Outdoors Weekly Fish Tales Archive

October 26, 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 shop will be closed until the ice season starts. Have a great fall.

ANOKA - Action's Fishing, Jack, 809 West Hwy 10, www.actionsfishing.com (763-422-4890) We still have not had a deep frost yet, so don't put the boats away. The last guide trip I had on the Mississippi, we caught over 60 fish in 3-4 hours. The water temps are running 5- 10 degrees warmer than normal for this time of year. Live bait will out fish artificials in the coming weeks. Crappies can be found near the early ice spots, and walleyes are really starting to feed aggressively. The Coon Rapids dam will take 2 weeks to lower the pool above it, and the Rum River will be at least 2 weeks before they pull the plug on the Anoka dam. Get out and catch some smallmouth and walleyes now!!

BATTLE LAKE - Ben's Bait & Tackle, Josie, Junction of Hwy 78 and 210 (218-864-5596) The walleye bite continues on Ottertail, anglers have been using jig and a minnow and catching them all over in depths varying from 7 to 60 feet. They have been in the deeper water when it’s calm and on the windy days they have been moving up shallow. Jigging in the deeper water and pulling cranks in the shallows. On Wester Battle, they have been doing ok on walleyes in about 8 feet of water with cranks at night on the flats. The northerns continue to bite well trolling suckers along the weeds on Ottertail, Clitheral and West Battle. For crappies, try East or West Battle, or Stalker in 14 to 18 feet of water. The sunnies are in 10 to 15 feet of water on West Battle, Star, Clitheral and Blanch and biting on crawlers.

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 been biting on Lake Bemidji on a jig and a minnow, most everyone else has been chasing ducks and grouse. Haven’t heard much on the muskie fishing.

BLACKDUCK - Timberline Sport & Tackle, Carl Adams, Junction of Hwy 71 and Blackduck Lake Rd. (218-835-4636) Lots of people are seeing deer. Bow hunting has been good… a few walleyes are being picked up on Blackduck and a few on Gull and Island too. Duck hunters have been seeing average numbers and the grouse numbers are only average.

BRAINERD/NISSWA AREA - S&W Bait and Tackle - Home of Walleye Dans Guide Service, County Road 77 just west of Highway 371 www.sandwbait.com & www.walleyedan.com (218-829-7010) I'm a little sore after helping my brother-in-law hang a deer stand. We are getting so close to the rut I can feel it. Still busy fishing and we still have a few trips in the book. If you want to make it up for a last try, please call and we will try to put you on some walleyes. I was out most of last week and had some decent success. Our best trip was on Friday night when I fished with Shawn and Michael Holmes. We ended up with 9 nice keepers in just a couple of hours on the water. We were on Gull Lindy Rigging with big creek chubs and redtails. 27-32 feet is where we found the biters. If you want to wet the last open water line of the season give us a ring. Some of you might not realize, but we have moved. We are at our new location which is just west of the Holiday gas station in Nisswa (across from the waterslide). It's a nice, neat spot and we are looking forward to good things. Please stop by and check it out.

CHISAGO CITY - Frankie's Live Bait and Marine, Brad, Corner of Hwy 8 and CR 77, www.frankies.net (651-257-6334) Green Lake has been putting out walleyes up off Linberg’s point. The bass bite on Chisago has been phenomenal, fishing has been good.

CROSBY - Oars-N-Mine Bait and Tackle, Jesse Williams, 22640 Hwy 6 N (218-546-6912) Walleye fishermen have been quite pleased with their results. Jigging with redtails has been the number one method for catching these eager biters, and lakes such as Pelican and Rabbit have been excellent. Trout fishermen reported mixed results as of late, with the rain being the culprit in the matter. Grouse hunters that have gotten off the beaten path have found birds to shoot, especially in public hunting areas. Goose numbers in the area are up, but duck numbers are still mediocre, with ringnecks making up the majority of hunter’s bags. Look for rice beds for the best action. As far as archery hunting goes, reports have been minimal, but a few bucks have been starting to leave sign in the area’s woods. Stop in for the up-to-the-minute hunting and fishing 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) The walleye action has been good on Gull, Cross and Whitefish out in about 25 feet of water on lindy rigs, and some are starting to use a jig and a shiner with success. On Gull and Pelican, they’ve been trolling redtails and rapalas. The bass and northerns are all over the outside weedline. The duck hunting has been pretty quiet, the grouse too. The deer registration is going okay.

