I am taking my two step sons for there first fishing opener, we are heading to Mille lacs, staying up near Myr Mar. If anyone could help with the question wether bobbers or cranks I would very much appreciate it. I sure would like to get these boys some fish and some great memories.
Thank You 
I would pull cranks during the day and slip bobber in the late afternoon on a reef. Good luck and let us know how you do
age of the step sons could/should impact how you fish..if they are old enough/pay enough attention..lindy rig or troll..if they are young go bobbers..either way if your relaxed and having fun they will have fun too.if your stressed out..go to the store and buy some fillets
My sons are 15 and 10. I should have also added the question deep or shallow. I do plan on being on the rocks in the afternoon to evening.
Thanks again to all
Good luck this fishing season
16-20′ deep
I will be spending most of my time this weekend pulling cranks because it gives me a chance to cover plenty of water looking for exactly where the fish are holding with the late Spring. But I’ll also have bobbers on hand and if we find a reef/breakline holding schools of fish that won’t turn for a faster moving presentation we’ll come back and give them a slower presentation with bobbers or rigging.
Hopefully if fishing is as good as I’m expecting you won’t really go wrong with either approach so I’d say give them both a try. Start out earlier in the evening hitting a little deeper water 16-20′ with slip bobbers off the edge of reefs and move up onto the reefs as it gets dark. After the evening flurry is over you could switch over and pull cranks for a while 
What styles and brands of baits will you be pulling Will, colors? Long-line, leadcore, etc? Any advice would be welcome, I’ve got a co-worker or two headed up there for the opener as well!
Joel
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What styles and brands of baits will you be pulling Will, colors? Long-line, leadcore, etc? Any advice would be welcome, I’ve got a co-worker or two headed up there for the opener as well!
Joel
Great questions Joel. In a typical Spring this early in the year we’re 100% long-lining baits in water less than 12′. However this year with the early spring and water temps already close to the mid-fifties I may be doing some experimenting running lead in deeper water.
In the mornings/evenings we have our best luck running original rapalas, #5 shad raps, and bent lip SSR#5 shad raps. The action of the balsa wood bait seems to shine when the fish can get a good look at the bait. Also, because shallow fish will spook away from the boat especially during daylight we try to get baits back as far as possible, typically at about 100-125′ back, but I’ll run them out as far as 150-175′.
Once the sun dips below the trees we primarily switch to plastic stick-baits with a rattle as they really start keying on the sound. We’ll also start running baits closer to the boat, generally 65-75′ back but when we go extremely shallow in 3′ or less I have had days where they’re crushing baits no more than 25′ behind the boat.
For opening weekend trolling my favorite stick baits are Tennessee shad colored Huskey Jerk #10 and a purple/silver or clown Rattlin Rogue and my shad baits of choice are SSR #5 shad raps in blue/silver or black/silver.
Here is a post of mine from last opener where I shared a few pics of the lures we were using
Sounds like you are already heading up onto some rocks at some point in time? So I would assume you are somewhat comfortable with corking it. Running cranks with kids in the boat and the amount of traffic that will be up there could be a real dicey game of trying to avoid the log jam of boats. If it were me I’d stay away from trolling opening weekend. Unless you have a go to area you know isn’t going to be stuffed with people.
If the kids have the aptitude and ability to rig, rigging is always a meat and potatoes staple on the big pond. Biggest hurdle with it is you have to pay attention and you are going to get snagged and have to spend time re-rigging. Not the funniest thing to do with kids who want to catch fish in the boat. An extra pre-rigged, rigging rod or 2 is always a good idea. Keep the leaders on them long, 6-8′ is almost a minimum if you go that route.
I’m a bass guy at heart, so anchoring goes against my grain. But it is a great way to catch walleyes on the big pond. Don’t think it is just an evening, windy or low light technique. We’ve had some of our better days corking’ it in the middle of the day in less than 15′. When a lot of the pressure slips off to that bottom edge of the break line and leaves those shallows, I think the fish that are there, are there to feed and it neutralizes some of the pressure factor, but who knows.
When we bobber fish we wiggle around a lot. If we go over 15-20 minutes without a bite we move. That move, might just be letting out 10′-30′ of rope. It’s not uncommon to re-anchor or slip a bit, multiple times on the “School Bus” rock pile we love to fish. A couple moves or ten, then you hit that sweet spot. And when you hit it you’ll know. If your not on it, your not on it and moving is just a given. Sometimes those fish are all over the rocks and it doesn’t seem to matter where you fish. Other times they seem nowhere to be found. If they are going it doesn’t really seem to matter all that much where you fish or what you fish with, they are just there. But more often than not it’s a bit more complicated than that. We’ve had them up on the sand breaks, be ultra specific to bottom transitions. Some years it’s on the sand side, others it’s on the rock side of a bottom content transition line. One year they are tight to the top edge of the break. The next they are scattered off the bottom edge of the break. Other years they are scattered in the shallows no where near the break line or tight to the bottom edge of the break line. Finding fish in the slot can be interesting as well. It’s fun to catch big ones but again with kids in the boat they are going to want to keep something I’d be willing to bet. If you get on a bunch of fish and can’t get any keepers, you might have to move to find a different size structure of fish to keep. But if the big ones are going I wouldn’t do it. There are plenty of fish in less than 10′ all day long on that lake this time of year. They might just be hugging the bottom and not active.
