Blackduck area Fishing Reports

[Drake]

Fishing over the weekend was nothing short of great! Blackduck Lake produced great numbers of nice perch, with us seeing them in the 9"-11" range and a few lil footballs pushing 13", and a few walleye in the mix, although perch was the target. Smaller lakes in the area weren't hit as much, although one angler did very well on crappies and sunnies. Warmer temps are hitting us this week, yesterday the high marked 48; the remainder of the week is to be ranging from the mid 30's to mid 40's (time to melt some of that snow); then Thursday the temps starting to drop back down with a low of 0 and the weekend back in the teens.

[blue_healer_guy]

Drake, could a guy get off road with a pickup, or still to much snow?:

[fishnut2]

Fished Blackduck on Saturday morning with limited success. Took 13 home among 4 of us. Lots of fish on the graph. Fished 13 to 18 feet. Saw tons of fish on the graph but they were finicky. Had to leave at noon. Lots of people moving around in the morning so I think it was the same all over the lake. Could drive wherever we wanted. All the slush was frozen and no major big drifts where we were.

[Drake]

While the rest of the state is getting blasted with snow, we are lucking out. Just came in from the fish cleaning shack and everyone today confirmed what you said...our guests traveled all over Blackduck Lake (and some on the smaller lakes in the area), they said they drove all over the lakes, mostly glare ice, very little to no snow, no slush pockets. The warmer temps earlier this week (record high 59) melting the snow, and the below zero temps lately it has REALLY made a difference on the travel.

Was afraid the drastic temperatures would have an effect on the fishing, and it certainly did yesterday. Our guests reeled in a few perch (although they had some 13") BUT today the fishing kicked in, and it was really good! Good numbers of fish being caught at the area lakes, I just took a picture of two anglers who "kept" 27 perch, and released others.

With no snow in the extended forecast, snow off the lakes and temps continuing to stay in the teens and lows below zero (except Tuesday to hit in the 30's), the lakes will remain in great shape!!

[Drake]

Good end to walleye & pike season over the weekend, with some really nice walleye coming back from Blackduck and Upper Red Lake, as well as some pretty huge northern being reeled through the ice at one of the surrounding lakes. The fishing derby was Saturday and our folks out there had a good time, they won some door prizes but said they didn't get one of the main prizes. Anyone on here make it to the derby and win one of the prizes?

Now it's time to start concentrating on the panfish, which kept the fish cleaning room very busy over the weekend. Some nice jumbo perch from Blackduck Lake, with folks keeping the 9-12" and saying they did do some weeding, as well as sunfish and crappies (downloaded several pictures on our website). The forecast is reflecting pretty steady temps in the 20's starting Thursday for the next 10 days, so with the decent temps and the steady barometer it should be good to go out and do some panfishin.

[jk1]

A few of us will be coming up to Blackduck area on Thursday. Are the landings in good shape for truck travel?

[magnum mike]

Things were great this weekend but 3 days of rain coming might change that.

[Roscoe16]

What is the latest on the perch bite on Blackduck? Any depth better than another? Thanks.

Roscoe16

[Drake]

They keep changing our forecast..thank goodness! The rain in the forecast for this morning didn't happen, tonight it's a 30% chance of light rain or snow tonight, and (right now) that's it for showing any rain until Sunday where theres a chance of rain..hopefully that will stay away too. Yes, the access is still good for trucks on Blackduck, and our guests are hitting several of the other lakes in the area, and are still able to get out with their trucks. Anglers have been staying around the 18' depths for the perch, although Monday I had three that limited out in the 14' depths, just got to do some searching with the vex.

[Roscoe16]

Thanks for the report!

Roscoe16

[Drake]

Today has been a pretty great day, weather in the 40's with a low west wind (tonight's low 15), truck travel going good on the lakes in the area, and best of all the fishing is going Really good. By 3 I already had a group of four come back with their limits of some really nice size perch (9-11") and another group of four came in with near limits of perch, some jumbo gills and a few slab crappies. (I did add some of today's photos to our site..Guest Photos, Page 5 of Winter) Lakes in the area are doing well, with a crappie bite on most of the lakes hitting right before sunset, but the perch and gills hitting in the afternoon. Good luck!

[Drake]

We definitely lucked out here in the Blackduck area. The weather forecast was showing a warning with 100% chance of snow totalling 6 to 13"....we received ZERO! Not even a trace, whew!

Now the weather is great, the highs through Sunday are in the mid 20's, and lows through Sunday are 5 to 10 (with tonight having the minus sign in front!), and through Tuesday, the lows are still showing the single digits. So hopefully that will keep the truck travel on the lakes going!

Because of the chance of the snow storm, we did have a few folks cancel, so just a few anglers out hitting the ice, and yesterday the winds made it interesting to say the least, but the winds are to die down this afternoon to 5mph out of the northeast and stay that way through tomorrow. Yesterday just a few out perch fishing (and some wind surfing) on the Duck, with some perch coming in, saying that they were hole hopping around, picking up a few out of a hole, then on to the next, and the more shallow 13' depths producing more and the larger size perch than the 20' depths, today out exploring other lakes in the area. Get the winds and the pressure settled back down and this weekend should be pretty steady again!

