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Posted

Trolling crank baits will get you the most fish.....dragging bottom working with spinners and light pike minnows.....KEEP MOVING!!! 10 ft down to 25 ft. Good Luck!

  • 2 weeks later...
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  • VikingBayAngler

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Posted

I'll be heading to Miltona next week with a couple buddies (NICE!), anyway I don't see much chatter about crappies here. Are there any in Miltona? If so what type of depth and tactics would I be looking at for next week? Sounds like the Walleye fishing could be great. Bottom bouncers and a crawler on a harness is what I'm planning. Any thoughts?

Thanks for your help

Wallida

Posted

Wallida - There are crappies in Miltona, nice size - just not sure there are huge numbers. If you're looking for numbers, try Lk Osakis. It's less than a 15 minute drive from Miltona. I will be on Miltona Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd - 1800 Pro V - White. If you're still around and you see me on the water - stop by for a visit.

Posted

There were a lot of nice crappies caught in June this year. I haven't seen many crappies the rest of the season but they should be moving up in the shallows again soon which might make them easier to target. As far as the walleye bite goes, it sounds like you are on the right track. We've been doing well with crawler harnesses or lindy rigs and minnows. Seems like some days crawlers are the ticket and minnows the next. Deep during the day and shallow towards evening. Good Luck!

Posted

AEHAGER and Viking Bay Angler...

Thanks for the responses, EA we will be leaving Saturday the 21st in the AM, but maybe a sighting? Will say hi if we happen to see ya. If not have a great weekend of fishin yourself.

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

WALLIDA - How did your trip go?

We hit the water early Saturday morning - within a few minutes we had a nice 17" eye in the boat, life was good. The weather (warm, high sky and lack of wind) brought out many fisherman. We caught fish on jigs and live bait rigs. Fish were at all depths.

We pulled cranks for an hour in the evening but made the decision to call it early so we could hit the water at sunrise on Sunday. Speaking of Sunday - The wind made a complete 180 from Friday blowing out of the SE at 15-25 by 7AM - very few people on the water.

Overall the trip was a success.

Aaron

Posted

Sorry it took me so long to recap the trip... but let me tell you it was very successful! The weather was less than desirable for most of the week, it was beautiful when we left on Saturday! Windy, Rain, Windy, Rain, Windy, Rain and Cold, we fished mostly in our Ice armor! Between the four of us we caught 190 walleyes. Yes 190, I kept track! About half pulling plugs and the other half on crawlers or Jig and minnow. I thought the ones we caught on the plugs were smaller then the Crawler/Jig and minnow. Although the majority of the fish we caught were in the 12 to 14 inch range, we did end up with our limits of nice fish by weeks end. I caught my new personal best 27", that was awesome! We never found the Crappies that I was initially inquired about.

Wallida

Posted

Glad you had a successful trip. I sent you a PM...not sure if it was you we met at the landing on Saturday. There was a boat loading around mid-morning - we stopped back to pick up our third party who was under the weather.

Let me know.

Aaron

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

Plan on doing some trolling on the October full moon on Miltona pretty new to this technique

I was wondering what colors work best on Miltona??

Also are u using shad raps or more minnow/husky jerk types??

Thanks for any input

Posted

Shad style baits like flicker shads & smash shads have been working well with lead core during the day and shallow at night. Natural colors have been doing well, either a green/pearl or mouse although each day can be different depending on cloud cover. I like to run stick baits at night with a drop sinker along the sand. Good luck!

  • 3 weeks later...
Posted

Viking Bay - any reports from the lake recently? Heading up for one last open water adventure this weekend. Hope to be on the water Friday late afternoon.

Jig and minnow worked well for us a couple of weeks back. With the colder weather and snow last weekend I'm sure the water temp's have dropped into the low 50's.

Thanks in advance for your response.

Aaron

Posted

Fireball jigs with redtails or shiners have been producing fish towards evening and after dark. Also small shallow running crankbaits have worked great. Many fish have been caught in 12-5ft of water. Fishing was good this past weekend but I haven't been out for a couple days. I would expect it to be a good bite still. Good Luck!

Posted

We made it out yesterday in the 32 degrees and wind. Fished from 7:45-11:30am and did alright with the walleyes. It was pretty windy so boat control was difficult. Sharp breaks near the weedline produced all of our fish. Gold jig/pink twister tail tipped with a fathead produced well. Find the green weeds and the fish will be nearby. By the way, water temp was 48 degrees.

Posted

Thanks for the feedback.

