good opening day location

[jayson]

Thanks,

I am trying to decide if I should go north toward wealthwood or south toward fishers from the malmo access. Ole you think south??

Thanks

[Ole1855]

I've fished both, I didn't fish the north end last year only the south, but 2 years ago I spent alot of time on the north end, and I always fished from the malmo public access towards Fishers. If I remember right the bottom in that area when you are drifting either from Fishers west or west towards Fishers goes up and down like a roller coaster, not that the depth changes that much but there seemed to be fish on the leading and trailing edges of any depth change.

Ole

[jayson]

Ok; thank for the input I appreciate it.
I was not too sure where to try. In the Malmo area. Sounds like toward fishers is best? if anybody else has any thoughts I would appreciate it.

Thanks

[fishin789]

i've fished mille lacs on the opener for some years now.usually always put in a fishers. and fish the sand north and south of fishers.if you get on the water before light try trolling shallow 7-9 ft south of fishers with a shallow shad rap shad colored. i think it is a sd7 samll lip. we did that and i caught 5 eyes in a half hour. the only year we didn't put in at fishers was due to way high winds. no one was launching on the east side. we put in on the north west side. and fished the north end. caught eyes there too.
funny note: i like how people call the lake the dead sea. i've never been skunked on the lake.

[rmh2o]

Ive been fishing ML for about 25 years and for the first month of the season you usually dont have to go far from the landing to catch fish.There are exceptions but most of the fishing is going to be in 20 feet or less of water.A good map is valuable walleye wiffer is good lakemaster is better.Also a good locator and knowing how to run it in manual mode not auto is helpful.As far as tackle lindy rig or bottom bouncer with 6-10 foot leader plain or colored hook red being my favorite with a leech or slip bobber with same hook and bait.I like to troll or drift during the day but slip bobbering on the rocks can also be good especially in the evenings.You might also want a back up plan as the lake can get rough and you might not be able to get out where you want to.Sometimes the second weekend can be better than the first depending weather and water temp.Good luck

[Navigator]

Jayson...lot's of good ideas for you to try have been listed! Hopefully you will put something together and score on fish this year. If you notice, from all of the post's, there is a trend in that early in the year the fish are shallow (and I will add scattered). With this in mind, make sure you move to different spots often or once you are convinced there are no active biters. That North shore has alot of water to cover and sitting on a spot is not an approach that I use. And short of hiring a guide to show you, the best that any of us can do is give you advice on what has worked for us. Hope this helps and have a fun season. It's almost here! Nav

------------------
Jon Navratil
Navigator Guide Service
www.naviguides.com
Central MN rivers & lakes

[This message has been edited by Navigator (edited 04-08-2004).]

[jayson]

This is all great advice, I do have several maps and a couple gps units I use. I've been on the lake and fish a lot but have just had really poor luck the past couple years out their. I look forward to trying some of these new ideas and hope I can change my luck.

Thanks for all the feedback to everyone Ill keep checking to see if anyone has other suggestions/comments...

jayson

[Guest]

I have been reading this post and since I do not know, what does the 8-12 foot snells do that the shorter ones don't?? I hear about people using the longer snells alot up there but have never been explained as to why. thank you for any info.

[irishjigs]

Having a longer snell, especially on Mille Lacs gives me a longer distance between the sinker and bait. I have found in my limited fishing on Mille Lacs(5-10 times per year) that walleyes that are in a neutral to negative feeding mood are turned off by the sinker being closer to the bait. However, there are sinkers out there now that have fish attracting colors on them such as glow colors. I would be interested to find out if this helps to improve strikes on shorter snells. Any input on that is greatly appreciated.

[A1bert]

Slip bobber and leech, Isle Bay, 12 midnight, can hardly wait!

[jayson]

Anybody have much luck using shiners in the spring with a lindy type rig? I have usually used leeches but I read shiners often do well any thoughts?

Thanks,

[Tour. Pro 175]

Jayson,

The last 2 years we did use shinners and they out produced the standard leech that we've become so dependant on. Water temp. kinda dictates what bait I use. Leeches tend to ball up and not swim to well in colder water temps. It pays to have a good selection of bait on the opener. Rainbows have also worked for us in the past. It's looking as though we may have an early ice out this year. If that does happen the leech will be hard to beat.

[This message has been edited by Tour. Pro 175 (edited 04-15-2004).]

[jayson]

Why is it more dificult to launch on Malmo? Rocky?

[Benfishin]

Shallow..............sand!!! We need some rain or that landing won't be near as busy as it normally is on the opener!!

[jayson]

Thanks for the feedback.

[whiskie]

It may be difficult to launch out of malmo if we don't get some rain soon. The lakes lower than last fall.

[jayson]

If the malmo access is bad this opener, any other suggestions on the north or east side?

[jigemup]

try the acces at fishers protected harbor nice peole and a great place to run in for a good burger

[SuddenlySummer]

Get a leech tamer and put your leaches in your livewell. They'll aclimate to the water temp an be as lively as a stuck nightcrawler. No balling up.

[Guest]

If you are fishing the north end, strap plenty of boat bumpers to the sides of your boat. The traffic gets pretty heavy up there. Absolutely NO MARKER BOUYS! Unless you are marking a spot with no fish. Then sit back and have a good chuckle. You can get plenty of action away from most boats in gravely areas. Wind or no wind you can find fish in shallow areas. 6-15 ft. Good luck all! 6 more days!! ;D

[jayson]

Well its almost here any last minute suggestion for me to try? My plan is to go out of fishers or malmo(what would have less traffic??) and head along shore (depending on the wind) 7-15'deep drifting with 6-10' snells/live baitrigs (leeches?) trying to stay along the break lines. I purchased a mmc card for my gps hope this helps me stay on course better. I am sure there will be a lot of traffic to manuaver around as well. Thanks for all the tips this off season Good Luck to you all...

[jayson]

Thanks troy...

[This message has been edited by jayson (edited 05-09-2004).]