Jump to content
  • GUESTS

    If You  want access  to member only forums on FM, You will need to Sign-in or  Sign-Up now .

    This box will disappear once you are signed in as a member.

2020 Mille Lacs Lake Fishing Reports


Rick

Recommended Posts

Originally Posted By: rodmaker
I haven't been using floats. But Pat mentioned he was.

The snells for spinners I have been using are 7 1/2 - 8 ft.

Thanks Rod, Sorry I didn't read far enough back on this thread. I'm heading up tomorrow for the day. The few time I've been to Mille I've never tried spinners. My luck in the past has always been a jumbo below a slip bobber or drifting a 6 foot snell with an orange or red hook with a jumbo. Are you using a trailer hook with your crawlers. I've heard some other reports that people are doing well with rainbows. I think we're going to try a little bit of everything. I'll post when I return.

We were out from 4 pm till about 11 pm with only 2 small ones. Got one on the mud drifting spiners with a crawler and the other on a leech under a bobber over the rocks. Pretty slow and windy for us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yestersday spent the day on 7 mile and a few other flats in that area. Had it basically all to ourselves. A few fish to be had but the wind made things tough. A bit of a "walleye chop" going on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fished Friday and Today and the same presentations are still producing fish. Fishing was very very good both days. I heard from some that Saturday was a little tougher with the high winds etc.., Crawlers on spinners seemed to still be out producing cranks but they are both putting fish in the boat. I run crawlers with 3 oz weight and two hook crawler harnesses. I do this mainly because when you guide the fish kinda hook themselves and it increases the hooking percentages with begginers. If you lindy rig a crwaler then run just one hook and go slow. Borch and Harvey Lee sounds like you had a pretty good day. Any tweny some fish days in late July is nothing to complain about. Good Job guys.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pat,

I didn't get up there over the weekend. Moved 3 cords of fire wood. Still the same colored blades ?. Hammered gold, silver, copper, and blue/chart beads, or chart/orange beads.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

sunday they really wanted hammered copper blades. I would guess 20 out of the 30 fish we caught were on that color. I ended the day with three lines in the water with that blade. Orange colors were dead on Sunday, but a silver/green blade was probably second best.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Was it cloudy or Sunny Sun. what are you using for rods (baitcasters I know) when using the 3 oz sinkers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey guys...quick question...

Looking at the weather for thursday or Friday...

THursday mid 60's and 30-40% chance of rain

Friday mid 70's and 20% chance of rain.

Which day do you think may be better for fishing? We can come up either day, but not both.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

bright and sunny hardly a cloud in the sky, maybe a 5mph wind. I was suprised the bite was that good under those conditions. The sunday before was a little slower for me with similiar conditions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rodmaker-

SO take the least windy day?

We are just trying to figure out which would be the best day with the front moving in. The day that is the cooler with rain...or the day after when the temps pop a little.

Thanks guys.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thinking of coming up to the lake on Tuesday and do some smallie fishing. Forecast calls for 10-15 miles/hour winds. Will this be white capping on the lake? Have a 16' flat bottom aluminum boat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

if it were myself, I would go Fri. A little warmer and less chancerain. Doesn't look like the winds would be bad Thurs 5 mph. Fri. 9 mph.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thinking of coming up to the lake on Tuesday and do some smallie fishing. Forecast calls for 10-15 miles/hour winds. Will this be white capping on the lake? Have a 16' flat bottom aluminum boat.

I would not take a 16' flat bottom boat out anywhere on the main lake in 15mph winds.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I second that. She be rolling and capping pretty good in 15 mph and just because they are forecasting 15 mph doesnt mean thats you get. You could get 10 to 15 or you could get 15 gusting to 25. Just a matter of what mood mother nature is in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We didn't go to the big lake. We usually stay close to shore when we do fish there. When we got up this morning I saw the news saying wind speeds close to 20 mph. So we just went to some new local lakes that we've never fished. We did crappy fishing and the winds were terrible. Hopefully, we can make it up there some other time when schedules mesh.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fished Wed morning 6 to 1. Stopped on Banana Flat, graphed lots of fish but no biters. Moved to 7 Mile and fished the north edge and picked up a few. Headed to Deans and caught one right away and then nothing. Stopped at Eileens on the way back and and caught fish on the the north side of it. Graphed a lot of fish off the south of it in deep water as we left. The morning bite was hammered silver and the afternoon was hammered copper followed by hammered gold. 13 fish 6 in the well...one over 20 inches. One caught with a leech and the rest on crawlers. It was fun...enjoy your tryip.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I went out trolling Mon evening in a tough wind and whacked a couple to give to my 80yr old aunt. Windy side of reefs w/ a small Taildancer. Not easy fishing but productive for eaters.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fishing was slow for the 2 of us on Sunday. We fished from 7:00am to 5:00 pm Sunday. Caught 29 over 15" and about 8-10 under 15 as small as 6". Mostly on leadcore/cranks run on west side of flats at bottom edge of flat. 2@27" 10@15-18" rest 19-25".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fishing was slow for the 2 of us on Sunday. We fished from 7:00am to 5:00 pm Sunday. Caught 29 over 15" and about 8-10 under 15 as small as 6". Mostly on leadcore/cranks run on west side of flats at bottom edge of flat. 2@27" 10@15-18" rest 19-25".

