Mille Lacs Lake Fishing Reports by Brad Hawthorne

[Corey20]

Nice report Brad. Jointed was our best bait this past weekend. Blue/chrome, crawdad, perch, silver shad and firetiger for colors. See you up at LOTW!

[311Hemi]

Blue chrome #7 shad was hot this weekend for us in 28-31' in the NE basin. Also caught a few on blue chrome deep husky jerk. Most came from right near the bottom. Boated 10 eye's Sunday over 6 hours (late morning and then a couple hours in the evening)....most came on these colors.

[BradHawthorne]

Pre-Labor day weekend report. Leadcore and bobber rods bring both.

Leadcore is peeking, through out the season we have seen a nice progression. We are catching fish from 20ft all the way out to 33ft trolling, 1.8-2.4 MPH #7-#8's old school natural minnow, fire-tiger , purple and blue/ white are all getting the job done, but dont forget the same color in jointed #7 some day you will see a definite preference for the rattling jointed lures. Again work the tops of the reefs and flats in the Am and work out toward the edges as the day move on or the bite slows for you.

For the bobber fisherman, for some reason, we are not hearing about it but the evening bobber bite is really good, small 16th oz glow jigs in blue glow and green glow with large leeches are taking fish and some nice slots! close in flats like Shermans's and East flat are putting out fish after dark. As for the rocks Big point, 3 mile and Indian point are all kicking out fish as well. Have fun this weekend and be safe! We will see you all at the HSO fall Trolling GTG (FREE Gear).

http://www.hotspotoutdoors.com/forum/ubb...lling_Mi#UNREAD

[BradHawthorne]

Well fall is moving in like a freight train, water temps are now in the low 60's and it looks like N-NW winds for the next week....Fall is here with a bang. As for the fishing we are seeing the jig and minnow bite pick up both deep and shallow, with still bobbers and "power jigging" the trolling bite is still there but right now on any given day you can get them all on cranks or all on jigs.

Night trolling has been the best, the Mille Lacs Staple #5 shad rap in fire tiger, natural perch and purple are all great colors now. I'm finding better numbers on the rocks so far at night, usually the weeds and north end heat up first but we still have a few months of open water yet. Don't forget the chubs or shiners if you come to mille lacs you just might need them durring the day, at night pull cranks and bang!

For those that havent heard the HSO Fall Trolling GTG is at McQuoid's Inn on September 29th in the event center, this event is totally FREE! unless you want the buffet ($9.95)

Free prizes, and seminars..for free not much more to add lol Give me a ring if you have any questions 651-271-8600 thanks guys and good luck fishing

[BradHawthorne]

New Fall Video Report

[Walleyehooker]

Just a FYI If you plan on anchoring up and bobbering in some of the popular trolling lanes maybe have a small flashlight or something to get a trollers attention when they come by or close. I saw a lot of people bobbering this weekend and I came close to a few before I realized they were anchored up and saw the bobber lights. Its tough to tell if a boat is anchored up untill you get close while keeping an eye on everything else. Actually there are much better spots to anchor up a little deeper off of the trolling lanes that produce more fish and less traffic.

[ryanmitchell]

Hey Brad

In your experience what will this sever cold front coming thru in the next couple days do to fishing? On Mille Lacs and the other smaller lakes around the Brainerd area. Coming up for a few days of fishing this weekend in that area, and might make a day trip to Mille.

Want to set my expectations accordingly. Thanks

[BradHawthorne]

Using the proper lights is key to letting others know what you are doing, If your motorboat is anchored you need to display only the 360-degree light.

Fishing should remain good, cold fronts may slow the bite down a bit if they are major ones.

[BradHawthorne]

Water temps hit 47 on my graph today, jig and minnow..to be exact 1/4oz vegas jig and a bag of bows caught all the fish..its that time of year, guide trips have thinned out so it's just me and what ever lucky neighbor I can coax to go out with me in the wind and cold lol . Fish can still be had if you can take the lake cold, You can jig fish up from 18-8ft pretty much all day long.. if you can mark them they will hit a jig. As for night trolling, stick baits are working best now #10 & #12 Husky Jerks SLOW 1.6-1.4 mph on the rocks and weed bays are taking fish.. mostly over fish though, slot #'s are better durring the day. As we get into ice season I'll keep you all up to date on ice conditions as they form, from 100ft of crust to walkable ice on the SE side..I'm going to keep the boat out for another 4-6 weeks so stay tuned for a few more open water reports...if you come up bring a hat..and maybe some gloves;)

[Walleyehooker]

Did you get those plaques sent out yet?

[Johnson07]

brad thanks for the report! i have a question for ya. i have a cabin rented at fishers for the 26th of oct. I'm coming up to pitch jigs mainly and don't plan on that much night trolling.should i move my trip up a week or two due to the crazy low water temps this fast, or will the jig bite get better and better till ice up? what would you all do if it was your last open water trip this year?

[BradHawthorne]

I would plan on jigging and rigging with rainbows, in 6-18ft in the Fishers and SE side rock areas, if you find them they will bite. Weather is the weather this time of year, it's hard to predict, in two weeks we could see 60 degree air temps and flat calm or 35 air temps with 30mph winds and who knows, thats what makes late season fishing trips fun.

