Mille Lacs Lake Fishing Reports by Great Day on the Water Guide Service

[Troy Smutka]

1/8/18     Enjoyed the warmer weather finally with a day on Mille Lacs on Sunday. Jigged from a portable in 26 feet and had had tipups out in 27 and 28 feet, fishing a transition from rocks to softer bottom. Lots of walleyes of all sizes and small perch on the camera and flashers. Caught walleyes (16-18 inches) early and late in the day--mid day fish were there but not biting. Fish were finicky and tough to hook--we had more come off under the hole then we got through the hole. Bite has been better during more stable, warm periods, than during the prolonged cold spell. Roads out of the resorts all the way to the mud now. We were on 18 inches of good ice. Check with Lynwood at the Malmo Market for up-to-date fishing tips and the best bait on the lake. Good luck, and I will see you out there somewhere.

[leech~~]

How about Jumbos.  Anyone hitting them?  Would be nice to bring something home with the one eye and add to the fun.

[Troy Smutka]

leech,

     Not a ton of those in the lake right now--a bunch getting there in a year or two. Some are being caught around the NE sand humps. A few really nice ones mixed in with smaller ones. I haven't tried there yet, but report from a very reliable source. Four to ten big ones a day (10-13 inchers) and lots of smaller ones. Very small panfish jigs with waxies or Eurolarvae have been the best as they have been finicky with the cold. Basically use sunfish gear.

[Stick in Mud]

Yep, it would be pretty tough to target perch...Any keepers we've got the last, oh, decade or so have been few and far between.  The last three or four years we didn't even mark the little ones; this year, finally, there are a bunch of 4'' perch almost everywhere we've been.  In the past few years, we only really saw them shallow in the southern bays.  

Hopefully the increased perch population translates into lower rates of small walleye predation.  We'll see. 

[Troy Smutka]

6/2/21     Catching lots of walleyes and bonus smallies on Mille Lacs. On shallow to mid-depth rocks the first few weeks, now deep gravel or mud when it is calm/clear and mid-depth rocks when it is windy and cloudy. Caught several of the elusive slot fish during the open period, kept and ate a few. Catch and release now and remember closed walleye fishing and no live bait July 1-15. Good luck, and I will see you out there somewhere.