Mille Lacs

[fishinNhuntin]

Anybody pursue smallies on the Big Pond, and if so do your bass boats handle it very well? The reason I ask is that I keep pondering purchasing a bass boat over a deeper model. I'm using Mille Lacs as a benchmark because I pursue Muskies on it occassionally and I want to chase smallies there as well. I've fished out of a bass boat ONCE in my life and find myself fishing for bass most of the time these days. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks in advance!

fishin'

[Deitz Dittrich]

Ive fished Mile Lacs quite a few times in a bass boat. I dont head there on days I know the wind is going to wip up. Its a big body of water that can get nasty no matter what boat your in.

[Stratosman]

I had a bass boat, sold it this fall, but I did use it on Mille Lacs a half dozen times or so, but I did watch the forecast the night before to see what the wind conditons were and would only go if favorable, mine was a 21 footer which handled big water like champ, but like DD said above, that lake can sneak up on ya...

p.s. there are NO smallies in Mille Lacs, don't waste your time...

[RK]

Hiya -

I'm primarily a muskie angler, but I do fish bass quite a bit too, and fish both on Mille Lacs. I see a lot of guys on Mille Lacs in bass boats, and you can certainly do it, but you have to pick your days, and there will be days you can't fish where you might be able to in a deeper hull. For muskies anyhow, those are the days you want to be out there. The other thing is trolling. If you troll for muskies at all, it's tough out of a bass boat. Personally, I run a Track Tundra 18, and it's a pretty good compramise. Best big water hull I've ever run, but a good casting platform for bass and muskies too. Definitely higher out of the water than a bass boat, but, that's what lets me fish when the bass boats are on the beach...

Every boat's a compramise - you just have to decide which compramises you're going to make.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[fishinNhuntin]

Hey thanks guys for the input! I probably would be better off with a multi species boat but a bass boat just has that appeal......especially with all the bass fishing I do as compared to the other species in recent years.

RK, I've considered the Tundra, even got the video from Tracker about them. Are they that good of a ride in rough water? How about compared to a deep hulled glass like a Ranger or a Warrior (which is now making bass boats)?

[RK]

Hiya -

I've owned several different boat brands, all Deep Vs, including some glass ones including Tuffy and Ranger. For rough water ride, The Tundra's better than any glass hull I've owned in the same class (17-18 footers), and nothing in aluminum is even remotely close. It really is a remarkable hull. If you don't believe me, ask some of the guys that fish the PWT. In rough water, nothing else can catch them. A couple things about them - the bow is like a knife blade, so it cuts the waves when you hit them. You don't pound. I get a kick out of bringing guys out in waves and watching them brace themselves when we come over a wave, and seeing their reaction when the boat just sort of swooshes down. The extreme reverse chine also sends a lot of the spray off to the sides so it's not too bad for spray. (A "dry boat" is a term I don't like. No boat's completely "dry" and it has more to do with the driver than anything.) The best thing about the hull for rough water though is how they plane out. Tundras run 'flat' so when you go up on plane, the bow doesn't go up in the air at all. It just sort of lifts out of the water up onto the pad. It took me some getting used to at first. But when you have to go slow, it's nice not having your bow above your head. Along with that, the hole shot on the hull is oustanding, and they plane out at extremely low speeds. I have an 18 footer with a 135 Opti, and I'm on plane and under control at around 22 mph. You don't go fast in rough water - don't care what boat you run - but being on plane and driving rather than wallowing around half on and half off plane sure makes running in rough water easier. To me, that's the single biggest performance factor with the Tundra in rough water. On flatter water, once you get on plane, they really boogie. Mine goes in the high 40s with a stock prop. My previous one did over 50 with a better prop, and that was GPS speed. Not bad for a 135. I've driven 18 Tundras with a 175, and you don't drive it, you kind of aim it. I just don't need to go that fast - heh.