With 3 of you in the boat and if you go corking’ it, rig all 3 rods different. A small jig, a colored hook with a bead and a colored hook with a bead and a tiny spinner etc. Mix it up as much as you can. Minnows and leeches both work. Sometimes bigger’s better but a lot of the time smaller’s best. That goes for line as well. My brother seriously out fished me using 2 lb. line one year. I don’t think it’s so much that they see line, more over the thinner line gives the bait a more natural action to it. But 2 lb has some serious considerations to it. Neutral buoyancy can also be a big deal if the fish aren’t really going. Make that bobber barely float if need be. Sometimes you have to give them 20-30 seconds before you set the hook after the bobber goes down. Other times you are better setting the hook fairly quickly. Bending the point of the hook to the shaft by 10 degrees can really make a difference in hooking up percentages. Long rods can really help with hook ups too. If you use a sweep cast with long rods you can put a weight up towards the slip bobber so you don’t have to wait for the line to slip through the bobber, it’s already deep and just has to sink. Can help when schools are going through quickly. Gives you the chance to get 2-3 out of a school instead of just 1 or 2. Again an extra rod or two can really help if the fish are going or get going. You can get the extra rod out and fishing, while you re-rig the other rod. It can make a huge difference when a school moves in and if it’s really windy out.
If I’m unfamiliar with an area I usually start off on the top edge of the break and let the fish and the conditions dictate where I go from there. Water clarity, wind, cloud cover, what the weathers been doing all come into play from there. Shallow fishing on the pond is in my vocab around 8′ give or take two or three feet. And the bottom of the break is in that zone of around 15’+ towards the basin area of the lake. It’s all where current water levels are, to the exact depth and the placement of your own transducer. The break lines are pretty easy to see on the depth finder and you just have to move around on both the deep and shallow areas of them. Even the hill leading up to the shallows or down to the bottom edge can hold walleyes. Schools of fish have travel corridors with in certain depths at certain times of the year and if you can find them yatzee, bingo we have a winner. That lake has fish all over the edges right now and to me there would be little advantage to going any deeper than 15′ unless you really like doing things the hard way. The devils in the details on the Big Pond.
Good luck with it and hope you enjoy the boat show, it really is fun and entertaining up there.
Great post, Basseyes! Lot of good info and advise there. Couldn’t agree more.
-J.
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Great post, Basseyes! Lot of good info and advise there. Couldn’t agree more.
-J.
X2 – Great breakdown of all the thought that can go into something as simple as a bobber bite.
I definitly agree about the light line being a huge benefit, but I have seen first hand that in clear water conditions (especially during ice season) that an invisible flourocarbin line such as P-Line can lead to more strikes. However, if you’ve ever tried running straight flouro on a bobber rod you probably realize that it sinks like a rock which can really cause problems getting a clean set on a bobber. To address both of these issues I went back to running 6# mono on all my bobber rods but if the water is clear and the bite is tough I’ll use a small barrel swivel to attach a 2-4′ leader of either 4# or even down to 2# flourocarbin line just before the hook. This also helps by allowing you to pre-rig a few of your favorite combinations of line weight, hooks, jigs, beads to be ready for a quick change and helps to keep the twist out of your main line
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Great post, Basseyes! Lot of good info and advise there. Couldn’t agree more.
-J.
X3 pretty much described my opener plans 
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I definitly agree about the light line being a huge benefit, but I have seen first hand that in clear water conditions (especially during ice season) that an invisible flourocarbin line such as P-Line can lead to more strikes. However, if you’ve ever tried running straight flouro on a bobber rod you probably realize that it sinks like a rock which can really cause problems getting a clean set on a bobber. To address both of these issues I went back to running 6# mono on all my bobber rods but if the water is clear and the bite is tough I’ll use a small barrel swivel to attach a 2-4′ leader of either 4# or even down to 2# flourocarbin line just before the hook. This also helps by allowing you to pre-rig a few of your favorite combinations of line weight, hooks, jigs, beads to be ready for a quick change and helps to keep the twist out of your main line
Oh this is such a great tip!
Last year just a simple switch to a 2 lb leader made all the difference in the world. I use to try to run 2 lb on at least one rod. The bobber stopper just ruined the line though. The 2 lb leader idea, with the 6 lb mono, is just such a great option. Bobber stoppers are another interesting issue with line. This year am going to use 2 different lines I’ve never used before bobber fishing and see how they work. Am curious to see how they perform with hook sets and stretch. As well as how they handle different types of bobber stoppers and such. You really have to play around with bobber stoppers. I have yet to find the holy grail of stoppers, yet. Bobbers are a whole other set of details. I can’t stand most plastic lighted bobbers during the day. They are just plain to heavy and give off a bad vibe to the fish. The Thill non lighted balsa floats are bar none the best imo, when you don’t need a light on them. Visibility with high waves comes into play and those bigger bobbers that are light as a feather are a big plus. They give high visibility without all the negative side affects of a good sized bobber.
