2020 Leech Lake Fishing Reports - Hackensack, Longville, Walker MN Also

[Bateman]

Fished off Stoney Point on Sunday. Caught tons of nice jumbos all day. Also one 16" eye and a real nice 25 1/4" eye. Tons of fun.

[motley man]

Where do you drive out of and what depth is good to start at?

[Bateman]

We drove right out of Stoney Point and stopped in about 17 FOW used really small crappie minnows and they were hitting pretty hard all day.

[SunnyCrappieDay]

We drove right out of Stoney Point and stopped in about 17 FOW used really small crappie minnows and they were hitting pretty hard all day.

How was the road driving out? Were you able to drive off of it without slush issues?

[hib iceman]

was thinking of giving winnie a break and trying leech. have only boat fished leech, but i would guess it is like winter fishing winnie?? are the eyes out on the humps or near the shore line breaks? thinking of going out of stoney. same tactics as winnie, find a hump that other havent fished or is there some other secret to finding perch and eyes on leech? some advice please

[Muskie456]

Hib,

rely on you winnie knowlege and you will do just fine. The main lake will not have too much traffic on it.

[hib iceman]

A snowmobile is a must I would guess. I see many different depth humps. Any help on what depth to look for.

[gigidy]

lakesbison lake waconia is considerd a good fishing lake near the twin cities,i live near it and have fished it for thirty years ,ive caught musky,northern pike ,largemouth bass,walleye,and pan fish there,i fish this lake aprox 8 times a year ,thats aprox 240 days on this body of water and out of 12 visits to leech lake summer and winter combined i have caught more keeper fish,most pictured and released than 240 visits aprox to "my local lake" and i still dont even know the best spots at leech yet, in my opinion leech lake is one of the top 5 lakes in the state for game fish,keep trying with ice fishing we moved 100 yards on leech last weekend and went from poor fishing to great fishing on the same day.

[hib iceman]

How difficult is it to move around?? Is there lots of slush?

[Rip-n-lips]

hib iceman, to say there is lots of slush would be an understatement!! Last friday night myself and 5 buddies stayed in a cabin in traders bay, we had two

sleds and 3 portables! there was so much slush in the bay we could not even make

it to stoney point!! which i could see out of our window. That night after barely making it back to the cabin, some other kid in a sled got stuck out in the

middle of the bay, and ended up walking to shore. On Sat. we left the sleds at the cabin because they were froze up, and could not run, so we paid at pine point and went out from there. Plenty of spots to fish, pay the money and stick to the roads is the best advice i could give!

[hib iceman]

Do you know if there are roads plowed off of Stoney and if they get near any of the humps? I was going to run the sled from there but your report has turned me off to that idea. Never fished leech in the winter so any help you have is greatly appreciated.

[Bateman]

It was my first trip to leech. There was a nice road when I was there last Saturday. Paid the guy who plowed it as a thank you. Flashed fish all day. We went about a mile straight out from the point. Good luck.

[SunnyCrappieDay]

It sounds like I could forget bringing the four wheeler this weekend. Or can a guy venture more off pine point?

[fishfurfun]

Was out Tuesday and Wednesday on the north side. As soon as we drilled holes water poured up and we were fishing in 4 inches of water. Wednesday we went out and almost got stuck in all the slush. When it was light enough to see we could see about a 75 acre area of gray snow because of the slush. had to drive around it to find a spot. Saw plenty of fish but they were tough to get to bite. Ended up with 2 bags of fillets to take home anyway. Snowmobile seems the only way to get around but be careful wit so much slush!

[Norm1980]

Anyone know of resort that plows roads i could get a decent size wheel house out thru. Don't mind paying road fees... just looking for a way to get the perm out with out running into slush.

[cat-man]

10 bucks at the shores off pine point, good roads to.

[SunnyCrappieDay]

Just got home from Leech perch fishing for the day yesturday and there was way more snow than what we were expecting. The travel was very difficult, searching for fish on foot or in vehical. There was a few times where I fell up to my waist in snow looking for fish off the beaten path! The roads off Pine point are great however the issue is getting off the road to fish. There was a couple of guys that had a large paddle track snow machine with a portable that we spoke to that did well around Goose Island. They were able to travel to the north side of the island and move around were others could not make it to by vehical. Our overall fish count for the trip was very low with many small perch caught. I am sure there are plenty of large perch to be had off of Goose Island or Pine Point but I sure would not venture to Leech lake without a good snowmobile and portable anytime soon.