DULUTH - Fisherman's Corner, Scott, 7 miles north of Miller Mall on Hwy 53, www.fishycorner.com (218-729-5369) Nice crappie bite going on Fish and Boulder… reports are shallower, 5-6 feet of water on Fish Lake by high bank hole. Crappies are staging by the edges of the deeper holes. The walleyes are in about 10-12 feet of water on Island Lake. There have been some reports of 14inch crappies on Boulder. And on the St. Louis River above the dam, guys are getting some eyes. And in front of the Lester river guys are getting some good looper action, also at the French and Sucker rivers.

DULUTH - Marine General, 1501 London Road, on the edge of Lake Superior, www.marinegeneral.com (218-724-8833) We have some great shorecasting fishing going on right now for loopers, coho and chinook. There is a lot of water flowing in the rivers. Guys are taking fish in the streams… lots of runoff. Best baits, silver and blue croc spoons, silver and greens. Trolling off river mouths... they’ve been doing good. Walleye fishing has been tough, hard to stay on them. On the south shore, in the Brule there have been lots of browns caught. This is some of the best shore fishing we’ve had in 5 years.

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) The walleye fishing really doesn't get any better than it is right now. Shagawa Lake has been phenomenal with catch rates exceeding 50 fish. While most of the eyes caught are under 14", easy limits of keeper fish were obtained for those who braved the high winds and scattered rain showers. Newton Lake has also been a hot spot with anglers catching double digits of walleyes. This lake receives very little pressure as most people just pass through on their way to Basswood. White Iron Lake has been reporting good catches of eyes, but few anglers fish it as the slot limit prevents anglers from keeping those beauties in the 17-26" slot. Drifting minnow rigs has been the top producer, but many larger fish are being taken trolling minnow style plugs in deep water. Babe's Bait and Tackle in Ely has become THE place for up to the minute lake reports and fishing hot spots.

FOREST LAKE - Mikes Bait on 8, Rich, 1/2 mile east of 35 on Hwy 8 (651-464-5150) The walleye bite has been descent, a few on Forest and Comfort Lakes. Panfish have been suspended 20-30 foot water in about 15 to 20 feet. The river was really hot before the water level came up and got dirty, things should get better again when that goes down. Little Lake has been putting out the big sunnies.

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) We’ve seen good walleye action on Big and Little Birch with a jig and a minnow (fatheads, redtails, and shiners) fairly deep. On Swan Lake, they are catching walleyes there too. McCormick Lake near Sauk Center is still putting out some walleyes. Swan and Big Sauk Lakes are putting out some nice crappies and sunnies. And some big sunfish are being caught in Hunter’s Bay on Big Birch. Reports are that the muskies are biting on the Mississippi River. We still have a good supply of redtails and shiners and all other baits. And we are fully stocked up for muzzleloader and black powder season. And pheasant hunting has been great in the area, best it’s been in years.

HACKENSACK - Swanson's Bait & Tackle, Jim Tuller, Hwy 371 on the north end of Hackensack, www.swansonsbait.com (218-675-6176) The weather is still wet. There is a sunny outlook though, according to the weather report. The good news is that the fish are still feeding in preparation for winter. Walleyes are the focus of most anglers attention right now. Woman Lake and Leech Lake remain the hot spots. A jig and minnow is still the most successful combo. Redtails are the minnow boating the most fish this fall. Woman Lake reports included a number of small fish, 5 to 10 inches, as well as the usual 16 to 20 inch fish. Perch are also biting well on fatheads; some of the perch have been bigger than the walleyes! Leech Lake walleyes are still going strong; looks like it will be a good winter for ice fishing, both walleyes and perch. Walleyes are moving in shallow on the points. Pine Point and the Hardwoods have been really good, 8 to 12 feet seems to be the best depth. I did not hear much from the other area lakes over the weekend, the weather hindered some from going out. With the forecast for the upcoming week, plan on going fishing, the fishing is excellent and the open-water season is winding down. Get out and give it a shot before you need your ice auger.

