mille lacs 2020 Mille Lacs Lake Fishing Reports

[Riverratpete]

Headed up for the Saturday afternoon evening bite..can't wait, east side leadcore and bobbering up on the reefs..hopefully the wind isn't going to give us a lot of trouble.

[BrdHunter01]

I plan on being up there Sunday night and Monday morning,my wife claims she has never caught a fish at the "dead sea" so my plan is to change her perception of Mille Lacs.

must not have been there this spring then I laugh when people call it the "dead sea"

I will be up trolling the raps this weekend. Water temps were in the upper 50s last weekend.

[leroy77]

I will be heading up early tomorrow morning for the weekend i was there last saturday and did great on the east side with lead core and raps in 27 to 24 fow i am going to try bobbering on the east side in the morning i will post results tomorrow

[Red Miller]

Went out Friday morning and it was tough with the rain and a little chilly. Picked up 3 cigars, lost 2 "substantial" fish, and a few borderline perch to boot. They seemed to favor the rainbows over the leeches. Deep gravel, 25 to 30 mostly. Didnt try cranks. Fished the south and east sides.

[cldboater]

Planning on headed up there this week end.. I have always had good luck with slip bobber-ing, or just jigging a fuzzy grub tipped with a rainbow. Going to try trolling lead for the first time.. Any trick to whhat lures to use.. I see some are using jerkbait.. some are using shad raps... does it even matter?

Thanks

Oh was up there a couple weeks ago and got into some bass

the bite was good

[DREZLER]

Planning on headed up there this week end.. I have always had good luck with slip bobber-ing, or just jigging a fuzzy grub tipped with a rainbow. Going to try trolling lead for the first time.. Any trick to whhat lures to use.. I see some are using jerkbait.. some are using shad raps... does it even matter?

Thanks

Oh was up there a couple weeks ago and got into some bass

the bite was good

Yes I think it matters greatly. Up there it seems each day they will really prefer one color or profile. Try #4 and #5 shad raps, #4 Salmo Hornets, #4 jointed shad raps. Blue/Chrome has been good.

[jwmiller33]

got out on the pond last night from about 5-11 or so. had 3 lines in the water and we were trolling shallow... i think i threw on every crank i had in my arsenal at one point in time... we were marking a ton of fish, just couldnt get them to commit.

i stayed at Appeldoorns resort on the east side of the lake and I can't believe how nice the cabins were! i have fished all over Minnesota and stayed in lots of resorts and the cabin I stayed in last night was without a doubt once of the nicest I have ever been in. The fireplace sure was nice to come and warm up by after we got off the lake. This was also the first cabin I have been in that had something bigger than twin size beds!

we went out again this morning from about 10am-4 and we caught one fish! we fished the northwest end and then trailered and went to the southwest end and that is where we caught the one fish. it was a healthy 20 incher.

the fish definitely were affected by the major storm system that moved thru. after talking with Paul at Appeldoorns, it sounds like there were guying catching fish last night but the key was SLOW. we were fishing from 1.2-1.7 all night and that was still too fast. It is hard to keep the line straight and keep action on the crankbait going that slow, but it is a must because the fish aren't aggressive enough to hit your bait when it is going fast.

I definitely will be returning to Appeldoorns this winter and staying with Paul as he definitely took great care of us! Only wish I could have stayed another night or two

[Walleyehunter38]

Went out yesterday 6am - 6pm with my uncle and cousin. Got this one about 11am on east side shallow. Personal best 27"

[Rick]

Lake Mille Lacs walleye regulation to change Dec. 1

ST PAUL MN - Walleye anglers who fish Lake Mille Lacs are reminded that effective Dec. 1, the regulation allows them to keep four walleye up to 18 inches, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

All walleye between 18-and 28-inches must be immediately released. One walleye more than 28 inches is allowed in possession.

[muddpuppy]

Thinking of one last trip to the pond this weekend before parking the boat. is anyone having any luck?

[pansK]

I will also be heading up there this weekend. I plan on trolling cranks in the shallows around Garrison. I hope we can get a few it's the last open water trip!

[TRZ II]

You guys are tough or crazy there is a fine line. The high Sat. is 22???

[Riverratpete]

Good Luck, saw broken up ice on the Hunters webcam and the one from down in Isle. With the weather coming in she'll be locking up soon.

[muskiefisher05]

how is the ice looking there is it all frozen up yet hopeing to get out fishing soon. Is any lures working.

[icemancometh]

Wanting to know about the ice and if anyone is going out yet....?? Got the itch pretty bad.

[deerwoody]

Saw golden eyes out there.Its not good enough for me yet.

[Renovations Man]

Hows Isle Bay?

[broman]

I pllan on going this coming weekend. Scouting effort to find a good spot for the wheelhouse later.

[Paul Waldowski]

From Chapman's Mille Lacs Resort

Quote:

Tim's out staking the road today. We are open for ATV & snowmobile access. Won't be long for small vehicles. Always check wherever you go, we can't check every inch. Be safe be smart!

[Paul Waldowski]

Was out scouting around yesterday afternoon and managed to drop a line here and there. Found a nice spot in 16 feet of water that produced a couple of eyes and also a few Perch that made it home for dinner. All fish were caught on a Blue/Red Lindy Rattlin Flyer Spoon tipped with a fathead minnow.

