Outdoors Weekly Fish Tales Archive

September 21, 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 northerns are biting on sucker minnows and cranks in 10 to 15 feet of water. The walleyes are biting out in 18 to 22 feet of water on fatheads. A few crappies are being picked up on top of the weeds with minnows and flu-flus in the evening. They seem to disappear during the day. The sunnies are biting in 10 feet of water with waxies about 8 feet down.

ANOKA - Action's Fishing, Jack, 809 West Hwy 10, www.actionsfishing.com (763-422-4890) Once again the Rum and Mississippi rivers continue to amaze me. There are so many large, beautiful smallmouth bass. It is catch and release only right now STATEWIDE. No exceptions, so continue to release these hogs to battle another day. Primary action has been on snagless presentations such as texas-rigged worms and tubes. Topwater continues to fool them, also. Call the shop for a memorable guided trip. P. S. We have gorgeous redtails!!

BATTLE LAKE - Ben's Bait & Tackle, Josie, Junction of Hwy 78 and 210 (218-864-5596) With the fronts going through, the fishing has been a little slower. For walleyes, Ottertail has been better, with a jig and a minnow. Also try on West Battle in 17-24 feet with jig and minnow. Also try Stalker Lake too. For bass, some of the nicer ones are coming off West Battle, Clitheral, Fiske and Johnson Lakes… fishing in the weeds with fake baits. The northerns are being caught on Ottertail, Clitheral or Long Lakes trolling cranks along the weeds. For sunnies try it in 6 to 12 feet of water on West Battle, Clitheral, Blanch or Anna Lakes using crawlers. For crappies, the best lake has been West Battle in 16 to 25 feet of water, but they are only suspended about 3-4 feet down.

BEMIDJI - Bluewater Bait & Sports, Mark Cook, 1 mile north of the Hwy 2 & 71 Intersection, www.bluewater-bait.com (218-444-2248) The walleyes have moved shallower on Lake Bemidji, up to about 8 to 12 feet of water now and are biting on redtails. Quite a few grouse were saw last weekend, but the leaves are still thick.

BLACKDUCK - Timberline Sport & Tackle, Carl Adams, Junction of Hwy 71 and Blackduck Lake Rd. (218-835-4636) The fishing has picked back up, we’ve heard better reports on Blackduck for walleyes with a jig and a minnow or a lindy rig and minnow. The crappies are biting on Gilstad and Pimusche. For sunnies try Rabideau. We seen lots of does come in for the archery season and the grouse reports are okay, but there are a lot of leaves on the trees still.

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 crappies are biting out here right now. And the walleyes are hitting in the channel between big and little Green Lakes, also out by Nelson’s Island. Also try Kroon Lake for crappies.

CROSBY - Oars-N-Mine Bait and Tackle, Jesse Williams, 22640 Hwy 6 N (218-546-6912) This week the fishing reports we are hearing have been good. Walleyes are active in 6-12 feet at night, and around 18-27 during the day on area lakes. Pelican has been best, but Rabbit and Clearwater have given up a few fish as well. Redtails are best tipped on a jig. Pike are slurping up minnows fished along the breaks and spinners tipped with a sucker over the tops of standing weeds. Bass can be caught using topwaters during low-light periods, or with leeches under a bobber during the day in 8-14 feet of water. Panfish reports have been limited, but the action hasn’t slowed much. The Mississippi has been the best bet for big sunfish still. For trout, try Manual or Huntington to find active fish in the early morning or evening with deep diving Rapalas or PowerBait. Grouse reports over the weekend were OK, with lots of flushes but with the heavy foliage it is hard to see. Goose reports have lots of birds in the area, but kill numbers are only fair. Archers killed quite a few deer opening weekend, but no big adult bucks yet.

CROSSLAKE - Holiday of Cross Lake, 35610 Cty. Rd. 66 Crosslake, Lee (218-692-2708) Held’s Guide Service (218-820-0989) Walleye action has picked up on Whitefish Chain and Crosslake with the colder weather. Anglers are having success using Lindy-rigs with Red-Tails in 24 to 30 feet of water during the early morning or evening hours. Northern Pike 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 bigger fish seen to be found along the outside weed edge. Spinner baits or worm rigs have been the hot ticket.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) A couple of guys come off Fish Lake catching walleyes, they had their best luck on leeches for them…Island and Boulder Lakes have been good for walleyes too, deep and on minnows, look in 22-28 feet of water. The northerns have been biting on Caribou outside the weedline. Superior action has been out in 60 to 110 feet of water, a lot at 80 feet. Guys are mostly dragging spoons. Bear and grouse reports have been good. A couple of nice deer have been registered… lots of does.

