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Leech Lake was up and down this past week and with the recent cold snap things have slowed down somewhat. The front has caused the walleyes to be less aggressive and anglers are having to really hone in on those peak periods as well as as staying mobile to stay on top of the walleye bite. Most fish are still being caught throughout the Main Lake in 12-16 feet of water. This has held true with reefs, shoreline breaks, as well as breaklines and points. Many anglers are utilizing the south end access and heading out to the reefs and breaklines around Pipe and Pelican Islands where as on the west end of the Lake, Traders Bay, Stony Point, and Pine Point are all seeing action. Walker Bay has a decent walleye bite, with eater fish being more prominent. 18-28ft of water on humps that are near shore as well as shoreline breaks and points. The Ice in Walker Bay is really varying so use caution and stick close for now constantly checking and drill holes. Ice is varying from 4-6" in some places to 11-12" in others so it is best to continue to exercise patience with the Bay. Perch fishing has been good, with better fish coming on both main lake rock-to-sand transitions, and depressions in shallow sand/weed flats. Site fishing for perch can also be a fun thing to do all winter long, especially on weed flats. With the abundance of small perch in the system, try upsizing your presentation to combat those little perch and catch more jumbos. Panfishing remains good for Crappies and Bluegills with both species showing up in typical mid-winter areas like basin edges and mid-depth soft bottom flats. Look for those dishpan style lakes to focus your efforts on. Tungsten jigs with plastics or euro larvae as well as small jigging spoons are working for both species.

Well one might say one day it seems like fall is here and other days it is like July or August and at times that has seemed to confuse the fish also. The fall bite and pattern is definitely getting closer and some of those classic presentations for putting fall walleyes into the boats are starting to produce. The Jig and Minnow bite on the points, windblown shorelines, and the flats around Goose Island is starting to improve, but really depends on the day. Some days snap jigging and moving more quickly is the key. Using an 1/8th oz KenKatch 3D jig with a rainbow has been a good producer at times or a Northland Vegas Jig. Jig colors will vary by the day, but gold, green, red, and blue all seem to be good colors on Leech Lake, alot just depends on sunlight and water clarity. If the jig and minnow bite is slow, try lindy rigging with a crawler in those same areas of 8-14ft of water. Going faster seems to help, so anywhere between .7-1MPH is best. A slow death hook and crawler is another great option to use. Agency Bay and Walker Bay are also producing walleyes on steep shoreline breaks in 18-30ft of water pulling live bait rigs or working the humps in 25-35ft of water with a creek chub or redtail. Some of the best fishing should come when the water temps drop down near 60 and dip into the 50s. Enjoy the woods and water this fall! This truly is one of the best times of the year to enjoy the outdoors in Minnesota.

Even though we are in the midst of whats considered the dog days of summer, Walleyes continue to feed on Leech Lake. There has been a strong crankbait bite all over the lake right now in 8-14ft of water. Rock piles, mid lake flats, weed/sand transition areas....you name it, the fish are there and willing to cooperate. The best areas have been in and around the Sand Point area, Goose Island, Grand Vu Flats and the eastern rock reefs. Look for the fish to slide from 8-11 ft during the morning to 11-14 during the afternoon. Rapala #7 Shad Raps, Berkley Flicker Minnows and Flicker Shads have been the most productive in Crayfish, Silver or Purpledescent patterns. Muskies have picked up over the course of the last couple weeks and we are seeing and hearing of more fish moving or caught each day. As water temps rise into the upper 70's, with a chance to touch 80 degrees, these fish will becbme even more active. Remember to be VERY responsible with these warm water fish. Have the camera and net ready to make a quick scoop and snap a couple pictures so that the fish can be returned to the water as quick as possible. Many fish that are mishandled or kept out of the water for too long during these warm stretches are not able to recover. Juice bucktails, Phantom Jerkbaits and an occasional topwater has been most productive thrown over the rocks during prime times of the day. Bass and panfish are also going strong in the Leech Lake area. There are so many lakes in the area that offer whatever kind of fishing or fish you are looking for. Stop in at Reeds and have them mark a map and send you in the right direction. Take advantage of these last few weeks of summer as we hang on by a thread before the fall season begins! Good Luck!