[Drake]

As of today, still seeing trucks on Blackduck Lake (although we are using the four wheeler..easier to do the hole hopping for perch). The zero degree nights have helped to maintain the access on Blackduck and the other lakes in the are, but the forecast is showing the lows at zero are done. Temps the next few days are showing highs right around the 40 degree mark and nighttime lows are in the mid 20's. Ice fishing has been going fairly well, with a perch bite in the morning and afternoon hours in the shallower 12' depth range and occassionally a few sunnies; the other lakes in the area are producing panfish, with a crappie bite more consistant in the late afternoon and early evening right before sunset.

[Jarrid Houston]

Are there no Crappies in Blackduck?

[shozbot]

How about auger extensions.?.Do you need them in that area???

[Drake]

Jarrid, yes there are crappies in Blackduck Lake. They are hard to come by, but when you reel one in, you are getting nice ones. I added pics last week to our site (Guest Photos), of a group of four anglers, they did very well perch fishing so they put a few of them on the board as well as 3 crappies that measured 14" and a close up of a hog that measured 15".

Shozbot, I would say with 99% certainty no on the extension.

Trucks are still on the ice today, but we're at the point now where I would recommend bringing up the fourwheeler. We're at 39 now, the snow we were suppose to get this morning was barely a dusting, showing 70% chance of light snow tonight, lows 25-30. Friday high 40-45, lows mid 20's, NW wind 5-15. Sat/Sun highs in the 40's, lows low 30's; Mon High low 40's, low around 30.

[Drake]

Since opener weekend the fish cleaning room has been a very busy place, with the majority of our folks hitting Upper Red Lake (and we managed to get out there a couple of times ourselves) because the walleye bite is extremely hot right now. For us, we like to troll in the 8 to 8.5 depths pulling shadraps and have had great success, some of our guests have used the same presentation, some using minnows and some anchored and bobber fishing using a jig with a minnow. Catching limits of the keepers and doing a Lot of catch and release on fish in the 17-22" range. Because Red has been so hot most folks are fishing there, coming in to clean them up and have a fresh walleye dinner at night. We have had just a few that have tried their luck at panfishing at a few other lakes in the area and we have seen the limits of crappies coming in with some perch in the mix. But with Red being so hot right now there's not a lot to report on the other lakes in the area.

Hope everyone has a safe & happy Memorial weekend, good luck to those lucky enough to go fishing. And THANK YOU to the Military members, past and present, for your service!

[woodman]

Thanks Drake! Wishing everybody a safe and wonderful weekend! Remember to give somebody a hug that you probably wouldn't! On Monday give honor to those who the day is for and catch a lot fish! The weather does not look very good, but hey, it is summer!

[Drake]

Our anglers, and ourselves, have been concentrating on more of the panfishing the last few days. With so many lakes surrounding us there are definitely plenty to choose from! Seeing good numbers of crappies (have not spawned) going up to the 11.5" range, sunfish (up to 10") and some perch in the 9-11" being brought back. Cast out towards the shorelines, a jig tipped with a minnow, leech and even plastics, with your bobber set about a foot and a half down our guests were getting limits and several keeping busy playing catch and release. Blackduck Lake is starting to kick in in the evening time, look to the 8-12' depths, minnows or plastics working to reel in some walleye and pike. Temps here yesterday hit 90, then some storms last night, but the weekend is looking pretty good with temps in the low 70's..so grab the gear and head up..can't beat that for fishing weather!

[Fishguy1991]

Hello My family and I are going to be heading up to Blackduck Lake in 16 days i was wondering if the walley, Crappies, and panfish are biting because i dont wanna get there and not catch any fish

[Drake]

Fishguy1991~The fishing for us and our guests has continued to go pretty well, and our fish cleaning room is getting a lot of action. For walleye, Blackduck Lake is producing an evening bite, still the best in the 8-12' depths, pulling plastics or minnows. The catching varies from group to group, some doing extremely well on the walleyes, others only catching a few and catching more pike, some catching a few gills..just depends on where on the lake you are fishing and what your presentation is. You mention crappies and panfish, crappies and gills on Blackduck are harder to find, but if you find them you are rewarded with some nice size ones...we had one young angler that took a sunfish home for the wall measuring a little over 11" this weekend, and he also caught some walleye..love it when a kid does that well..he's hooked on fishing now!

There are numerous lakes in the Blackduck area that produce good numbers of quality fish, whether it's crappies, sunnies or walleye (this weekend we had several limits of panfish come through here)..check out our WebSite (below) and the "Guest Photos" link on the right, then scroll down to "Summer" and that will bring up 3 pages of pics and you will see some of the fish that our guests have been catching, I just added 6 more photos from this weekend..including the one with the 11" sunnie. When our guests check in, we talk to them about what kind of fish they are after (or what other interests they have like golfing, sightseeing) and try to give them the latest fishing reports & give them some starting spots on the different lakes and say what's been working well for presentation, so just ask your hosts of where you are going to be staying and I'm sure they will be happy to do the same thing.

