Another Mille Lacs first timer help

Making a short notice spur of the moment 6hr trip up to Mille Lacs. Leaving Thursday till Sunday. Never been there before. Been reading these reports/suggestions and come to realize that there is lots of knowledge and people willing to share some info. Thats great and thought I would ask. Basically looking for some help/ideas. My girlfriend and I are going to her cousins,boyfriends sleeper shack that he inherited from his grandma. (thats a mouthful…LOL) Sounds like it’s his first year on the lake and he won’t be joining us until at least Saturday. I think he said its out of Castaways?? resort on the NE side. Anyway, enough life history. I’m a southern WI panfish river guy with most of the ice fishing toys I should need except location, lures and tactics of the lake. Any suggestions/tips in that area would be greatly appreciated. PM would be great too. Thanks!

If you are looking at Castaways give them a call to find out if they are plowing roads out to the flats yet. If not Hunters point or Liberty Beach is and they are just south a few miles. Use the sleeper as just that with rattle reels at night and play a mobile game.

We have had some bad ice here this year and if you do venture out in a vehicle make sure it is where the big plow trucks have gone to. Normally we are on the flats with trucks just after christmas but in just the last week or so have trucks started to go that far out.

Anyway I would look to fish portable on points or search break lines of the mud flats for fish. Did so last Sunday, got 2 keeper eyes, 6 jumbos and limit plus throwbacks of tulibee.

The fish are there but safety is first, especially this year and for someone unfamiliar with this years ice.
I strongly reccomend a GPS and chip of Mille Lacs for this type of fishing. Mud flat edges will most likely be your best option.
Good Luck and be safe. -Mark

Get a couple of jiggin spoons when you get bored, but drop the rattle wheels with some fatheads and enjoy the 2 days of solitude with your GF!!!!!! What a treat and a retreat to be tucked away with the woman with no interruptions!!!!! Get some board games or card games, crank up the I-Pod, and kick back and have fun!
Enjoy the lake and the lodges/resorts! Lots of fun food and adult beverages to be found on the east side, from Hunters awesome breakfast to Fisherman’s Wharf incredible dinners!

Bring some waxies too, because if the perch bite is slow, waxies can out-do a minnow head!

I just fished Mille Lacs for the first time this weekend with my uncle out from Red Door Resort. I would agree with the comment about a GPS, Its such a huge lake once you get out a bit from shore its impossible to know where you are.
Got two keeper walleyes and two keeper perch sunday night, and seven perch and one tulibee today.
I fished a 1/8oz. slender spoon with minnow head mostly. If you are planning on fishing from a portable move around alot until you find fish. Guys who just sit in their permanent shacks may say the fish are not biting supposedly, but you can move around and find them somewhere.

Thanks Mark. I have a gps, chip etc. Its a older chip but will work. Looking at it this morning could someone clarify the “mud flats” a little? See several xyz named flats on the chip map, are these what your talking about or are the mud flats something totally different?

Gary, Your ideas and hers sound similar…. I’m thinking of fishing hard though to test her patience and find out if she is a “keeper”. Thanks for the suggestions

those are the mud flats people talk about fish edge during day move on top for evening bite is the general rule of thumb

Quote:

---

Thanks Mark. I have a gps, chip etc. Its a older chip but will work. Looking at it this morning could someone clarify the “mud flats” a little? See several xyz named flats on the chip map, are these what your talking about or are the mud flats something totally different?

---

The mud flats are all in the NW quadrant of the lake. There are roughly 30 different flats. Some are a long as 2 miles and half a mile wide while others are about the size of a football field.

resort, bombeck, deans, wheimer, east, backer, schultz, agate needle, 8mi, 9mi, 7mi, shermans, 3mi, centerbar, boot, gregs, phills, matton, shark tooth, seguchie. Those are about half of the flats or so, perhaps they are named on your chip.

I have heard the Blue Jug is hot have fun !!!

We fish out of Castaways and although fishing wasn’t great last weekend due mostly to tough weather conditions we picked up a dozen eyes and some nice perch on Saturday. Currently they have roads out to the 3 mile breakline and running North to the Carlsona sand.

If you want to get out of the house and do some ice trolling the entire 3 mile breakline out of Malmo can be excellent this time of year for both perch and eyes even during daylight hours in depths ranging from 25-30′. Finding fish depends on finding where there are bugs hatching so your best bet is to drill lots of holes and try to get away from the crowds. There is a cone marking the end of Castaways road and it heads North (right) from the cone… I don’t recomend driving a full size vehicle more than 100 yds South of this location or further out past the break as area is all new ice but stay to the north from the cone.

There are also two rock piles 1 1/4 and 1 1/2 miles out which can be great for eyes in the mornings and evenings.

If you want to give the flats a try Agate Bay and Hunters are just a few miles South and they both should have roads to The Boot and Blue Jug. Also, if you have access to an ATV you would be able to access any of the flats but as Mark has said I don’t reccomend doing much off-road travel with a vehicle yet.

MM

A many THANKS to everyone. Its all starting to make a little sense now.. If anyone would like a “shadow” for Thursday afternoon or Friday I could easily be talked into being one with a PM…. and my favorite GF is fun too… Much Appreciated!!