Elephant lake

[Se Mn FishSlayer]

Hello im going to be staying at melgeorges on elephant in july. Just wondering if someone could give me a few pointers on catching fish on this lake thanks. Also is there any good river fishing around that area?

[RIPN LIPS]

I'll be staying there 1st weeek of june i'll let you know how it goes when i get back.

[Mastercaster]

FishSlayer,

What type of fish are you going for?

Over the past 15 years we have fished Elephant about 6 times over the July 4th week and fishing is usually good. You do run the chance of a major mayfly hacth during that time. We fish for walleye using worms on lindy rigs in 10-14 ft of water. The lodge has a map that pretty much details all the good spots to target walleye. If you like bass the first week of July is great especially top water after dark with rocky shorelines being the best. The pike fishing has also picked up over the last 4-5 years due to the special regulation on the lake, in July of 07 I caught a 14.5 lb Pike.

We are heading up next week and will be in Tamarack.

Goodluck

[basseye]

Hey Slayer and Lips, not sure if either of you have been to Melgeorges or not but you will love it. Carla and Steve the owners are GREAT. on their web site there is a great map of the lake with fishing spots marked. http://www.melgeorges.com/images/elephantlakemap.pdf i am usually up there at the end of the summer so the walleye fishing has always been tough. they are in there though. The smallie fishing should be awesome for both of you at that time. the bay down by the tressles is great, and the bay off of eveleth point is VERY good also, right where the weeds start. I have had the best luck fishing with dark green speckled tubes for the big ones. both of those areas with poppers at dawn on a calm morning is some of the funnest bass fishing you will ever have. if you go back into browns bay, be careful the rock piles are all over. Also, i think the water level should be up from previous years, but if you have a bigger boat be careful when you put it in at the ramp. go very slow and go straight out from the ramp into the lake dont cut the corner to the docks, there are huge boulders between the ramp and the dock. It would suck starting your week out busting a prop or l/u.

the pan fish are huge and can offer a great fish fry if you cant get a walleye bite going. The bluegill meat will have some spots in them dont be concerned, just cook them thourouly. i have researched this extensively, and they are fine to eat! Also check on a special slot for pike. Good luck!!!!!

[tamarack]

As Mastercaster already indicated, July is a good time for bass, especially top water after dark. Walleye can also be caught, but at this time of the year, its generally better along weed lines than rock. Best time is at dusk; however, the walleye bite generally dies down by 10:00 p.m. or so. The Melgeorge's map does give away most of the hot spots.

You can fish the river just up the road from Melgeorges. I've never fished it for walleye, but have caught a fair number of pike and bass in the older days...nothing of great size though.

As basseye indicated, Carla and Steve are great people and have made a lot of improvements to the resort. If you haven't been there before, you will like it.

[Rip De Lips]

Mastercaster and tamarack, it sounds like you two really know your way around the lake.

I'm expecting great things from both of you on the days you have to drive...Put me on 'em!!!!

[tamarack]

I'll take you too Snowcone Rip. Should be able to catch a nice rock there.

[Rip De Lips]

Look out....it appears RIPN LIPS and Rip De Lips will be on the lake at the same time. There could be a whole lotta rippin' going on!

Look forward to meeting you RIPN if our paths cross.

[RIPN LIPS]

RIP DE LIPS ARE YOU STAYING AT MELGEORGES? WE ARE STAYING IN THE LODGE 3 GUYS IN A RED LUND PRO V OR A WHITE LUND FISHERMAN. WE HAVE BEEN DOING THIS FOR ABOUT 6 YEARS NOW SO WE HAVE A GOOD IDEA WHERE TO FISH. LOOK ME UP AND WE'LL SHARE SOME INFO.

[Se Mn FishSlayer]

Hey RIPN LIPS can you pm me with some pointers on fishing elephant thanks im going there in july for the first time.

[Swimstein]

Talked to the East Coast Boys by telephone several times last week and they reported the fishing was pretty good. They caught a lot of nice eyes (1-5 lbs) Lindy rigging. The water temperature was in the middle 50's. They also caught plenty of smallies (largest 3.8 lbs)casting and a 7 plus lb northern.

Over the years, we have found fish virtually all over the lake. Every year we have to attack the lake the first couple of days and try different places and methods to find out what works best. Over the years Lindy rigging worms has benerally worked best for us for eyes, but we have seen great catches by folks using leeches and slip bobbers. Generally in July you can find eyes in 10-15 feet of water on sand or gravel bottom during the day and in 3-5 feet of water off reeds on sandy bottom during late evenings. Casting or trolling any thing bright and shiny around weeds during the day could get you a nice northern or two. Casting anywhere around the shore on dark cloudy days can produce some good smallies on both topwater and deep runners. I have always liked brown, orange, and yellow colored baits best. We have caught a lot of 2+ lb smallies on top water baits after dark. As others have said, the lake maps available at the lodge and on the Melgeorge web site are always good places to start.

The two nicest things about Elephant Lake is that 1) there is plenty of structure and 2) it is about one by two miles so you can fish most of the lake in a couple of days if you work at it.

[luckycrank]

thinkin of trying it about the second week in august

[grandpa fish]

Hey guys, I`m sitting here in my office in northern Il but I can`t seem to concentrate on work! My problem is I`ve got the up north fishing fever. My buddy and I will be fishing on elephant lake and possibly pelican next week and am wondering how the panfish bite is this week? Any Info would be appreciated as this is our first time on elephant. Thanks

[tamarack]

Grandpa,

We just got back from Elephant. We don't normally fish for panfish but we caught a lot of nice size bluegill trolling for walleyes. We tried crappie fishing one day and did not catch one. However, the trash cans in the fish cleaning house at Elephant was full of nice size crappies. We also talked to one guy who was cleaning quite a few and he caught most of his in 12 feet of water. He thought that the crappies should be moving in shallow soon for spawn. It was pretty cold while we were up there...hopefully it warms up some for you. Water temps were only 55 F. Good luck.

[concreteman]

what do you need to know i have fished the lake for 20 years and have been staying at melgeorges for just as long. Love the place love the lake love the food love the hospitaliy

[grandpa fish]

Thanks East Coast Boys! That sounds very encouraging as the weather report next week sounds much warmer. Hey Concreteman,I was just wondering what you reccomend for bait and type of jigs for elephant sized panfish? Also any good areas of the lake to begin our search.I really like this forum,everybody is so helpfull. Thanks Again.

[RIPN LIPS]

Just got back and the sunfish are on spawn and the crappies are getting ready to go from what i could tell. Walleyes are on the rocks and the bite was ok

[tamarack]

Hey Rip,

I don't know if we ran across each other during our stay there (we were in my cabin, Tamarack) or not. We actually did pretty well on eyes. Found most of ours on sandy bottom (maybe some small rocks but not many) in 10 feet of water. Not our best year, but better than I expected given the cold water temps.

[RonZ]

We have fish it every year in June,July and August for the last 27 years. We rarely use live bait for walleye.(No need). They bite all day.

The best panfishing switches back and forth between Elephant and Blackduck.(We have found Blackduck to be consistantly better)

If you want to keep a northern, forget about Elephant(40" minimum). If you want a chance at catching a big northern then its the place. Myrtle has lots of northern eating size and plenty of them.

Overall Smallie size has gotten smaller over the years.(Still fun to catch)

We'll be back up again the first week of August. Anyone else going to be there?

ps: Their are also nice camping spots on both lakes. (You can have your own private island on Blackduck)

Ron

[Se Mn FishSlayer]

Just checking in i will be there on monday july 13th hows the fishing?