.

MILLE LACS LAKE – Chris Kuduk’s Guide Service (320-630-1761) Bobber fishing for walleyes out on the rocks at night has been good still. And trolling rapalas at night has been working good too. We have been catching some jumbo perch and a few nice muskies. The bear hunt has been going pretty good in the area. Call now to book a fall muskie or walleye trip.

MILLE LACS LAKE - Malmo Market, Lynwood Elliott, State Hwy 47 and 18 East, NE corner of Mille Lacs (320-684-2295) Call us for the latest report!

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) Try out in deeper waters during the day, right around 25' plus, and night try the rocks in 10-16 feet, the water temps are slowly dropping, so the walleye will start moving in. Muskie? Best bet is the North Break on the sand or if you like the south east end you can hunt the bays along the weed beds.

LAKE MINNETONKA - Wayzata Bait & Tackle, Tim or Bob, half mile west off I-494 on Hwy 12 (952-473-2227) Labor Day weekend is over! Now is the time for the fishermen to get out as the recreational boaters are putting them away. The water temp is coming down to the mid 70’s now. Some walleyes were caught in the channels, the northerns are biting on spinners and suckers. The bass are on the deeper weedlines and biting on plastics. The muskies are picking up on Independence and Minnetonka.

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) Call us 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, www.sportlandbait.com (218-963-2401) Call us for a report!

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) Catching a few crappies out on the rock pile here. And the walleyes and northerns are biting in about 5 to 12 feet of water trolling cranks. The sunnies are biting; best action up here has been out on 4 mile in about 17 to 19 feet of water.

PARK RAPIDS - Delaney's Sport Center, Kevin, East 1st Street, www.delaneyssports.com (218-732-4281) Bear hunting has gone well, some nice ones were registered. The walleye bite has been getting better, best has been on Fishhook in about 18 to 21 feet of water with fatheads. The northerns are going great on the crowing chain in anywhere from 12 to 14 feet of water with sucker minnows. The bluegills are biting on Lake Itasca in about the 15, 16 foot range.

PELICAN RAPIDS - Park Region Sport Shop, Lee Brenna, Intersection of Interstate 59 and 108 in downtown Pelican Rapids (218-863-5701) We’ve had some good walleye fishing on Star and Pelican as the bite is moving more towards minnows now. Shiners and fatheads seem to be the ticket. Lizzie and Lida have been good for smallmouth bass. The sunnies and crappies are in the same water right now on Lizzie and Crystal, about 15 to 18 feet deep. Early goose season hasn’t been very good, but there are lots of doves around in the area. Hunting for them has been good.

RAINY LAKE - Rainy Lake Tourism, www.rainylake.org (1-800-FALLS-MN) For Rainy Lake walleye, crawlers have been the preferred bait, most anglers are trying a slow moving spinner rig in 25-to-30 feet of water. Community Reef or the shoals near Saginaw Bay are good places to start searching. Crappies can be caught in Black Bay and areas of Sand Bay, use a light jig and try tipping it with a small minnow. Northern pike continue to feed aggressively, try a fast moving lure along the edges of weed beds. Rainy River walleye are active in areas with a bit more current, such as below the dam or above and below the Manitou and Long Sault Rapids.

RED WING - Ike's Bait & Tackle, Ken, 2109 Old W Main St, Red Wing (651- 388-2111) The northerns still biting around the Rush and Pine Rivers. The panfish are biting good in Baypoint Park. The walleyes and sauger are running deep in Pepin and now some guys are starting to fish up by the dam with hair jig and minnow. The bite should pick up a lot as the water temps come down.

SAINT CLOUD ¬ Stop Light Bait, 45 8th Avenue SE, St. Cloud (320-255-9689) The sunfish have been biting on Horseshoe, Minnewaska and Briggs Lakes. Some sunfish are also being caught on the Mississippi River. Panfish leeches and wax worms have been catching a lot of the fish. The crappies have been biting on the Mississippi River for a few weeks. Fishermen have been concentrating on the areas above the tenth street dam, above the Sartell Dam, and below the Blanchard Dam. Northern pike are still being caught out on Clearwater Lake. Minnewaska, Clearwater and Briggs Lakes have seen some nice catches of large mouth bass. Anglers are also catching smallies on the Mississippi River, Big Birch and Lake Alexander. Catfish and walleyes are being caught on the Mississippi River too. And there are some nice walleyes being caught on Clearwater lately. Anglers are using leeches for a lot of different species of fish lately. We still have panfish, medium/large, and jumbo leeches in stock and available in any quantity that you prefer. Big Sandy sports and pizza reports some walleyes and northerns being caught on Big Sandy Lake. Call Big Sandy for the latest reports… 218-426-4335. They also have leeches and all live baits in stock.

SAINT PETER - Hermies Bait, Brad, 43539 French Hill Rd. St.Peter MN 56082 (507-931-6875) Still getting some nice sunnies on Tetonka, good ½ pounders. Some have been caught out on Lake Washington in Bakers bay too. A few crappies in the narrows on Madison. The river fishing is starting to return top normal as the water levels have come back down. The catfish are starting to bite.

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) Call us for a report.

WACONIA - Mase's In Towne Marine, Cindy, corner of Lake and Elm (952-442-2096) The bass have been biting well around the docks using stick baits. The sunnies have been biting on the north side of the island and down on the south end by the beach. Some muskies are also being caught on the weedlines.

WINNIBIGOSHISH – Walleye Visions, Tom Neustrom, 21622 Airport Rd, Grand Rapids www.mnfishingpros.com (218-327-2312) If you are thinking of a Fall trip up to the Big Winnie area, book a guide trip with the mnfishingpros.com group. They will take all the guess work out of where to find the fish and make your trip a memorable one.