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5 years in a row


hamrej23

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Man, for the fifth year in a row We got skunked going up there. not a fish bigger than 9 inches. I think Red lake is in store next year. We were fishing out of Isle bay with a resort there. Ice was 15 inches but Mille Lacs Has been terrible the last five. Tried everything, not even a keeper.

not good.

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ya that is to bad to hear... i fished isle last new years in perminate out of scenic bay... i really didnt care for it... the fish house was crap.... i dropped my camera to see what we were on... to my amazement we were on an infamous garbage flat... mixed with sand in 14ft of water... was not impressed with there whole set up... and to top it off, they had made me mad by not coming out to help us unfreeze our truck... cuz it was just our luck that we had an ice-storm/ blizzard come through and drop a ton of snow.... alll we wanted to do was leave... i called the resort at 7am it took until 9am or so for them to show.... im not even mad about that as much as i am at the person who told me that they would be out to our house in 10 minutes... but whatever.... sorry to here that the milacs thing hasnt produced for you for five years.

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five years??? sorry to say but you must be going about it wrong......anyways after two years i would have found a different lake to wet my line in......i did hear from a buddy that Red was going crazy.....i am thinking of heading up there next week...

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I was in the same boat as you, bad service and terrible fishing last 3 years. Due to a resort that will rename nameless, our group is going to another lake. This year would have been our 12th year in a row at the same resort.

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Yeah, I'm in the same boat. Same resort, same bad service. We are searching for a new place to fish there this year. It's too bad. Used to be a good place to go. Last year the service was so bad, we would never go back, and how they responded when we voiced our concerns. Not even a sorry. If you pay good money to stay for the weekend, at least take care of something.

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dont feel bad guys we just got back and had about the same luck 4 fish. two eyes 24 inch and a 10 inch, one 12 inch perch and a eel pout. was not impressed. put 80 miles on the sled fished all over. talked to a guy that was there for 3 weeks said he cought around 50 fish and could only take 2 of them home. thinking LOTW next winter. We were the two guys on the black yamaha with the clam portable if any of you guys saw us up there

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I actually think it would be a service to everyone if you guys did name those resorts. It might save some people from having the same thing happen to them. People are great about telling us all when they have had a great time and service so that others may follow, but you don't hear when things go bad. I think that is just as useful. When I read when people have a good experience I usually go with their advice and try the same places or products out. Maybe I am wrong but just my opinion.

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Yeps, although Mille Lacs is the Walleye Capital, it can be hard to catch them out there.. You gotta know where to fish and how to fish for them... Location is the key....

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I agree with otis. When someone tells you how great someplace is, it is nice to know where so you can use that info to make your decsion on if you want to go there or not. If you get bad service somewhere tell us where it is so we can use that info to make our next decision.

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I've been very impressed with my stays at Mcquiods if that's who we're talking about. I have nothing but good things to say about them.

I don't want to sound arrogant but I've never been skunked on Mille Lacs. I have no clue what someone would have to do to not catch walleye on Mille Lacs, they're everywhere. Last week I was up with 4 other guys, in one afternoon we landed 32 fish. Not to mention the dozen or so we knocked off at the hole. I don't think anyone can blame a resort for not catching fish on a lake like Mille Lacs.

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last year there were quite a few negative posts on Mcquoids. If you caught 32 Eyes in an afternoon, that is the best # of fish that has been posted this year.

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stopped going to mcquoids cause of bad service and started going to macs twin bay. been there once with pretty good service, much better than mcqoids anyway. we're going this weekend so i'll let you know how it goes.

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The once famous and wonderful family NAMELESS resort just north of ISle is disgusting! It is unbelievable their attitude, pricing, and service. We could not LEAVE last year FAST enough!

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Something must be really wrong if you didn't catch fish in 2002 and 2003. In 2002 I think you could have caught a walleye on a chunk of hotdog, the bite was so good.

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The bite is tough right now. I have never seen so much bait fish to compete with. We were up Saturday and really had a hard time getting anything to bite. Hit several flats and reef areas. Every place we driiled holes had the vex lit up.I have heard very few reports of a "good" bite this winter. That being said, I will be back as the chase is on and the lake has too much going for it to give up this early in the season. I also think the ice conditions have created limitations on where the resorts can set up their houses. Mobility is key to finding fish. Getting them to bite is another story. I do not fish in resort houses so I cannot relate to the service issues. The resorts that offer superior service will succeed and flourish those that don't, won't. I cannot imagine a business that is in the hospitality industry that would not be hospitable, but they are there.

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If you guys have been reading and posting in this forum for any amount of time, click one of the three resorts on the top of this page. Tell them you heard of them off of FM and they will make extra sure to treat you right. I think they would anyways, but the proof is in the puddle. If your from the east metro or St. Paul, click on Appledorns of Winfields, if you are from west metro or Mpls, click on Wilderness Warmth. Or visa versa, either way you will be treated right.

