brainerd Brainerd Fishing Reports

[walleye365]

Round had been pretty good fishing 15 to 12 fow set up in 15 and move in as it gets dark useing fatheads on a setline and jigging the new rippin shad this bait is awsome i like it better then the others chubby and lindys darters id always have fish come in to them but never eat them RS they smash it. Be sure to pre-drill your holes or you for sure will be scareing fish out of the area and they dont seem to move back in.

[centralmnguy]

Hey Walleye365...do you tip the rippin shad with anything or just leave the hooks alone? Also, how much ice out on round?

Thanks for the tips!

[walleye365]

I just leave them alone i think you get better action out of the bait i do use sents like smelly jelly i use walleye feast, and smelt they work great and you dont have to use alot in the cold water it stiks to the bait pretty good. I measured 8.5 inches hope this helps

[centralmnguy]

Thanks...I have never used bait scents b4 might have to try that out as well! I use chubby darters most of the time & like you said earlier they come in but rarely hit it hard. On my way tonight to Fleet Farm to pick up some rippin shads. Also going to try some slick jigs...they look like they have some good action to them.

Thanks Again!

[swampbuck]

Caught some good ones on Gull on the Rippin shads! they eat them when they come in! Produces better than average fish too!

[Meat-Run]

Nice fish John hope to get out and try my Rippin shads soon before the show season kicks into full gear!

mr

[gregg52]

looks like late in the afternoon?

nice fish!!!

[swampbuck]

Caught some Giant bluegills today! Northland hard rock mooska jig tipped with new impulse mayfly! the crappies ate it well too! impulse outfished livebait hands down today for the bigger gills

[leech~~]

Oh geez swampbuck. After your and Walleye365 report above I may have to run out and get some of them fancy new Rippin Shad deally's! I sure hope they work as well as you two have said, because I have wasted enough cash on chubby and lindys darters already!

[walleye365]

love them rippin shads by far the best imo. Hey leech sell them others and buy the RS i cant wait for laker fishin these baits are goin to get smoked.

[leech~~]

love them rippin shads by far the best imo. Hey leech sell them others and buy the RS i cant wait for laker fishin these baits are goin to get smoked.

Lol, no one wants to buy them, they only want to take them for free!

They do make nice ornaments in my wifes fishing flower arangements!

Maybe hitting Ely for laker open but then after that you know where!

[walleye365]

sounds good leech let me know when you plan on bein up here after opener.

[onthelakeBlake]

Headed out to Rabbit East bowl saturday for some fishing. Will let all know just as soon if there is any luck out there.

[onthelakeBlake]

God dang those Mayfly's are expensive! I picked up black, white, red, and orange yesterday and hope they can catch me some fish this weekend and the coming weeks. Did you notice a particular color working better than others?

[gulllake4ever]

Gull, Hole in the day has been producing, averaging four to five eyes each night. fishing 2o feet but looking to move toward deeper water this evening.

[swampbuck]

The mayflys work I have caught fish in them in all colors best for me has been the purple passion #46

They are a bit spendy, however I have been using one bait for 5 days now and caught over a 100 sunfish and crappies on it you would have spent a lot more on a tub of waxworms!

[bassNspear]

nice looking fish john. Just looks like fun

[BizzityB]

Hi everyone! Headed up for the tourney on the 11th which will be my 4th year now!

We usually stay at breezy for a long stay something like Friday to Tuesday but we have never been able to get into some fish. We have hopped all over the north end searching but we only manage a few little perch. I have caught one walter out there 21" which was great but have never been able to find them when were out.

I am not looking for the walleye spots I would like to get into some Crappie.. We have tried the island deep and shallow even dropped the camera down to find some really good weed lines and drop offs and have only managed some perch?

Can anyone tell me if this lake just shuts off after early season. I know its a very big lake and there are a number of great structure lines drop offs but am I doing something wrong?

Does this lake just get hit so hard that the fish are hard to find or do we need to travel to the southern end of the lake to find them?

