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"A
Northern Minnesota Fishing Tradition"
Current Fishing Reports
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Grand Rapids Fishing Report 6-30-2008 Jason
Green Pick Your Favorite Style Of Fishing, It's Working! |
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Another incredible week in Northern MN! This past week we
have run into just about every situation in the 1000 Grand Lakes Area. From
windy cool days like spring to mid summer HOT calm days. Each day has
presented a style of angling that produces better. Mother Nature has also
thrown us a curve ball with multiple bug hatches transpiring on many of the
area lakes but the good news is that the fish are still hungry.
On days that the wind starts to blow we have had our best
luck back on the shoreline. Targeting areas with larger rock has worked
well for us with a 1/8-1/4oz Fireball tipped with a shiner. I have noticed
that there are plenty of soft shell crayfish in these areas and walleye are
binging on the small tasty morsels. The best producing color for us on the
rocks has been Parrot.
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Perch Are Starting To Show Up With
The Deeper Walleye But We Still Have Not Found Any Consistency.
On calmer days we have been forced to
move out to mid lake humps and bars. Occasionally we have found a few fish
that will bite on a jig and minnow but what these fish really seem to want
are crawlers and leeches. If the weather stays consistent I believe the jig
and minnow days are numbered.
The best presentation for these deeper
fish for me has been a 6' Roach Rig with a 3/8oz Worm Weight or bullet style
weight fished vertically under the boat. I like the bullet style weight
because it is useful on just about any type of structure. The Worm Weight
also allows you to change out the size easily if the wind suddenly changes
on you.
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Fishing
Report! 6-24-08 Jeff Sundin - The Summer Patterns Begin |
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For a lot of folks, it seemed like summer would never come this year. But
we've had quite a turnaround this week. On Monday (6-23) we happened to be
fishing on Lake Winnie when the morning surface temperature began at 67
degrees. By day's end the temperature had risen to 74 degrees. There are
currently several insect hatches going on at once. Fish Flies and a couple
of other insects known to me only as "little green bugs" are
crawling all over everything. As expected, the Walleye are responding to
insect hatches by heading out into open water where the main lake bars,
humps and reefs come in contact with softer bottom areas that harbor the
insect larvae.
We found fish on a variety of structures that included some of the most
popular and largest main lake bars. There were also a lot of fish showing
up on the small "humps", especially the ones located closest to the
shoreline.
Walleye anglers were catching fish on a variety of baits including lindy
rigs with Leeches or Night Crawlers, jig and minnow combinations and live
bait spinners tipped with minnows. For a week or so, you should be able to
continue catching fish by jigging on the deeper structures. After that,
the fish will get a little more fussy and start looking for the slower,
live bait presentations. Lindy rigs with Leeches will be favored by lots
of folks in another week or so.
The Bass and panfish report is excellent right now thanks to the warming
trend. I had a good experience with Bluegills in the shallows this weekend
and talked with several friends who have been getting awesome shallow Bass
action for both Smallmouth and Largemouth. If you like fishing surface
baits, spinnerbaits or jerk worms. This is the time to get out and give it
a whirl. I sent one friend out to a good Smallmouth spot and he reported
catching about 40 fish in just a few hours. All of the fish are in the
shallow areas like Bulrushes, mixed rock/gravel and around any kind of
timber you can find.
We discovered that a few of the Bluegills are already beginning to move
out of the shallows and set up shop on the deeper weed edges. I don't
think I'd give up on the shallow water gills just yet, but with all of
these insect hatches going on, they too will be attracted to the deeper,
soft bottom areas to cash in on the bonanza. Try the shallows first and if
that fails, move out to the outer edges of the deeper weeds and try a 1/16
ounce jig tipped with a piece of cut night crawler. For the best results,
fish slowly trying to keep your jig almost motionless near the bottom. The
really nice sunfish don't need to see much action.
The early signs of a Crawfish hatch are showing up now too and that will
be good news to folks looking for some more consistent Perch action. The
shallow areas with mixed rock, gravel and sand are the first to warm up
and the first areas to look for some Jumbos. As the water continues to
warm, the mid depth rocks are going to get productive. I'll be spending
some time looking for Perch this week and should have a better update for
the next report.
Things are hectic right now so I'm struggling to keep the reports updated,
don't be shy though.
Ask a question if you need to and I'll get back to you ASAP.
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I finally found a
replacement for my favorite landing net! Click here to
read a review about it.
Walleye remain active in the shallow
water. Breezy days still offer good jig and minnow fishing. Shallow weeds,
rock bars and primary drop off areas continue to hold fish.
Nick Swerlyk had a good week last
week. he boated lots of fish including this dandy Walleye. Walleyes are
heading out into deeper water water now as the insect hatches heat up.