[Will]

I am thinkin about heading up to your end of the lake this weekend. How thick was the ice where you were? How deep is the snow? Is there slush underneath? I am hoping to bring the wheeler.

Thanks

[Frozenfoot]

Went out of in Isle bay on saturday out of Chapmans. They gave us some spots and put us right on some fish. It was kinda a walk pullling a sled loaded with all the goodies, but did really well. 9" of good clear ice everywhere we drilled. Came home with 16 really nice perch. They people at chapmans were super nice, so thank you to them.

[farmology]

We fished the north end 6 inches of ice fishing was very productive around rock piles right close to deep water fished from 6 fow to 19 fow big fish deeper keepers shallower. Good luck

[RiverChuckNorris]

Got out yesterday for the first time this year. Fished out of Hunters on the rocks all day. First, we fished on an incline in 27 fow, marked no fish and caught one dink eye. Moved after an hour to a different pile and set up on top in 15 fow...nothing.

The wind finally subsided and we drilled a line of holes from the top out to almost 30 fow...lot of holes! Needless to say, we found the eyes in 24 fow around 2:30 and proceeded to catch 9 and miss 4 more (including one very large one) with 6 going in the bucket. We had to call it a day around 4:30 as we didn't want to be on the lake after dark.

Once we were on them, it truly didn't matter what lure/jig/bobber presentation we used. I actually switched up my jigging rod twice during the "flurry" just to test things out. We caught them on presentations ranging from plain hooks, to Northland swimming jigs, to buckshots to JB swimmers to Pimpels.

There were two portables set 40 yards from us in 20 fow and they weren't doing a thing. The absolute key right now is to MOVE!!! Move until you find the fish even if it's cold and windy outside. We almost went home with an empty pale and only one dink caught if not for our stubborness!

A lot of folks are talking about the mud right now, I truly think fish are on all the structures but they are just tightly schooled up.

Drill holes, drop a jig tipped with a minnow head down and jig it for 5 minutes, if nothing hits, move to the next hole until you hit one. And maybe start around 24 fow

Hope this helps everyone going to the big event at Appledoorns on Saturday as I can't make it.

[leech~~]

Got out yesterday for the first time this year. Fished out of Hunters on the rocks all day. First, we fished on an incline in 27 fow, marked no fish and caught one dink eye. Moved after an hour to a different pile and set up on top in 15 fow...nothing.

The wind finally subsided and we drilled a line of holes from the top out to almost 30 fow...lot of holes! Needless to say, we found the eyes in 24 fow around 2:30 and proceeded to catch 9 and miss 4 more (including one very large one) with 6 going in the bucket. We had to call it a day around 4:30 as we didn't want to be on the lake after dark.

Once we were on them, it truly didn't matter what lure/jig/bobber presentation we used. I actually switched up my jigging rod twice during the "flurry" just to test things out. We caught them on presentations ranging from plain hooks, to Northland swimming jigs, to buckshots to JB swimmers to Pimpels.

There were two portables set 40 yards from us in 20 fow and they weren't doing a thing. The absolute key right now is to MOVE!!! Move until you find the fish even if it's cold and windy outside. We almost went home with an empty pale and only one dink caught if not for our stubborness!

A lot of folks are talking about the mud right now, I truly think fish are on all the structures but they are just tightly schooled up.

Drill holes, drop a jig tipped with a minnow head down and jig it for 5 minutes, if nothing hits, move to the next hole until you hit one. And maybe start around 24 fow

Hope this helps everyone going to the big event at Appledoorns on Saturday as I can't make it.

Thanks. Have tomorrow off so may have to start in 24' over or by rocks!

[bassfshin24]

Nice catch...i was up there last weekend and managed 16 perch but no eyes. Had one come through on the camera. we were in 12-15ft though. I guess we should have tried out deeper.

[jipper]

Went out of lybecks ( spelling ) yesterday and they are letting trucks drive out ( i have a 1/2 ton ) Fishing was pretty slow. Managed to get 3 keepers and after 5 we marked nothing on the vex. Did try to move to other holes with no luck. We were fishing in 10-12 feet of water. Still fun to get out on the big pond. We did not even see a perch yesterday.

[Norsky]

We were out yesterday, pretty slow, only caught two fish, probably drilled 30 holes and moved around quite a lot, nice to be out, had only eight inches of ice in a couple spots.

[fishfearme]

Went out of lybecks ( spelling ) yesterday and they are letting trucks drive out ( i have a 1/2 ton ) Fishing was pretty slow. Managed to get 3 keepers and after 5 we marked nothing on the vex. Did try to move to other holes with no luck. We were fishing in 10-12 feet of water. Still fun to get out on the big pond. We did not even see a perch yesterday.

Hey jipper, were the keepers pout?

[ndsufootball]

Went out of Nittis Sunday afternoon, perfect day to be out on the ice, we had about 13 inches of ice. Had to use Nitti's road to the right as there is a huge crack along their main road, none the less we found our spot in 27 fow. Brought home 18 jumbos and 4 walleyes. Missed more bites than we wanted too, that's the way it goes. Good luck to all and have a Merry Christmas, will be back up Friday morning.