Now fishing, that’s a gamble for anyone. Ask for advice at local bait store or resort you choose. It will get you some fish. Also if you have to rent an auger and locator and go out during day (walking or riding) and find fish. Ask where to go. Its still a gamble, but puts the odds in your favor. From what I have seen, read and heard on radio, fish are out there, you have to find them or have some luck on your side cool.gif

I am sorry for the people that where treated bad, but if you have been up to date on this site, its a no brainier where to go.

I would not go out in a rental next time with going threw one of these three resorts. If you do not go out threw one of these resorts, you get what you get.

Good luck.

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yea, were gonna change it up next year, cause the fishing at mcqoiuds has been terrible. We were up there last week and did not catch a thing out Mcqoiuds and they even said dobody was catching walleys. so i dont know how you got 32 of them.

but if you did. good job.

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I think part of the reason you did so poorly is your location. Get out of the bays, the fish are on midlake reefs and other key structure areas this time of year. Not saying you can't catch walleyes in the bays this time of year, it's just your chances of catching numbers of fish are lower than at mid-lake spots. You also have to be willing to move on ML, it may be the walleye capital of MN, but like any other lake the fish aren't always going to be there where you decide to drill your holes. I sometimes end up moving a good 9 or 10 times in a day before I get on a good bite. Sorry to hear about your poor service and hospitality. Good luck in the future.

GoggleEye

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Yah, this year is a VERY tough bite. I fish Mille Lacs quite a bit and struggled too. We were only able to get about 10 fish in 4.5 days fishing. 32 fish in an afternoon was either lucky or BS. I am not saying you are full of it, but most people are having a tough go this year.

But, last year and I think it was 2002, the bite was VERY, VERY good. Actually, your first problem is renting a house and expecting to catch fish in it. You have to get away from people and fish fresh spots. I know some rentals do a good job of keeping on fish, but I know for a fact that the go-getters that are moving their house every day or so and are fishing isolated spots and outfishing them 10 to 1. A good plan if you don't have your own fishhouse would be to bring a portable and be prepared to head off in your own direction and pop some holes until you find some biters. But.....

this year may not be the year. confused.gif

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There is a pretty common theme here on ML this year......lots and lots of little perch for bait! You have to be willing to switch your tactics up to something more unconventional than what has been used in the past. Put something in front of their face that will trigger them to bite rather than swimming off and eating all the tiny perch. Also, like willy said.....get away from other people!!!

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I think most of the advice that's been posted is very good advice. Get away from people and keep moving. There are times where I move and I move and I move. I'll be nearly exhausted then it happens fish after fish for the rest of the afternoon. Don't be happy with finding walleye, find the walleye that want to eat. Jig for 10 min and if they aren't showing interest move. When I caught these fish people were reporting lots of lookers and very few bitters. Most of the fish I caught were on the locator for about a second and it was fish on! I also caught about half of those fish in about 10FOW and the rest were on the flats. I have no reason to lie to you guys. Yes we caught 32 in one day and to make it even better it wasn’t even a full day. I've caught thousands of fish on Mille Lacs and all I want to do is give you guys some hope to move around. I’ve been there before you’re out there fishing people are reporting no fish and it sounds a lot more appealing to sit on you’re a** instead of looking for some fish. They aren’t going to come to you.

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Didn't mean to sound like i was doubting you. Nice to read a good report. grin.gif Keep it up!!!!

People do get in a rut by staying in one area, sometimes for a full day. It is alot of work to keep on moving, but it pays off grin.gif

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I believe you. Someone nails them on that lake every single day of the year. Just takes a little work sometimes or luck. This year more than most. frown.gif Hopefully the fish can get some of that bait eaten down by the time spring rolls around.

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I think 32 fish is fantastic for you, congratulation. At the same time, it is asinine to think that if the majority of people move constantly they will catch 32 walleyes. I have fished this lake for 25+ years and this winter is one of the slowest ever. I have talked to guides, pros and your avg. joe's and 90% of them say the same thing; the fishing is extremely slow due to various conditions including the perch hatch. And yes, most of these people know how to fish quite well and move around a lot. I fished 2 straight days on all end of the lake drilling over 100 holes and had very limited luck.

So....I thing it is great you had a fantastic day but you will be very hard pressed to find anything close to your success if you check around...

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I've fished both Mille Lacs and Red and if Red was closer i'd go there ice fishing. I just don't think i've got Mille Lacs dialed in quite yet for ice fishing. But Red is a no brainer. We caught 150 walleyes in 3 days there last February.

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I think everyone should look on the brighter side of things the fishing may be slow this year but the lake will be full of huge fish as soon as they eat all the perch - its called a cycle!

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • Brianf.
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