Mille Lacs Lake Fishing Reports by Brad Hawthorne

[BradHawthorne]

Over the last week we have seen weather that is more like spring than early summer, one day the wind will blow from the west at 25-30 MPH the next from the south east, south west, etc at 20-25 All with thunder storms mixed in.

Walleye fishing is still good though you will need to slow down a bit with rigging or take the opposite approach and speed up with leadcore to get reactionary bites. Stay on the move though this weather pattern and you will be just fine.

The Flats are still holding the majority of the active fish though the shallow rock in 16-18ft on the south east side are a dead ringer at dusk with bobbers and leeches.

[Eric_Kruger]

Thanks for the Reports Brad!

[BradHawthorne]

Fishing has picked up now that the weather has blown through. The last three trips have produced and average of 30+ fish per day with two anglers (lines) As far as slots go, it just numbers, you need to go through 30-45 fish per-day to get eaters and it's been that way all season, some day better than others. Spinners and crawlers are dynamite, any bead/blade combo of blue/silver, silver/purple or fire-tiger just put fish in the boat. The lead-core bite is picking up nicely and on some days out produces spinners but it's still not 100% yet...but soon!. The evening bobber bite on the rocks, SE side and east side is picking in 16-26 FOW.

[BradHawthorne]

Spinners are still putting a ton of fish in the boat. Water temps today hit 71 degrees on the main lake, look for the temp to creep up into the mid to upper 70's over the next 3-5 days. We had a mild algae bloom today wich didn't seem to affect fishing what so ever. When the sun gets high..get off those reef and flat tops and fish the shadowed sides. 1.2-1.4 MPH was the best speed, I know thats a good clip for spinners... the lead core will be used more as the season progresses.

Slots are still a numbers game, today we had 34 total with four slots. Bug report...The "big ones" are hatching on the SE side, not in large numbers but they are starting to show up down here now.

[Stick in Mud]

Great reports, Brad. I couldn't buy a bite yesterday on spinners, but we whacked them pulling leadcore. Go figure.

[Rick G]

Thank's for the report Brad. I'm heading back up tomorrow for the last time till fall.

[BradHawthorne]

Holiday weekend report. 50/50 leadcore and spinners bring both. Buggy colors on the spinners are working best, pink, purple, and red on red bead blade combos are real good colors right now. When the spinner bite slows switch over to leadcore for a pure reaction bite.

Leadcore, it's heating up nicely. We are catching fish from 20ft all the way out to 33ft trolling, 1.8-2.0 MPH #4-#5's old school natural minnow and fire-tiger are getting the job done for me.

Here is a story for ya, I had a call the other day from a guy (Jake) looking to take is father out for a belated fathers day guide trip...so Saturday afternoon from 2pm-10pm, we worked spinners from about 2:30-5pm with good action. After the bite slow a bit I changed over to the trolling rigs, two shorties and two 10ft rods after 5 minutes down my trolling run WHAMMMMMOOO!! the inside shorty when off and it was maxed out...dad is on a good one! I'm giving dad a little coaching because I've never seen that shorty rod bend over that far..it literally had nothing left for back bone. Ten minutes later a 42.75x20.5 inch Pike hits the net. Dad had caught his biggest pike ever. Great father day gift guys!

[bturck]

Brad it doesn't get any better than that, a memory of a lifetime. Pretty hard to duplicate that Fathers Day present.....

[CaptainMusky]

Thats a sweet pike!!!

What depth range do you target your baits to run when trolling lead core?

I was seeing a ton of fish from 10ft down to around 20 ft down.

[BradHawthorne]

Just put the baits were you mark the fish, it's as simple as that. I usually have 3-5 colors out.

[BradHawthorne]

7-3 Report, Fishing was a little slower today due to the rockin thunder storms we had all last night. Good news though, sumer patterns are in full effect, leadcore/long line for the next few months and rigging/spinners when the fish don't want the cranks. Biggest today was 28 1/8

Switching lures was key today, not one lure produced more than two fish, everything from natural all the way up to fire-tiger. 3-5 colors all day, moving up and down with the fish movements.

On a side note: We have a ton of lake debris right now and will for the next few days until it all washes ashore, dock sections, fire wood, random lumber chunks. Be on the look out.. if you see a seagull in the water he may be sitting on a small piece of wood it could very well be a 4-8ft water logged dock plank.

[Stick in Mud]

I spent a few hours on the lake...didn't see any of those. Did see a few floating plastic chunks of docks, though.

[pikerliker]

Brad I am not set up for led core, would 3 way rigs with cranks work in this type of summer pattern? Also by "long lining" do you need a line counter for that?

Thanks

[Walleyehooker]

3 ways will work but I would rather use snap weights rather than 3 ways but thats another ball game.You dont need a line counter but they make it eisier. Power Pro makes a line called depth hunter which has colors like LC or you can put a bobber stop every 50 feet or so. If useing a bait caster you can also estimate how much line goes out per pass on the reel and get close enough to catch fish.

[BradHawthorne]

3 ways will indeed work as Walleyehooker stated but you are going to be limited to shallow running lures. Line counter reels are almost a must for long lining, other techniques work but exactly duplicating the line out once you've found a pattern is going to be a tough one.

[BradHawthorne]

Fishing remains good even through the heat wave, lead core and spinners are the way to go. When deciding what pull look at the fish you are seeing on the sonar, are they grouped up on one end of the reef or flat? if so pull blades, this will keep you baits the zone longer. If you go out and see fish sprinkled over the area at random pull lead first. This is a good rule to follow but don't get locked into it, some days you need to pull blades all day and some lead core no mater how the fish are schooled.

Every day it seems to be a different color/style crank bait, yesterday I went through 12 baits on a four hour trip just to keep the fish popping, fire-tiger, blue crome, and craw have all been good starters.

The lake temps are now in the upper 70's we will be in the mid sumer pattern for a while now unless something drastic happens. Lake levels remain high and water clarity all over the map, one area it's clear others tannic stained from the creeks.

[palisade1kid]

Nice reports Brad.

[18004me]

As always great indepth reports Brad!

[BradHawthorne]

Water temps are now in the high 70's and even have touched 80 a few times, the bite has slowed some what, but is still good for this time of year. Lead core on the edges and tops of flats and deep gravel/rock transitions are still holding fish.

Suspended fish are all over the lake 12-25ft down chasing bait, The best way to target these fish is with boards and 1-3 colors of lead and natural looking baits ie, #5 natural perch, blue crome, etc, Spinners are working on boards...sometimes, but my best luck has been with shad baits @ 1.6-1.8mph.

[Stick in Mud]

I actually just bought a planer board yesterday, so I can now try to fish with one. I'm curious about why you'd want to put the bait out on the boards, though...because when they're only down 12-20 feet, they'll be spooked by the boat??

[eyewarrior]

Boat does spook fish, more so on calm days than windy days. In my experiences boards work better on calm days than windy days. I think it has to do with the surges cranks moves up & down with the waves.

[aanderud]

The boat spooking is part of the reason for planar boards, but another benefit is that you just cover more ground per-troll through an area. Good for search-mode or when the fish are really spread out.

[BradHawthorne]

Water temps are now a stabilized around the upper 70's and most of the bait can be found hanging around mud flats and basin areas and that is exactly were you want to be fishing. Lead core bite is 100% now

but some days..if it gets that bad and you just can't seem to put fish in the boat go to rigging, rigging always works on Mille Lacs spring, summer or fall.

When heading out to troll mark fish and then put the baits 1-10ft above them I'm hearing a lot of guys saying they are trolling and not putting fish in the boat, if you fish below the or right in there face sometimes you won't get bit.

It's not uncommon for fish to come up 10ft to hit a bait, just last week we had a day if you fished 2-4ft above them it was a no go, by putting the baits 5-7ft above them BAM! it was lights out.

Bigger baits are working now, #7 Raps, Tail dancers, and Reef Runners all will put a ton of fish in the net

AM is the best time to fish some days that noon to 3pm times is just off and picks back up around dinner time. Good Luck fishing Guys!

[BradHawthorne]

[BradHawthorne]

Water temps are now stabilized in the mid to high 70's, catch rates are 15-25 fish per day give or take. The biggest enemy this time of year is cold fronts, if one comes through the bite will slow. Lead core on the edges and tops of flats and deep gravel/rock transitions are still holding fish. Same as last week, suspended fish are still 12-25ft down chasing young of the year minnows. We are starting to see more fish 3ft-10ft off the bottom as we move later into summer. It all depends on the area of the lake you are on, some days they are high others low. The best way to target these fish is with boards and 1-3 colors of lead and natural looking baits ie, #5 natural perch, blue crome, etc, Spinners are working on boards...sometimes, but my best luck has been with shad baits or minnow raps @ 1.8-2.0mph. See the boards out in this pic, the fish she is holding was the only fish not caught on a board that day. Good luck fishing guys!

[RalphieV]

Nice fish there. Brad, I'm heading up on Thursday. Do you suggest we use boards all the time or just when it is calm? Same with spinners?

[BradHawthorne]

It's doesn't hurt to throw a board out if you have two anglers/lines to use, you will know fast if they want the lures away from the boat. One day it's 80% on boards, the next 50/50, and one day you get three on boards and the rest on main lines. Bring them if you have them.

[RalphieV]

Will do Brad, Thanks. Gonna be there from Thursday afternoon till Sunday so hopefully we can get a pattern figured out.

[BradHawthorne]

Fishing is still pretty good seeing as it's the first week in August, Bobber are taking some fish durring the day if it's to windy to troll, some years we really see the bobber bite heat up in August.. we will see what happens this year. Big fish are still common and the good new is they are getting FAT!

Fish are pretty much all over the lake right now. If it's windy and cloudy the shallow rocks will kick out some slots and over fish. On flat calm days it's best to get out and cover water. I've moved to larger sizes bait such as #7 shad raps, Thunder sticks (Large size) and Reef runners. Water temps are hanging around that 76-79 degree range, I don't fish much at night until fall but a few guy who are going out from 8-11pm are getting a few slots on the shallow rocks. If your sick of chasing walleyes, Small mouth action is great right now, rig up a wacky worm in pink or green it all it takes. Good luck fishing HSOers!

[BradHawthorne]

Water temps are starting to drop a bit, 72-74 right now. Lead core on with #7 shads is the ticket. You might think #7 really? but yes. Bait fish are getting bigger as we move into fall and so should the baits, crome blue, silver black and blue and white are all working great right now. In the morning hours fish reef and mud flat tops and as the day moves on slowly work out to the edges. We are starting to see and movement in fish patterns, the basin still has fish but starting looking to the edges and tops more as we move into fall. The bobber bite on the shallow rock from 6-10Pm is really starting to heat up as well...and Small mouth are everywhere lol cast in 6-12FT with tubes or small rattle traps. Good luck fishing!