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) Wet and windy weather over the past week deterred most folks from fishing, but those who ventured out knowing the season will soon be over did great. The fall walleye bite has been well above the norm and this makes things look promising for next year. Anglers jigging at between 35-40' on the east end of Kab into Namakan have been quite pleased. Jig and minnow is the answer for walleyes and saugers; sucker minnows for pike in deep week areas. Crappie action still slow, as the lake cooled off. Water temperatures still in the low to mid 50's which is a little warm for late fall crappies. Grouse numbers still appear down although the wet windy weather doesn't favor the hunter. Enjoy the late fall season, watch out for deer they are plentiful.

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) The fall walleye run is in full swing here at Lake of the Woods. Limits of fish are being caught in the lake and the Rainy River. The current in the river is still strong, so a ¾ to 1 ounce jig is needed. Jigging with a minnow in shallower water, about 8-10 feet has been working well for anglers, lucky colors include pink, orange and neon yellow. Frontier Landing has been the hot spot, with one group catching and releasing just over 200 walleye in one day. The best time to be on the water seems to be afternoon until just before dark. If you’re heading out to the big water, the water temperature is at 50 degrees, and there are still shiners running. The walleye have been biting around Morris Point, the Lighthouse Gap, and around Wheeler’s Point. The west end of Pine Island, in 12-14 feet of water has been a hot spot the last few days. The Northwest Angle and Islands is at the height of muskie season, and some huge fish have been caught. The hot spots include: American Point, the north side of Oak Island, and around Flag Island. Walleye fishing has been good around Oak Island and Flag Island as well.

LEECH LAKE - Anderson's Resorts, Tim, www.andersonsleech-lake.com (1-800-516-0077) Stony and Pine points are really hot right now for walleyes. Bass have also been very active behind Bear Island. Walker Bay and Sand Point have had a lot of mixed bags reported of perch and walleye.

METRO AREA EAST - Blue Ribbon Bait & Tackle, Oakdale, Josh, www.blueribbonbait.com (651-777-2421) The St. Croix has been the hottest bite, the river went up about 2 feet, smallies and walleyes by Hudson are still biting. Getting out of the current has been good. The rivers have been the place to be.

MILLE LACS LAKE – Chris Kuduk’s Guide Service (320-630-1761) Lots of pheasants in the area. Perch fishing on the West side of Shermans and Browns. Guys are out on the lake chasing muskies and doing pretty good. And the Rapala bite for walleyes is going good too. The deer have really been active lately too.

MILLE LACS LAKE - Malmo Market, Lynwood Elliott, State Hwy 47 and 18 East, NE corner of Mille Lacs (320-684-2295)

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) Rain, rain go away! It's been a wet week, but we all know that the lake could use a few inches or so. Perch will be the ticket during the day time hours, hit the bay areas in about 9-16 feet. Evenings you'll want to try hitting the rocky reefs on the East side of the pond, pulling some crankbaits, try 6-12 feet, best times being an hour before dusk to a few hours past dark. The harvest moon is the 26th. Look for some excellent night fishing. Call the fishing hotline at 320-676-3811 and press #1 for updated fishing and weather.

LAKE MINNETONKA - Wayzata Bait & Tackle, Tim or Bob, half mile west off I-494 on Hwy 12 (952-473-2227) The muskies are biting on sucker rigs on the city lakes. The walleyes are biting on tonka with a jig and a minnow in 20 to 25 feet of water working the bottoms. There have been a few crappies picked up in the same water depths, but they are suspended about 12 to 15 feet down and they have been picked up drifting through with a jig and a minnow.

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)

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 walleye bite on Lake Miltona has been great recently. And they are biting a little better on Osakis too. The diver ducks are starting to filter in more too.

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 and pike fishing between the rains. The muskie fishing has been good on the area lakes, Detroit, Pelican and Beers Lakes on big suckers. The walleye bite on Pelican and Lida has been good still. The smallie fishing has been fantastic too on the rocks, although it is catch and release, it can be great fun. The duck and goose hunting has been good right now, and we have been seeing a lot of cacklers around too. These are the smaller version of the Canadian goose.