Sorry it has been over a week since I posted a report. Between guiding and tournaments things have been super busy for LOA. The bite on Leech Lake right now is very up and down. The key is to be versatile and take advantage of the feeding windows to catch walleyes especially. The Main Lake walleye bite has been centered around main a trolling bite. Long lining #5 or #7 Shad Raps in 9-14ft of water has been the best and most consistent bite whether it is around the Flats around Goose Island or pulling them along the reefs such as Huddles, Variety, Annex and Submarine. Perch colored patterns, crayfish patterns, or minnow patterns all have produced fish. The key is to keep changing colors each day to find out what is working best that day, because it is constantly changing by the day or even the hour at times. Trolling leadcore in the basins such as in Portage Bay or Paris Trench are good locations to fish for suspended fish. In Walker and Agency Bays, working the humps and shoreline breaks in 20-35ft of water is producing walleyes with some days being better than others. Rigging Chubs, crawlers, and leeches all have worked. The key is to drive those humps and if you mark fish off the bottom, fish them. If you don't, move on, but don't be afraid to come back later in the day to check a spot out. I have had days where they weren't there in the morning, but moved up and fed later in the day, or vice versa. The musky bite is in full swing also. Portage Bay and the Main Lake Rocks are great locations. Bucktails, Bull Dawgs, and twitch style baits are all producing and getting active muskies to show themselves. This bite should only get better. Also lots of good fishing is to be had on many of the smaller local lakes right now for crappies, bluegills, and bass. Be sure not to forget about them, especially on those windy days where Leech can be tough to navigate and fish. Until next week Tight Lines Jason Freed Leisure Outdoor Adventures

Kind of a slower week this last week. One might call it the dog days of summer. Right now the key to success on the lake is to take advantage of those key feeding times. The early morning bite, evening bite, and those certain feeding periods during the day are what are producing the best fishing. Pay attention to the solunar calendar major and minor feeding times, although not 100% accurate is does more often than not prove to be correct. Also when the wind picks up, changes direction, cloud cover rolls in, or any weather change are other things to key in on to catch active fish. Right now with all of the bait in the lake, the fish don't have to work too hard if they won't want to. On the South End of the Main Lake, trolling crank baits and spinners has been the most productive. Secondary Rock Reefs found off of well known pieces of structure, in 18-25feet are all producing fish. Diamond Point, Rogers Point, Huddles and Variety Reef, and the reefs off of Big Rock Reef have all had bites from day to day. The crank bait bite is best trolling off of long steep breaks or large basins such as the ones found in Portage Bay or Paris Trench. Leadcore, long lining, or planer boards are all effective ways to fish crank baits for walleyes. Musky fishing is starting to pick up and with the warm temperatures we will be facing this week, they should really start to move. Weed bays or long stretches of isolated cabbage such as the ones found in Portage Bay are a good place to start casting bucktails or twitch baits. Also the main lake rocks are heating up and more fish are being seen near Mokey, Submarine Island, and Pelican Island. The best is yet to come here. On the West End, Walker Bay continues to be the most consistent. Fishing the Humps in 18-35ft of water with a leech, crawler, or chub has produced the most fish, with many being slots. Keepers are still relating mainly to the shoreline breaks in 18-30ft of water on windy days. Aggressive tactics such as throwing swim baits or rippin raps in 6-10ft of water early in the day or in the evening has also produced keepers to put in the livewell. The other local lakes are producing great smallmouth and largemouth fishing as well as some great bluegill and crappie fishing. Look to the weed edges in the more and evenings for the crappies with deep water adjacent. Both smallies and largemouth are relating to weedlines or small mouth to transitions between rocks and gravel. A jig/worm or small jig tipped with a leech are both productive and ways to fish them. Until next week Tight Lines!

