Alexander or Shamineau?

[DHost21]

Heading up that way for the 4th. Want to hit one of these lakes Sunday hard I was wondering what people know about the two and what one would be recommended this time of year and then when we get to one of the lakes anything to look for? I've never been to either.

Thanks, Dustin

[raiserlures]

both of the lakes are good musky lakes. as long as the water temp are in the upper 60s to low 70s you will or should move some fish. i would fish both of them if you get a chance. on alex fish the islands and deep weed edges along shore lines with bucktails and jerk baits. the central part of the lake is best. we move fish on top water baits on pre front overcast days. shamineau lake is a little smaller but still a good lake. i would fish the island on the east side and the west bay is also a good area.

[DHost21]

Thanks for the tips! I think we are gonna fish Alex forsure and if that is really bad we will give sham a try. I was up on vermilion this past weekend and between the mayfly hatch and very cold water the fish were non existent. What's the temps up by Alex? Is anything moving?

[raiserlures]

i have not been on those two lakes this year but i do have a cabin 30mins north on 3rd crow wing and the water temp on Tuesday was 63 degrees. mantrap water temp was mid 60s on the 20th and cooled down sense then with the cold weather. this week the temps are going to come up with the warmer weather and that should make the fishing better i hope.

[crix]

I fish those lakes a lot and It has been terrible this year not moving hardly any fish and we have tried many different methods out side the norm

[shamalex72]

I fish those lakes a lot and It has been terrible this year not moving hardly any fish and we have tried many different methods out side the norm

It sucks, but I'm glad I'm not the only one struggling out there.

[DHost21]

Yikes thats scary to hear! I hope it picks up with the warm weather. I guess I might have to look into making a drive to miltona instead? Any word on that?

[Musky_Madness]

Water temp was 67 at 1pm today. Slayed the pike and landed one over 30" so that was fun. Musky fishing was nonexistent today besides the 25" I caught. No follows between my Dad and I fishing from 6am-1pm. We were deep, shallow, rocks, sand, reeds, weeds, milfoil, calm, rough, dark, light, fast, slow, up, down, and on and on it goes. Glad to hear we aren't alone! Moved decent fish on opener and it completely shut off now. Have camping planned on the 4th on Mille Lacs for several days. Guessing that will be even more quiet. Bummer

[Musky_Madness]

Miltona is deeper and larger so would be safe to say it is probably low to mid 60s for water temp and usually fires up in the fall on average years

[Fred_Bear]

Alexander was hot for the first week or so of the season. Saw lots of fish and got a few to go in the dark. The key was to fish right in the newly emerging cabbage and over the top of the milfoil since it was still a few feet below surface. We'd move right through the middle of weed beds and cast out each side. Seemed like fish were everywhere in the weeds. The fish we did catch were very skinny and almost unhealthy looking. Would these be post spawn females or what do you guys think?

With the water temp dropping drastically those fish have all but disappeared and it's been dismal the last couple weeks out there. Been catching lots of pike lately and that's about it, other than the 24" skie we got fishing crappies last week haha.

[SmellEsox]

If you plan on making the switch from Alex to Shamineau, please check your boat for Eurasian Milfoil before leaving Lake Alex. I was on Shamineau trolling for a few hours Sat. nite and never bumped a fish. Water temps varied from 66 to 68 depending on where we were.

[toddb]

Troy,

Remember back a few years when it was like catching fish in a barrel out there? It was this timeframe I believe. Try that pattern and dont give up after 2 hours without a fish...

Todd

[10,000 Casts]

I fished it once a week and a half after opener and we moved 15 fish. All were 42+ and a couple were nice 47-48, everything was on small gliders and bright spinnerbaits. Wind was 15 mph out of the east and water was cold and it amounted to alot of lazy follows. That lake can change in an instant depending on conditions. This weather is pretty screwy so if I were you, I would start at all the comunnity spots and work your way out deeper from there. You may get a good topwater and big bucktail bite.