RAINY LAKE - Rainy Lake Tourism, www.rainylake.org (1-800-FALLS-MN) A couple of great fall days prompted some pretty good fishing. Walleye and crappies have been hitting on jigs and minnows with the walleye in the deeper waters. Sand Bay and Black Bay have the right kind of structures and depths and the forecast calls for several more fantastic fall days in the next week. Walleye and smallmouth bass were hitting hard in the Rainy River with popular spots being just below the dam and near the mouth of the Littlefork River. Waterfowl hunting should improve with the calmer, sunnier weather predicted.Archery deer hunters are starting to register some nice deer.

RED WING - Ike's Bait & Tackle, Ken, 2109 Old W Main St, Red Wing (651- 388-2111) The backwater panfish bite has been good. The crappies are biting in Bay Point Park in between the docks. Some nice walleyes and sauger are being picked up by the dam on Ike’s hair jigs and a minnow. The brighter colors seem to be performing the best. They have also been getting some sturgeon and cats up by the dam. And pulling brighter color shads in Pepin has produced a few walleyes too. Goose hunting in the area has been going good.

SAINT CLOUD - Stop Light Bait, 45 8th Avenue SE, St. Cloud (320-255-9689) The walleyes and crappies in the Mississippi River are providing anglers a lot of action lately. Fathead minnows, shiners, red tails and nightcrawlers are catching the fish. Catch and release smallmouth fishing has also been good. Briggs Lake, Lake Alexander, Clearwater and Big Birch have also been producing some walleyes. Crappies have also been biting on Pearl Lake, Clearwater and Horseshoe. We will have redtails in our store by the weekend. We are now taking deer hides and we are a big game registration station. This year as part of our deer hide program, we will have a drawing for a Savage .243 rifle with scope and a Parker compound bow. We also have our ELS machine for all your license needs.

SAINT PETER - Hermies Bait, Brad, 43539 French Hill Rd. St.Peter MN 56082 (507-931-6875) The walleyes a have been biting on the river and in Lakes Hanska and Washington in about 18 feet of water. Medicine Lake has been good for crappies in about 12 to 14 foot water with some walleyes mixed in too.

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) It's been real good here on Tetonka and it certainly good now, crappies and gills which are really good sized are being caught by the inlet of the Cannon River, which is on the West end of Tetonka. Crappie minnows, and waxies seem to be the ticket on getting 'em in the boat. Walleyes are starting to feed on leeches and fats, they are mainly near the rock piles and such. Pike have been hitting live bait (chubs and suckers), with good results. With all the resorts being closed now reports are much fewer but with same results in the end.The lake is up so lets hope for a early ice.

UPPER RED LAKE - White Birch Resort, Monte Sharbono, vacation@whitebirchresort.net (218-835-4552) Few decent northerns on URL, some walleyes in the river, but with the wind it’s been tough getting out.

WACONIA - Mase's In Towne Marine, Cindy, corner of Lake and Elm (952-442-2096) The shop is closed until we get good fishable ice. So check back for ice reports in December. Until then, we wish you the best of luck during the hunting season!

WINNIBIGOSHISH – Walleye Visions, Tom Neustrom, 21622 Airport Rd, Grand Rapids www.mnfishingpros.com (218-327-2312) The walleye fishing on big Winnie has slowed this past week with the high winds and rain, with few anglers out. The best walleye bite has been on big Cutfoot, with depths of 10 to 15 feet being the best. A northland fireball (watermelon) has been the jig of choice, in 1/8 ounce size, tipped with a rainbow chub and a fathead. Fish the areas around Bob’s Bar, the gap, the mouth of Deer Lake, the Narrows, and the clam bed off of Eagles Nest Resort. The crappie fishing has held up well, and in Big Cutfoot try 23 to 28 feet, and in Little Cutfoot try 16 to 20 feet. A small northland thumper jig and minnow or waxworm has been working real well. The duck hunting has slowed down and most hunters are waiting for the wind to switch from the NW. The grouse numbers are not what was anticipated, but with the leaves down it should get better. I think the numbers were over estimated.