Outdoors Weekly Fish Tales Archive

January 25, 2008

ANNANDALE - B.J.'s Bait & Tackle, Bill, west side of Clearwater Lake, between the two public accesses, www.bjsbait.com (320-274-3730) Clearwater has 14-18 inches of ice and the walleyes are biting on shiners and fatheads. Sunfish and crappies are hitting at the 50-foot hole on crappie minnows and waxworms. For northern and sunfish, work the weedlines.

ANOKA - Action's Fishing, Jack, 809 West Hwy 10, www.actionsfishing.com (763-422-4890) The weather this past weekend was pretty harsh. It really kept the anglers in check. The best action was reported from Pelican Lake near St. Michael. We have some Golden Shiners. Buffalo Lake continues to produce walleyes and crappies. The good news is people are able to drive pretty much every where after that cold spell.

BATTLE LAKE - Ben's Bait & Tackle, Josie, Junction of Hwy 78 and 210 (218-864-5596) Fishing is excellent. Sunfish are biting on Rush, Dead, Deer, Stalker, Blanche and South Turtle between 10-15 feet of water on waxworms. Crappies are active on West Battle, West Leaf and Stalker in 18-22 feet of water. Walleyes are best on Ottertail in various depths, mainly on small medium sucker minnows or fatheads. On West Battle, try in either 17-22 or 30-35 feet with shiner minnows. On Walker and Rush Lake, walleyes are biting in 18-24 feet. For northern pike, Ottertail, Clitheral, both North and South Turtle, and West Battle have been producing pike right off the deep weedline in 15 feet with small to medium sucker minnows or shiners.

BEMIDJI - Bluewater Bait & Sports, Mark Cook, 1 mile north of the Hwy 2 & 71 Intersection, www.bluewater-bait.com (218-444-2248) Anglers have been catching a few walleyes on Lake Bemidji in 30 feet of water using sucker minnows. Anglers are also picking up a few walleyes and perch on Plantangenette in 30 feet of water.

BLACKDUCK - Timberline Sport & Tackle, Carl Adams, Junction of Hwy 71 and Blackduck Lake Rd. (218-835-4636) Perch are biting on Blackduck and the walleyes are active in 18-20 feet of water. Panfish bite has been decent on Gilstad and Rabideau. Red Lake was better this past weekend. A few crappies mixed in with the walleyes, anglers are using two extensions to get past the rough ice. Glow spoons are working well.

BRAINERD/NISSWA AREA - S&W Bait and Tackle - Home of Nisswa Guide League, County Road 77 just west of Highway 371, www.sandwbait.com (218-829-7010) Call us for the latest reports!

CHISAGO CITY - Frankie's Live Bait and Marine, Brad, Corner of Hwy 8 and CR 77, www.frankies.net (651-257-6334) On South Lindstrom out in front of the hospital the crappies are still biting. Try the south end of Chisago for panfish action. North Center’s north end has been good for pike. For walleyes, try South Center off the deep hole between Needle Point in 30-35 feet of water.

CROSBY - Oars-N-Mine Bait and Tackle, Jesse Williams, 22640 Hwy 6 N (218-546-6912) Lake trout bite reported on Big Trout using tube jigs in 60-80 feet of water. Walleyes best on Pelican and Serpent. Crappies, sunfish and pike are hitting jigs tipped with waxies or a crappie minnow. Pike are hitting shiners on a tip-up, suspend the bait halfway down in 12-18 feet of water just off the weedline.

CROSSLAKE - Holiday of Cross Lake, 35610 Cty. Rd. 66 Crosslake, Lee (218-692-2708) Held’s Guide Service (218-820-0989) With the cold weather, crappie action has slowed a bit, however anglers are still catching fish in 18-30 feet on the weedline. Nice northern pike action on Crosslake on the 12-foot weed flats. The walleye action on the Whitefish Chain continues to produce good numbers and a bonus fish once in a while in the 15-25 foot range on steep breaklines on Whitefish, Cross and Lower Hay. Good luck and have fun fishing!

