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Opening weekend on Mille Lacs was mostly ice free this year! A little ice on the SW corner, otherwise much better than last year. Water was cold, and fishing was not hot and heavy, but fish could be found. Daylight fishing for eyes was tough--we caught more pike and smallies. Night fishing, especially Friday night/Saturday morning was O.K. trolling crank baits. Sand bite on the north side should get better as the water warms this week--talk to Woody at the Malmo Market for tips and bait for the sand bite. Remember, night ban is on until December. Good luck and stay safe. I will see you out there somewhere.

2020 Mille Lacs Lake Fishing Reports - CLICK HERE Click Above for 2020 Fishing Reports↑↑↑↑ 2009 - 2020 Mille Lacs Lake Fishing Reports are below ↓↓↓↓ (Over 100 pages of 25 posts per page). Go ahead and post Mille Lacs Lake fishing reports and conditions in this thread. Lot's of good info below already. Newer Reports are on pages that follow. Be sure to give back and share your fishing reports here as well. Thanks.

Who's on the lake now? I'm on Graveyard reef now in my skid house. Has been very slow so far. Waiting for the hot bite to kick in. 27fow by the way..

@bassfshin24 and I snuck up to Mille Lacs for 2 days of fishing recently. We were targeting Walleye near shallow structure in the low light hours and bumping out a bit deeper during mid-day. The first day was slow for us but we found more action on Day 2 including my 2nd biggest Walleye through the ice. I also caught my first tagged Walleye! Pay attention for my slip and fall...

I have a week trip planned for opening week on the big pond. Should I reschedule? I know the record ice out for that lake is May 16th. Does it look like that will be broken this year?

My first foray into tv land. Grant invited me to co-host an early ice episode on Mille Lacs last week. We showed up like any weekend warrior with no intel and proceeded to try to figure the lake out. This is just the teaser. The full episode will air in January and then be available on Superior Angling's YouTube channel. Give it a share/like if you enjoy it. Thanks in advance!

My buddy Tony (@bassfshin24) and I hit the road after Christmas to go and chase some Walleyes on Mille Lacs Lake. We had plans to fish shallow structure during the low light hours and then head out to deeper structure during the day using an ATV. Day 1 the temps had warmed up some from the recent negative temps but we were surprised to find a very slow bite. The slow day was topped off by some ATV problems which left us scratching our heads on what to do for Day 2. As it turned out our options were minimal so we decided to pull out on the lake by hand to some shallow structure. It was -15 when we hit the lake but we were greeted by a bunch of hungry Walleye!

Got on the west side yesterday from 10 till 3. Smallmouth were snapping in 15 - 17 FOW on green tubes with red flakes. Three 20 inch plus footballs. 20 fish total. Two came up barfing out crawfish. Had two incidental google eyes 14 and 15 inches. All the fish were extremely fat and well fed. Great day on the water, very few boats. Shout out to Terry's, great place to launch and close to the action!

It's shaping up to be a very good year on the Big Pond....Lots of people are catching lots of fish. Let's start a new thread to share some tips, tricks, and photos. The talk I'm hearing is that there are lots of fish out deep, but most of them are shorties. Fewer fish up shallow, but a better chance at catching some bigger ones. So shallow I went. Plus, pulling a 100 lb. sled and auger made the decision a little easier, too. I set up Stick in Mud the Elder in Secret Spot #3 in about 7 ft of water. I hole hopped outside in depths ranging from 7 to 14 ft. It took us maybe 10 minutes to get our first fish, and throughout the next two hours we ended up catching six more. Nothing crazy like the reports/photos I'm seeing/hearing from others, but we got two keepers and one big girl. My buddy caught 16 last night--and sent me a photo of every single one of them--but only one of them was over 18''. Of our seven, two were about 19'' and the big one was about 25'', give or take a bit. It's time to get out on the ice.

The DNR has announced quotas for the ice fishing season, regulations coming forth soon. http://news.dnr.state.mn.us/2015/10/19/mille-lacs-winter-harvest-cap-set-ice-fishing-regulation-decision-by-end-of-month/#more-17141 #AsExpected

Governor Dayton is not going to wait for the fall surveys before declaring that the walleye ice fishing season will go on. http://www.startribune.com/dayton-says-they-ll-be-a-walleye-season-this-winter-on-mille-lacs/326440461/

The DNR announced today that it has begun implementing several concrete steps aimed at improving the Mille Lacs Lake walleye population, while building a closer working relationship with the Mille Lacs community. “Mille Lacs is an incredibly important fishery for … Full Story Discuss below - to view set the hook here.