Versatility is the name of the game right now on Leech Lake. This past week the lake has been met with many bug hatches and changing conditions from day to day so being versatile is the name of the game. By this I mean, having the different kinds of bait such has minnows, crawlers, and leeches in the boat, and the different presentations set up and ready to go in your rod locker. Walleyes throughout the lake are gobbling up mayflies, molting crayfish, and little perch which means the feed bags are one. Don't let these things deter you because it can be really good fishing. On the west side of the lake, fish are being caught on Grand Vu Flats, Big and Little Hardwoods, and within Traders Bay on the breaklines in 11-16ft of water. Dragging lindy rigs with crawlers or leeches is by far the best presentation. Spinners with crawlers or minnows has been working on flat calm days when you need to cover ground. Walker Bay has been on the slow side. Fish are being caught with many being slot fish, but some keepers are showing up on the Cedar Shoreline and within Agency Narrows in 18-22ft of water. On the main lake, the rock reefs such as Submarine Island, Annex, North Bar, Red Rocks, and the areas off of Pelican Island are also producing fish in 10-18ft of water. The bigger walleyes are showing up more on the tops and edges of the reefs, where as the keeper fish are being caught in the mud as they are feeding on bugs. Look for scattered boulders in these areas and try trolling spinners with crawlers or leeches at 1.1-1.4mph. Colors that are good are orange, gold, green, and sometimes even throwing on something that is out of the ordinary to change things up. If spinners aren't working, slow down and rig them with crawlers or leeches or try pulling slow death set ups at .8 to 1mph. Slip bobber fishing the edges of the reefs during the evening hours is also a good way to put some fish in the boat. Lots of great fishing is yet to go this summer. Things may slow down a little bit after all of the hatches take place, which is normal, but the challenge is there are walleyes always biting somewhere. Gotta love the CHASE of it all. Some crappies are being caught off the weed edges in the early morning and evening in Shingobee and Miller Bay with panfish also being caught in the cabbage in Steamboat Bay. Tight Lines Jason Fred Leisure Outdoor Adventures

It has been a busy week for the Leisure Outdoor Adventures Guide Service. Between three of our guys fishing the Cabelas NWT tournament on the lake or being on the water everyday guiding, needless to say we were in hot pursuit on Leech Lake walleyes. The lake is definitely changing with water temps in low 70s in areas on somedays and multiple bug hatches going on. The shallow water bite is still going on some parts of the lakes such as Portage Ba, West Goose Flats or in Sucker Bay, but definitely identify cabbage beds is the key to catching and holding walleyes. A jig and minnow is still the best bet by pitching an 1/8th oz jig with a golden shiner or rainbow. As a whole though, the fish are moving off and setting up on breaklines in 12-20ft of water in places such as Grand View Flats, Traders Bay, Pipe Island, Big Hardwoods, and off of many of the main lake points found throughout the lake. When looking for these areas, look where you may have caught them earlier in the season, they won't have gone far. Trolling spinners or lindy rigging with crawlers and leeches is the best way to work over these areas. Also a slow death rig and bottom bouncer is a great tactic to use when the bugs are hatching. The Reefs on the lake such as Annex, Submarine Island, North Bar, West Bar, and Mokey are all starting to produce fish. Depending on the wind, the fish will be scattered and it is best to cover water until you find the fish. Look for small humps on top of the reefs or scattered boulders found off of the edges near the mud and gravel transitions. Depths will vary from day to day. Trolling spinners or casting jigs with minnows are great ways to breakdown these main lake structures. This bite should only get better. The key to success on the lake right now is being versatile and having all the different presentations and types of bait ready to throw at them. Somedays leeches are the bait of choice in the morning and crawlers turn on in the afternoon, or vice versa, just be ready to switch things up if the bite slows. Some of the best fishing is still to come this month! Give us a call if you are looking to hit the water, learn a few things, and catch a few walleyes. Jason Freed Leisure Outdoor Adventures 1-855-LOA-HOOK

Well things have been busy in the guide service world of late with trips going out each day and Leech Lake for the most part has been very good this past week. Unstable weather and wind patterns at times has maybe caused for some inconsistency but I found last week going against the norm and what others are doing can pay off. So if others are fishing shallow, try deep, if others are trying to play the wind, fish the other side of the wind blow structure. The best part of this time of year, it seems almost any kind of presentation has been working. For the most part, the walleyes are in that transition period on the lake and you can find them all over the water column. Some of the best action this past week was pitching jigs and minnows and find holes within larger sand and weed flats. Seemed like 5-9ft was a good place to start and this was a good way to put keeper fish in the boat. A gold or green long Long Shank Ken Katch Jig were my best producers when doing this and finding emergent cabbage was the other key. Pay close attention to your depth finder and mark those spots when you see it. Main Lake Rocks such as Submarine Island, Pelican Island, Annex, North Bar, and Mokey Reef are all starting to produce fish. Trolling spinners with a bottom bouncer at .8-1.3MPH seems to be the ticket. Leeches, crawlers, and even minnows with a spinner all produced fish. Color combos just depended on the day. The best part is this bite should only get better. Lindy rigging as well as slip bobber fishing on windy days or during low light hours are other ways to fish these rock structures. Depending on the day and win, 10-19ft of water all produced fish. Some bug hatches are starting to also pop up on the lake, so pay close attention to his, because the fish will be close by. Don't let them scare you off, this can be some of the best fishing all year. Musky Reports were mixed throughout the lake with a few fish being caught. Weedy Bays are a great place to start throwing small bucktails or twich baits this time of year, Uran, Miller, and Steamboat Bay would all be good places to look for these emerging cabbage beds. The muskie fishing will only get better as the summer goes along, so get the big rods ready to cast, cast, and cast some more! Tight Lines! Jason Freed Leisure Outdoor Adventures