Im not looking for spots just seeing if anyone has some input on where we should start?

Usually I like to start in about 18-22 FOW on a nice drop off or weed line. We have just not had any luck out there.

Do you find that the fish usually stick to the deep water maybe we are not deep enough?

Any input would help.

PM me if it's easier for you.

Thanks everyone!

[jjz]

You are better off going for walleye, way more walleyes in this lake than crappies. That being said really only 3 areas I can get crappies from time to time Jones Bay, Breezy Resort area in the bays depending on time of year and out in the middle of halverson bay (extremely scattered but can be rewarding). Basically Pelican has so much water in it compared to crappies that finding them consistently can be a real struggle. Walleyes on the otherhand are everywhere, you just have fish hard and stay on top of what they are up to and good fishing can be had all winter. Like all lakes early ice is best, but I get sporadic bursts of hot bites all season. I usually fish weedlines sometimes inside, sometimes outside and just keep moving till I find something good. This winter the ice has really limited my movement (no atv) and fishing has been poor but others have been really well on the main lake. However lately I think I can start driving out to some better spots and expect my luck get much better.

good luck

[jjz]

My best crappie fishing is usually out in the basin away from the weeds if that helps.

[BizzityB]

Thats great info jjz I appreciate it!

I am going to take a look at the Map and plan out a couple of days for fishing see what we can get into.

[jjz]

If crappies are your goal I would look somewhere else. clark, cullen chain, upper hay, sibley and mayo (not listed in any order) are easier to find and catch crappies, only issue is size which I will let figure out on your own.

[bigred84]

We hae had our house out there all season so far until yesterday... DEAD SEA!!!!!!! very poor walleye and could not find any crappies.

[jjz]

I got 4 fat eyes and tossed back a couple smaller ones tonight on a spot I wouldnt consider good. Rifle sight is not a crappie spot, you should have done a lot better on eyes. maybe your tatics, timing or depth was off? Best tatic is a minnow(rainbow or shiner) on bobber/ jigging spoon(perch varmint), usually 3 till 6 at the latest, depth usually 15 fow inside weedline bite and 18 to 22 outside weedline bite. These tatics always work for me provided I can get to ok spots. Hope you have better luck elsewhere.

[bigred84]

Ya we have been doing decent on the new lake... Pelican just kicked our a$$ this winter...we did AWESOME open water fishing on pelican this year but hard water has not been our friend on that lake so far. I hope you keep doing well. We will deff be out there when open water hits!

[BizzityB]

I have never fished up in Halverson before I think I will give it a try this year? How are the ice conditions? anything I need to watch out for out there?

[BrainerdCity]

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May 16th, 2012

Well it is a great time of year here in the Brainerd Lakes Area! Walleyes, crappies, sunfish, and northern pike are in the target sights. Walleyes have been biting pretty well on local lakes, with North Long being a stand out. The fish have been biting a live bait rig and a creek chub, fished between 8-18 feet. Walleyes seem to be using both traditional springtime structure, but I did find some hungry schools on some mid lake humps yesterday.

I highly recommend either hitting the lake really early, or staying till after dark, because the walleyes will typically shut down during daylight hours. Yesterday my clients and I hit the lake at 7:00 am and had really good fishing until about 9:15am, and then the switch was off. Night trolling up in the shallow sand flats has been producing some really nice fish. A crankbait trolled between 3-10 feet of water will produce some good fishing.

Visit our website for full report and other dates!

[MnCatGuy]

Has anyone been out to check any smaller lakes in the Brainerd/Crosby area?

[WalleyeJeff]

Son went out and checked a couple smaller lakes, one he said had 4". Him and a buddy headed back out to catch some panfish.

[gregg52]

i saw somebody checking the ice on 371 bay its been frozr over for a few day know

round has some ice in the shallow edges but not to far out

gull wide open on the hwy end

i figure by wed some will be on the 371 bay ice looks pretty good there pretty freezes fast