I'll be sure to post our results next week.

Aaron

Posted

Fishing this weekend was good with plenty of 15-17 eyes. Our four largest fish were 18 inchers. Strong WNW winds made boat control difficult. Staying vertical over the fish was key. Fish were deep 35+, jig and fathead worked along with shinners and lt. pike minnows. Water temps held around 46 degrees the entire trip. Having the docks removed made loading and unloading the boat interesting.

I was surprised to find the Leaf Valley landing on the west end of Miltona was completely disassembled. The entire ramp is portable. Imagine how surprised we were to see the concrete slabs had been stacked on shore next to the dock.

Can't wait to get back up this winter for some ice fishing.

Aaron

Posted

Thanks for the update Aaron. It sure does seem they rush to get the access docks out for some reason. I'm glad you found fish. I'll be out this week to see how the muskies are biting and maybe do a little night fishing for some eyes as well.

Posted

My dock is still in, waiting until the last minute to get some late, late, late fishing in.... Be fishing all week, and then pulling dock this week. See you all on the west side. I learned quick last year that the landings come out early, especially the west one. I presume the east side landing cement stays in late Viking Bay guy? Hope so, or I'll be tugging the Ranger out with a prayer. See you on the water. Green 617 Ranger wearing everything I own...

Posted

Our docks are in as well. They'll be coming out this week but i plan on keeping the boat handy for some November sucker fishing.I can't say i recall them actually removing the cement slats on the East ramp last year. I remember seeing them stacked up at sandy beach but not at the east ramp. Maybe i'll see you out there. Good luck!

  • 3 weeks later...
Posted

Have any of the bays locked up yet? Hoping there will be walkable ice out front the cabin by Turkey day! any reports will be appreciated.

Posted

Much of the lake was iced over Sunday morning. A few spots opening up again with the wind Sunday and Monday. There were several out fishing on the west bay late today.

Posted

Miltona bay is locked up pretty good but there are still some spots that opened up on the East side extending out into the basin with all that wind last night. I would expect to see some people with portables out this weekend fishing the rim. I might have to join them!

Posted

Thanks for the update guys! I will be venturing out on the NW side thursday and friday. I will post an ice report and hopefully a fishing report to follow!

Posted

Walked out from the cabin this evening. Found as much as 5" of ice and as little as 2" and I didn't go very far. Wet a line at dusk in 14 fow and picked up one nice walleye 20"+. Might get more daring tomorrow but the ice is quite variable. Be safe out there!

Posted

Thanks for the report Eskimo. Did you venture out again? or does anybody else have any reports on ice conditions? We still have some choppy ice in front of our place from when the wind pushed it over before it froze up.

Posted

Same in Schulsted's bay off NE access guys with ATV this past weekend...fishing not that great on top of the shallow weeds there..3-5 inches of ice. Now the snow will change things...need a good cold snap...sounds like this weekend it is going below zero for awhile, that will help. I will give it another week or so before I venture out in full stride....

Posted

Thanks MBRAguy. I haven't seen a lot of action yet just a few portables in Miltona bay. I agree that a week could move things along way.

Posted

When I left Friday my neighbor brought the wheelhouse out with the 4 wheeler. Approx 5-6" of ice in the bay at that time. I would guess there is safe walkable ice in most places by now but the ice was very spotty with extremely thin ice in spots. The fishing was quite good considering I didnt make it to any of my honey holes because of the thin ice. Should be able to venture to the main lake soon with the cold snap coming in the forcast.

Posted

Any word on ice/snow/slush conditions on Miltona after yesterday's snowstorm? Hoping today's wind will blow a lot of the loose stuff off the lake and the cold cold temps will freeze up any wet stuff before the weekend. Any reports on the ground would be appreciated. Primarily wondering about the West access and West Bay. Thanks.

Posted

Well we're on the East side and drilled a few holes today. We took a ranger with tracks out 50 ft and found slush and a lot of water under the snow. Once we got out a ways the ice appeared much better with 6-8 inches of hard ice and very little slush approximately 100 yards out. I have a feeling shorelines with drifted snow will have the same issues. Still only a few portables or small wheel houses being seen, but very few.