Other fishing on Mille Lacs unaffected, remains strong and near record highs The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced today that last week’s creel survey on estimated walleye harvests, releases, and kill on Mille Lacs Lake during the first two weeks of July showed drastic increases that could result in the state reaching its limit by July 29. Despite the ongoing challenges with the walleye population, other fishing on the lake remains strong and near record highs. DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr stressed that anglers should take advantage of the continuation of liberal northern pike and smallmouth bass regulations on the lake. “Mille Lacs Lake remains one of the premiere fishing destinations in the state,” Landwehr said. “Northern pike and smallmouth bass are at or near record highs. Anglers should take advantage of the liberal regulations for these species. DNR tagging studies also indicate that muskies larger than 50 inches have never been more abundant.” During the first seven months of the monitoring period (December 2014 – June 2015) walleye harvest rates were at or below predicted levels, based on tight regulations adopted for the open-water season. Based upon those results, total harvest was expected to be below the State’s 28,600-pound limit for this twelve-month period and the DNR’s June 30 creel study showed the state was within 15,300 pounds of reaching the annual quota. However, as of July 15, when the last angler survey was conducted, the state was within just 3,000 pounds of reaching the annual quota. Records also show it was only the second time in 30 years that Mille Lacs walleye catch rates in July were higher than the second half of June. This dramatic spike is believed to be due to unusual circumstances – including the high catch rates over the 4th of July and warm water temperatures (the third highest on record). Warm water greatly increases walleye mortality on fish that had to be released because they did not fall within the harvest slot. The so-called “hooking mortality” of walleyes that die after being released counts toward the state quota. Gov. Mark Dayton has directed the DNR to wait until after the next creel survey which will cover the period from July 16 to July 31, to see if the most recent numbers are an aberration. During that time, officials at the DNR, the Office of Tourism, and Department of Employment and Economic Development will meet with resort owners and other affected stakeholders on Mille Lacs to discuss the situation and seek recommendations. A federal court decision legally requires state officials to abide by the limit agreed upon with the eight Chippewa bands for each year. After the next creel report is received, the commissioner will take the necessary actions. It should be emphasized, however, that if the state determines it has exceeded its harvest allotment, the commissioner will be legally required to suspend fishing for walleye on the lake. The DNR has met with the Minnesota tribes who harvest on Mille Lacs, as well as the executive administrator of the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission on the situation and shared fisheries data with them. There is mutual concern to respond to the increased harvest and take steps necessary to protect the walleye population. Earlier this year, the DNR also met with Mille Lacs Lake business owners and anglers to discuss the struggling walleye population and the risks of going over the lower quota. The DNR, Department of Employment and Economic Development, and Explore Minnesota Tourism will continue working with area resorts and businesses to gather their input, assess the impact of fishing conditions on area businesses, and work with the community as a decision is made on the continuation of the fishing season. Additional Background on the Mille Lacs Lake Walleye Quota Since 2008, not enough young walleye are surviving to maturity and replenishing the Mille Lacs Lake population. As a result, Mille Lacs walleye numbers are currently at a 30-year low. In response, the state instituted more restrictive walleye regulations this year in order to protect young walleyes so they could grow older. In fact, this year Mille Lacs’ 2015 walleye safe harvest level was deliberately reduced from 60,000 to 40,000 pounds so that more fish could potentially survive and spawn to improve the walleye population. Under this year’s quota, state anglers can harvest up to 28,600 pounds of walleye, and the eight Chippewa bands with 1837 Treaty harvest rights can harvest up to 11,400 pounds of walleye. Anglers are able to keep one walleye that is 19- to 21-inches long, or longer than 28 inches. Despite this year’s low walleye population, DNR fishery surveys have shown this year that there may be good news on the horizon. Biologists are seeing a large population of young walleyes hatched in 2013. Walleyes in that group are currently 10-to 13-inches long. It is important to protect those fish so they can contribute to future angling success and walleye production. Information on Mille Lacs management can be found at www.mndnr.gov/millelacslake. This year’s fishing regulations are on the DNR website at www.mndnr.gov/fishmn

Has anyone gone out just to do a catch and release of some of the bigger eyes? Maybe trying for the 28" or larger?

Does anyone know if there are "cabbage" beds in the Wahkon & Isle bays? Looking to take my niece out for some pike action. Thanks

I have never fished on Mille lacs, never targeted eyes anywhere for that matter. I want to get my 4 yr old daughter up there to do some fishing with me so we can learn the walleye thing together. Can anyone recommend a resort that has a good launch that runs during the weekdays? Also, do we bring our gear and bait or do they supply the needed stuff?

All the fishing I have done on Mille Lacs has been on the northwest side of the lake, typically using Garrison as the launch site. I wanted to start fishing the south end of the lake but I am not familiar with any of the boat ramps on that end. What would be the best options for launching my 620 on that side? Thanks! -g

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