[BradHawthorne]

Water temps crept back up to 49.5 today, we didn't have to look deeper than 16ft..the pattern today was looking around 8-12ft rock structure at 3-5MPH, mark fish, neutral up, throw jig/minnow or 2-3inch swim bait at them and work it back to the boat, some bit some didn't.

Smallmouth and walleye mixed, minnow choice didn't mater, both shiners and bow's worked. 1/4-3/8oz jig. Only saw two other boats out today.

The night trolling is still good!, some nights 2-6 and others you are amazed at all the big fish, the slot ratio is still better durring the day.

I don't know why but the math dosen't lie, my numbers for slot fish are next to nothing at night all big fish usually 20+ or 23+ and durring the day you can find a pods of all 13-20 inchers with a few perch and some times a bonus pike mixed in...go figure. Winds forecasted for the weekend are under 10mph..just say'n Good luck fishing guys and be safe!

[FLAG!!]

Thanks for the great reports. Keeps us city boys fired up and motivated for some cold nights on the water in the next few weeks.

[BradHawthorne]

The bite is still pretty good for those who venture out, water temps is 46-47 fish are hitting both shad and skick baits, switch up often, or have a good mix out all the time and key in on hot bait windows. 1.4-1.8 mph, over weed tops troll even slower 1.4-1.0...yes, they will hit a crank at 1.0. Fish are fattening up right now, find the bait and the fish are not far behind. For the most part to can have the areas to yourself as most people have put the boats away for the season, time to cash in on the good bite guys!

...might be the last one before the ice comes , good luck!

[MrBig]

Encouraging report Brad! PM sent if you have a chance.

[BradHawthorne]

Well, we had some ice floating around on the main lake today. Isle bay had a nice crust of ice on it, in a few day I think we wil start to see some daring anglers venture out for panfish.

We are still aways from the main lake totally capping off, but everything is inline for a great ice season, we might even get an earlier start than last year. One thing is for sure, the big walleyes will be on the chow, jumbo perch will snapping.

Above picture: Floated by about 10 AM today, the chunk is about 1.5 miles long by about 1/4 mile wide...we will be fishing..soon, very soon! Stay tuned for more Mille Lacs Ice conditions and Fishing reports.

[Stick in Mud]

Looking good, Brad. Let's hope that there's not a repeat of last year...well, let's hope the ice is better and the bite is just as good.

[BradHawthorne]

I have a great feeling about this season Carmike, The lake temps are fall nicely and we have chunk ice floating around, no heat waves in the near future..and you know those hungry fall walleyes we left are just waiting to be spoon fed.

Give me a ring, we never got out on the boat this fall, so I'll get you out on a trip with the tracked vehicle once we get enough ice.

[Moose-Hunter]

Yuck! That nasty hard stuff is really coming? Where's global warming when ya need it!! Unless someone can change my mind, and prove to me ice fishing can be as fun as REAL open water fishing... This is my story and I'm stickin' to it!

PS... Can anyone out there weld stainless plate? I figure about 1/2" thick for my ice breaker and I'll be good for a little while.

[mww24]

Moose my shop will weld it for you. Wait till you see the cost of half inch stainless plate though.

[Moose-Hunter]

Moose my shop will weld it for you. Wait till you see the cost of half inch stainless plate though.

I have!!! Not cheap at all!! Nothing good ever is....

As soon as my 2nd mortgage comes through and I can afford the plate, I'll be in touch! Now to calculate if my boat will still float with the "plow" attached. My guess is it's weigh a little more than a Terrova, eh?

[aanderud]

[Moose-Hunter]

That'll work!!! But what kind of a hitch do I need on my chevy?

[Stick in Mud]

I dunno, Moose. I'd be more worried about bottoming that thing out in the harbor!

[RiverDewey]

Are there any harbors that are actually still open or is everyone iced in already?!

[Moose-Hunter]

Are there any harbors that are actually still open or is everyone iced in already?!

Terry's.... MAYBE. And possibly Pike Point access. For me and my 2 hour drive, without positive confirmation, I'm done.

[MnCatGuy]

Someone launched today out of the public access just north of Twin Pines. Saw him out there on my way through at 4:30 this afternoon. I didn't stop to check ramp conditions, sorry.

[BradHawthorne]

Its touch and go at this point, I'd call the resort you plan on going out of before you come up, most of the south and south east resorts are iced in alreadynot sure about the north or west side resorts and the wind has the slush moving north at the moment.. personally, I'd put a fork in the open water season guys, with the way the weather is you could launch and not be able to get back in if the ice or slush moves in on you.

[RiverDewey]

Good point about the ice moving in on you Brad. I did call Phils Myr Mar and they said they were frozen in. I also checked some of the several good web cams now on the lake and it looked like many areas around the lake have ice. Why don't we use hovercraft around here like they do in Florida? We could use them year 'round! I guess I will grudgingly put the boat away for the winter. grumble grumble...