Annandale-Buffalo-Hutchinson fishing reports

[Avid Angler]

My dad and I went out Saturday for a few hours. We focused on bass and bluegills on the first lake we went too. I worked along the weed edge with a lindy rig and a leech. We managed to pick up a few bluegills, but no bass. In two hours of fishing, we had about 10 sunfish. Kept 6 in the 7-8 inch range. Then we decided to go to a lake close by and fish for crappies. We trolled my usual spots and saw very few. I noticed the casings of some type of bug on the surface of the water. They were everywhere. I told my dad, if we catch anything I will be surprised. My guess is the crappies were gorged full of these bugs. We did find some schools of fish, but they didn't want to go. I did manage a 13 inch beast of a white crappie or hybrid. My dad had a 6 inch crappie. Then it was time to go home. It was another slow outing for me.

I hope to get out once this week. I am glad that I am not the only guy struggling. It tells me that this weather has got the fish pretty inconsistent or spread out. It calls for a cover water technique.

Avid

[huskie0302]

Tried a new lake this weekend. Trolled some points for walleyes in the morning. Missed 1 and picked up a small one. We kept getting hits but not takers, we went to smaller hooks and started to slam nice sized sunfish. Kept enough for a meal and sent the rest back. Nice weekend to get out

[Avid Angler]

Huskie you are over your private message limit. I was trying to send you some info.

I am about ready to sell my boat and fishing equipment. My last four outings have been pretty mediocre.

I went out last night, figuring the weather has been fairly consistent the last few days and we had a nice south breeze. I worked all the wind blown points and some shorelines and really struggled. I managed about a 24 inch pike and one 12 inch walleye in 3 hours of fishing. One walleye came in a completely random area with no real structure close by and the pike came off one of the points. I tried some cranking, some jigging with live bait and artificial. I worked the depths from 3 ft to 12 ft. I could not get a pattern going.

A guy just gets frustrated. Oh well, keep plugging away and try different things.

Avid

[jmg]

Avid, normally, you seem to be quite upbeat so I was surprised to read your last couple posts. Gee, between your comments, Lmitout's comments and my comments in the Walleye forum, one would get the impression that we are one pretty frustrated and discouraged bunch of fishermen. It's true! We used to catch fish more consistently when our only locator was a long bamboo pole with which we would tap on the lake bottom until we found rocks on our favorite spots. Or-using an old baitcast reel w/o freespool, loaded w/ 35lb. black line, a size 2 hook and a bobber that could knockout a small animal if thrown at it and still catch nice size panfish. How times have changed. I guess that from reading the posts I have this year, to be successful you need to travel long distances and spend lots of $$$$$'s to catch a walleye or much of anything else. I'm thinking, too, maybe it's time to hang it up and just hold onto great memories of MN fishing. But, it's only Wednesday!

[workin4bait]

The rest of my weekend was very much the same as the rest of the week.

Saturday evening my daughter Rebecca and I went to a lake the boat has not been on since 2009,told her not to expect too much,well we got to spend time on our waterfowl id.[no fish no bites]

Sunday evening my daughter Kimberly and I met up with her cousin, who has never fished from a boat. I called a friend for any kind of tip and he told me of a lake they did pretty good catching bass a couple of weeks earlier.Well we tried it at that lake,Kimberly caught nothing,Ryan caught 1 sunfish and I caught 4 sunfish and 3 bass,on the way home I called my dad to see if he had plans for the morning,He said he was going "to count cars"[i guess that is what retired people do to pass time],so I told him I would pick him up in the morning.

Monday morning went to a lake, that until last fall, I had not been at for 30 years.Dad caught the first fish,a small white crappie,then I caught 5 small[10"] bass then dad caught a 10" bass and I finished off the morning with the big fish for the trip a 14" bass.

The catching has been tough ,to say the least,but the spend time with family on the lake enjoying nice weather has been good.

[Avid Angler]

I tried a couple spots on the crow river yesterday. I fished for about 1.5 hours. I had one 14 inch walleye and a few short bites. I think I will try a few other spots today.

Avid

[workin4bait]

My daughter Kimberly and I made it out for a few hours last evening,trolling cranks.We caught 1 bass,1 walleye and 3 pike,mostly on the small side.We also had quite a few fish hit and head shake a time or two and then get off.

On a side note also got irratated by the three other boats out there driving around without lights on,my pet peeve,had more near collisions in my past than I like!!!!

Workin'

[Avid Angler]

You have a PM.

[Avid Angler]

Hit the water last night.

