mille lacs 2020 Mille Lacs Lake Fishing Reports

[MidCoast]

Thanks Lispeej, I will have to try dead stick and see if I will have any luck.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

We started out jigging but the fish were just sniffing but hitting our set lines (tip ups). So since the fish were not really keen on the jigging we just put a whole rainbow minnow on a smaller jigging spoon and let it swim, occasionally jigging a few times every few minutes. The jig is nice because it really anchors that minnow for a finicky 'eye. In the evening if a walleye would come up to the minnow we would raise it several feet and thats usually when we'd get hit.

usually Ill start jigging though as it calls them in and if they are aggressive you get plenty of action.

[fishin4fun85]

most of my fish came of plain hooks...we had a plain red, an orange glow, and a white glow....we only caught a few off a buckshot....all usually only hit if we weren't jigging so that's the theme

[JFan02]

Is that the elusive hennipin island bluegill?

iceman, it was actually on Dawson, out of Hunter's Point. I was definitely surprised when I pulled that up through the hole.

[AsianSensation89]

Hey Guys,

Planning to hit ML this Saturday with a few buddies. Will be many of our first time ice fishing there and was wondering if anyone could give any pointers.

What lures work best?

What type of live bait works best? (Rainbow, fatheads, etc... I heard you can pick up eyes on waxies/larvae too?)

Best colors to use on lures?

Biting windows?

Also, for clarification purposes, how does driving on plowed roads work? I know they charge you, but is it only a one-time fee to drive on and off, or do you pay again after you leave?

And is it pretty easy to find access points onto the lake or are there only a few main ones that are used that I should be aware of?

Thanks!

[dustybaker]

I had the best luck with a Minnow colored Buckshot spoon tipped with a minnow head. The road access is a daily fee.

[lispeej]

I'd say use whatever you're comfortable with. My wife was catching fish with just a plain hook, 1 sinker, and a minnow. You don't have to have the latest and greatest bait. Keep it simple......

[broman]

Hey Guys,

Planning to hit ML this Saturday with a few buddies. Will be many of our first time ice fishing there and was wondering if anyone could give any pointers.

What lures work best? - gold or silver swedish pimples, rattling flyers, macho minnoes. Basically anything that's shiny.

What type of live bait works best? (Rainbow, fatheads, etc... I heard you can pick up eyes on waxies/larvae too?) - live fatheads for deadsticking, minnow heads and or larvae when jigging

Best colors to use on lures?

Biting windows? - 6am - 10am, then 3pm until dark

Also, for clarification purposes, how does driving on plowed roads work? I know they charge you, but is it only a one-time fee to drive on and off, or do you pay again after you leave? you pay when before you drive off the lake, if you're going to be going overnight, you pay for the second day as well when you access the lake

And is it pretty easy to find access points onto the lake or are there only a few main ones that are used that I should be aware of? Resorts if you are driving a car, truck, or suv, any resort will work. Hunters, Red Door and Appeldoorns go to the flats.

Thanks!

[AsianSensation89]

BMan, you summed it up well. Thanks!

[AsianSensation89]

Btw, how much is bait by Mille Lacs? Was debating if I should just grab some in the cities or wait till I get there. I know some places up north sell bait cheaper than in the metro, especially spikes.

[james_walleye]

Well my expieriences this year are a bit different than above. When it comes to color, whether its hook on a setlines or spoons its a tossup between Orange, Orange, and Orange. For walleyes, all shiners for me. Every nice eye caught on a setline has been on a shiner.

[BradB]

Last Saturday night I caught the bluegill on a jigging rap with a minnow head. 9:30 at night in 27' on the gravel NW of Hennepin Island. Surprised the heck out of me.

[ducktrapper]

Yeah, for me a glow-red Northland jig with fathead has been the ticket. Key thing is that setlines (of all shapes and sizes, apparently) are working better this winter than any other that I can recall!

[fishin4fun85]

I always buy bait from where I'm fishing...my rule of thumb....I'm one of those that's superstitious about the water

[Stick in Mud]

Orange has been hot for us, too. We're getting lots on set lines, too....some jigging, but the hot jig bite seems to have slowed down for us. We've been doing lots of our fishing in real shallow...8 ft or so...and the fish that swim through are definitely looking to eat. Lots of small ones, but lots of big ones, too. Got a 28.25 last weekend right as we were packing up to go Sunday morning on an orange hook. Frankly, fish are biting pretty much everywhere....deep mud, deep transitions, sand breaks, rock piles, you name it. Just get as far away from everyone as you can.

[JFan02]

Last Saturday night I caught the bluegill on a jigging rap with a minnow head. 9:30 at night in 27' on the gravel NW of Hennepin Island. Surprised the heck out of me.

