Mille Lacs today

[MuskyBug85]

Made my first trip to Mille Lacs today and i can say it surpassed my wildest dreams. We fished the north shore sand and saw 61 fish i couldnt believe it they were every where. missed a few and caught one eye on a shallow raider. however I did see Pete Maina in his HUGE tracker, he was working the same area we did for part of the day. it was really neat to fish the same flat as a living legend. Jonah

[thewalleyeguy]

Wow, that must have been fun

[Jim Hudson]

That's what Mille Lacs is famous for... but man, thats a lot of fish for one day!!! And to not find one hot fish that would of slammed an offering... You must of been going crazy... I remember talking to Scott Hassett (Secretary for WI DNR) last summer about his trip to Mille Lacs in the middle portion of June, two days they fished and they seen over 60 fish and boated 5... Just crazy to see that many muskies in one area...

I will have to talk to Pete and see how he did... I will let ya know if he faired any better... I think he was heading over to film a show....

[MuskyBug85]

i know he got at least one, it took place right in front of us up by barnicle bills. that dog

[SUICK]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOW THATS A FISH STORY

[radm]

Was up yesterday 7/23. Fished Walters in A.M. (only 1 bite / fish landed on trolled crank). Switched to real fish in the P.M. Could only handle the heat / sweat for 1 - 1 1/2 hours but saw 5 fish in that time. Mid 40's to high 30's. Pretty impressive for short time frame.

[trophyhunter]

Hey muskybug, We talked to you up there. We were in a Maroon Crestliner with three guys in it. Nice to put a name with a face.

[MuskyBug85]

hahaha it was fun to talk to you guys i will be out there again on weds night and all day thurs. Jonah

[stayman79]

Muskybug-

What a great day! A buddy and I are heading up there for the first time ever this Thursday. We were thinking about trying the southern end, but after reading your post we now are going to drive a little farther. Looking at a map of the north end of Mille Lacs doesn't give a lot of clues where to start. Without giving away and new "hotspots" would you be willing to share what you learned that first day? All I know is there is sand and cabbage, but did anything else seem to make a spot better than the next?

Thanks. We'll be in a 16' Sylvan backtroller, glad the wind is supposed to be light.

Good luck!

[jerk bait]

Jump on the end of the train. Theres a shoreline break that runs from Garrison North. Work along that break and fish the insde weedline as well as the outside. Mark where you see heavier cabbage thats where to start. Don't be afraid to run up in the sand as shallow as 2' you might be suprised what you see. There will be alot of boats around the wealthwood access. Good Luck

[stayman79]

Thanks jerkbait, much appreciated! Hopefully I'll have a good report to post after tomorrow.

stayman

[hawgwobbler]

Does anybody catch any muskies on the north end? I hear about all these follows but not alot about catches.

BTW, who keeps track of all their follows?

[jerk bait]

No don't go up there

[pikechaser]

just lookers up that way...dont waste your time....

[stayman79]

Well, we made our virgin voyage to Mille Lacs today. Went to the north end and put in at about 6 am. We searched for a while and found a few spots with the GPS but didn't hit a good weedline until about 1 hour later. It was calm but a nice cloud cover helped early. We fished until about noon and threw the tackle box at them but only managed to hook a 38" pike that shook the bulldawg at the boat. Too bad, would have been a nice pic. While we saw about 15 fish, we only had 4 follows and all were LAZY. We saw several muskies splashing on the surface and two did the "stick my head out and swim around thing." The second one that came up to do it surfaced 5 feet from the boat! Still, we had a great time getting out on the big lake and getting to know a few spots, marking some for later and working on the old sunburn. Plus, a few of the fish we saw were BIG. Gets you excited for fishier weather. FYI: water temps started in the mid 75's and rose 2 degrees by noon. We talked to a few guys out there who had a similar slow morning and we saw one fish boated, approximately 40 inches, but we were a ways off.

That's the latest report!

Stayman

[Dano_the_jigasaurus]

Muskybug and I were out today on the pond. Took our roomate out who had never caught a muskie and put him on a chunky fish right around 40". Gorgeous day out for the most part saw quite a few fish. Our roomate had a few good follows, but the Bug and I didn't really have any shots. I will likely be out there tomorrow at it again.

dan

[MuskyBug85]

went out again today with dano and saw 35 or so, our roommate caught one around fourty and saw several others caught including a 54" that some guy hung a verticle hold on for a picture. i told him what i thought about the act and we had words. it kills me that people who dont know how to handle a fish get upset when you offer suggestions to ensure a healthy release. also saw 2 dead fish on the sand a 45 and 49 both had died last night or this morning, very fresh, both with hook wounds.

P.S. did any one else see Lee Tauchen out there today in his ranger? all kinds of fishing celebs on the sand.

[hawgwobbler]

I was out there this evening and though I didn't catch any I had 134.5 follows. One had to be over the 60" mark! I had at least 2 dozen blow up on my topwater. I also ran into some pro's, they spoke to me and I'm really proud about that.

[38poundbeauty]

134 follows? come on....

[randallt]

It's the .5 follow I want to hear about?

[CaptainMusky]

Sounds like someone might be jealous.

It is funny, people complain because no one wants to share information, but when someone does, others jump all over them. No wonder!

[38poundbeauty]

I would never be jealous of someone that claims to have had 134 follows in one evening because it's not possible on a minnesota lake. Unless of course you're counting all the crappies and sunnies that follow up in curiousity.

[stayman79]

No one said they had 61 follows or 35 follows, but "saw" that many fish. From the experience we had yesterday on our first trip to the north end of Mille Lacs it is possible. It's also possible that some of those were the same fish. I know we saw MANY muskies surface, pushed them off of a weedbed or saw them hovering in the shallows. Counted individually it would have been a high number, but I know we saw the same fish surface multiple times. Now 30-60 follows...many people would call talk on that.

And what's wrong with commenting on a sighting of well-known fishing celebrity?

Have fun!

[38poundbeauty]

Quote:

---

I was out there this evening and though I didn't catch any I had 134.5 follows. One had to be over the 60" mark! I had at least 2 dozen blow up on my topwater. I also ran into some pro's, they spoke to me and I'm really proud about that.

---

Actually he did say follows. Including a 60+ inch fish. Muskybug said they SAW 61 fish, which like you said, could mean a totally different thing.

[CaptainMusky]

I wasn't talking about you, but Hawgwobbler. It is OBVIOUS the post about 134.5 follows is a fake.