We had quite the mix bag, but not a lot of anything.

We had 1 largemouth, 3 perch, 5 crappies, 2 catfish, 2 pike and one walleye. We kept 3 crappies and the walleye.

It was slower than I expected, but not a terrible outing. We did some cranking and some jigging. Most fish were less than 9ft. No real pattern or color. Water temps are coming down. They were in the low 70's.

Avid

[rugbymn]

I'm camping/fishing with my brothers on Minnie Belle this weekend. I only get a chance to fish this lake once a year. How has the bite been? Any tips?

[Avid Angler]

Fish the weedline with leeches and spinners in about 19ft of water early or late in the day. Use a natural color spinner. Like shiner or golden shiner. You should pick up just about everything doing that. Good luck and make sure to give a report back.

Thanks.

Avid

[Hester]

I agree with avid, this lake needs to be fished early or late, mid day is very tough.

[rugbymn]

It should be just delightful trying to get them to bite during this cold front.

[Avid Angler]

I love how every weekend I get to fish I have to deal with cold fronts. It is really annoying.

I will be fishing hard this weekend. Probably a couple of 12 hour days. We will be targeting crappie, walleye, sunfish, smallmouth and big pike.

I will give a report on Monday.

Avid

[c0untryf1sh3r]

Good luck to you Avid, let us know what you find.

[trappingaddiction]

Went out to a local lake today and could finally start to feel fall in the air! Not a whole lot of wind, but the fish didn't mind a whole lot. Fished for about 3 hours this afternoon and ended up with 5 walleyes, with 3 making their way into the box, and 2 dinks, and one nice 11 inch bonus crappie. Was casting a variety of crankbaits, with no pattern established with them. Best depth was in the 6-9 ft. range. Water temps were back down into the low 70's, so I am thinking the fishing should be picking up for here on out. Good luck out there!

[Avid Angler]

Good morning everybody.

The first thing I want write is how nice the last few mornings have been. I love that cool refreshing feeling in the air.

I did some power fishing this weekend. I fished my butt off. On Saturday I was on the water by 6:15am. I fished three different lakes. The first lake we picked up a few nice crappies right away. We had six fish in the 11 inch category and a few small pike. As soon as the sun got up, the crappies quit and fishing got tough. We caught our fish using jigs and minnows in 9ft off the weeds in front of a inlet. No walleyes.

By 10:00, I was off to the next lake. We trolled raps to start. We picked up some small pike right away. We didn't get anything to talk about. We decided to slow down and try for some eyes and crappies. We worked a couple points and picked up a nice smallmouth and a few crappies. They were also in the 10-11 inch range. Most fish seemed to be in the 7-9ft range. Then the NW winds went nuts on us. They kicked in and made things fun. No walleyes.

The final lake we tried was at about 4:00. We were pretty tired and wind burned, but decided to give a lake a shot. We fished for about two hours. We had one 17 inch smallmouth, one 8.5 inch crappies and one 11 inch walleye. By this time, the wind had tired me out and I was frustrated with fishing. All in all we kept 11 crappies, one sunfish and one perch. We had many pike, but only the one walleye all day.

Sunday, the wind was still whipping good. I tried one lake and struggled to catch anything. I managed one crappie and three dinky walleyes. I stopped at a few river spots on the way home, but was blanked.

Last night was the highlight for me. I went out for the dusk bite. I fished from 5:00 until sun down. I found some fish up in the 7-9 ft range in a inside turn of a bay. I caught just about everything. I had every species, but were on the small side. I had one pike that was worth keeping, but released it. I left that spot and worked a point that juts out towards deeper water. The weeds were right up on the break. I got to the spot and right away I had two nice crappies. I worked over the area pretty hard and managed 8 crappies and some small walleyes. I had one complete beast of a crappie. It went 13.5 inches and was thick. The walleyes were the smallest I have ever caught. They were about 6 inches.

The walleyes were tough on me this weekend, but I caught plenty of other fish. I should have tried spinners and leeches or crawlers. Fishing will now get good this week, but now I have to work. Imagine that!!

Hey RugbyMN, how did you do??

Avid

[rugbymn]

The wind didn't make it easy, that's for sure. It was a family camping trip, so we couldn't dedicate 100% of the time to fishing even if the wind made it possible.

On Saturday, we didn't get out until mid-afternoon. We trolled spoons for a few hours in 8-11 FOW and I got a 24" gator to say hello. We were on the south side of the lake and had to pull the boat out of the water because the waves had it filled up like a bath tub.

