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.

Mille Lacs Lake Fishing Report by Burch's Guide Service


Pat Burch

Recommended Posts

Hey Guys, we still have a strong bite going on up on Mille Lacs. Still catching fish with the normal June patterns. Water temps are 73 -75 in most areas. The fish are going good on the mud with Lindy rigs and a leech or with a spinner rig and a crawler. If it is flat calm the spinners seem to be better and if it is windy the lindy rig and leech seem to be better. Most of the Mud fish are on the top edge, some of the flats we are seeing fish all over the top but not as many as in the last few years. I would focus more on the top edge within 50 feet of the break line. The deep gravel and mid to deep rocks are also producing fish with bobbers and a leech or using a spinner and crawler with a bottom bouncer. We have had a few good days on leadcore, followed by slow days with leadcore that should improve and become more consistent as the summer wears on. For you bass guys the small mouth bite is red hot. I just got done shooting film for lindy on some of there new products and the smallies were crushing the new lindy whatsit grub in the crawfish color. The smallies were just of the edge of the main rocks in 5-7 feet of water. Good Luck guys

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pat,

Nice report and good update. I've only fish the big water a few times in my life and I'm a little intimated by the side and the structure which probably speaks to my limited success. I'd like to fish it more but it would cost me over a $100 to refill the truck each time I went. So the more information I can gather before the better my chances of fish is better.

Thanks Again for the post.

Chet

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quote:
I've only fish the big water a few times in my life and I'm a little intimated by the side and the structure which probably speaks to my limited success.

After having my butt handed to me by Mille Lacs (while Burch was hammering them) I realized something, a guides advice is great but spending time with a guide to learn new water is pricelss. Next trip I am hiring a Burch to learn a little more about the big clear Mille Lacs before I go blindy banging around the lake bringing back nothing but a sunburn.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

Pat definitely has them dialed in on Mille Lacs.

Thanks for the great report!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

jonny

I'm sure you and Pat could work something out. he probably wouldn't mind going with you to find some of them red lake gators that you know so much about.

Mark

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Jonny, dont feel bad. Personnally I hang it up on the big pond this time of year. With the late spring and high water, things went on a bit longer than normal this year. Come on down in early June and you wont be dissapointed...I guarantee!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No waiting for me. I am turning the tables and hiring a guide...then if I don't do well I can just blame him! grin

Always wanted to sit on the passenger side of a guide boat plus I am going to have Burch show me the tricks of leadcore before I learn a bunch of bad habits.

As for my first trip to Mille Lacs it was just one of those days where nothing would click not to mention we use down riggers up here and LOW, Mille Lacs is leadcore. I was seriously under equipped; a stop at the sporting goods store on the way home fixed that problem. In anger I came back to Red and didn’t stop until I ran fifty fish past the clients the first day back to get the mojo going again and shake off the Mille Lacs voodo.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ya it's funny how different areas and lakes have different ways to get at the fish. Im still working on becoming a better diverse fisherman, and think we will never stop learning stuff in this sport we call fishing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fishing this week has been a little more up and down. Mornings have been by far the best time for us. Midday can be hit or miss. Some days they will bite okay in the middle of the day other days its a grind in the middle of the day. Evening bite is similar to the morning. It sure seems like there is a window each day where they bite really good for an hour or two then it tapers off. Typical Mid to late July fishing patterns are producing. Leadcore trolling the basin has been best, silver and chrome colors have been the best colors. We are also getting walleyes in the mid-depth rocks in that 16-20 feet area. You can get them on the mid- depth rocks either with a spinner rig and crawler or corking them. Smallie action is still earlier morning they are on top of the reefs and as the day goes they seem to slide out deeper or hide in the shade of the really big rocks just of the reefs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Fishing this week has been a little better. Water temps are in that 77 -80 degree mark depending on the day. Fish are biting throughout the day. On the dead flat high sky days the leadcore bite was best for us. We also had two really good days of daytime bobber fishing when the wind was blowing, we fished in the 8-10 foot depth range on rocks. As far as the leadcore bite goes we caught most of our fish in 30 -33 feet of water. Colors and bait style have been changing allot in the last week, so mix it up. I like to start with a # 5 shad rap firetiger, a #5 blue tullibee Lindy Shadling and a stick bait like the smithwick rogue. From there I just keep adjusting based on what is going good that day. Some days the perch/firetiger is best then the next day it changes to something else so bring the whole aresenal. The shallow bobber bite has been a mix of leeches and crawlers, but by the far the best jig for me has been the 1/32 oz lindy jig in the orange and chart pattern. I think anything with orange and yellow or brown to emulate crayfish will produce some fish for you, you will get a mixed bag of Perch, smallies and walleyes right now fishing shallow. Good Luck everyone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Might be headed over there for a day this weekend Burchy, maybe i will see ya on the water, heard through the grapevine that you are still on some good overs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