Rod length is another factor. I felt an 11′ St. Croix that I am going to have to get and give it a try. I am in the 8′-9′ range with bobber rods right now and they seem to work a lot better for hook sets than your standard 6’6″ or 7′ rods. Plus they are better for letting the bobber drift out past the boats transom line. Bobber drift is another dynamic. We get up to the front of the boat, when it’s anchored and cast as far into the wind as we dare. Then we let out line and get to the back of the boat. It allows the bobber to drift through as much water as possible. This really seems to make a huge difference when you are on the front side of a break or the back side of one. Depending on the time of day, angle of the sun and wind direction in regards to the break on a rock pile or even just a shoreline break. It can really show you where the fish are in relationship to it. There are times where one side or corner of the boat is hot and anywhere else is just empty water. If you find a hot corner pile the bobbers in there. Just as soon as someone gets a bite get the other ones out of there. As soon as that fish is in the net get another rod back out and in that spot as quick as possible.
Ya, bobber fishing has almost a hill billy type reputation. But it almost has a fly fishing detail to it once you start playing with the finner points. Maybe we should start calling stuff strike indicators and tippets to make them seem a little more sophisticated, lol.
One thing I tried and really liked are the small glow sticks from rod n bobbs. They work great on the Thill bobbers, Just slip on the rubber holder and put the stick in when you need it. I’ve never had any luck with traditional floats whether its dead batteries or them filling with water
This is some of the best bobber info I’ve read in a long time guys. Thanks a ton! 
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What styles and brands of baits will you be pulling Will, colors? Long-line, leadcore, etc? Any advice would be welcome, I’ve got a co-worker or two headed up there for the opener as well!
Joel
Great questions Joel. In a typical Spring this early in the year we’re 100% long-lining baits in water less than 12′. However this year with the early spring and water temps already close to the mid-fifties I may be doing some experimenting running lead in deeper water.
In the mornings/evenings we have our best luck running original rapalas, #5 shad raps, and bent lip SSR#5 shad raps. The action of the balsa wood bait seems to shine when the fish can get a good look at the bait. Also, because shallow fish will spook away from the boat especially during daylight we try to get baits back as far as possible, typically at about 100-125′ back, but I’ll run them out as far as 150-175′.
Once the sun dips below the trees we primarily switch to plastic stick-baits with a rattle as they really start keying on the sound. We’ll also start running baits closer to the boat, generally 65-75′ back but when we go extremely shallow in 3′ or less I have had days where they’re crushing baits no more than 25′ behind the boat.
For opening weekend trolling my favorite stick baits are Tennessee shad colored Huskey Jerk #10 and a purple/silver or clown Rattlin Rogue and my shad baits of choice are SSR #5 shad raps in blue/silver or black/silver.
Here is a post of mine from last opener where I shared a few pics of the lures we were using
Will, In my opinion you are spot on! The number 5 & 7 SR’s are deadly pulled at the lengths mentioned. Also a up and coming go to bait is the #5 Salmo Hornet. Great action! A go to color early in the year is firetiger for both day and night fishing. You can spend a lot of money on cranks, but always have a firetiger near by. Also, have corking rods handy. While trolling, mark some likely looking rock piles and mark them on your GPS. Go back to them later and visit them with leeches & minnows. Two things will happen…You will catch fish! And you will have a lot of waypoints to check for years to come! (And then you can PM them to me so I can check them! 
)
Good luck! 
Basseyes Tahnk You for sharing such a plethera of info. I have corked alot of Mille lacs, just never with kids and usually by myself. With the way this spring has been and the fact I am going to be on a pontoon had me a bit stumped on what to do. I have a few tricks up my sleeve and I can add a few more thanks to you. I hope to do a bit of trolling just to show my sons that type of fishing. I will post pics when I get back. I know my boys will have there personal bests on this trip.
I want to thank everbody again for your help, I promise i will update with pics. I am very excited to get these boys on some fish.
I wish everbody all the best.
paul
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Great post, Basseyes! Lot of good info and advise there. Couldn’t agree more.
-J.
One of the things I found with the mono and floro sinking was trying some power pro 10/2 cause the braid floats, then adding a floro leader of your choice and since I have spent some time fishing saltwater, I added circle hooks to the game.
The circle hook idea came with the sinking mono while we drift bobbers on weedlines over here. The fact that I was just letting the bobber drift perpendicular to the boat would create bows in the line ‘tween the rod tip and bobber. Feeling that I was losing bites and because you have JUST reel c. hooks to set them seemed to be a natural fit. So bobber goes down, just start cranking until you feel weight and you generally have corner of the mouth hooked ‘eye.
Mark
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