mille lacs 2020 Mille Lacs Lake Fishing Reports

[maxpower117]

Awesome pike!

The spearers thank you!

[certified jumbo]

Dude, really nice pike!!!

[fishyspringer]

WOW! That's one awesome Northern!

[JP Z]

Great looking Pike!

[BlackArrow1]

Been fishing it since first ice. Got some real big ones. I'm tribe (mille lacs). From the first break on the north to the mud fishing has been ok to good. The bigs are so fat loaded with eggs I assume. If you fish the mud you will have a shot at a trophy. On top of it it's mostly small eyes. Tons. It's good. My personal opinion is leave the netting season out. The fish are rebounding in masses. I believe in retaing our rights foremost. Lets restore em to sustain both sides. I'm all for netting suspension. One of the issues is several outside tribes can harvest ML. IMO it is no good cuz they just wanna take and don't care. I could call out people here on native dislike, but some of us really do care. I'm ok with no nets for now, preserve. Not ok with losing my treaty given rights. That's my input.

[BlackArrow1]

I really hate citing that we can and will harvest within our rights. I hook and line only. But I do take big fish when I go some. I fish with some guys who don't agree.... Kinda funny when you're fishing with a bunch of anti's who are eating my possession limit over shore lunch. Whatever .

[chris63]

How deep was "miss fatty"were u on the edge of the mud or in no mans land?

[The Grebe]

Just got back from the lake....pretty danged slow today! We went out of Red Door and fished our taile off on about 4 dufferent flats areas. We got away from the groups and fished from on top of the flats, out into about 32 feet of water and we couldn't buy a bite, for the most part.

I got one little perch during the day and that was it. Was able to bring what looked like respectable red lines off the bottom every once in awhile, but they would go right back down. Came up to a couple of others at a couple feet off bottom and they just kept on swimming. We cut alot of holes today and got alot of excercise. We set up for the evening in about 28 feet of water and about 4:30 picked up a small walleye on a rattle spoon and minnow head. I had a drag peeler on a short time later and somehiow it came unbutton from the Thunder Spoon? Then we got another little 10-12 inch walleye, missed a couple of bites and that was it, we pulled out at 6:30 and pointed it home.

[vman59]

Will be bringing my 6yr old grandson for his first trip to Mille Lacs this coming weekend the 7th. We won't get there till around 9 and I want to target perch. My question is should I go off The north shore and come back to the breaks prior to dark for walleyes or go off the south shore working the deep mud flats then towards dark set up on a reef or gravel bar?

[Tom Sawyer]

This time of year I target deep basins, and the rims of these areas for perch. Focus on transitions, sand to mud is normally best. Bring a camera and look for bugs hatching out of these areas. If you find the bugs, perch aren't far away.

Plenty of auger gas and sharp blades. Grid out areas and stay on the move, fish fast; generally small pods of better fish that are constantly roaming.

I prefer the S and SE sections of the lake, up to about Hunter's Point, but have found them off the mud flats as well; sometimes well off them in "no man's" land. At times the sand transition on the N side of the lake has been good too. Find the bug's, you'll find perch.

GOOD LUCK! Keep a positive attitude, they are out there....... somewhere???

[vman59]

Thanks for the help very much appreciated. I was thinking the area west of the Highway bar towards Shermans flat and 7mile flat and then come back up on the highway bar or 3mile towards late afternoon for eyes.

[B-man715]

Just got home from a 24 hour trip on the pond.

Parked the wheelhouse on top of a small 25' rock/sand hump. The rocks were covered in zebra mussels.

Caught a few dinks in the afternoon, then a 21.5" right at dark. Had a few friends stop out and drinking and dice took precedence Missed out on some prime fishing but we had a lot of fun.

Then from about 4 a.m until 8 a.m. this morning I caught a 18.5", 22" and a fat 23" along with a few more dinks.

Some of the fish I could see with the camera and had a riot watching them bite! Very cool. A Salmo Zipper took most of the fish.

It was a great trip and one of my best on that lake in a few years

Nice to see all of the small fish too.

[Stick in Mud]

Nice report, Bman. I haven't been fishing since last weekend, but Stick in Mud the Elder has been up fishing most of the week. After getting skunked one day/night in 8', he moved the house out to 13'. His buddy put his house right over the old holes, and they proceeded to catch four piggies the first evening/morning.