The deeper water leadcore bite this week has been really good. There are allot of fish in the basin. In my boat most of the fish in the basin have been in that 22-28 inch range a few eaters can be found here but the vast majority of the fish have been bigger. Smaller eating fish can be found fishing the rocks. Shallow rock trolling and corking has been producing smaller eaters for us, of course we occasionally get a bigger one on the rocks. But in general these fish have been in that 13-16 inch range. With the rocks the best colors have been orange/chart and perch patterns. The leadcore bite has been good in that 32-33 feet depth using perch colors and chrome patterns. If you would like to go on a trip and learn to troll using leadcore look me up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As a little follow up I and a friend fished Mille Lacs yesterday from 8:30 - 4:30 and pulled lead core the entire day! To second Pats post and I would note he fishs that lake much more than myself he is spot on! We boated 21 walleyes with the largest just over 26 inches and most of the other fish being over 21 but we did manage to get four keepers. We also caught a 38 inch northern and a number of larger perch which made for a fun day on the lake. We fished numeruos spots near the flats, rocks, and transistions and it seems nothing was really hot we just picked up fish on a fairly regular basis. With the miles we put on yesterday I was stunned at how few boats were on the lake.

Lastly I would note if you want a technique that will give you options in late summer experiment and learn lead core and going with a quide to get the learning kick started will save you time in the long run!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As a little follow up I and a friend fished Mille Lacs yesterday from 8:30 - 4:30 and pulled lead core the entire day! To second Pats post and I would note he fishs that lake much more than myself he is spot on! We boated 21 walleyes with the largest just over 26 inches and most of the other fish being over 21 but we did manage to get four keepers. We also caught a 38 inch northern and a number of larger perch which made for a fun day on the lake. We fished numeruos spots near the flats, rocks, and transistions and it seems nothing was really hot we just picked up fish on a fairly regular basis. With the miles we put on yesterday I was stunned at how few boats were on the lake.

Lastly I would note if you want a technique that will give you options in late summer experiment and learn lead core and going with a quide to get the learning kick started will save you time in the long run!

What end of the lake were you fishing? What were you catching them on?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We changed up raps all day but a JSR 5 Hot Perch seemed to work best for us. We had decent luck between Sequchie and 8 mile flat in 32 - 35 feet of water. We marked very few fish on top of the flats early and quickly stayed deeper. If you have the luxury of running two to three rods run them at differnt depths as the fish seemed to be anywhere from 2 to 15 feet off the bottom. Running two rods deep with lead core and running two rods with boards with 2 to 3 colors of lead core would really help to cover the water column and help increase your catch rate.

Good Luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lundcranking, I was also out the same time frame Monday and wish I had the luck you had. With the South wind I fished the South end gravel (4 mile, 5 mile, 3mile reef, Highway/July bar) pulling lead with numerous colors (Natural Perch, Tullibee, Silver Shad) of #5 Lindy Shadlings. Tried 3, 4, 5 colors of lead and only ended up with a couple eyes, a northern, and a smallie. I was several hundred yards off structure and it seems the deeper water definitely held more fish. Couldnt get em to go though. Wish I had more guys in the boat with more lines. What speed were you running? Were you quite a ways from the flats or closer to the bottom edge of the flats?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

With lead core my target speed always starts at 2.0 mph with that said we had a south west wind and I seemed to have my best luck running down wind and sligthly quartering them but I was running the tiller in conjuction with the vantage in reverse which helps keep my speed more consistent, especially when the waves are hitting the back corner of the boat instead of dead center on the back of the boat. It sounds really technical but with a little practice it is easy and makes a difference because lead core is very speed sensitive as you likely understand and see when you try and make a turn.

I ran near structure but had my best action in depths of 32 feet and and greater.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Fishing over the last week has been very good. Both the leadcore trolling bite and the shhallow rock bite has been good this week. With the strong winds blowing it sure seems to activate the fish on this great lake. We got the walleyes trolling in 28- 30 feet of water this week using 4 colors of lead. My best baits this week were the perch colored lindy river rocker #3, the fire tiger jointed #5 and the blue shad rap #5. Fish are also biting on the windy days among the shallow rocks. I like to use a xxl thill bobber with a #2 spilt shot and then a lindy 1/32 oz orange/chartuse jig and a leech. Best depths were 5-7 feet. You need to really rock hop if you are going to shallow rock fish. It seems like you might pick up 1-2 in a spot then nothing, but if you hit enough spots that kick out 1 or 2 you end up with a pretty good bag of fish for the day.