As a fishing platform, Tundras are pretty nice. A deep v so the deck's a bit high in front, but it never seems to bother me. Not as stable as a bass boat but no deep V is. Storage in the things is unreal. I can fit rods to 7'6" in the centerline rod locker (which has tubes, plus an open area below), and at least 9 footers in the side lockers. Last fall when I cleaned my boat out, I had walleye, bass, muskie and panfish rods in there. I think I pulled 28 rods out. It was sick..heh. Deck storage has big doors for getting stuff in and out. DC and WT models have a small built-in cooler...lots of nice features.

Anyhow, don't mean to go on... Bottom line, the Tundra's the best boat I've owned. I love the thing.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[cjac]

I have a 17 foot Lund and all the things that RK calls out about the Tracker are dead on the money.

Sure, I can and have run Isle to Red Door on a 20mph breeze day, but it takes me a couple days to return to my normal height after the spine compressing hits off a few of the waves.

The storage room is a huge consideration. Take a day on Mille Lacs for example.....fun to throw for muskie and smallies, but for two guys that ends up being 10 to 12 sticks. The Lund has one side locker, holds 6 rigs maybe and holds a 7'6" max. So, the 8+ foot ski rods are always "exposed" which has two downfalls. One, they're out and potentially under foot (as in snap) when throwing for smallies. Two, they are not secured while running open water, gotta really find somewhere tuck them away.

To your intital question, depends on what you'll be doing most. I like the multi species aspect, so I have a boat that I can make work just about anywhere. 17 foot to fish the small little bass holes, I can crank it up on the trailer in about anything, but still big enough to put me on large water.

If you like the glass ( and have won the lottery recently) the Rangers are pretty sweet for multi-species. Spent some time in one this year and was impressed.

One thought came to me.......think back to the days of grandpa.....a 16 foot with a 40 horse was considered a big boat on Mille Lacs!

Chris

[BigWadeS]

I have a question for you guys, I have wanted to go up and fish Mille Lacs, however; I guess I am timid with only going on my 3rd year of boat ownership, when watching forecasts, at what speed of wind would you say no way not today? Don't mean to steal this thread or anything, just curious

[Deitz Dittrich]

I would say if the forcast is for 15 or more, skip it and hit a different lake. I prefer under 10, or even calm(topwater bite)... you can also get away with hitting it on SW winds at times as I usually fish the SE side of the lake.

[cjac]

Here's what I use.....

Wind Link

[BigWadeS]

Deitz, thanks for the info, I am going to get the guts to get up there this spring and see what the fuss is all about...

Cjac, thanks for the link, that should me get the guts to go, also, is this pretty accurate?

[cjac]

The words WEATHER and ACCURATE are like oil and water, they do not mix!

It's pretty darn good info, and I'll usually look the morning I'm heading up. It's enough to say if it's a "go" or "no go" day.

Be prepared and smart about things and you'll enjoy it. Look in the Mille Lacs thread come Spring and I'm sure you'll find some good info on accesses, conditions, etc. Approach it well and you'll probably find someone willing to let you "shadow" them in your boat the first time you head up there.

Chris

[BigWadeS]

I hear you about the oil water mixture with weather and accurate, thanks for the tips, I appreciate it

[fishinNhuntin]

Great post RK! I'll definitely consider one!

Fishin'

[beeflover]

Hey wade, you can always find area's of Mille Lacs to fish. You have to fish the lee shore though. If it's windy it's better to trailer to a fishing area than try to run across the lake in the boat.

I fish Mille Lacs a lot in my bass boat. It's not worth a (Contact Us Please) for trolling applications though.

[bassin]

I fish Mille lacs all the time in a bass boat. I have a 21 footer now but used to take my 17 up there all the time. The wind, man the wind is annoying up there. I have had a number of times where the forcast called for light winds, the whole drive up there I see flags limp as can be, and when I get to Mille lacs its windy! If you have enough spots on each side of the lake any wind is fishable.

[FishSchutz]

Hello Folks,

I fish Mille Lacs all the time. I have a cabin on the lake. I run a 21ft Triton x bass boat with 225 Mercury. Very nice. Takes the waves very well.

I guide on the lake for smallies. The best advice I can give you is to check the direction of the wind in the morning and go out on the calm side of the lake. Switch to the calm boat launch side. Then you will have a lot better day.

Good Fishing

Mark Schutz