[Drake]

Fishing is still going really well in the Blackduck area. Just added another half dozen pictures to our website of a few of our non camera shy guests and their catch. Seeing a good variety of fish, walleyes to sunnies to perch to crappies. On Blackduck Lake the late afternoon to evening is the best, we're not even heading out there until 4 or after. For the eyes, do some trolling in the 8 to 12 foot depths, lindy's pulling a leech (medium) is what's getting some in our boat, the 17-19" range. Remember, for walleyes, Wednesday (the 15th) was the slot change on Upper Red for walleye, with the protected slot now 20-26"; so anxious to get back up there and wet the line since we were getting nice keepers but were also releasing several in the 17-19" size range.

Panfish bit is going really well at numerous smaller lakes, and our folks are spreading out and hitting different ones, already talked to two groups who limited out this afternoon who are back with limits of sunfish (got a pic of one pair of two, they caught all males and said the females still have not spawned) and another had sunnies and perch limits. Look to the shallows and go for the pencil reeds and lilly pads, bobber fishing just a foot or two down.

[Fishguy1991]

Well. thank you for keeping me posted every day im getting more exicited to come up there and fish my cousin is up on lake bowstring right now and he is getting a few he says but like a said we are leaving on the 25th of June so i hope they are still biting

[Fishguy1991]

Hello its me again i was wondering how are they fishing the depths are they using bottom bouncers are using Lindy rigs if you could back to me that would be great

[Drake]

Hey Fisher, still using the lindy's pulling a medium leech in the 8-12' depths. Haven't been out the last couple of days with the rain and wind, but today is beautiful and tomorrow is just flat out perfect! Good luck to ya up here.

Remember: This weekend is the Lady Slipper ByWay Celebration, with live music starting at 10am in the park right next door to us, bus tours, nature walks and open house at Camp Rabideau Ione of the oldest CCC camps) all in the Chippewa National Forest right out our back door.

Sunday is the 8th Annual Walleye Classic on Blackduck Lake, don't forget registration has to be done before 7pm Saturday.

Have some more pics to add to our website, but they are all on the new Drake Motel page on Facebook, so if you are on there that's another way to check them out!

[Drake]

Hope everyone got some new fishing gear for Christmas and is getting some ice fishing in! Up here in our area ice fishing is continuing to go very well as you can see from the pics we've added to our page. As of yesterday, Blackduck Lake was measuring 15" of ice, with walleye action in the 14-16' depths and some nice limits of perch being reeled in from the more shallower depths. Seeing a few, not many, of the jumbo sunnies (10-10.5") coming through the ice while walleye fishing. The other lakes in the area continue to produce sunfish and crappies in good numbers. Upper Red Lake has provided our guests some good action, especially in the morning hours going out to the deeper 12-14' and getting away from the crowds, and folks are measuring 16"+ of ice. We are seeing more perch coming through the fish cleaning shack from Upper Red, that are measuring 10".

[Storm]

Any new fishing reports from blackduck? Hoping to head out there this weekend and maybe try some of the smaller lakes in the area as well.

[Drake]

Storm, Sorry for the delayed response, have been having problems with the computer, hoping that I've got it working again and it stays working. The cold temps this week (highs below zero and actual temps reading more than 20 below, Before windchill) made it a quieter week around here. The anglers we've had have still hit the ice but when they come back they are going straight to their rooms. But a check in the fish cleaning room shows that they have faired pretty well. I did speak to two of them this morning that were out on Blackduck Lake yesterday, the ice was measuring 18-20", they were scanning a lot of fish but weren't able to coax limits of jumbos out of the hole, but they did say they got some good action and are on their way back out there today. Last week and weekend our anglers hit a variety of lakes and did Very well, perch from the Duck (still the best action in the shallower less than 10' depths); sunnies and crappies from the smaller lakes in the area and walleye-some from the Duck (14-18' depths), some from the smaller lakes and a few from Upper Red. Hope your trip was a good one!

[Drake]

With temps about to level off and hopefully the pressure will remain stable the fishing should once again become steady. This past weekend fishing/catching varied from group to group. While some would come in saying that they were scanning fish but couldn't get large numbers of fish to bite, the next group would come in and say they limited out, and sometimes they were on the same lake. But the fish cleaning room did stay pretty busy with limits of sunnies coming through and several limits of nice size (11-12.5") perch. The ice on the lakes is 20". Extended 10 day forecast is showing highs in the 24-43 range, and lows slowing dipping down from 21 to 0.

[gigidy]

drake ive fished the duck a few times with portables,but was wondering if i could get my 14 ft wheel house out with half ton pickup,is there a plowed road ,is the ice at least 16 inches,thank you jeff ,may be up this weekend