Jump to content
  • GUESTS

    If You  want access  to member only forums on FM, You will need to Sign-in or  Sign-Up now .

    This box will disappear once you are signed in as a member.

Lake Bemidji Fishing Reports


Recommended Posts

So was that you bobbing around in the middle of all us tubers on that small lake west of Bemidji yesterday?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chris, funny, after talking to you at the access last night I see this! Nope, wish it had been, as that would have been better than coming home from vacation!

How'd you fare on Bemidji last night?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chris, Matt..

Not to jump in on your conversation, but what depth would you target walleyes on Bemidji right now? 20-25 ft daytime 10-15ft night/evening?

As usual, thank you

Lindy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Found walleyes this afternoon in 3-6' of water, as well as 36' of water. Pick your poison for the day, and stick with it. Pitching jigs WAY up there, and dragging them back to the schools of 20-40 walleyes has been working, until you're noticed... We need the lake to darken a bit so the shallow bite is less about stealth and more about spot. Also pitching the wind blown cabbage beds in 7-11' of water has been working. Deep, you almost have to lay a redtail on their nose, the deep bite is tough right now, but the rewards are great! Pulling cranks has been putting fish in the boat too, over the cabbage in 7-11' of water.

Good luck out there!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 11 months later...

just hoping somebody can give me a nudge in the right direction on Lake Bemidji Largemouth Bass LBLB. i can pretty easily tell largemouth habitat when i see it, but i could use a little hint or something. thanks for your help.

the reason im asking is that in a recent issue of minnesota sportsman bemidji was listed as an overlooked bass lake, but they included stump and irving. stump i can see, i've caught some large largemouths there and can see a lot of good habitat in the shallows. irving i'm not sure about.

thank you in advance!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

LMB can be found on Bemidji in only three spots. In front of the river outlet, in the reeds closer to shore(the muskies rule the outer reeds). In the lagoon of lagoona. The reeds outside of the lagoona area.

Irving has a few in the NW corner in all the slop. You could work your way through to Marquette, there are a few in there.

And of course stump, there are some pigs in there.

LMB are kept in check by the huge muskie we have in the system. Being a "soft rayed fish" they go down with very little need for tarter sauce. Therefore the muskies and big snakes tend to munch them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I've goofed around on Bemidji when on vacation, but it sounds like I should have taken it more seriously.

Can you navigate from the Bemidji to Cass, or do you need canoe or kayak? I have fished Wolf and had real good luck for walleyes but nothing big. Big walleyes were being caught at the inlet from the river on leches at night.

Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The power da^m makes it a little tough. Not to mention the 20+ miles of river.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice report, Ill be in Bemidji this year for college, and will be spending a lot of time on the lake. Im just curious, out deep, do you guys ever try down rigging? I mainly fish LOW and I know thats what I'd be doing right now over vertical jigging.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is a small window for down rigging on Bemidji. It's late summer when the surface temps reach the mid 70's. The walleye set up just above the thermocline. Most anglers use lead core and cranks to kill these fish. And I say kill because the water temps are so high, the oxygen levels are low and they are coming up from 30+ ft.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So you've never tried it around this time of year out where you are catching them jigging?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think down-rigging works very well on Bemidji. I've tried it, and I know others who've tinkered with it numerous times to no avail. Lead is where it's at...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, thank for the info, looks like my riggers are gonna be a little dusty the next few years haha

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

ok, someone was on the ice today just off the Northwoods access with an ATV...who was it and how was the ice?

Buck

Link to comment
Share on other sites

not me, but u can go first this year! winkgrinlaugh

was it last year or two years ago we ventured out early and you got attacked by the northern? Man that was funny... grin

Buck

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That was last year, and you made me walk and drill first and then when I found the spot you decided to join me when I had everthing set up. That darn northern made me bleed like a stuck pig and you showed no sarrow! You thought it was the fish, and in fact it was half my thumb! cry

We will have a mtg. tonight to schedule the game plan!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That was last year, and you made me walk and drill first and then when I found the spot you decided to join me when I had everthing set up. That darn northern made me bleed like a stuck pig and you showed no sarrow! You thought it was the fish, and in fact it was half my thumb! cry

We will have a mtg. tonight to schedule the game plan!

I was shining the light for you so you could see where you were drilling... cool

Sounds good, we've got some refreshments that will help us remember how big our fish were last year... crazy

Buck

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was out off Cameron park yesterday. we had anywhere from 1.5 to 6 inches. i would deffinatley NOT be taking a wheeler out for a while. the ice cracks when your walking out and water coming up throught the cracks in some spots. i had the ice sink bout 4 inches underneith me in 1 spot. walking should be ok for the most part but NO WHEELERS yet!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Someone was driving some type of vehicle on Irving. It wasn't a 4 wheeler. I've seen vehicles that float made specifically for ice fishing on t.v. I'm wondering if it was something like that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Someone was driving some type of vehicle on Irving. It wasn't a 4 wheeler. I've seen vehicles that float made specifically for ice fishing on t.v. I'm wondering if it was something like that.

There is a guy in town that has one of those Wilcraft rigs, talked to him on Bemidji last year. Did it look like a big tray with 4 wheels?

Buck

Link to comment
Share on other sites

on the way home tonight I saw some fisherman out from northwoods with portables, and 3 spear shacks. Out from country club there was one portable on the flat! I will be waiting till the weekend to go test one of my early ice spots. Got a call from Northwoods fisherman and he said 4 inches. Be safe and don't rush the ice, it is early this cold weather will help, but it will take time!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

on the way home tonight I saw some fisherman out from northwoods with portables, and 3 spear shacks. Out from country club there was one portable on the flat! I will be waiting till the weekend to go test one of my early ice spots. Got a call from Northwoods fisherman and he said 4 inches. Be safe and don't rush the ice, it is early this cold weather will help, but it will take time!