DULUTH - Marine General, 1501 London Road, on the edge of Lake Superior, www.marinegeneral.com (218-724-8833) The great fishing continues up here. The lake trout are nice sized and averaging 10-12 pounds. The salmon are in the 7 pound range up the north shore, on the south shore they are averaging a little bigger. The walleyes are biting in the bay in about 30 feet of water bottom bouncing shiners. In the upper river guys are getting a bunch of walleyes between 16 – 18 inches with a jig and a minnow. The early fall fishing has been great so far.

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 action has been steadily increasing on area lakes. Whether you're a walleye aficionado, or are just after a hefty stringer of panfish, now is the time to be out there probing the depths. The walleye are scattered right now, but if you keep on the move, you should have no problem catching a respectable limit of fish. Try working the 15-25 foot depths. Drifting with minnow tipped spinners is the most popular method these days, although some larger specimens are being caught on larger Rapala style baits. Stop in at Babes, "the best little bait shop in Ely" for the latest info and hottest lakes.

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

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) On McCormick Lake they have been getting lots of walleyes, it’s an old walleye rearing pond. Cedar Lake is putting out some nice eyes, keep in mind the limit of two. Big and Little Birch has some eyes hitting now, pretty much a minnow bite. For sunnies, try Swan Lake, Long Lake by the hub, they’ve been the best two lakes. The crappies on Big Birch have been biting towards the evening too. The muskies are biting on Shamineau, and the walleyes have been biting on Alexander on redtails. The fall bite has definitely started now. We still have a good selection of minnows.

HACKENSACK - Swanson's Bait & Tackle, Jim Tuller, Hwy 371 on the north end of Hackensack, www.swansonsbait.com (218-675-6176) It felt more like ice fishing weather this morning than fishing out of a boat. The overnight low was around 30 degrees, pretty good covering of frost on the ground. Some people reported temps as low as 27. It was brisk. The wind started to blow around 9 am...will make for some cold fishing. The sun is out though and it did warm up to almost 50. Walleyes are the hot fish right now. Most anglers are using a jig and a minnow. The depths have varied greatly though. There are walleyes anywhere from 13 to 35 feet. Woman Lake has been producing a few walleyes, mostly in 18 feet of water with a redtail minnow. There are a few decent perch there as well, take fatheads along for them. Leech Lake has still been holding its own. Walleyes are still active on the main lake, redtails, fatheads, and still some nightcrawlers for bait. If you like to troll, this would be the time to do it. Pull your cranks in 10-14 feet of water in the evening and into the night. This works well on Leech but also many other smaller lakes in the area this time of year. An Original Floating Rapala works well; I prefer the size 9 or 11 for the shallow water trolling. Natural colors or bright colors is anybody's guess. If fishing with two or more people try different colors to start and see which works the best, it may vary from spot to spot and day to day. Musky action is coming on, better then it has all summer. There have been a bunch of fish in the 36-42 inch range caught. Leech Lake has been the area lake to head to. Fish the sunken islands on the main lake, bucktails are probably the best choice. I know this is supposed to be a fishing report but I am going to throw in that the early reports on the Grouse season looks good, most groups saw a fair number of birds today. A lot of leaves on the trees yet, it will get easier to see and shoot birds as the leaves drop. Archery deer hunting is also getting underway. The deer population in our area is down from years past but there are still plenty of them around. Many people are fishing in the morning, bird hunting during the day and heading to the deer woods for the evening. Sounds like a good day to me.

