We fished of the launch Saturday night 6-10 during the weather. Not exactly sure of the totals but I would guess we had 15-20 small walleyes. most in the 13-15" range. The fishing was not a priority that for sure. But we sure had a good time.
Here is Pam showing us the proper way to hold a fish.
Fished this weekend on the south end out of Isle. Fishing sucked to say the least. Total of 4 fish. One 20 inch eye, one dink eye, 2-3lb smallie, one perch. A total of 5 fish were cleaned in the fish cleaning house at the campground for the weekend. Man I hope it picks up in September when we go back up.
My son and I fished on Saturday and had pretty good luck - lucky enough to put 6 slots in the livewell and we caught a few over 24. We had our best luck with blades on the mud - haven't quite figured out the proper trolling technique. Look for fish on the points or inside turns then fish them. It was a great day to be on the lake - spending time with Tyler and watching the guys fish the tournament. Congrats to all that placed!!
We did ok also, fished 6 hours Saturday 3pm to 9 on the south end. We only kept 5 fish for 2 people but could have kept our 8 limit, caught 10 fish at 13 inches. The fish we kept 15 and 16. only 1 fish over at 20, Fished rocks. Got checked by the CO also. good to see them out.
Man I just don't understand how to fish that lake or else I really suck at fishing. Probably both actually. In all the years I've fished it I have never done very well there but, I hear others who do pretty good but, yet I try and fish the same way others are and I get skunked. It seems I tell myself I'm not coming back here because this lake sucks and yet I always go back and try again. I must be an idiot
Don't give up Crestliner. Mille Lacs can be a challenge. You are in the right place to find info to help you, but have you considered hiring a guide? They would be happy to show you spots and techniques that will work for at all different times of the year. The fishing has been very good this year, but I've had my fair share of tough days too. Before you head out, talk to the people at Hunter's and they will point you in the right direction.
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Humana Insurance Representative-Brainerd and Mille Lacs Area
I'm sure it would help a lot to go out with a guide to see where to go and how to fish those location and I would love to hire a guide sometime but, it's not in the budget as of now. I suspect there are a number of you that have done that one time or another. I guess I have always been one of those who likes to figure out on my own how to fish or hunt in certain area without the help of a guide putting you in front of the game. More gratifying knowing that you did the work or figured it out on your own. In this case though it would be nice to have some direction to follow in order to help with the success rate which has been pretty much zero for me as of late. I'll take all the help I can get when it comes to fishing Mille Lacs
Not trying to continue pounding the point, but fishing with the guide may help you refine your tactics!!! I am not a guide, but sometimes (especially during icefishing) I notice that people using too large a hook, too big a split shot, too heavy a line/leader or any of the other little items that might make the difference between catching fish and not. The worst part is they are fishing where we are catching fish!!! You could very well be on the right spot, but fish just don't want to work with you.
I fished with my brother one day two summers ago, I was catching fish, he was not. We were using the same blue 1/8 oz. jig and bait, but something was different. It was little but it was there. He was using mono and I was using 10/2 Power Pro w/ 10# Vanish Florocarbon leader. I considered tieing on a lead into his mono to see if it might be the difference, but he didn't want to do that, so we never figured out what the difference was.
Lastly the investment you make in hiring a guide will have life long benifits from having a few spots to use a guide to figure out others. The guide will usually, if you ask, help you with a few other spots on the lake. If you treat them well, they can become life long friends who you can use to network for information that won't ever be given out on these information pages!!!
I know budgets are tough these days, but save $15 a week for the next 30 weeks and you will have your trip paid for next summer and will reap the benefits of your experience with a guide!!! Good luck, keep listening, asking questions and reporting, it will come!!! As always, be safe out there!!!
The fish are spread out everywhere in the system as well as the bait right now so covering ground is a good way to put more fish in the boat.Lead core with shad raps ( Perch,Craw,Black/Silver,Blue/Silver ) have all been pretty good.Blades and crawlers and rigging leeches have also caught fish but keep the speed up over 1 to 1.5 to pick up the active fish.Add a little more weight if you need to.Still lots of fish on the shallow rocks and even deeper rocks but dont wait for them to come to you.If you dont get any action in 20-30 minutes pull the anchor and move.
First let me apologize for sounding like a cry baby here. Wasn't trying to sound like a whiner. Ya my wife and I did a lot of trolling this weekend using lead core and number 5 and 7 shad raps and rapala's in all different colors. Also trolled in different depths of water from 8ft out to 30some feet. I never marked many fish either. I would mark one here and one there but nothing consistent. The 2 walleyes we did catch were on slip bobbers and leeches in the evening out on 3 mile reef. Had a ton a boats around us and never saw anyone else catch a fish. There was also a launch next to us and they hauled in only 3 or 4 fish.
I can feel for you. Don't be discouraged, it takes a lot of time and trials on any lake to figure it out. If you are a weekender you can get lucky once in awhile. I agree, take a launch or hire a guide to help figure it out. Even after you have 'figured it out', take a launch and hire a guide again. Keep these guys in business. I have fished ML for 12 years and every year I do one or the other, or both. Kind of like sharpening your pencil. Keep yourself up to date with what is working and what is not. This forum does an outstanding job of sharing information and I applaud that.
Last year while motoring to a spot, and there were a couple dozen boats there on a warm afternoon I cut the throttle 4 or 500 yards from the fishing grounds because I personally hate the Rambos who come blowing into the middle, cut back, motor around for 10 minutes, then blow out. Right away my screen went black with activity. Baitfish, humps, hooks, name it. Dropped anchor and caught 26 fish in 4 hours. Only kept 2 in the slot. the rest were 21-27". What a gas. Didn't take long for the other boats to drift over to me but they coudn't snag a fish. Right spot, right depth, right leeches, hook, line, sinker, bobber, sun, moon, stars, etc. Great time!
Doesn't happen all the time, but when it does it's like a good golf shot. Keeps you coming back for more.