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Fishing
Report! 6-17-08 Jeff Sundin - Summer Peak Fishing! Walleye, Bass |
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We've had plenty of wind, overcast skies and
continuing cool water temperatures during the past week. Surface
temperatures on most of the Deer River area lakes are hovering between 61
and 63 degrees and seem to be stabilizing in that range. The Walleye
fishing continues to be strong in the shallow water on jig and minnow
combinations in water ranging from 6 to 12 feet depending on the lake
and/or the area you're fishing.
There's a change on the horizon though
as we've noticed lots of fish with stomachs full of insects instead of
minnows. On Monday we moved out into some deeper water and began to locate
small, but active schools of Walleye on some of the sunken islands (reefs)
located close to shore, but not connected to it. So far these schools of
fish are still just fragments of the larger schools we're finding in the
shallows, but from past experience, once these fish start to move out to
deeper water, the transition will happen fast. With much warmer
temperatures predicted for the early part of next week, I'd anticipate a
'mass movement" on at least some of the are lakes, especially the ones
with strong Mayfly hatches.
For a short time, the Walleye will continue to hit a jig and minnow, even
in the deeper water. But if you prefer live bait rigging with leeches and
night crawlers, your time is almost here. On Sunday we tried slip bobbers
with leeches, but found only Perch to be interested in them. We switched
back to jigging from an anchored position and the action started right
back up again.
As I spent the last week fishing nothing but Walleye, I'm a little short
on the panfish report, but look for an update in the next few days as our
warm weather arrives and gets us interested in the Bluegill bite again. You
can still view
last weeks report for what I had at that time.
Things are hectic right now so I'm struggling to keep the reports updated,
don't be shy though.
Ask a question if you need to and I'll get back to you ASAP.
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Walleye remain active in the shallow
water. Breezy days really perk them up and doubles like these have not
been uncommon.
The average size of the Walleye on the
slot limit lakes like Leech Lake and Lake Winnie have been outstanding
this season. We've caught and released lots of fish in the 19 to 22 inch
range and an occasional 24 to 26 inch fish like this one. There are enough
eaters out there to make a fish fry, sorting through the 'slot fish" has
been a fun process.
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Fishing
Report! 6-9-08 Jeff Sundin - Summer Peak Fishing Approaching
Fast! |
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Bluegill and Bass are returning to the shallows with a vengeance as the
water temps return to the mid 60 degree range. It's not too hard to locate
the fish right now especially if you have a calm morning. We found a great
school of Bluegill by moving slowly along the shoreline and looking for
visual signs of activity in the shallow (1 to 3 feet) water. Once we
spotted an area where fish were surfacing, it was all action. Throw in a
1/16 jig tipped with a cut piece of worm and a bobber set to a foot or so
and you're in business.
As the day warmed up, the largemouth Bass found their way into the mix and
for anyone fishing Bass, it would have been a respectable outing. Typical
shallow locations like bulrush patches, wild rice or submerged branches
are holding fish right now.
We've seen the fist serious insect
hatches beginning now and while the Walleye action in shallow water
continues, there are early signs of Walleye moving out to deeper water
locations too. As long as we still have mid 60 degree water, there's no
big rush to move out to the deep water. But in spite
of the fact that water temperatures are staying cool, insect larvae are
churning and maturing on soft bottom flats and will soon be a major
influence on baitfish and Walleye location.
As soon as the water temps reach around 68 or on some of those days that
you don't have a decent drifting wind, it's probably a good time to start
checking out some of your favorite main lake haunts.
My first choices are bars and sunken islands (reefs) that are located
close to shore, but lead out into open water. These spots are often the
natural runways that Walleye use to travel to and from the deeper main
lake structures. These are the type of structures that tend to get "good"
before the more isolated bars or humps that exist further out into the
lake(s). On smaller lakes, the fish can change locations overnight. So if
you were on a good school of fish recently and they're not there on your
next visit, check the deeper structure.
My Crappie fishing really peaked last week, but we're still able to locate
some fairly good schools of fish out on shallow, weedy flats. Cabbage
weeds have been a good structure for me in the past few days. We've been
fishing small 1/16 ounce jigs tipped with crappie minnows. The weeds are
getting thicker now and we've been better off using bobbers set to about 3
feet, maybe a bit deeper if you find a cabbage patch on a deeper flat.
Your best bet is to poke around slowly until you get one active fish to
bite, then slow down and concentrate on that small area. When the bite
slows down, start wandering slowly again until you pick up the next
school.
Yellow Perch seem to be the hardest fish to stay on top of right now.
We've had some decent fishing for them as we fish for Walleye, but I don't
think I could get a consistent, repeatable pattern going right now. The
fish that we're getting are generally a bit smaller than usual, 8 to 9
inch fish are common, but 10 inch or larger are less plentiful so we've
released most of the fish we catch. Jig and minnow or lindy rigs tipped
with minnows and fished in areas with mixed weeds and rock have been my
best bet.