Sunday morning was more of the same and we didn't feel like heading out on the Bering Sea so we went to breakfast and then found a little area out in the field that was protected from the wind and put about 750 rounds down range.

That afternoon, we were able to get out and troll again. Spoons produced a 22" and 30" slimer. Everything calmed way down about 8:00 so we headed back out. No walleyes wanted their picture taken, though.

[Avid Angler]

Got out Saturday and Sunday evenings. I took my 5 year old son out on Saturday. We fished for about 3.5 hours. It was a nice evening, but fishing was pretty slow. We caught a few sunfish and some small pike and walleye. The highlight was a 17 inch smallie. Man can those fish fight. My boy thought it was pretty cool. We ended catching a few crappies before dark. We had five crappies and two sunfish for the box. I basically worked along the weedline that was on a point in about 9-11 ft.

Sunday I went out by myself and did some exploring. I wanted to do some pre-winter scouting on a unfamiliar lake. Of the three hours I was out, I maybe fished an hour and a half. I drove around checking out points and inside turns that will be good spots this winter. I marked about six spots with my GPS. This should save me some time this winter.

I then went to Belle and wanted to check that out right before dark. First bad sign that nothing is going out there was no trucks and trailers at the access. Second bad sign, millions of minnows surfacing all over on the lake. Hard to compete with all the food. So I drove around and checked out a bunch of spots. I ended up finding a couple humps that I didn't know about. I fished a little right before dark, but got nothing. It was wierd, I saw all the bait fish, but no big fish under them. I wonder where all the crappies are????

So last night wasn't really a fishing night, but I think I learned a lot and hopefully will save me lots of time this fall and winter. Water temps were mid to upper 70's. This cool stretch of weather coming should kick the fall fishing into gear. I hope it does anyways, the last three weeks have been dismal for me.

Thinking about it, I am fortunate to be out. Thanks to the good Lord!!

Have a great week everybody!!

Avid

[workin4bait]

I got back to hitting local lakes this week. My dad called Sunday and we made plans to meet Monday morning. I arrived to find dad had the boat in the water[he is always early] and water in the boat[forgot to put the plug in]. We trolled a couple of hours with only one hit,so we decided to try for sunfish. He picked a spot I dropped the anchor and we pulled in 30+ panfish in a half hour,he only wanted 8 sunfish and I had fish in the frig from the weekend at Bemidji,so we released most of them.Quite a few of them were pushing 8.5 inches.

Then on Wednesday I hit a lake just down the road looking for a few walleyes and they must have been looking for me too.I started trolling at 7:30am,quite chilly, by 8:30 I had 1 walleye and 1 catfish then I trolled until 11:00 before the next bite,which was another walleye,and 10 minutes later my third walleye was in the boat.The walleyes were between 15 and 18 inches and sure looked good on the filet table.

The bite should only get better here on out!

Workin'

[Avid Angler]

Nice report workin.

I was out last night and we bagged about 15 crappies, a few small pike, a catfish and 17.5 inch smallmouth. We were jigging off points. Most fish were in the 6-12ft. No walleyes though. I expect them to kick in good.

Avid

[LMITOUT]

Nice job, workin.

Planning on heading out tomorrow somewhere, but had a little hitch last night when I plugged the battery charger in...one of the trolling motor batteries was dead and I mean a goner. Had to make some calls to find one but almost $300 later I'm back in business with two fresh batteries.

This cold weather sure gives a guy the itch! Gotta get some fishing in before pheasant season opens. Good luck to those who are out this weekend.

[LMITOUT]

Did I say this cold weather gives a guy the itch? I meant frostbite. Ok, it wasn't that cold but I sure wasn't ready for it. Once that wind kicked up I was wishing for a heavier jacket than the one I had on.

Ended up getting a walleye about 17.5" and got bit off hard on another that I had on for a few seconds that felt nice. Had another short bite as well. I was seeing some good signs on the graph in 9-11 FOW around mid-lake structure but getting them to bite was another story. Water temp was 65°.

[grizrunner]

Went out to Clearwater(east) for an hour/half before dark tonight. Me and the 4 and 7 yr old boys. Breezy out of the SE. Water temp 64.5. Water seems to have cleared up some from a week ago. Managed 2 24" slimers, 1 13" walleye, 1 16" LM, 1 10.5" crappie, and 1 7" BG. Kids had great fun anyway. Didn't have any live bait tonight. ALL on plastic 3" paddle tail minnows(shad color)w/ 3/16" head. Even the bluegill go figure. Fished the weed edge to 16' controlled drift.