Leech Lake Fishing Report Well the Leech Lake Walleye Tournament is a wrap and another huge success it was. Almost 1300 fish were brought to the scales with almost 80 limits of 6 fish brought to the scale each day. The best part there was a 98% live release rate which says a lot about the success of this tournament and its incredible workers. A huge thank you goes out to everyone involved who helped make once again the Leech Lake Walleye Tournament one of the best in the Midwest. Last but not least a big congratulations goes to one of the LOA team members Aaron Murphy and his partner Pete Miskovich on their 5th place finish and the largest bag for Day 1 of the tourney. The lake is changing by the days and week. Fish can be caught so many different ways and in so many different types of locations. During the tournament anglers had success lindy rigging, with a jig and minnow, and pulling spinners. The fish are definitely transitioning into their summer patterns and haunts and as June moves along it should really get good. For the LOA team, a jig and a minnow was by far our best producer when it came to putting fish in the boat. Depending on the conditions aggressive snap jigging along sand flats, breaklines in 8-12ft of water, or pitching jigs into cabbage was the best producer. 1/8th KenKatch Long Shank Jigs were the ticket and color was key. Changing up the color during bright conditions vs. cloudy or overcast was the key to putting more fish in the boat. Many anglers had a lot of success rigging leeches and crawlers along shoreline breaks and along transition lines of rock/gravel or sand and gravel. Having a longer snell with a smaller hook and glow bead, such as 6+ feet was definitely a key to success. Spinner fishing is starting to also pick up and one of our favorite times of the year..look for rock edges on the main lake reefs or shoreline breaks around Sand Beach and Two Points to produce fish in 12-16ft of water. Speed was the key, going anywhere from 1-1.5MPH depending on the weather conditions. June is one of our favorite times to be on the lake because there are so many locations and ways to catch Mr. Walleye. The Cabelas NWT tourney is the next big event on the lake in just a little over a week. It should be fun to see many of the well known pros in action. Get out and Set the Hook! Jason Freed Leisure Outdoor Adventures

Leech Lake showed her bounty and her tougher side this past week. Things are definitely changing through the lake and fish are found every where throughout the lake whether it is weeds, rocks, sand flats, or points, they all have fish in various depths. The key has been just figuring out which area under which conditions is the most productive. Fishing green weeds was a key to our success this past week. Pitching 1/8th oz Ken Katch 3D Eye jigs or a Northland Standup jig with a shiner is still out producing. This tactic works when it is calm or with a little wind. The key is to identify those quality green weeds with your eyes and then anchor off of them and pitch the jigs. Jig profile and color was a huge key to our success this past weekend. So pay close attention to this and which jig and color is producing the best. Other areas are large expansive flats that have weeds scattered throughout them. The best tactic here is to back troll and snap jig sometimes going as fast a 1.2.-1.4 MPH to trigger those bites. Besides the walleyes, the pike and perch are plentiful as well, so a great bite to put kids on or people just getting into fishing. Main Lake Rock Reefs and wind blown points are also still producing fish. The Flats around Goose Island were not nearly as productive this week, more than likely due to the lack of wind to push bait fish into those areas, so covering ground was the name of the game. Trolling spinners, back trolling with a lindy rig and leech or crawler, or trolling crankbaits were all methods used to search out active fish. Sucker Bay had a good bite throughout the weekend in 12-16' of water. The crappie bite was also kicking into full swing. The crappies have moved shallow again in places such as Boy, Headquarters, Deadhead, and Miller Bay. Slip bobber with a crappie minnow or plastic or just casting small tubes or minnow profile baits also produces. 2-7ft of water seemed to be the ticket. A big week this week with the Leech Lake Walleye Tournament! It is shaping up to be another great year. I will be sure to have a synopsis of the tourney in next week's report. Give us a call if you are looking to book a fishing trip this summer! Tight Lines Jason Freed Leisure Outdoor Adventure