4"??? It's supposed to get cold this weekend, so I think I'll sit back and let mother nature do it's thing for another week before I venture out. Love to fish, but love to stay dry even more.

Buck

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was out and found 4" of solid ice with 2" of iffy crust along with it. Looks great to me! A person can't be too safe though, tread carefully!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • JerkinLips
      41.6°F in Stuntz Bay Thursday morning.  Left my boat in the water to hopefully fish more before the lake freezes.  Caught four 9-11" walleyes in 2½ hours before I gave up due to the strong west wind.  Water level has not gone up more than a couple of inches at the most.  May be a good winter to jack my boathouse out of the water on the deep end.
    • Troy Smutka
      The calendar migrators from the Dakotas have been passing through central MN in trickles the past few weeks, and the recent cooler weather has some Canada ducks starting to show up. We have been harvesting mallards, pintails, gadwalls, wigeon, shovelers, greenwing teal, canvasbacks, redheads, bluebills, and ringnecks in decent numbers.
    • SkunkedAgain
      It doesn't look like the lake level has gone up at all. I was up a week ago and struggled to get my boat in and out of the public landing on the west end of Head O Lakes. I used my paddle to push the boat further out to deeper water. I could hear the hull moving over the sandy/muddy bottom near the launch.
    • JerkinLips
      Pretty tough.  Was catching about 2 walleyes per hour and the biggest was only 13".  Back up Thursday so I hope I have better success.
    • smurfy
      the kid and I always check our stands prior.......i'll go back to check the conditions of said stands before he gets there to see what we need. while i'm at it if i can i shoot at grouse with shells that appear to not have bb,s in them!!!!🙄
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the South Shore...  With unseasonably warm weather, there are still some anglers hitting the water and most have been rewarded.  Limits of walleyes and saugers being caught, and the forecast looking ahead is favorable. The best bite on the south end of LOW has been in 22-28 feet of water. Water temperatures are dropping and as the temps cool further, the bite has been excellent.     Vertical jigging with frozen emerald shiners has been the program for most anglers.  Bring plenty of bait, as you’ll need to sort through some smaller fish and short biters.  Plenty of eater fish to be had, just have to do a bit of sorting.  Anglers are also reporting very good numbers of jumbo perch and occasional pike mixed in with the walleyes.     For those fishing structure, if you slide up on top of a rock pile, don't be surprised to catch a big smallmouth bass, there are plenty around.   This week’s hot colors have been gold, gold/glow white, gold/chartreuse, gold/orange, and gold/glow white/pink.     One tip, a stinger hook on your jig will catch you more fish if you start missing too many fish. On the Rainy River...  Bait dealers are reporting good numbers of shiners in the river this past week.  Interesting, each night is different.  Some areas have the small shiners called pinheads.  Other areas have the larger minnows.     The river is producing some nice walleyes in various spots from Four Mile Bay to Wheeler's Point, to Baudette all the way to Birchdale.  There are 42 miles of navigable Rainy River from the mouth to Birchdale with plenty of public boat ramps along the way.     Walleyes are being caught in various depths, but 15-25 feet of water has been good.   Jigging with live or frozen emerald shiners has been highly effective. Some anglers are also trolling crankbaits to cover more ground and find fish. Both methods are producing solid results. Sturgeon fishing has been strong.  The catch-and-release sturgeon fishing is open into the spring when it changes to the "keep season" on April 24th. Up at the NW Angle...  Fall fishing continues to be excellent. Points, neck-down areas with current, shoreline breaks, and transition zones from rock to mud are all productive locations for walleye right now.   It is traditionally a mixed bag up around the many islands in this part of the lake and this fall is no different.  In addition to walleyes, pike, jumbo perch, and crappies are in the mix.  A jig and minnow has been the most effective presentation. Good muskie fishing is the norm during the fall of the year and area reports have been good.  In addition to casting, trolling shorelines, points and neckdown areas has been effective.  Muskies are often targeting schooling tullibees this time of year. The weather forecast for the next couple of weeks is conducive for fall fishing.  If you don't deer hunt, or if you have harvested your deer, consider some bonus walleye action before the ice forms.  The bite continues to be excellent.    
    • leech~~
    • gimruis
      I'm not one to leave that to chance the day I need it.  I always check on my stands prior to the season.  Just like I always shoot my rifle before the season and I always run my outboard motor before fishing opener.  Too many things to go wrong without confirming it ahead of time.   I guess it could have been beavers but the house itself didn't appear nearly big enough along one ditch.  It was about the size of chair.  I've seen beavers houses many times before and they appear much bigger than that.
    • leech~~
      Good thing you made a check run.  That would have really suked walking into opening day.  Why do you think muskrats and not beavers?  
    • gimruis
      Well I checked on stands over the weekend.  Kind of a disaster.   All the ditches are plum full and twice as wide becauase muskrats have clogged an area.  I spent an hour unclogging it and the water is slowly moving again, but our bridges and planks were underwater.  The back portion of the land where the best stand is was inaccessible.  Hopefully that changes by Saturday.  I have a feeling the muskrats are just going to clog it back up again.   Tons of standing corn still too.  They've started on it, but being so wet now with more rain coming, whatever's there will remain there for the foreseeable future.   All the grassland is completely flattened like a pancake due to 3-4 inches of heavy wet snow.  That eliminates about 75% of the pheasant habitat in this spot.  Total buzz kill.  And this specific spot was one of my better producers last season because the grass was intact and lush through December last year.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.