[workin4bait]

Here is my weekend report[yes,I know it is time to think about this coming weekend already]>

Friday morning my father and I looked for walleyes,I caught one soon after we arrived and had a feeling it might be a great day,WRONG!!,it was our only bite. Friday afternoon dad went wih his neighbor and they brought home 6 walleyes,while I met up with a buddy for some muskie fishing,we had 4 follows and I put a 30" muskie in the boat[Oh wait this is the Hutch forum and there are not any muskie lakes by Hutch].

Sunday,my oldest daughter and I headed out and to say I was schooled is a bit of understatement,so to spare myself more pain, the totals were as follows; 1 smallmouth bass, 7 largemouth bass and 9 northern pike. I have fish this lake many times and never before caught a largemouth even though I knew they were present seems odd that on this trip we had that many,most of the fish were caught on crankbaits.

Monday morning I went out to give a lake that I never had the boat on before a try, only to find the access that I planned to use not there anymore.I then went to a different lake and wow,were the tiny bass active,it did not seem to matter much what I used the 4-6 inch bass had to try and eat it.I ended the day catching 1 pike,2 perch and lots of tiny bass.It sure was a nice day to be out on the water though.

On a side note, I noticed the d.n.r. has started netting activity looking for walleye fingerlings.

Workin'

[jigginjim]

I spent time out on Clearwater during the day, with the bass guys flying all over the place. I a guy pull up about 100 ft away from me, where I had been for at least 45 min., 2 minute later I pull a 20" & 18" largemouth, He says a couple words of kindness (NOT). As I released the bass Quickly, he blasts out to find a different area, I think. Sorry but those Trigger X minnows worked well in the area. I finished the day with A nice eater walleye, and some nice crappies. Caught bass, snot rockets and even a rock bass. Now if the dock at the access was in water more it would be nicer launching.

[Avid Angler]

I went out last night and fished from a few shore spots. I picked up a nice 17.25 inch walleye and missed another that size. I had it right up to the dock and it got off. I caught a couple more dinks and few small bass.

Just a reminder, now is a good time to fish the shore spots you fish in the spring for walleye. The water temps are coming down and walleyes are feeding more actively in the shallows again. The best spots would be if there is running water coming in, but I am guessing most creeks are dried up right now.

I hope to get out this weekend a couple times.

Avid

[workin4bait]

I have to agree with Avid that the shallow water bite is picking up.

Grabbed the waders and fished a couple hours this morning,caught 12 largemouth bass slow rolling a spinnerbait the biggest was pushing 18 inches.

If I can talk the daughter out of chasing ducks this weekend it will leave more time for fishing.

Workin'

[Fish Tales]

Bonus fish yesterday. I went trolling with cranks for walleyes and the smallmouth were on fire. I was fishing in 5 to 6 feet. I caught 9 smallmouth in 2 hrs.I would have caught more but I tried changing gears and did traditional bass tactics but they didn't want those presentations. They were mirror images of each other 17 to 18 inches and fat bellied and still hungry. I know hunting is top of many list right now mine included but the fishing is really turning on.

[Avid Angler]

I was able to get out a few times this weekend and had mixed results.

Friday night: I tried the crow river and had a couple of fish on but never got to see them. I then went to a lake to fish before dark and ended up with one little crappie.

Saturday: My dad and I went out to a lake I have caught a lot of crappies this year on. In the first 10 minutes, I picked up a 14 inch walleye. I was thinking this was going to be good. The next hour and a half went by and nothing. We were using a jig and minnow. I finally picked up another 15 inch walleye and dad had a decent crappie. We finally started to dial them in a bit. We started trolling silver spinners with minnows in 5-7 ft of water. We picked up quite a few crappies, a small walleye and three pike. Water temps were 57 to 60 degrees. We ended up with 11 crappies and two walleyes for the pan.

Sunday: Went to Lake Washington, and caught one little perch in 3.5 hours of fishing. Very disappointed in the trip out there. We tried a few different spots, but working the weeds was difficult. I could tell the bait fish were still in the weeds. Right before dark, they were surfacing all over the weed beds. We need the weeds to start dying and the bait fish will start to move out of the shallow weeds and move to the deep weed lines. I think most fish are up in the shallow weeds right now. We worked the deep weedline and struggled. The problem with Washington is the weeds are so darn thick in 8ft or less. Tough to fish.

Has anyone been successful with anything on Washington? Any tips for guy? You can private message me if you want.

It seems to me, that fishing shallow is the theme right now. Even during the day if the water is dirty enough.

Thanks.

Avid