Well, Labor day weekend has come and gone which always seems to symbolize the end of the summer. I would really like to thank all those who I spent my days fishing with this year as well as many of the resorts on the lake that do there best to insure people enjoy their time up here. As I think back on the fishing this summer on the big pond I have allot of good memories. The month of May was cold, June had about 20 straight days of east winds, July was really hot with some nasty storms, and August had pretty nice weather. This summer also seemed like the resurgence of big fish over 28 inches and I hope that continues. In contrast I also think I caught more 7-10 inch walleyes then ever before so that is good to see as well. Smallies were every where again even got a couple on the mud, boy they sure can fight! Don't forget that fall fishing up here can be pretty good too. I know most of you guys on FM love to hunt too, but make it a goal to get up here one more time this fall and you wont regret it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Really good fishing over the weekend up here on Mille Lacs. The daytime bite for my groups this weekend produced 30 - 40 fish per day. I know allot of you guys are fishing that evening shallow rock bite, but believe it or not I am still smacking fish out in the deep water. we pulled lead in 29-33 feet of water all day. The #5 shad style baits in perch/firetiger colors were by far the best. I know guys are getting fish trolling the stick baits in the 7-10 feet of water at night as well, but don't give up on the day bite just yet. Good Like

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Hey guys the walleye bite on the big pond is stilling going strong. We have been putting allot of limits in the boat over the last 4-5 days. Many small fish in the 7-10 inch range and several overs each day has made for some fun and exciting fishing. I have been fishing north and south due to the wind and in both areas I am consistently finding fish in the 23-27 foot range. S and SW has been going good on the deep rocks as well as the N and NE parts of the lake in the sand. I am still trolling leadcore during the day using #5 sized baits. The #5 lindy shadling in blue tulibee has been real good as well as the #3 perch and shiner colors in the Lindy river rocker. Also geting many fish with the #5 firetiger shad rap. As it gets dark you will notice the deep fish dissappear on your graph as they are heading in shallow. With the moon dropping out of the sky by 8:30 or so I did not spend anytime fishing late into the evening over the weekend. This upcoming week should be much better with the full moon soon to be hear. The perch bite is also picking up and going pretty good. Lots of pjumbo perch being caught in and around the rock to sand transition areas in the 24-28 foot depths. Getting them with small panfish leeches as well as minnows. Good luck to everyone and be safe out there if you going trolling at night, double check batteries and make sure all lights work before heading out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

How is it looking on Mille Lacs right now? Anyone?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is a thread in the Ice fishing forum that there is a group stranded on a floating piece of ice that broke loose and they were having trouble with the rescue. Have not heard or seen anything else on it though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The heavy winds have caused some ridges to form and pile up some ice.North side has/had some open water spots.Friday west winds piled up some pressure ridges in front of Agate north up to Castaways.Use extreme caution as always Ice is NEVER "safe"c63

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's a crack out from Myr Mar that's about 40 ft wide....One guy was stuck on the other side today, so the guys from the bar went and got a boat, paddled across the crack, and brought him back. His gear--including his four-wheeler--is still on the other side.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quite a few people fishing in portables on the West side from Vineland bay Northward. A few wheelers and a couple wheel houses out also. Don't know how much ice there was, but it is ugly looking. Didn't see anyone out further than 1/4 to 1/2 a mile.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I owe TravP and Mark Bruzek a big thank you for putting me on some beautiful panfish allot of 10 inch sunfish. Thanks Guys. As far as Mille Lacs goes it is just not worth the risk to head out onto the lake. The bays are all in good shape. Shoreline is is okay for walking out but there is open water spots in several areas of the lake, this causes the ice sheets to move around and cause chaos. Just not worth losing my equipment or my life. Several water rescues had to been done over the last 3-4 days.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Hey guys I have been out on mille lacs allot over the last week or so fishing has been good

I have stuck to the se end of the lake. Ice conditions are decent in this part of lake. I went out by 4 wheeler each time out of hunter winfields in isle bay. The bay has good ice over a foot thick. I ventured out of the bay and crossed the ridge that runs across the lake. Looks like it goes from grassy reef west as far as I could see. Ice on the south side of ridge was about 10 inches north side of it had 7-8 in most areas. I made it to near hennipin island. I caught nice limits of 11-12inch perch and a few walleyes in the deeper water areas in 25 -29 feet. Used 1/16 oz Lindy rattling flyers and 1/8 oz frostee jigging spoons. Tipped them with euro larvae. The 4 times i went out the mourning bite was the best

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A couple questions for you. Do you remove the treble hooks and put on single hooks or do you put bait on each of the 3 trebles?

What colors seem to work best on Mille Lacs?

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 :)

    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
    • SkunkedAgain
      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
    • leech~~
      As I get older it's really not just about sending bullets down range.  Some of it's just the workmanship of the gun and the wow factor. The other two guns I have really wanted which I'll never have now because of their price, is a 8mm Jap Nambu and 9mm German Luger.   Just thought they always looked cool!  
    • jim curlee
      I had a guy hit me with a lightly used 1969 BAR, he wanted $1650 with an older Leupold scope. More than I think they are worth, I made an offer, he declined end of story.   You know if you look at the old brochures, a grade II BAR sold for $250 in the late 60s, $1650 would be a good return on your investment.    Why would anybody want a 50 year old gun, they are heavy, have wood stocks, and blued metal.  I guess mainly to keep their gun safes glued to the floor. lol   You can probably buy a stainless rifle that you never have to clean, with a synthetic stock you never have to refinish, is as light as a feather, and for half as much money, perfect.   I'm too old for a youth gun, although I've shrunk enough that it would probably fit. lol   No Ruger 10/44s.   Jim      
×
×
  • 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.