Nisswa Guide Service Report

[Sportland_Bait]

Fishing in the Brainerd Lakes area has been nothing short of fantastic. We could use a little help from the walleyes but every other species is going gangbusters. The last few years the walleyes have started feeding up towards late summer so we’ll keep an eye on things, and let you know as soon as it starts. Our fishing guides have been on the water everyday so they’ll be the first to know. Most of our time on the water recently has been spent chasing big northern pike and largemouth bass. It has been a blast. 50-60 fish days have not been uncommon; in fact it has become the norm. Most of the bass have been hanging out along the deeper weedlines in 14-16 feet of water. The best lakes? Well take your pick; we are blessed with some of the best bass fishing lakes in the country. Almost every lake is loaded with hungry bass. For pike we have been fishing the Whitefish Chain, Gull, Edwards, and North Long. These toothy critters are slamming the baits right now. We have hooked up with some huge pike in 20-35 feet of water. The best baits are spinners or deep diving Rapalas trolled at a fast pace. Be sure to hang on to the rod, the strikes are vicious. Once in a while we run into a walleye or two along the weedlines. Early mornings or evenings seem to be the best with either a redtail chub or a jumbo leech. 15 feet seems to be the magic number. The crappies are starting to bite in the evenings for anglers on Upper Gull, Cullen, and Hubert. The big bluegill action continues on most of our lakes. You still need to do some sorting through the smaller fish but anglers have been very happy with the sunfish action lately. Worms, wax worms, leeches, take your pick. They all seem to work for the sunnies. The summer heat has arrived and I can’t think of a better place to be than close to the lakes here in the Brainerd area.

Jason Erlandson