DULUTH - Fisherman's Corner, Scott, 7 miles north of Miller Mall on Hwy 53, www.fishycorner.com (218-729-5369) Pike Lake is your best bet for some crappies and a few walleyes in 14-17 feet of water. Walleyes are also biting on Boulder Lake in 12 feet of water. Shiners and chubs have been working well.

DULUTH - Marine General, 1501 London Road, on the edge of Lake Superior, www.marinegeneral.com (218-724-8833) Walleye anglers have been doing well on the St. Louis River down on the bay. Walleyes and crappies are also biting on Fish Lake. The lakes are slush-free now with the cold snap we had. A few trucks have been seen driving out, but please make sure to check with your local shop on specific lake conditions before you go out!

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) Although this recent cold snap prevented all but the heartiest of souls from venturing out, those that did pulled up some decent catches. The trout action has been growing steadily with several reports coming in off Burntside lake. Lakers to 8 pounds were brought in over the weekend. Walleye bite is starting to improve as well, with some larger fish being caught, in part due to the improving ice conditions that are making it safer to move around. Crappie bite continues to draw people out of the cabin for some fresh air. Babe’s has a full complement of live bait and ice fishing equipment to get you into the fishing action

FOREST LAKE - Mikes Bait on 8, Rich, 1/2 mile east of 35 on Hwy 8 (651-464-5150) Fishing action is picking up. Crappies are biting on Chisago and Green lakes in shallow water, about 8-12 feet. Anglers are picking up a few walleyes on South Lindstrom and Forest lakes in 18-22 feet of water. Northern pike are hitting on Forest Lake in 12-15 feet of water.

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) Anglers are still catching sunfish and crappies on St Mary’s Lake in 35 feet of water. Walleyes are hitting on Big Birch Lake in 18-22 feet at the structure in the main lake. Sunnies and crappies are biting on Big Sauk Lake and crappies and walleyes are biting on King’s Lake. We have seen people driving on area lakes, but please use common sense. We have a complete supply of golden shiners, silver shiners and rainbow chubs if you are looking for hot bait for the Brainerd contest this weekend!

HACKENSACK - Swanson's Bait & Tackle, Jim Tuller, Hwy 371 on the north end of Hackensack, www.swansonsbait.com (218-675-6176) On Leech Lake, walleyes are still biting on the humps in Walker Bay during the first few hours of daylight. The perch have been picking up too. Perch fishing has been good on the 10-12 foot sandy/weed flats such as Pine Point and Moore's Point. A jigging spoon tipped with a minnow head seems to be working best. Try Birch Lake for panfish with a small jig and waxworm. Woman Lake is a good bet for walleyes and perch.

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) Weather changes kept anglers and fish guessing. Cold weather, crackin’ ice and snow cover seemed to favor pike fisherman. Several nice pike over 40” were taken and on the west end of Kabetogama anglers looking for walleyes did not fare as well. Kabetogama and Namakan appear to be froze up pretty solid now, still some slush spots, but with snowmobiles you can move around pretty well. Now's time to try some reel edges at the 30’ range for eyes, perch and saugers. Glow jigs tipped with minnows or minnow heads is the favored method for eyes. Northern pike going after sucker minnows. Kab and Namakan to Crane Lake snowmobile trails have been staked and deemed safe. Land trails have good snow cover and are groomed up for great snowmobiling.

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 fish are heading toward the reefs at Lake of the Woods. So that means houses are heading north. Knight and Bridges Islands, and the reefs around Garden Island are the hot spots. Anglers are catching a mix of walleye and sauger throughout the day, with some perch and northern showing up as well. Gold, pink, white, and good old chartreuse jigs have been producing the best. The Rainy River by Clementson Rapids has been giving up some nice walleye in 18-20 feet of water; fishing off the bottom with a ½ oz jig has been working well. Favorite colors include pink glow or white glow. Great fishing at the Northwest Angle and Islands continues. Anglers fishing the structures around Oak Island, in 22-26 feet of water have seen a nice mix of walleye, sauger, and a few perch. Best colors are gold, gold and white, and the rattle jig. Remember, you DO NOT need a passport to visit the Northwest Angle.