I'll take that slow day any day! Nice job!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 plus fish on cranks

Whatever

I guess if it doesn't work for you it won't work for anybody else. And people wonder why more people dont share information on this site.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 fish day, I believe it. We had over 30 fish a week ago saturday. All on cranks. Cant wait to get back this weekend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

Thanks for the info guys. A 30 plus day on cranks or livebait is very doeable if you have a pattern figured out. Cranks can be at times the hot ticket especially mid summer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Eye, any cranks in particular?

Hit up the big pond yesterday from around 9:30-3:30 and only really worked a couple flats. Ended up with 3-25", 1-18.5", and 1-14"...all released. It was a N-NW wind and the 3-25" all came off the south sides of the flats. The first was in 30' FOW just off the flat, and the next two we caught of them we were waaay off the flats in 36'FOW (200-600 yards). I found it strange that I was marking most of my fish in the deeper water off the flats and a good ways out. I hit up Banana, 7-mile, and then tucked tail up to 3-mile when the winds picked up pretty good. I did not mark many fish on top of the flats, but saw some on the edges. We did not get any on the wind blown sides.

Four of these were caught on a hammered gold spinner, yellow beads(with 1 red), and a crawler. The other was on hammered gold spinner, blue beads (with 1 green), and a leech. Had a tough time locating any pattern and the wind made covering distance somewhat tough.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just getting into the deep trolling.What pound test do you suggest for leadcore and leaders?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Eye, any cranks in particular?

#5 jointed shad rap in hot perch(cabelas exclusive) was by far the best. Most were caught with 4 to 4 1/2 colors 18# lead with 30' fireline crystal leader in 30-31'. We caught several on bouncers & spinners but the fish were really spread out so cranks seemed to work best. Sunday the wind was from the E-SE but I think the fish were still relating to the heavy NW wind from Sat. We saw most fish on west side of flats.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just getting into the deep trolling.What pound test do you suggest for leadcore and leaders?

I use 18# leadcore with 30' of 10/4 crystal fireline leader. Check older threads on leadcore as I can remember a pretty good discussion on leadcore.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

good to hear you are still on the fish. Taking the weekend off and heading over to Lake Michigan 8/13-8/16. Then it's back up to the Pond!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Eye Warrior it seems like there is always someone who can't understand that people are catching fish when they aren't. but don't get discouraged by the nay sayers, keep posting. 20-30 fish days on the mud have been pretty common for the last 3-4 weeks. When you think about it in an 8-10 hour day of fishing that is only 3-4 fish hitting the cranks per hour, it's not that crazy to get 25-30 fish in a day. especially if you have 3 - 4 lines out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • The title was changed to 2020 Mille Lacs Lake Fishing Reports

