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.

Need some advice from the experts here please


Recommended Posts

First of all, I would like to say this is my first post, although have been reading for a long time now.

Anyway, a buddy of mine and I are taking a trip and will be leaving in the camper on September 30th. We are heading up North from Rochester and are not sure where to go? We will not be taking a boat, so we will need to find a place that we can hook up the camper to, and also a place that has boat rentals that we could use for the week. We have not been to any of the lakes up that way, besides Mille Lacs. We would like to find a nice smaller lake that produces some nice Fall Walleye/Northern fishing.

Any ideas of Lakes, campgrounds/resorts that we can hook up the camper to and enjoy some awesome Fall fishing.

Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

north long and gull both have places that will work for you

both good lakes

or look up brainerd.com lots of info there

410 lakes in crow wing county you should be albe to find something to your

liking

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know LB Rental rents boats to either of those lakes as well as many others in the area. You could camp at the Gull Lake Recreation area. you could plug in your camper there for a reasonable price and have a boat delivered to the gull landing for you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The army corps of engineers campground on cross lake would be a good place too. LOT'S of northerns to be caught there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

dont know who LB rentals is

but sportland bait rents bait plus you can get up to date info there on fishing and of coarse bait...lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

dont know who LB rentals is

but sportland bait rents bait plus you can get up to date info there on fishing and of coarse bait...lol

Do I have to return all the bait? What if some comes back with teeth marks? LOL

Link to comment
Share on other sites

JB, any walleye on Cross Lake? What else can we catch besides Northern in the Fall?

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another recommendation for the Corp Campground on Crosslake. You have access to 14 lakes, and will infd walleye and pike on Cross or Whitefish, and even trout on Big Trout (I never have though, ha!). Nice and faily cheap camping, necessities across the street, and at least two places to rent boat/pontoon from just down the road. We rented big toon from Al's and they were great. Also rented from Bait Box in the past and had good luck. Once labor day goes by, the lake gets much quieter and nicer. You would have your pick of campsites in the fall, and can reserve them online.

Good luck wherever you go, have fun! smile

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't fish walleyes, but cross and the rest of the chain have alot of them from what I hear, but apparently they are very hard to catch. Big trout is stocked with lake trout, and is probably my favorite lake in the area. The whole chain is loaded with pike, and lot's of largemouth bass...big trout has decent numbers of smallmouths too. I've caught a few nice perch and sunnies casting for bass too. And if for some reason the fishing is slow, you can always rely on the excellent trophy rock bass fishing to keep you busy smile September in brainerd is great! I go up there about that same time every year...although this year I might only be up for a weekend frown

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ya the whitefish is a very good fishery but ithink you hafta to spend alittle time on it to really be successful

just my opinion

i think gull is probably the easiest to go to and get action

also maybe alittle easier to get pointed in the right direction

sportland bait (has pretty good info from local guiedes)

plus a few more boats on the water that time of the year give you a little hint where to go

be sure to bring warm clothes never know that time of the year and good

rain gear

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I go up to the Corps campground every year. It's a nice place to camp and has easy access to the water. The folks at the Bait Box are nice. I've rented from them several times. The Whitefish chain is nice because you've got 14 or so lakes you can go to, some small, some large.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thanks jmm888. We are heading up at the end of Sept/beginning of Oct. Any idea on the cost for the rentals at any of the places? Just trying to figure out if it is worth it to rent rather than drag the boat up behind the camper. We have to make a couple stops on the way and figured it would be worth it to just rent but have never rented a boat before, so just curious.

Thanks to all!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

FWIW - it costs about $275 a day to rent a 25' pontoon (Premiere, totally awesome and plush!). I am sure you would get a better rate if for more than one day, and also it won't be peak season so that might help as well. Not sure what boats they have available. That 25' pontoon, while extremely nice, would not be good for fishing though - benches all the way around it. But for cruising it is awesome. If you get it through Bait Box maybe you would get deal on bait too wink

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Rookeye -

Depending on what you've budgeted for your trip, it's probably worth an hour of your time to review the "vacation rentals" section of the major classified listing site that starts with a C. Many cabin owners in the Brainerd Lakes area are renting out their cabins for various reasons (loss of job, increased property taxes, etc)on a weekly basis. Often times the use of whatever boats they own is included. That would obviously limit your ability to hop from lake to lake - but based on the cost above to rent a pontoon, plus the gas to haul a camper from Rochester and back - you'd probably save money and have a nice place to stay.

Not sure how many will be renting them out that late in the year - but it's something else to consider.

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.