LEECH LAKE - Anderson's Resorts, Tim, www.andersonsleech-lake.com (1-800-516-0077) The cold snap has helped the fishing on Leech Lake. Fishing in Walker Bay has been great with many humps producing. Pine and Sand Points are very active for walleyes. Bear Island has been a percher’s dream if you are mobile.

METRO AREA EAST - Blue Ribbon Bait & Tackle, Oakdale, Josh, www.blueribbonbait.com (651-777-2421) Try Lake Jane for sunnies, crappies and northern pike. Crappies have been biting on the St.Croix at the Bayport area. Try the north end of Bald Eagle for pike. On White Bear Lake a few walleyes have been hitting by the Island.

MILLE LACS LAKE – Chris Kuduk’s Guide Service (320-630-1761) On Shakopee, anglers are catching northern pike and panfish during the evening hours. Anne Lake and Isle Bay are still good bets for crappies in about 10 feet water. Good perch reports from at Barnacles right off the break. Mille Lacs walleyes biting at Sherman’s flats.

MILLE LACS LAKE - Malmo Market, Lynwood Elliott, State Hwy 47 and 18 East, NE corner of Mille Lacs (320-684-2295) Walleye anglers are using shiners on set lines and jigging a fathead on the other line. Perch anglers are having luck with freshwater shrimp as many of the jumbos caught are spitting up shrimp. The mud flats seem to be holding the most fish, anglers are also seeing fish on the shallow rocks. Everyone is seeing plenty of walleye, but the problem is lots of bait fish.

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) We got the cold weather that we all were whining to get, and yes, it made the ice that much stronger. And to be quite honest, the bite did pick up a bit, received some reports that anglers were catching a few perch during the day time hours in 14-18 feet jigging with a fat. Best hours were sunrise to about 3pm. You can look for walleyes in about the same depth, around dusk to about a couple hours after dark. There is a lot of little perch swimming around as there is usually about every 5 years, so try using a bigger jigging spoon with a shiner or even a small sucker. We are looking at much warmer temps and a full moon phase... so who knows? Watch for updates for the 25th Perch Extravaganza!

LAKE MINNETONKA - Wayzata Bait & Tackle, Tim or Bob, half mile west off I-494 on Hwy 12 (952-473-2227) There is about a foot of ice on area lakes. On Minnetonka, pike are hitting at Grey’s Bay and Carson’s Bay. Try a tip-up/sucker in 18 feet of water. Panfish are going on Black Lake and Phelps. Smaller walleyes reported on Independence in 19 feet of water using fatheads. Panfish going on Sarah in deeper water, suspended in 26 feet, 12 feet down.

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) Walleyes are hitting pretty good on Gull and North Long. The quality of the fish is really nice, 50-50, keepers to smaller ones. Lots of 16-18 inchers out there this year. The best fishing has been along the weedlines in 14-22 feet of water. Some days a shiner minnow on a set line is the ticket the next day they want jigging spoons tipped with a minnow head. The crappie fishing is really starting to pick up on the Gull Chain. The best reports are coming from Margaret, Upper Gull and Roy Lake. There are also good reports from Wilson Bay on the south end. The pike fishing has been decent for anglers using tip ups and sucker minnows. 10-16 feet has been best. Most fish have been running 3-5 pounds with a few in the 10-12 pound range. For sunfish stick to Nisswa Lake.

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) Houses on the north end of Osakis have been catching sunfish and crappies. Off of Coon Point, crappies and walleyes have been biting. Try Schultz Bay for crappies and walleyes.

PELICAN RAPIDS - Park Region Sport Shop, Lee Brenna, Intersection of Interstate 59 and 108 in downtown Pelican Rapids (218-863-5701) The slush has froze and we a have surplus of ice with last week’s below zero temps. Great panfish action reported for both bluegills and crappies on all area lakes. Try Lida for bigger fish, Lizzie is in second place and try Prairie for the most action. Anglers are catching pike while using sucker minnows on Prairie, Lida and Lizzie.

