Any Suggestions for Fishing in Mille Lacs this weekend?

[TSCTSC]

Coming up to Mille Lacs just for the weekend. Please, can someone give us some advice on where and how to fish this lake? Thanks!!

Hope to get some good fishing in...perhaps walleyes or bass or pike/muskie. Thanks!

[Nova]

Best bet right now is still bobber fishing with a leech. At night they come up shallow on the rocks and during the day they are in the gravel and deep rocks. Any place you see fish on the graph drop a bobber and a leech. You get a lot of small ones, but there are some keepers out there. North end has been good lately and the east side rock piles and south side gravel are always good. Sloppy Joes should be going quite soon if not already. Easy to fish and a large area. Good luck.

[TSCTSC]

Thanks for your response! So does this mean that I should fish in the evenings or early mornings with a bobber and not bother trying to catch the fish in the deep during the day with a weight or a jig?

BTW, Who or where is Sloppy Joe? Thanks!

[bobO]

I would try lindy riging, drift if there is enough wind on the lake. usually is . if no wind troll with trolling motor with lindy rig. this will help to find the fish. once you catch one you could try slip bob'n it in that same spot. Jigs can catch fish but, this is not really a jig fishing type of lake. but you never know what they are going to bit on. If your not catching in one spot move,the there are fish all over the lake.

[TSCTSC]

Well...then...which part of the lake would be a good and cheap place (50-60 USD/night) to stay for the weekend for quick and good access to fishing spots? West shore? East shore? Thanks

[Ole #1]

FYI- the bugs are very thick on Indian point at night. I was out last night and they made it almost un-fishable. We picked up 5 before 9:00 and then they just shut off.

Ole

[SCONASOTAN]

what length are people useing and are floating jig heads being used to get off bottom?? coming up for the weekend and will be fishing sloppy's and gravel and bobberin' rocks in evening.

thanks

[bigeyes]

Yeah swing by cub and get some fish on the way out of town. Fishing last night was pretty tough! The bite has really slowed down in the last week. Still a small(much slower) flurry of action at sundown with a bobber. Still amazed every weeknight there has been 300-500 boats on the water at 9:00 p.m.

[fishermann222]

I was up there on wed. of this week and really got into the fish on the north end shoreline sand break. brought home a limit of 15-17 inch fish. caught close to 30 fish from 7am-2pm. Dragging a leach was the way to go. Fish were suspended about 3 feet off the bottom. Good luck

[TSCTSC]

Where should I go to get bait there? Also, is the method of fishing using a slip lead weight with a 4 foot long leader leading to a free hook with a leach>? Thanks

[fishermann222]

yes, slip lead weight, (dragging) with a plain hook and a leach. I was using about an 8 foot snell as the fish were suspended a few feet off the bottom. I usually get bait at a little bait store on the way up 169. leaches are cheap this year I think everywhere. Good luck, let us know how you do, I am heading back up monday tuesday.

[TSCTSC]

Any suggestions where to launch from to be close to good fishing sites?

What are the better times to fish? Should I try to be at the lake by 0600hrs and fish till 1000hrs, take a break and resume fishing from 1600 to 2100hrs? Thanks

[TSCTSC]

What bugs? Are you talking about the National Bird?

[ducktrapper]

I'd have to agree the evening bite was slower on Thursday night. But with that nice west wind, they were biting on the east side rocks during the day! We launched out of East Side Marina at 3:00 and by 3:05 bobbers were dropping on Lakeside Reef. First fish was 22". By 6:00 we had a 14", 15" and 19", plus a dozen footlongs we released. Lost an 18" right at the boat. Could have gone home after that. From 6-9:30 we caught a couple footlongs.

It was fun seeing all the boats come out at 7:30. I have not seen it that crowded on Lakeside since the 1980s! (That used to be one of the "must fish" reefs back in the day; its not hit as hard these days.) Even the Hunter's Point Launch was in there about 10 feet of water right off the main buoy. There were fish being caught, but everything I saw was small and it was not the non-stop action we have been spoiled on the last couple weeks.

I thought maybe the evening bite was off on Thursday because the wind kicked the bite up during the day. Judging from the other reports on here, it was off in other places too.

I imagine the lake will be a zoo this weekend. . .