Leech LakeFishing Report Thing have changed since the Opener and Mother Nature has had a lot to do with that. What we found this weekend was water temps had dropped in throughout the lake anywhere from 3-6 degrees due to the cold weather and rain we had last week. That played a role in the fishing this past weekend, but the name of the game was to adjust your game plan and get away from what may be the “traditional” early season walleye patterns. Walleye fishing was up and down at times during the weekend, but if you were willing to change up your routine and do some different things and fish different locations you were rewarded with less pressured fish and often times active biters. Main Lake Flats around Goose island such as West Goose and Grand View are still producing fish, but the fish have moved deeper especially when there is a lack of wind to push bait fish up shallow. The best fishing was in 9-13’ of water with either a jig and minnow or a lindy rig with a shiner or leech. Be sure to mix up jig colors and sizes. An 1/8th oz KenKatch 3D eye jig or KenKatch Long Shank was the ticket this past weekend. We did not spend as much time fishing the main lake points this weekend which had a lot more to do with fighting the fishing pressure. Instead we focused on wind blow shoreline breaks and breaklines that dumped into 10-16’ of water throughout the main lake. Obviously Leech has and always will be a wind driven lake, so using that to your advantage to make controlled drifts or using your bow mount such as my Motorguide Xi5 to work breaklines proves to extremely productive. When it is calm snapping jigging far out produced, by going 1mph to 1.5mph at times or long lining a leech and crawler is extremely effective and will continue to get even better. Don’t forget other tactics as well this time of year, there is always a time and place to slip bobber isolated weed pockets or rock piles as well as casting crankbaits at windblown shorelines or after dark. Crappies have begun transitioning but are still prime for the picking with some work. Boy, Headquarters, and Shingobee are all producing fish in 6-12ft if water along weedlines and flats with isolated pockets of cabbage. A jig and plastic or a crappie minnow under a float are great presentations. Perch are still being caught and mixed in with the walleyes, but there were reports of isolated schools of jumbos caught this weekend, just using a jig and minnow. Tight Lines!

What an Opener it was! Leech Lake didn't disappoint this past weekend putting out lots of numbers of keeper sized walleyes and some big ones as well. The lake was loaded up with anglers eager to catch their first walleyes of the season. Reports were solid throughout the whole lake. West Side of the Lake The areas around Goose Island produced alot of fish. West Goose Flats, Pine Point, Star Point, and Little Hardwoods were all solid producers. Anywhere from 4-11ft of water seemed to produce fish and with the amount of boat traffic getting away from the crowds was the key. A Jig and a shiner minnow or rainbow was the ticket. Be sure to pay close attention to your speed and jig cadence, anglers who focused on these things found more success this past weekend. 1/8th oz jigs were the best, but consider heavier if conditions call for it. East Side of the Lake The report from the East and South side of the lake was definitely a mix of slot fish as well as some keepers. 8-12ft seemed to be the best, but windblown shores and points found active fish as well up shallow. Jig and a minnow and casting crankbaits were all great presentations for putting walleyes in the boat. Partridge Point, Diamond Point, Rogers Pt., and the areas around Bear Island were all solid producers this past weekend. It is setting up to be a great spring this year again. Crappies are still being found shallow in 2-8ft of water pitching jigs or a slip bobber and a jig/tube. Perch were mixed in with the walleyes throughout the weekend with many jumbos also being caught. All in all what a great start to the year. Give us a call if you want to book a trip! Attached are some pics from the weekend. I happened to do battle with a 41" musky a few minutes after a 27" walleye. Both fish were healthy and swam away giving me the hold fish splash goodbye. Jason Freed Leisure Outdoor Adventures 1-855-LOA-HOOK www.leisureoutdooradventures.com https://www.facebook.com/leisureoutdooradventures?ref=hl