RAINY LAKE - Rainy Lake Tourism, www.rainylake.org (1-800-FALLS-MN) Anglers have been catching walleye in 25 to 35 feet of water in the area of American Narrows, near Rainy Lake City and in several areas further east. A pink jig and a minnow combination working best. Pike can still be caught in Black Bay and Cranberry Bay. Below zero temperatures is helping the trails. The latest trail reports are found on the International Voyageur Snowmobile Club website www.ridetheborder.com

RED WING - Ike's Bait & Tackle, Ken, 2109 Old W Main St, Red Wing (651- 388-2111) Ice anglers report walleyes are biting in Baypoint Park. Sunnies and bluegills are hitting at the docks at Baypoint Park and the docks at Coville Park. On Frontinac Pond, anglers are catching pike with a tip-up and a sucker minnow. Open water anglers braving the cold report catching some limits up by the dam.

SAINT CLOUD - Stop Light Bait, 45 8th Avenue SE, St. Cloud (320-255-9689) Walleye anglers are catching a few fish on Little Rock Lake at dawn and dusk. Fatheads and shiners are the preferred bait. Big Birch and Grand Lake would also be worth a try. Crappies have been biting on Pearl Lake and Julia. Crappie minnows and eurolarvae are catching the fish. Reports of a sunfish bite on Julia, Pearl Lake and Cedar Lake. The colder weather has slowed down the bite somewhat but the forecasted warmer weather should help a lot. We have freshwater shrimp in stock and we also have shiners. New 2008 fishing licenses will be available on Feb. 18, 2008. We are able to handle all your licensing needs.

SAINT PETER - Hermies Bait, Brad, 43539 French Hill Rd. St.Peter MN 56082 (507-931-6875) Anglers have been catching crappies and walleyes on Lake Washington in 20-22 feet of water. German Lake is starting to come alive for crappies. Anglers are snagging a few pike and some walleyes on Jefferson in 18-22 feet of 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) The cold weather slowed things down, so we have had minimal reports. Things should pick up this week, so give us a call for the latest.

UPPER RED LAKE - White Birch Resort, Monte Sharbono, vacation@whitebirchresort.net (218-835-4552) Blackduck perch bite is picking up. This past weekend was pretty good on Upper Red. Walleyes with some crappies mixed in. Give us a call for current reports.

WACONIA - Mase's In Towne Marine, Cindy, corner of Lake and Elm, www.intownemarina.com (952-442-2096) Fishing slowed a little with last week’s cold front. Walleyes have been inconsistent; they are spread out on the reefs. Anderson’s has been producing some fish. To get away from the crowds, try up by Nelsons or North Reef. Sunfish are down there, if you can get them to bite. Crappies are best evenings into the night. Try the Pillsbury Reef area or the West Center area for both sunfish and crappies. Best bet is to stay away from the traffic to find the fish. For pike, work the weedlines, weed beds.

WINNIBIGOSHISH – Walleye Visions, Tom Neustrom, 21622 Airport Rd, Grand Rapids www.mnfishingpros.com (218-327-2312) Brrrrrr! Minnesota is known for their cold fronts and this last one was a beauty. With needed below zero temperatures, to firm up slushy areas on many of the lakes, it will make traveling on the ice better. Big Winnie has slowed up this past week with the colder weather, but things will start to pick again as the temperatures warm up. Many of the off-shore spots, humps. main bars, and rock piles, are places to key in on. As previously mentioned a couple weeks ago, this is the time of the year when perch, crappies and bluegills seek soft bottom areas adjacent to structure and feed on small critters that come off the bottom. Big Cutfoot is a prime area to check especially for crappies and bluegills. Very small offerings like the Northland Forage minnow, with 2 or 3 eurolarvae , can be your best bet. As the winter continues make sure you think light. When fishing Big Winnie do similar things to find active fish. Right now the last 2 hours of the day are critical in finding walleyes that will bite. Some of the humps located just east of Raven's Point will give up nice perch and walleyes. As usual drill lots of holes and keep moving. Highbanks Resort on the Northeast side has been plowing roads and this is still the best way to access the big lake. When you come off the lake stop and see Rick or Kim at Highbanks and they will have just the right things to warm you up. Don't forget to start thinking about booking that guide trip for the upcoming season. Contact us at www.mnfishingpros.com and reserve a trip with the best guide group in Minnesota.