[nater]

MM, it didn't get any better in the afternoon! Only managed a couple decent pike. Tried about everything, moved a couple earlier before noon and nothing going in the evening. Clouds and wind, you'd think they'd be chomping. Hopefully July and August will be lights out

[DHost21]

Thanks for all the info guys! I will probably start at alex early in the morning and then if we dont see anything after 3 or 4 hours I might head to shamineau just to see both lakes cause i will be up in that area a lot more this summer. I will definitely check the boat after each trip and wipe it down. I always like making sure nothing is coming with. Im still hoping the more consistent warm weather for a week fires them up but we will see. I check the 10 day weather every couple hours and it keeps changing so who knows what it will actually do.

[Cobra]

Heading up that way for the 4th. Want to hit one of these lakes Sunday hard I was wondering what people know about the two and what one would be recommended this time of year and then when we get to one of the lakes anything to look for? I've never been to either.

Thanks, Dustin

Try fishing the sunken humps in Alex....

I've done well in the past there.

[shamalex72]

Troy,

Remember back a few years when it was like catching fish in a barrel out there? It was this timeframe I believe. Try that pattern and dont give up after 2 hours without a fish...

Todd

Oh, I remember those days quite well.

[Musky Buck]

3 runs to Alex, 14 seen, maybe 2 of them active, maybe. The 14 seen maybe half were lazy follows. The bizarre weather, high water, better wear or have boots on Alex west end access or you'll likely have wet feet as the dock has water over it as of last night. Water was 66.3 degrees and I bet not too far under the surface much colder.

[toddb]

Troy,

You been out roaming the basin?

[shamalex72]

yep, just about every time out we at least try it for a little while.

[bisekb]

Pulled a 43" Last sunday off of sham, but that was the only fish i saw all weekend. It has been slow, but hopefully with this warm spell it could get them going a bit. The 4th is tough fishing up there, lots of boat traffic, fisherman, and what not on the lake. try early or late and fish your best time frames.

[CaptainMusky]

The fish in Alex and Sham have gotten very educated the last several years. 10 years ago or so, my buddy and I would be almost the only guys chucking musky baits out there. We would catch at minimum 2 fish over 40" EVERY time out. No exaggeration.

We had a few days where would should have had 5 or more but my hooking prowess was lacking.

The last couple years out there have been tough. The fish seemed to have vacated the spots where I used to find them. None of the tactics I used years ago worked anymore.

The water clarity on these lakes is astonishing and no doubt the fish are more nocturnal now that the musky traffic is so high.

A few late night excursions have produced fish and definitely more consistent than the day bite has been for me.

There are some very nice fish in these lakes though, if you can get them to bite.

[DHost21]

We were out sunday on Alex from 530 in the morning till 1 and saw 2 fish. Didnt hook up with any. It seemed tough forsure. There were probably a dozen boats muskie fishing on a pretty small lake so I can definitely see how they have become educated. Its a beautiful lake though that is forsure. Ive fished Tonka, Waconia, Mille lacs and Indy the most so im not used to clarity like Alex it was really fun! I can imagine a day with active fish seeing them from a ways out would be really cool! All in all a beautiful lake that is very fun to fish but the fish just werent cooperating. Will definitely try again though being only 10 minutes from grandparents cabin.

[Musky Buck]

Have seen my fair share of floaters on both lakes dating back to 1996-1997. The milfoil has really made Alexander much less enjoyable, just less of them to go around(muskies) for the tons of us out there fishing them, the guides in our state do the toyota commercial jump when labor day is over and the camera's/video's come out getting you all excited next winter to buy the products they endorse. Set your expectations way lower than 15 years ago on Sham/Alex.

[nater]

You'd think the warm weather would help but doesn't seem to be the case with the jump in water temps. Even with the stable temps this week its been tough. I mean tough! Seems to be the case across the state for the most part.

Thankfully we got some more lakes stocked but we could use a number more across the state, that will help with the pressure down the road.

Keep casting!