[ChompChomp_YANK]

Hey guy's,

I'm coming up friday night and was planing on going out of the public launch in Wakon on the south end with my wheel house. I have only ice fished the big pond one time and am looking for some advice. Is there any bad spots (to avoid) or ice heaves that would keep a guy from getting out in that area. Where is a good starting point in that area for walleyes and perch. Hoping to get my kids on some action this weekend. Thanks for any info!!

[MidCoast]

What size spoons are you guys using for the Mille Lacs Walleyes? 1/4, 1/2, or 3/4?

[crazy cooter]

ADVICE: If you are taking your kids and your are not familiar with the lake or ice even if you were pony up the money to drive out of a resort road where they have a trail staked out and bridges over any cracks

[broman]

ADVICE: If you are taking your kids and your are not familiar with the lake or ice even if you were pony up the money to drive out of a resort road where they have a trail staked out and bridges over any cracks

So true. Especially since you are coming up at night.

[TrophyEyes]

The bluegill was caught in one of the Hunters point houses.

[BradB]

The bluegill was caught in one of the Hunters point houses.

Well, I hope the person that caught him let him go. That bluegill seems to be getting around the lake a lot. Where will he be caught next?

[AsianSensation89]

Quick question:

My Navionics App on my phone is differing contours and structures compared to some other sources I am looking at (Appledoorns Resort website & a Minnesota Lakes and Maps book).

Can anyone confirm with me which one is more accurate/trustworthy?

[JFan02]

Well, I hope the person that caught him let him go. That bluegill seems to be getting around the lake a lot. Where will he be caught next?

[bgmny]

Caught lots sunnies in the marinas on the west side this year. Probably the same one you guys caught!

[tipupsonly]

Got up Wednesday late afternoon and fished until this morning on the east side of the lake. Day fishing was bad. Tried shoreline transition at 26,29 and 34 ft. Night bite was good in shallower on sand/rock. Not real fast, but eaters mixed in with nice fish. Had 8 between 20 and 26 inches. Caught a couple jigging, but a glow red or glow green jig with a fathead did well on rattle reels and tip-ups with suckers caught most of the fish throughout the night. I would say fishing is pretty good right now considering I had never been on the lake before and just winged it. As always, don't be afraid to get away from the crowds a little bit.

[Milinko12]

Same thing for us. We fished Wednesday afternoon thru Thursday mid-day and had zero luck during the day (east side deeper gravel). We fished the July bar Wednesday night until 9pm, and ended up with 2 small eyes and an eelpout. Once the pout came up, we were on the move. Headed into 2 mile for the rest of the night and caught a couple more small fish. So small they weren't even marking on the flasher! We didn't mark many fish either. We even drilled about 6 different holes on different breaks all around 2 mile. Finally we setup in 28' water and fished the rest of the night. That's where we ended up with the 2 small Walleyes, but at 12:30am had a beast come in and attack my green hook/shiner setup. Thought it was a pout at first, but ended up being a 27" Walter! So, our trip wasn't a total bust, but we thought we were gonna find some good fishing..... Not so much. I should mention, near this same spot the previous Wednesday, we limited out on 14-17" fish in 30' FOW. Where did they go??? Maybe shallow with the warm weather?

[S.S. Fiasco]

Gps coords. 46°11.107'N ______93°30.421'1W poundin blue gills here. 34 so far

[pushbutton]

Yesterday was great weather wise and had some decent fishing also. Recently moved the house from shallow rocks in 13 ft to a little less shallow rocks in 16 ft, and am essentially set up on the break of a deeper hole with sides that rise up to about 8 ft. Everybody has made to push to get out in the middle of the lake leaving lots of open real estate to fish with out much racket, well, besides jr. and the dog. Perch bite was still best early, and most of the eyeballs coming about an hour after dark. Set lines with a glow hook at night and jigging small frosties and doodle bugs during the day, color did not matter, just had to find a fish that was hungry. Not many big eyes or small perch which made for a nice combination, usually it is the opposite.

Was really surprised how the cracks opened up with just a few days of warm weather. One I have to get across has been "healed" from close to a month now, split right open, and is already growing. Does not look like I will be driving out much longer. Too bad because there is at least 2 ft of solid ice where we are, but, oh well, better to be safe than sorry!

[walleye-]

Well just got back from a weekend of fishing out on the flats. We did decent caught 26 walleyes all but one came off of rattle reels and only a few came during daylight most were from 6pm to midnight. Only able to keep 3 but alot of nice fish including a 25.5" 26.5" and a 27"er. Cool thing was that my daughter caught the 25 and wife caught the 26 and I got the 27" So we all got a good one.