Fishing Reports 2006!

[Sportland_Bait]

The fishing on Gull and Pelican continues to go real good for walleyes. Successful anglers have been catching walleyes in 14-20 feet of water. The key is to get away from the crowds. As we move into the mid-winter bite these walleyes start to feel the angling pressure. The community spots will continue to put out lots of small fish, but the anglers moving out on their own are finding and catching numbers of dandy walleyes. The morning and evening bite has been the best, but some fish are becoming active throughout the night. Small rattling jigging spoons and fathead minnows are catching fish one day the next the fish want golden shiners on a set line, you just have to experiment. North Long is producing a few nice fish each day but it has slowed somewhat. We haven't seen any monster walleyes this week, but quite a few up to 25 inches have been caught and released. The crappie bite has picked up a little over the last week. Reports have been good from the smaller lakes like Nisswa, Clamshell, and Mission. Ice conditions haven't changed much in the last week. Driving trucks out on the bigger lakes still isn't advised. Most guys are still using four wheelers. We are open every day so give us a call or stop by for the latest reports or the area's freshest live bait.

Jason Erlandson

[Sportland_Bait]

The temps sure did dip this morning, she was chilly out there. Should help the ice making a bit. We fished Gull last night and I would call it a successful trip. A handfull of 12-16 inchers and Rene had jingles hooked on a tip-up, but after a minute she broke off. Rene felt bad but I reassured her landing big fish on a tip-up is a little tricky. I hit the mud flats out on Mille Lacs this morning out of the Garrison end. The ice is looking real good out there, including the plowed road out of Garrison Sports. Which is open to trucks now. The fishing was a little slow. Saw a handful of walleyes and perch on the camera and sonar, but only ended up with a couple of perch on the line. With all the traffic out on Mille Lacs over the weekend the fish probably just took a day off. They will probably be on the bite again tomorrow. Tomorrow we'll be back on the water somewhere and we'll keep you posted.

Jason Erlandson

[Hopper]

Early, tell Rene I feel for her. That must have been a heart break. I had jingles on this fall, but she wasn't ready to be landed. I told her I would release her,but she didnt care she just let go. Oh well another day, another big fish missed!

Johnson has been putting in a lot of hours this winter fishing. I have been riding on his back for most of the season.

He is busy planning an Upper Red lake opener trip. We have an 8 man Cabin booked at Westwind. Im kinda nervous about fishing with 5000 people for 2 fish, but it will be fun catching. It could be madness with 4 landings and all those people.

[Sportland_Bait]

That Jingles sure is getting smart.

You should be able to get some fish out on the spots you and T-Bone fish on Gull. There are a bunch of fish out there, and not a whole lot of pressure.

Remember when we hit Red about 5-6 years ago. If we only would have known a little more about how it worked up there we probably would've slayed the monster craps. I think we ended up with a couple of 12 inchers and a few perch. I think I only caught a couple on LOW and nothing on Red. You guys had the magic bait that weekend. Well, hope the bite picks up for your trip. You guys will probably get your fill on walleyes, that's always a bonus. Good Luck on Gull and Red.

Jason Erlandson

[Sportland_Bait]

There has been some decent crappie action lately. So if you want a break from the walleyes try some of these lakes. Ossiwinamakee, Upper Hay, Nisswa, Margaret, Roy Lake, Gladstone, or Wilson Bay on Gull. Crappie minnows or eurolarvae on small glow jigs are catching quite a few fish up to 14 inches. There have been crappies caught in the middle of the day but morning and evening have been the best times.

Jason Erlandson