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) Fall like weather took over last week with a vengeance. Strong winds, temperatures in the 20's, flurries and cold rain ushered people off the lakes. Some anglers checked in that braved the waves occasionally and had success fishing shallow wind swept bays - in contrast to that they found decent fishing at either side of 35' with jig and minnow. Forecasts for favorable weather this week should bode well for good fishing. Fall methods favor jig and minnow for walleyes, back trolling or slow drifting is a favorable presentation. As the summer winds down, the diehard leech and crawler anglers can wind up their season fishing in shallow water ranging from 6-15'. Expect a more aggressive bite than mid-season. Pike anglers favor this time of year for the big ones. Deep weed edges and week tops are excellent areas to troll or cast. Sucker minnow with a slop bobber is a great way to pass the day to fetch pike, or use rainbows with a slip bobber for walleyes. Crappies being caught at unexpected times in unexpected areas, no consistent bite yet. Smallmouth action still strong, remember they must be released when caught in Kabetogama, however, they can be caught and kept in Namakan, check regulations closely. East end of Kabetogama and most of Namakan tend to favor walleye and crappie action. Kabetogama has many bays for all wind directions that will attract pike and smallies. Grouse hunting proved to be a fair opener, lots of cover and 28 degree temperatures favored the grouse. As the leaves drop in the days to come, the birds will be at the hunter's mercy. Bear hunters had a tough week weather-wise and better conditions should put bears at the bait. Quiet opener for deer hunters using bow and arrow.

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) Lake of the Woods is still the hot spot for your fishing adventure. Anglers have been fishing outside of the Lighthouse Gap and using live shiners as bait. They have started jigging and finding their limits by 11 a.m. in some cases. Water temperature has dropped to the mid 50's and that means fish are moving into more shallow waters.Many lunkers are being seen as they begin their trek up river for their spawn.Did you say shiners? Yes, the shiners are already in the river and the walleye are starting to follow. Last week, as wind and rain kept fishermen off of the big basin, guides took their parties up river and found excellent bites there. You can always be assured of variety, as crappies and northern also show up in the action. Fishing tournaments are scheduled for this coming weekend at the end of Wheelers Point Road and another Walleye Classic will be held on the first weekend of October. Temperatures are predicted to be 10 degrees warmer than last weeks' averages, so fishing will be picking up again this week. There are two weeks left of the sturgeon season in these waters and they have been reported to be putting on quite a show as they are frequently seen jumping in the river out towards the Clementson area. Clementson, Frontier Landing and also Birchdale will be the sites to watch as the shiners move into those areas. Later September and early October find hundreds of fishermen trying their hand at catching that trophy. The Northwest Angle and Islands are having great success in the waters around the flats and rocks. Crappies, perch and walleye are in abundance. The fall colors are making their showing as well as the Canadian ducks.

LEECH LAKE - Anderson's Resorts, Tim, www.andersonsleech-lake.com (1-800-516-0077) Fishing was great this last week. Muskie was the biggest ticket. Bucktails on the rocks. Agency Bay weeds are also great. Walleyes are starting to move up to the shallows. Big Rock Reef, Pine and Sand Points are the best spots. Bass and perch are still going strong in Steamboat Bay and Headquarters Bay. Hunting has also started so make Leech lake your gun/rod destination!

METRO AREA EAST - Blue Ribbon Bait & Tackle, Oakdale, Josh, www.blueribbonbait.com (651-777-2421) Now is the best time to be out fishing the river. Lots of crappies, silver bass and sunnies. The St. Croix has been hit or miss lately. We’ve had tons of deer registered from the archery opener.

MILLE LACS LAKE – Chris Kuduk’s Guide Service (320-630-1761) We caught a few walleyes on Sherman’s and in Brown’s. Night fishing with rapalas is the way to go now. There has been a lot of guys out muskie fishing lately too with mixed success.

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) Well, it seems that every one has forgotten about the walleye bite and now has turned to the perch bite. Anglers showed up last weekend for the hot perch bite, using crappie's and fats. Catching limits while fishing in 10-14 feet of water. Walleye can still be found moving in, on rocks at 25 feet during the day and 12 at night. Start using minnows and pulling cranks.

LAKE MINNETONKA - Wayzata Bait & Tackle, Tim or Bob, half mile west off I-494 on Hwy 12 (952-473-2227) The water temps have continued to drop, they were down to 65 degrees. The bass are going on the weeds using spinners and live bait. The little walleyes are on the weedlines and the bigger ones are out deeper. A jig and a minnow is the way to go there.

