Mille Lac

[George]

After hearing so many good things about Mille lac I have booked this weekend at Dickies resort. Have never been to the lake before so any info on where to go and what to use would really be helpful.THANKS

[Guest]

for starterspick up a Walleye Wiffer II map. then pick any spot on the lake. the fish are biting all over. Also check out the MILLE Lacs Thread down a bit further.

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[Guest]

I was up this weekend and the wind was very strong from the south/southwest. We fished "Graveyard" (drifting) during the morning. We caught fish in about 15 feet of water on the downward side of the bar. I understand that the walleyes have been hitting hard out on the flats, so if the wind dies down you could try one of them. During the evening the fish have been biting off the rock piles on the south end. GOOD LUCK!

[Terry Hagstrom]

I had some clients out on Sat. and fished on the edge of the mud, North end. Started at approx. 8 AM and finished at about 4:30 PM. we had caught 91 eye's and the biggest was 28"L. I bet it didn't go over 5 lbs.
I did manage to find 4 keepers though. Couldn't get a fish on a crawler, had to be a leech, power bait slugo or any thing else that resembled food. Can't figure out the crawler thing though.
Terry Hagstrom
Terry's Guide Service
www.fishingmn.com/terry

[Fathead]

Hi Terry,

I concur with the puzzling results of crawlers and spinners this year. It seems like the fish are not as interested in them this year as the past four years. It's not to say that you cannot catch them on crawlers, but they are not nearly as hot as other years.

My father and I were out last Friday from 5am to 2:30pm, on the mud, and boated 113 fish on 3ways and rapalas. We didn't get anything over 27". I have yet to boat a plus 28 this year. How about you? I wonder if there is just too much competition amoung the other fish that catching a big one will be more of a challenge this year?

[Guest]

91 and 113 fish, howly cows... I've never even heard of those kind of numbers...

Any tips on where to go for a relative newbie to MilleLacs?

Fathead, how do you rig those rapala 3 ways - I assume a 3 way swivel, but how much line between the sinker and swivel and from the lure to swivel?? I tried that once without much luck, not sure if I was doing it right. How much weight do you normally have to use on those?

Thanks, Dan

[George]

Thanks for the info. Where can I get the Walleye Whiffer II map? Mud flats are they all over or certain areas of the lake. What about the rock piles? Also does the map have GPS coordinates on it? I have heard that one thing to do is just follow the launches. Sounds to easy or does it really work.Sounds like it is hard to find fish that are in the slot. Has anybody heard an early weather forcast for the weekend? Thanks George

[GullGuide]

George,
Right now it does not matter where you fish, you will catch em. We did not fish the flats at all the last few days and did very well. Gravel, rock, sand, and out in the middle of no-where, 15 - 32 feet, there were fish to be had. They seemed to bite the best on either a jig and a leech or a 4 foot snell with a red bead in front of the hook and a leech.
Just find any structure and the fish will be there.
Good luck

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Gull Guide Service
fishingminnesota.com/gullguide
Brainerd-Mille Lacs-Willmar
Bemidji-Ottertail

[Gordon Fothergill]

George,
if you have a GPS unit, the best map you can get is the Mille Lacs Reelbottom from lake master.

You can see more about it at
http://fishingmn.com/lakemap

The fish are biting all over on Mille Lacs.

[Fathead]

Hi RatherBeFishingDan (could you get a longer handle?)

Here is a copy of a post I made last week on 3way rigging.

Hi guys (or gals),
3-way rigging with #7 floating rapalas has been HOTTTT! This method is very simple, and with a little practice you can become very proficient at it.

What I am currently using is a 3oz bell sinker on a drop line(8lb magnathin) that is 2' long. The line I use to my rap is 4' long (10# vanish) that I tie to a clip and clip onto the rap. My main line is a 10# PowerPro. I tip my rap with a 1" chunk of crawler, hooked once through the back treble, which I let dangle behind.

When working a mud flat, there are a number of ways people prefer to fish them. Paralleling an edge will sometimes work nicely, or coming off the flat to deep or vica versa is also a very effective way to trigger strikes (my personal favorite). A good way to do this is parallel a flat and troll "S" curves onto and off of the flat. By doing this you will be in multiple depths and any given time. Fishing over various depths requires some readjustment of the depth of your lure. I typically will start in, lets say 33'. I drop my rig to the bottom so the bell sinker touches. I then reel my baitcaster up about 2-3 cranks (my bait should be running about 4' above the bottom. Some people may think this is too high up from the bottom. Believe me, the fish will come up after it. When I troll up the side of the flat, for every 3' of depth I change, I will reel up 2 turns. I don't adjust my lure depth every foot, because I am a firm believer that your lure must sustain a consistent run for it to look natural to the fish. I do not put my rod in a holder, because you will inevitably be dragging bottom at some point when you do this (on the mud that is, if you use this on gravel, go for it). Plus, the way fishing has been lately, most of your time will be spent grabbing for your rod and fighting fish, than having it sit in the holder.

I have been concentrating my efforts out on the mud flats because I like to fish them this time of year. However, GullGuide is correct when he says you can fish just about anywhere and have alot of success. My neighbor did very well out on 5-mile gravel this past weekend using the 3way and rap presentation. They fished anywhere from 29 to 32' of water. I had another friend who was out on 7-mile flat and he and his buddy caught 102 fish using a lindy and leech combo. One of my dads buddies from work and his partner were out on the flats (he wouldnt say which one) using jigs and leeches and boated upward of 150 fish in a day. (they stopped counting at 100 and guestimated that number). The fishing is Canada-like right now and once you find pockets of active fish, you should really have no problems putting up good numbers. The fish are biting everywhere, but when I catch one, I will circle back through that spot, if I don't catch another right away or catch an occasional one I will move on to another spot. If you do this, you will eventually find a spot where alot of fish are holding and have a field day. I have been out on a couple of occasions the past two weeks, where I was by myself and boated 21 and 25 fish in two seperate 1.5 hour spans. It has truly been incredible.

I will be out on Wednesday, on Boot flat, in a black and gray 1650 angler with a 50hp yammy. Either by myself or with my neighbor. If you see me stop by and say hello.

[George]

Thanks for all of the info. Fathead, how was fishing today? If I happen to see you this weekend I'll swing by and chat. I also have a 1650 tyee (Gray,100merc). I wish I had known about the crawler situation before I bought 10 dozen. Oh well they'll come in handy sometime. Everybody is talking leeches. I would think it would be that big of a deal whether they were large or jumbo's. Another thing red beads. Does it matter size of the bead? Thanks again.