Alas, in his new deep haunt, my dad has only picked up three fish over 18'' the last four days.

[Tom Sawyer]

Sad to see what once was a rock. Cool shot, Marcum?

I've had great luck with a glow red Chubby Darter out there before. Would have loved to see the Zipper become available in red glow. Now you can't even find Darters in solid red glow anymore. Glad I stocked up

Silver Black Red is as close as you can get now, I'm sure it would work.

Even caught plenty of perch on a size #3, great baits

[eyeguy 54]

8 bucks online, not solid tho

[srfishin15]

Super slow bite this weekend, 8 walleyes, a couple pout, a couple perch and a tullibee. Did get a new personal best perch that was 13.5" Weighed it on the way home on portsides scale and it was 1lb 14oz.

[Tom Sawyer]

Dandy Did she cough up any brown bugs?

[srfishin15]

She didn't, I was right on the edge of a deeper mud/sand transition so I was pretty surprised I didn't see any bugs.

[monstermoose78]

Awesome fish!! Congrats

[Stick in Mud]

Wish I had a better bite to report for the Stick in Mud Secret Spot #125, but we pulled a big fat skunk tonight. Didn't even get a bite. Not even a little one.

[Gravel Lizard]

Fished today from 7:30-11 out of twin pines on the flats 3 perch, 2 walleye. Marked perch whole time I was there.

[Tdubbers]

Thanks for the reports everyone, I'm making the trip up this weekend and am wondering how thick the ice is around the spider island area, I want to make sure I can punch a hole my 7 inch Mora hand auger. I plan on targeting shallow areas for walleye and perch, anybody willing to share what colors have been working best this year? Ill post after the trip!

[chris63]

Gold #3 sweedish pimple or small gold flutter spoons work for me.Tip one with minnow head other with wax or euro that way u get a shoot at tullibee or perch too!c63

[live-2-fish]

Ice is about 27"

[Tdubbers]

Thanks guys. Fished out of Lybacks this weekend around spider island, popes reef, rays reef, and the Tullibee hole. I would say it was slow everywhere except a short period of time just before dark. managed a few small Walleye on buckshot tipped with minnow head. Small perch were always around although even they were tough to catch. Sounds like some folks did well in the tournament on Saturday though, a 42inch Pike was pulled through on a rod.

[Ole #1]

Fished 3 mile on Saturday with a buddy and nothing but tiny walleye to show for it. Caught a bunch, but all under 11 inches. Not a great outing.

[RiverChuckNorris]

Fished Friday night to Sunday morning on 3 Mile in 18 fow, as base of operations. Fished the Perch Extravaganza Saturday and in the process, fished 3 flats, a basin and the gravel off Flamingo.

Many small fish but nothing to weigh for the contest.

The highlight of the weekend was pulling this 25.75" beauty at about 6:15 in the evening on Saturday. She was extremely healthy with a hump head and a huge stomach. Wouldn't be surprised if she went 6.5 lbs.

Sunday morning was cold as heck, but a big breakfast and some pullies at Hunters warmed us right up for the ride home. Great walleye season and happy to see such a healthy group of 10-12" eyes for the future.

[BlackArrow1]

Did some drilling in the rock/gravel last weekend for perch. Could not mark fish cruising anywhere but 30 plus feet deep. Posted on a deeper line off structure where there were fish. 34ft. Tried waxies but no takers. Closer to sunset the fish got active but they were all small walleye. Seems like the fish want to hold in that deeper gravel transition for anyone trying for perch. My 2 cents.

[The Grebe]

We went out of the south end last Friday and fished in the area of "The tullibee hole" and, just like the name says, we caught tullibees! I caught more tullibees last Friday then what I ever caught before in my Mille Lacs ice fishing life! I don't normally target em, just catch em accidently while fishing for perch.

But, since the perch weren't cooperating, I reeled in whatever smacked my jig and that was tullibees. Most of the time there was no 'Smack' seemed more like a little perch hit. We got 4 perch all small.

We were thinking of going up again this comming week-end, but with this weather, that doesn't look like it's gonna happen? Still lots of ice, but getting to it and getting to where you want to fish might be a problem? Since my 4 wheeler is down, it would have to be in walking distance. I guess we will just have to wait and see?

[MuskieFever]

How are the smallies? On beds? Still prespawn?