[bigfishonly]

That doesnt make me too excited for my trip this coming weekend we have a few wheel houses and portables heading up!! i was thinking either pine or stoney points whats your thoughts? would it be wise to leave the plow on my truck? we are heading up friday thru tuesday.

[SunnyCrappieDay]

Big fish keep the plow on the truck if you want to use the wheel houses. The roads off of Pine are great but any spurs off the roads are already filled with wheel houses and very limited room to move around. Just be aware there is a lot of snow and even the plow in spots won't get you to were you want to be at. Like I mentioned the best travel is by snow machine with portables. Also just to make mention, driving by Stoney point there were only a handful of fish houses out and there is NO road system at all off of Stoney. We did make a trip thru Walker on the way home and noticed a large gathering of houses in the Walker Bay below the pier area. Good luck and lets us know how you do.

[bigfishonly]

hey thanks for the info. I think Pine point sounds the best from your info and some others I talked to. Plow will stay on and sounds like 2 snow machines! hopefully with the warm temps this weekend it will melt some snow and make the fish active!!

[Zmar]

Drove out of the Shores on Pine Pt. this a.m. Not to fish, but for recon. Roads are good but subject to flooding. Talked to some plow-boys that were miffed when people drill too close to the road and the water seeps up and over. Drove out past and north of Goose island. Talked to a couple of guys and reports were not so great. One was a guy who fishes out there a lot and moves around. The perch bite seems to be way down and he'd only heard of a couple walleyes in a week's time. Last cold snap seemed to have pole-axed them. I got a buddy coming up next week and not sure what to tell him.

[bigfishonly]

We went through grand vu Friday night paid $10 got down their hill and got stuck about 300 yards off shore where all of their roads drifted over and stopped. We tried for a few hours unhooking my wheelhouse and trying to plow us a new road. It didn't work, buying tire chains Wednesday when I get home!! Had pine point plow us a few spots with their big plow on Saturday For our wheelhouses kept maybe 10 perch between 6 guys. So far today we went out of brindleys harbor between 3 of us over 100 perch caught 20 keepers so far! Hopefully by Tuesday we will see some nice eyes, 27"er caught last night in the spot we want to try tonight! Let you know Tuesday what happens!

[Zmar]

Spent most of yesterday on Leech just a little east of Goose Island. Caught perch on and off all day. Kept twelve and my buddy kept six. I caught one that was probably the second biggest I've caught in my life. I caught him just as a CO came scratching at my door. I was street legal so all was good. Glad to see him. Fished in 13' of water. Lost a bigger fish just before dark on a large shiner.

[CaptainGary]

capain Gary Fished sun. got 3 good eyes & big northing.

[Zmar]

I'm planning to go back to Leech the next couple days. Hows the roads with melt?

[CaptainGary]

Are you going to Walker Bay? The Eelpout Festival is this weekend and you will not be able to drive on, but there will be volunteers to pull your house out if needed. Otherwise it is good driving, but lots of water. I wouldn't use a portable.

[redrooster]

"I'm planning to go back to Leech the next couple days. Hows the roads with melt?"

Bring your surfboard, apparently theres some pretty nice topwater waves this morning.

[fishgetz]

Any one heading up to pout festival and wants to drive on the ice can get on the main lake through The Shores at Pine Point. They will be open for truck traffic for $10 to use the access. They have miles of plowed roads to use and the melting has maid it easier to get around.

[NoWiser]

Can you even get to Walker Bay from Pine Point?? I know you wouldn't catch me driving through the narrows, especially after this warm weather. If anyone hasn't been up there before, make sure you stay out of Agency Narrows, too. You won't make it through those.

Or, is there a "safe" road plowed from Pine Point to Walker Bay?. I've always heard you should stay out of there.

[fishgetz]

This is just to get on the main lake. You will have to drive on the road to get back to the festival.