Posted

We did give it a go Sat morning (-24 below apparently). We decided not to mess with pulling out the perm (finding some of the same slush issues around the shore areas in the West bay) and just pulled out the portables. One other brave group was out despite the cold temps. We found 8" of clear solid ice where we checked. Fishing was slow. Caught a couple small eyes but didn't see much coming though. Good luck out there! Hope to be back out in a week or 2.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • SkunkedAgain
      If you fished with me more often, you'd never have to make this statement...   38" of ice - love it. I'm really going to have to dig around for my auger extension. I don't think that I've needed it in over a decade.   Too bad nobody has a locomotive chugging across the ice to do some logging, like the good old days.
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the South Shore...  Ice fishing remains strong across the south shore of Lake of the Woods out on Big Traverse Bay.  Resorts and outfitters on some parts of the lake have ice roads extending over 16 miles staying on nice schools of walleyes and saugers.  Many fish houses are over deep mud.  Some are on structure.  It is always fishing of course, but overall, February has been very productive for most anglers.   Extensions are being used on ice augers as the ice continues to thicken.  The thick ice this year will be good for the extended ice fishing season Lake of the Woods enjoys with fish houses out through March 31st, walleyes and saugers open through April 14th and a pike season that never closes. Most fishing activity is taking place in 26-32 feet of water.  Anglers are finding a healthy mix of walleyes and saugers, with a good number of jumbo perch in the mix this year.  Some big eelpout are also showing up.  Anglers are reporting plenty of fish for fresh fish frys and usually extra fish to bring home.   The one-two punch of a jigging line and deadstick is the way to go.  On the jigging line, jigging spoons with rattles tipped with a minnow head have been consistent.  Lipless crankbaits and jigging rap style lures also doing well.     Lures with a light have been working well in the stained water.  Please remember, in MN, lures with a light or water activated light can be used as long as the battery is mercury free and the hook is attached directly to the lure and not as a dropper line.     On the deadstick, a plain hook or a small jig with a live minnow 6 inches to a foot off of the bottom.    Some days, mornings are better, other days, it's the afternoons.  There is no distinct pattern, they could come through at any time. On the Rainy River...  The start of the day and end of the day have been best for those targeting walleyes on the river. A jig and minnow or a jigging spoon tipped with a minnow head is also producing some fish. Some big sturgeon being iced by ice anglers targeting them.  It is a catch-and-release sturgeon season currently.   Although ice conditions on the river are good, they can vary significantly due to the current, so anglers should always consult local resorts or outfitters for the most up-to-date safety information and fishing advice. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing has been strong in the islands area of Lake of the Woods. Resorts continue to move their fish houses around, staying on the best schools of walleyes.     Anglers are catching a nice mix of walleyes, saugers, and jumbo perch with an occasional pike or tullibee as well.     Big crappies are still being caught just over the border.  Fish houses are available, check with a NW Angle resort for info on crappie fishing.   Lake of the Woods enjoys an extended ice fishing season with fish houses on the ice through March 31st and walleye and sauger seasons open through April 14th. Perch, crappie, and pike seasons remain open year-round.    
    • leech~~
      Maybe you should put rattle wheels down, if your going to sleep for 6hrs! 🤭 😆
    • JerkinLips
      Monday was my worst day of winter fishing on Vermilion in the last 4 years.  Caught only one 14" walleye in nearly 8 hours of fishing.  Missed two other bites and was marking very few fish.  Maybe the fish were taking Monday off after a big weekend.   No more water came up on the ice under my house.  Think it was because I haven't banked snow around it for a couple of weeks so the bare ice around the house is getting very thick.  I measured 38" of ice under my house and the Ion barely made it through even with the extension installed.  Needless to say I banked around the house this time.  Another lesson I learned today is don't drill holes if ice is frozen on your blades.  I did that on one hole and it didn't center properly and drilled at an angle on the edge of the opening.  Hope I can correct the location and angle on my next trip up.   Not much change in the surface lake surface conditions.  The drifts may be a little higher and are definitely harder.  There are still a few bare ice spots on the lake.  Very little activity on the lake today.  There are about 3 dozen houses from McKinley Park out to Birch Island.  Another person pulled there house off today, and I am sure many more will pull theirs off this coming weekend.  Only 13 days left of walleye season.    
    • leech~~
      A good start for never picking up a bow!   IMG_1910.mp4
    • leech~~
      Um, #metoo   leech~~ Author 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders Posted January 26 My whole goal for the rest of this season.  Is to watch KC lose and Taylor cry!  🥳
    • smurfy
    • Wanderer
      Smurfy is happy.
    • Dash 1
      Great looking food. So far not much of a game and I thought the halftime show was worse I've seen. 
    • leech~~
      Oh is there a Superbowl game? 😋😋
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