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) Call us for a report!

PELICAN RAPIDS - Park Region Sport Shop, Lee Brenna, Intersection of Interstate 59 and 108 in downtown Pelican Rapids (218-863-5701) It’s been very windy, with the northwest winds blowing down. We’ve had some great goose hunting over the last week. Pelican, Franklin and Lida have been the choice lakes for walleyes. Jig and a minnow has been the bait of choice. The warmer weather this week should be good for fishing. The youth duck hunt numbers were very good too, lots of ducks were shot.

RAINY LAKE - Rainy Lake Tourism, www.rainylake.org (1-800-FALLS-MN) Crappie action has been best on Rainy Lake; try in 25-to-30 feet of water using a small minnow on a jig. Try areas of Sand Bay, Three Sisters Island and Black Bay. Walleye continue to feed near submerged reefs, but the depth varies with the temperature and amount of sunlight. A graph is very useful in locating fish. Rainy River walleye and smallmouth bass fishing has been pretty good below the dam at International Falls and around the Long Sault Rapids near Franz Jevne State Park. Word is the emerald shiner is the ticket to catching river walleye. Fall colors are apparent throughout the woods and green is losing its place as the dominant color. The peak may pass within the next week or two. Ruffed grouse numbers are presumably up in the area, and so are the numbers of hunters. Bird hunters reported spotty success; a common complaint was too much underbrush. Bear hunters also report some spotty success and there have been few reports from archery deer hunters yet. All three of those hunting seasons are open.

RED WING - Ike's Bait & Tackle, Ken, 2109 Old W Main St, Red Wing (651- 388-2111) The goose hunters are doing good… and quite a few deer have come in for registration. The walleyes are starting to hit on the edges up to the damn on Ike’s hair jig and minnow from 12 to 18 feet of water and working shallower. And guys have been getting some nice cats while fishing for eyes up by the dam… pike have been biting at the mouths of the Rush and Pine Rivers with suckers. Panfish are biting in Baypoint Park around the docks. Water temp down to 62-65… as soon as it gets to 50-55 area the fishing will really pick up.

SAINT CLOUD ¬ Stop Light Bait, 45 8th Avenue SE, St. Cloud (320-255-9689) Stoplight bait is under new ownership. We will be selling hunting and fishing licenses again soon. We are re-stocking and improving our entire store and we will again be taking deer hides this fall.

SAINT PETER - Hermies Bait, Brad, 43539 French Hill Rd. St.Peter MN 56082 (507-931-6875) The walleyes are biting on Lake Washington, trolling cranks right before dark. The sunnies are biting on Madison Lake in about 10-12 feet of water and a few crappies are going on German too in the deeper water.

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) Perch in the range of 12-13" are being caught on Tetonka using fatheads. The walleye bite is also on as the water is starting to cool. Sunnies and crappies are hitting waxies and crappie minnows. 10-15' seems to be the depth where most fish are being caught. This past week we had a Bass tourney here but the winning fish was only about 4 lbs, well Tetonka is a lake with the cannon river running through it, fish are never in the same spot they were the day before, there are however much bigger fish then this here. Lake Sakatah is still slow but will get better as fall approaches.

WACONIA - Mase's In Towne Marine, Cindy, corner of Lake and Elm (952-442-2096) We have some shorter hours now, we’ll be opening at 10 am on weekdays and 8 am on weekends now. We had a 40 plus inch muskie caught and released out front here, and the bass bite has been good. The crappies are biting in 12 to 16 feet of water off Anderson’s Reef.

WINNIBIGOSHISH – Walleye Visions, Tom Neustrom, 21622 Airport Rd, Grand Rapids www.mnfishingpros.com (218-327-2312) The cold and windy weather hasn’t helped things, but there has been a pretty descent walleye bite out on Cutfoot. Some of the areas are the clam beds, the mouth of Deer Lake, and the gap. Fireball jig and a rainbow chub has been the best, but they are also getting them on a crawlers harness too. The crappie fishing picked up last week on Cutfoot and a lot were taken in 20-24 feet of water, most caught on northland thumper jigs and a crappie minnow. The pike fishing on the big lake along the Tamarack, High banks and north shore has been good on husky jerks.