Mille Lacs Fri 11/11

Was up on the pond fri night with a friend from my club. I could see the weather was going to turn on Saturday, so started to make plans for Fri night. Had moon. light winds to NO wind. and very little cloud cover. VERY mild night. Saturday would have been miserable with the wind and rain. Did not get up there til about 9pm. put in in Sha-Bong bay, headed up to the point on the north end of bay and got a few nice fish. Headed down to Ind Pt very late. got some nice fish, but not the numbers. Rich and I ended up with 14 Walleyes and 1 Pike for the night. