Best lures for trolling/early June

[jlmiller]

I am new to Mille Lacs, and was wondering what are the most popular lures to use trolling? I am heading up for a couple quick trips in early June, and was wondering if I needed to stock up on anything in particular. My wife has never caught anything over 5 pounds and I would love to get her even more hooked than she already is. What lures seem to work best, what colors? I have an endless supply of deep reef runners and smithwick deep rouges. Just wondering if these will come in handy since I only currently use these for fishing Erie in the spring and fall. I see alot of reports of people trolling shad raps up shallow, is this just a night bite or is this used during the daytime hours also? Of course I am keeping my options open for the lindy and spinner bite, but would love to hear some of your best crankbait combinations. Are the fish usually suspended off the bottom, or are they down deep? Thanks in advance for the info. JLMILLER

[spotter]

i would go with the lindy rig, last weekend girlfiend and i caught 4 walleyes between 5 and 6 pounds. I use lindys 6 to 8 feet long with a red hook and a red beed. I think must guys troll cranks in the fall, witch i am going to try this year!

[The Cranker]

The leeches and crawlers will be the best for starters. But do not rule out fathead minnows once the water gets warmer. I like to fish with three way rigs. I can cover allot of water and catch those active fish.

Bottom bouncers work well too. Use longer snells with one beed. Either red or green beed with red hooks seem to do really well for me.

Lindy Rigs are always the good ol stand by. Lindy rigging has been around for years and will also produce fish. Then there is bobber fishing. Just get on the wind blown side of any structure and slip bobber fish with either a leech, minnow or crawler.

Stay mobile till you find fish is the key. Find fish then fish.

Fish On!!!

[TrophyEyes]

If they are agressive you may be able to cover a lot of ground with a three way set up and a spinning rig with a crawler.

[aanderud]

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If they are agressive you may be able to cover a lot of ground with a three way set up and a spinning rig with a crawler.

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I agree. By June the fish will be aggressive enough to really hammer the spinners, and with either a 3-way rig or a bottom bouncer in the 1+ ounce range you can really cover a lot of water to find the schooled up fish and get the really aggressive ones that are roaming off by themselves. The mud flats are expansive, and though there are consistent spots on spots that produce time after time, I've really found that if you cover a lot of ground, you will find pods of fish in new spots every time you're out. Once you do, you might slow the presentation down. It's amazing what kinds of luck you might have in a basketball court sized zone on a mudflat that is 2 miles long, but you have to find that zone first, which requires moving around faster, which is why I use bottom bouncers or 3 way rigs with heavier weights and more speed.

Right now I would be going slower, but in June you can hit all the way up to 1.3-1.5 mph. You might slow down all the way to .5 mph after you find that pod of fish. (whatever is the slowest your spinner will spin) Figure out what speed they like by varying it a lot, and then replicate. Often times once you find out that speed they like, you'll be amazed what difference a change of .1 or .2 mph makes with how many hits you get. They can be very picky. Be sure you mark on your GPS or note on the map where you're catching them and circle back to the same spot if you think there's a huge school. All of these things you probably know.

If you're looking for crankbait action, I know there's people doing the lead core or long-line trolling out there in either 'no man's land' (like 31+ feet deep far from any mud flat), or over mud flats, or both. I think they might even yank a muskie out now and then using this approach, but I've never tried it. Also, I don't really remember/know which months this presentation works best. Maybe someone who tries this will speak up with some advice, or you could always search the forum for posts during June of last year for crankbait action. My guess if if you've had fun trolling cranks over the great lakes, you will have fun doing it on 'deep water' Mille Lacs in the summer. Otherwise, as someone mentioned, the fall crankbite bite over shallow rocks is fantastic, as is the spring night bite on cranks in shallow over rocks or sand.

Good luck! Let us know how you do if you hit it up any time.

[Danno35]

Hi JLmiller,

I have had my best luck consistantly on a #7 Fire Tiger Shad Rap. In addition to that, Plain White or Blue Shad Rap #7 and Blue Reef Runners. One other "Secret" that was already mentioned, is Lead Core line with about a 10 to 15 foot fireline leader. Good Luck! Dan

P. S. Where do you normally fish out of??

[Glassguy]

I agree with the posts above, your best chance to hook a 5 lb eye in early June would be rigging. With the ice out early this year I thought we'd have a spinner bite by early June. Unfortunately with the cool weather the water has not warmed up to prime spinner bite temps of mid 60's. That's when the spinners really produce. You have some of the right lures if you carry Reef Runners in your arsenal. In early June do some long line trolling off the edges of the gravel or mud. You may not get huge numbers of fish but your chances for quality walleyes will be good.

[Philydog]

reef runners,#7@9 shad raps,and deep diving husky jerks.Blue is my favorite color,but fire tiger and white are hot at times.

[jlmiller]

I appreciate your responses! Like I said, I am new to Mille Lacs. I have only been there once before - last August... During the 120 degree hot spell. Needless to say we did not do so well. We are heading up on the 1st for 5 days, then heading back up on the 11th for four days. Fishers the first trip, then Red Door the next. Reservations are very tough to come by!!! We actually have reservations for fishers the first trip beginning sunday night. We are leaving Friday night, planning on winging it on a place to stay. Could not get any reservations any earlier at either place. Any recommendations in the Malmo area for a dry place to stay for a couple nights?

Sounds like the rigging bite is going strong. Any word on the mayflies? My wife does not like things crawling under her clothes when shes fishing...that even goes for me, "we" tend to distract her!!!!

Again thanks for the advice, any tips for these specific areas of the lake would also be greatly appreciated!! JLMILLER