If you've been a fan of Leech Lake in the past but
haven't been there in a while, it's time to get out your notebook and bone
up on your favorite spots. Thanks to the efforts of the DNR, US Fish and
Wildlife and a variety of sporting groups, the Walleye fishing on Leech
has really rebounded. A combination of Walleye stocking, slot limits and
working to get the Cormorant population under control have helped lead to
the comeback. I'll be adding more comments about Leech Lake as time
allows, but for now, if you have time to get over there, I don't think
you'll be disappointed. Fish are still shoreline related, so you're best
bet is the classic jig and minnow combination. We've had consistent action
in water depths of 8 to 12 feet and as always on Leech, the windy days are
the best.
Things are hectic right now so I'm struggling to keep the reports updated,
don't be shy though.
Ask a question if you need to and I'll get back to you ASAP.
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Bluegills are moving into their shallow
spawning haunts and the schools of fish are aggressive right now. It's
rare for me to get into this shallow spring action, but I had a chance to
do it this week and it looks like prime time is here now.
The Crappie that were in the shallows
last week are moving back out onto the deeper flats near spawning areas.
Look for patches of green cabbage weeds and you're likely to find some
schools of Crappie.
The Leech Lake comeback is great news
for us. This is an old time favorite lake and the fishing is starting to
remind me of the "good old days". There are a variety of sizes again so
you'll have some "slot fish", some little ones and some eaters too.
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Fishing
Report! 6-7-08 Jeff Sundin - Walleye Opener in Northern
Minnesota |
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We
had a great warm up late last week that pushed the water temps up into the
mid 60 degree range on most of the Deer River and Grand Rapids area lakes.
As soon as the water temp hit 65 degrees we saw an immediate upturn in the
Crappie action and anglers everywhere within a 50 mile radius began
reporting good catches of shallow water, spring Crappies. We had limits
every day until Wednesday when the cold front finally chipped away at the
shallow water temperatures until they returned to the mid 50's.
I'm not sure if I expect to see the Crappies move back into the shallows
or not. Typically, once we get the big run, the first cold front that
comes along moves them back out and we rarely see a secondary move back
into shallow water. If that happens this time, start looking for Crappies
in the green cabbage weeds. Anytime you can locate a good Cabbage bed on a
flat near a known spawning area, you'll find the Crappies. A great
approach is to cast small 1/16 ounce jigs tipped with a 1-1/2 inch plastic
tube, Beetle body or even a small 2 inch twister tail. let the jig fall
into pockets in the weeds and when you feel a "tick", set the hook
immediately.
Walleye fishing presentations are still primarily shallow water, jig and
minnow offerings especially when you have a good drifting wind to work
with. But even though the water temperatures remain cold, I've begun to
see small schools of fish 'stacking up" on deeper rock points and some of
the sunken islands or reefs located close to the shoreline. A couple of
these schools of fish have been failing to respond to the jig and minnow
so I've set my sights on leeches and night crawlers to begin working well
during the next few days of fishing. At any rate, it's a good idea to
start carrying some leeches and crawlers just in case the wind won't blow
and you need to start scrounging.
If you find one of these schools of fish in a concentrated area like a
small reef or point, remember that this is prime time to catch some fish
using slip bobbers too.
Bluegill reports were okay, but not great last week and I think a lot of
these fish were just beginning to move into the shallows before they were
interrupted by the cold snap. I'm expecting to see a lot of movement as
the water warms back up this week. We searched a lot of shallow water last
weekend and saw no real sign of any large scale spawning run, so I think
the best is still to come.
Perch fishing has been slow this week and they seem to be widely scattered
in the shallow water flats as are the Walleye. We've caught a few Perch
mixed in with the Walleye, but I have yet to find a really good school of
keeper size fish. The weather seems to be playing a role too as the bright
conditions and clear water are making the fish unusually spooky. When a
find a small group of fish, they bite for minute or two and then quickly
disappear. It wouldn't surprise me to see this behavior continue until we
get a little "bloom" in the water, but I'll let you know if the action
picks up.
This weekend is the Musky Fishing Opener and it will be really interesting
to see how they respond in the below normal water temperatures. What if
there's a "pre-spawn" feeding period associated with the late spawning
season? it could be a pretty action packed weekend for Musky anglers if
that's the case. We'll see how the reports come in and let you know.
Things are hectic right now so I'm struggling to keep the reports updated,
don't be shy though.
Ask a question if you need to and I'll get back to you ASAP.
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Marty Franklin found the Walleye
fishing pretty rewarding even if we did have to bundle up a bit. The cold
water temperatures have kept a lot of Walleyes in the shallows and so far,
the action has held up really well.
Crappies made a big move last week and
anglers all over the area were reporting good catches. The action slowed
with the cold front this week. We'll see if they come back in or not, but
I expect we'll still be seeing the big Bluegill move this week.
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