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Posted

I need some good news. Coming up to leech in two weeks and want to catch a few fish. At least the rock bass will bite i hope!<P>------------------<BR>

Posted

Well just a bit of bad news first: the walleye fishing on Leech lake has been as tough as I have ever seen it(during mid day) and I have been fishing the lake for over 20 years. But hey,Isn't that what makes walleye fishing exciting ?<P>The good news is, fish are being caught. Evenings have been very good near Sand point, Cedar point and the saucer area. But its not the only option. Deep is the mid day option. on Leech deep means 25 to 40 or so feet. Bottom bouncers with spinner-crawler rigs are catghing fish along with live bait rigs and crawlers. The most productive deep areas are located in the center of the big lake near rock reefs and near the deepest holes on the big lake.<P>There are also walleyes in the cabage, slip bobber rigs are most efective in the thick vegetation. This bite can produce any time of the day.<P>The other mid-day option is long line trolling. Shad raps & Hot-n-tots trolled in 10 to 14 ft of water are also producing. 100 to 150 ft of line is nessesary or the use of planner boards. Try the east and west sides of Otter tail point.Pulling spinner rigs in these areas has also put fish in the boat.<P>Didn't mean to rattle on and on but for a Leech lake forum there is alot of winnie info here. So I felt it was time for some Leech lake support.Need more info just ask.<P>Gofishleech<BR>Tom Wilson

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators
Posted

By the way Gang,<BR>Tom Wilson is a highly respected Guide on Leech Lake.<P>I regard his information as very accurate. Nice to see you here Tom!!!!

Posted

If you want action and have your boat on a trailer, head over to Winnie. All we do is catch out limits and catch plenty of through back fish. This can be don rright through the middle of the day. The past 8 weeks my clients and I have done this. Some days we needed all day and a couple of days we only needed an hour. Fish run from 14 to 16 3/4 for keepers. <BR>Also, there is plenty of northern action and some muskie to.<BR>Terry<BR>Terry's Guide Service

Posted

I fished Leech on Saturday, and it was tough! Fished muskies most of the day, with no luck. We found a couple of Walleyes later on in the day, but they were small and very finnicky. I will be back in a couple of weeks for some big Northern Pike....<P>Tom Wilson-<P>Thanks for the advice. I visit your website occasionally and I very much respect your opinions. Thanks. I worked a few different spots on Leech for Walleye. We did some deep jigging out near Submarine Island, but had little luck. Do you have any advice for running the deep spinners during the day? Are you going all the way down (25-40 feet) or are you catching suspended fish out over those basins?<P>I really appreciate any info you may have....<p>[This message has been edited by jester (edited 08-06-2001).]

Posted

jester,<BR>When I pull spinners it is always on the bottom. Weather its in 20ft or 40 ft. And I also only do this (spinners) in 20ft or deeper. The reason is I like to be as vertical as I can with this presentation. Any shallower and you need to get the bait away from the boat. All of this said I just don't fish for the suspended fish and if I did I would choose crankbait. (Mainly to have the confidense of knowing how deep my bait is running)<P>At present I have been jigging the humps in Walker bay. The bite is tough there also but manage to put a few eyes in the boat and the last few trips have produced a northern in the 10lb class each time out. The humps are numerous with some large and some small.<P>Fish activity should change soon. I talked with a fellow guide that on Monday (with a good south wind) caught a bunch of fish west of Goose Iland. This is a good sign that we may be breaking out of this dry spell. <P>Good luck<BR>Tom Wilson

Posted

Thanks Tom. <P>Some fish were caught west of Goose Island, huh? Pretty shallow, there- less than 10 feet, if I remember. It IS encouraging to find a shallow Walleye bite. I caught a few walleyes on a little knob on the West end of Mokey reef in about 15-18 feet. That is about as shallow of water as I found Walleyes that day (slight south wind- maybe 5mph, bright sunny day, about 90 degrees)

