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Mille Lacs Rookie Report


jerkin'm

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Hit ML yesterday a.m. for the first time ever for walleyes. Ended up with a 26", 22", 2-18", and one 10" fish...Really appreciate all the advice on this forum. All fish were from the South end rocks. Unreal rollers for just a 10mph breeze. Good test for the new boat. Got a few smallies up to 18" too...Walleyes were all caught on leeches, LONG snell and red hooks, red bead combo. Some pretty rude crowding out there, thought I was on tonka for a minute..My favorite was the 20 yard circle, followed by the drop anchor a short cast length downwind...

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Congratulations on the successful trip. I like it on Mille Lacs when you get the guy that can't anchor his boat in the wind and doesnt do anything about it until he's right on top of you. And I mean your in the front of your boat making sure he doesn't bang against you.

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I see something in the line of amazingly rude fishing behavior every year on Mille Lacs. Usually it has something to do with crowding but I saw a new one on Sunday: I saw a "poor man's drift sock" in operation. We were rigging near a boat that was anchored (they happened to be doing pretty well with their bobbers). We were leaving them a wide zone to show good manners. Well, their good bite was too much for this other boat full of three stooges. The stooges pulled in and dropped their anchor within 20 feet of the other boat! It was a smaller anchor that had nearly NO chance of holding the boat. Their boat immediately began to drag the anchor right through the bobber zone of the orignal boat. To their credit, the people in the pre-anchored boat never said a word. Meanwhile, the stooges went about their business, giving up on the bobbers and going back to rigs, with the anchor still out, dragging right through the structure. A perfect "poor man's drift sock". That was enough for us to move to a second spot shortly after seeing this. I'm sure that anchor sounded like fingernails on a blackboard to the walleyes below.

Anyway, it is nice to hear you had a good first outing. My advice (that has served me well) is to fish spots with few other fishermen. Lots of boats usually are a sign of mindless pack fishing and luckily there are enough spots on Mille Lacs to always offer an uncrowded place to fish.

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Yep, that's what we did...went past Sloppy Joe's and there were about 10 boats on it..I hate fishing in a group so we found an isolated bar with nobody on it...Well it lasted for about an hour then the circle/anchor guy...followed by about 5 others shortly after...The bite had stopped by the time they showed so we left...You would think someone with a 21ft Triton and "buyawalleyeboat"(Contact Us Please) com stickers in it would show a little courtesy...Nope....The other boats were top of the line rigs as well...so it's not just the schmucks with old rides that do it...I will say that most of the other boats stayed a reasonable distance away...

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    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   The big basin, otherwise known as Big Traverse Bay, is ice free.  Zippel Bay and Four Mile Bay are ice free as well.  Everything is shaping up nicely for the MN Fishing Opener on May 11th. With the walleye / sauger season currently closed, most anglers are targeting sturgeon and pike.  Some sturgeon anglers are fishing at the mouth of the Rainy River, but most sturgeon are targeted in Four Mile Bay or the Rainy River.  Hence, pike are the targeted species on the south shore and various bays currently.   Pike fishing this time of year is a unique opportunity, as LOW is border water with Canada, the pike season is open year round. The limit is 3 pike per day with one being able to be more than 40 inches. All fish 30 - 40 inches must be released. Back bays hold pike as they go through the various stages of the spawn.  Deadbait under a bobber, spinners, spoons and shallow diving crankbaits are all viable options.   Four Mile Bay, Bostic Bay and Zippel Bay are all small water and boats of various sizes work well. On the Rainy River...  Great news this week as we learned sturgeon will not be placed on the endangered species list by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.     The organization had to make a decision by June 30 and listing sturgeon could have ended sturgeon fishing.  Thankfully, after looking at the many success stories across the nation, including LOW and the Rainy River, sturgeon fishing and successful sturgeon management continues.   A good week sturgeon fishing on the Rainy River.  Speaking to some sturgeon aficionados, fishing will actually get even better as water temps rise.     Four Mile Bay at the mouth of the Rainy River near the Wheeler's Point Boat Ramp is still producing good numbers of fish, as are various holes along the 42 miles of navigable Rainy River from the mouth to Birchdale.   The sturgeon season continues through May 15th and resumes again July 1st.   Oct 1 - April 23, Catch and Release April 24 - May 7, Harvest Season May 8 - May 15, Catch and Release May 16 - June 30, Sturgeon Fishing Closed July 1 - Sep 30, Harvest Season If you fish during the sturgeon harvest season and you want to keep a sturgeon, you must purchase a sturgeon tag for $5 prior to fishing.    One sturgeon per calendar year (45 - 50" inclusive, or over 75"). Most sturgeon anglers are either a glob of crawlers or a combo of crawlers and frozen emerald shiners on a sturgeon rig, which is an 18" leader with a 4/0 circle hook combined with a no roll sinker.  Local bait shops have all of the gear and bait. Up at the NW Angle...  A few spots with rotten ice, but as a rule, most of the Angle is showing off open water.  In these parts, most are looking ahead to the MN Fishing Opener.  Based on late ice fishing success, it should be a good one.  
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