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




  • Similar Content

  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • Kettle
      Walked today and yesterday, flushed 9, shot at two and got two. Hopefully next year I'll have a dog to hunt with. Still warm up here, skim of ice on ponds. Weather has been nice. Hopefully walk a bit more the next few weeks. Been pretty cautious walking for birds to not interfere with deer hunters. There sure are not the deer hunters there used to be 
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the South Shore...  The focus for many this week is the ongoing deer hunting season which is a big tradition in these parts, even for avid walleye anglers.  There were some that either already harvested their deer or are more into catching fall walleyes than hunting.     Those that are fishing are taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and excellent walleye and sauger bite that is happening across the lake.  Cold weather is in the forecast in the upcoming days and weeks so that is also getting many excited. The best depths on the south end of LOW are 22-28 feet of water.     Vertical jigging with frozen emerald shiners is catching most of the walleyes, saugers and jumbo perch.  Depending upon where on the lake you are fishing, some slots and big trophies are in the mix as well, but most reports are talking about good numbers of eaters.    Jumbo perch are coming in good numbers this fall which will serve ice anglers well.  Watch out for an occasional pike or even lake sturgeon mixed in with the walleyes.      There are good numbers of walleyes and saugers across the south shore which is setting up nicely for early ice.   On the Rainy River...  There continues to be good numbers of shiners in the river, and consequently, there are good walleyes in the river as well.     Walleyes along with saugers, pike and some sturgeon are coming in up and down the river.  Most walleyes are being caught in 10-25 feet of water in various stretches of the river.   Jigging with live or frozen emerald shiners is the key. Some anglers are also still slow trolling crankbaits upstream to cover more ground and find fish. Both methods are producing solid results. Sturgeon fishing remains strong.  The catch-and-release sturgeon fishing is open into the spring when it changes to the "keep season" on April 24th. Up at the NW Angle...  As temps are getting colder, most are in the woods hunting and not fall fishing, however, for those who bundle up, fishing continues to be excellent.     A nice mixed bag with walleyes, saugers, perch, pike and crappies being caught. Very good muskie fishing with the colder water temps and shorter days.  Some big fish and some good numbers are being caught amongst the islands.  Both casting and trolling is getting it done.  
    • gimruis
      I hunt in the rifle zone so I don't have a need to use a shotgun to hunt deer, but I would be looking at this if there was ever a need to.   There could be state legislation introduced next summer that eliminates the shotgun zone completely.  It has bipartisan support.  Wisconsin removed theirs years ago and MN is usually later to follow.  They've tried to pass it more than once and it came up just short both times.  Probably just a matter of time.
    • Wanderer
      Oh, h e l l no! 
    • leech~~
      Screw that, here's whatch need!  😆   Power-Shok Rifled Slug 10 Gauge 766 Grain Grain Weight: 766 Shotshell Length: 3-1/2in / 89mm Muzzle Velocity: 1280
    • Wanderer
      20 ga has become a real popular deer round in the last 5 or so years.  The rifled barrels are zinging those sabot slugs with rifle like accuracy out to 100 yards easily.  Some go so far as dialing in for a 200 yard shot but really, by 150 they’re falling off pretty low.   I have a single shot Ultraslug in 20 ga that shoots really well at 100 yards.  Most everyone I know that has bought a slug gun lately has gotten the Savage 220 in 20ga.  Problem can be finding the shells you want.
    • leech~~
      My son always bugs me about getting a nice light over-under 20ga for grouse hunting.  I say Heck no, I'm getting a 3 1/2" 10ga so I can put as much lead in the air that I can!!     So, I'm keeping my 12ga.  
    • 11-87
      That’s almost exactly what I was thinking.  Have slug barrels for both   One for turkey and one for deer.      I have a 20ga mosseberg as well. (Combo came with the scope but never used.   I always liked the 12 better
    • leech~~
      Wanderer is right on the money and covered it well.  I was wondering too if you had a slug barrel for one of your guns?  If so you could make that your slug gun with a scope, and the other your turkey gun with the Red dot.  As you can afford it. 
    • Wanderer
      Kinda depends on if you want magnification or quick target acquisition.   More magnification options and better accuracy with a scope.  You get what you pay for too so get comfortable with a budget for one.  Tasco and Bushnell work but I find they lose their zero easier, have low contrast and don’t gather light well in low light conditions.  That said, I’m still using one I haven’t replaced yet.  Vortex has been the hot brand for the past several years for bang for the buck.  Good products.  Nothing beats Swarovski though.  Huge dough for those.  Burris is another decent option.   There are some specific models for shotgun/slug hunting in the economy brands and bullet drop compensation (BDC) reticles.  Based on experience I’d recommend not falling for that marketing ploy.   Red dots are usually lower magnification and easier to get on target.  Reasonably accurate but don’t do well with definition, like searching the brush for your target.  I put a HAWKE red dot on a .22 for squirrels and it’s been good.  For turkey, that’s probably the route I’d go.     If your slug shots are normally not too far and too brushy, I’d think a red dot could work there too if you’re only buying 1 scope.  You’ll be better off dimming the reticle to the lowest setting you can easily use to not over shine the target and get a finer aim point.   If you don’t have a slug barrel, you might appreciate one of those.  I had a browning with a smoothbore slug barrel that shot Brenneke 2-3/4 inch well.  The 11-87 would well fitted with a cantelever rifled barrel. 
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.