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • leech~~
    • smurfy
      🤣 did your nose just grow a bit!😏🤭
    • Wanderer
      I hope to be fishing….  It’s so rare that I get to go, I hate passing up the opportunity. 😉   
    • leech~~
      Since the Vikings are never in it. We use it for an excuse to make some fun stuff!  Last year was a bit light. Hot cheese bean dip, hot wings and pepperoni cheese bread! 😋
    • Hookmaster
      That snow and the 15-25 mph winds on Thursday with higher gusts will be nasty drifting. I didn't go to LOW (can I say that in the this thread?🤫) this week because of it.
    • smurfy
      Who's watching the big game Sunday? More importantly what's ya'all cooking!   I like good football si I'm tuning in. Food... yea no clue yet 
    • Wanderer
      Hard to see em well enough to tell.
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the South Shore...  Ice fishing is strong across the south shore of Lake of the Woods out on Big Traverse Bay.  Most anglers are targeting deep mud with others fishing structure if available where they are going out of.  There are fish in both areas.     Some ice roads are now extending more than 16 miles out, with over two feet of ice reported in most areas. Resorts and outfitters continue increasing weight limits. As a rule, fishing continues to be very good with consistent action for anglers.  Most fishing activity is taking place in 26-32 feet of water.  Anglers are finding a healthy mix of walleyes and saugers, with plenty of opportunities to enjoy fresh fish frys and bring fish home.   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.   On the deadstick, a plain hook or a small jig with a live minnow 6 inches to a foot off of the bottom.    You never know when the fish will move through.  Anglers fishing the entire day normally have success.  Electronics are a big help as well. On the Rainy River...  The morning and evening hours are the best for fishing walleyes. A jig and minnow combination has been a good presentation.  A jigging spoon tipped with a minnow head is also producing some fish. Catch-and-release sturgeon fishing is still producing some big fish through the ice.  There are two sturgeon seasons on Lake of the Woods and the Rainy River, a catch and release season and a harvest season in which you can keep one fish per calendar year.    The harvest season runs from April 24th – May 7th and July 1 – Sept. 30. The catch and release season runs May 8th – May 15th and Oct. 1 – April 23rd.    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 remains good at the Northwest Angle.  Resorts continue to move their fish houses staying on fish.  Some fish houses are set up on structure while others are targeting deeper mud flats.    Anglers are catching a nice mix of walleyes, saugers, jumbo perch, pike, and tullibees.  Good numbers of big crappies are still being caught in select areas and hard sided fish houses are available to target them.  Check with a NW Angle resort for info.   Jigging one line, deadsticking the second is effective.  Some days the jigging line is hot, other days the deadstick.  Some good colors have been gold, glow red, glow white, wonder bread, pink, chartreuse and orange. 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.  
    • JerkinLips
      Same story, different day (Monday).  Caught several small walleyes (biggest were 14 and 15 inches) with the best bite from 2-5pm.  Caught my record walleye this winter at 6½ (inches, not pounds).  Was wondering why the bobber kept going down a couple inches for several minutes until I finally reeled it up.  Fortunately it was just hooked in the lips.  Having a lively minnow definitely improved the action.  I put down a pike sucker for the first time this winter and got an immediate hard bite.  When I went to set the hook, the line broke just above the hook.  Don't know if it was a northern bite-off or just weak line by the hook.  May try some pike suckers next trip.   Ice conditions were very good except for heavy drifting (even with very little fresh snow).  Didn't see any vehicles traveling off road except for snowmobiles and a tracked SxS, although there weren't many people out on the lake.  Water came up around my house about 1½ inches but froze very quickly with the cold weather and no snow on top.  Will probably have to block it up again next time up.   Good luck fishing and be careful of severe drifting of snow, especially with the 3-5 inches they are predicting for Wednesday night.  
    • leech~~
      Why, do they all only wear Sitka camo over there? 😏
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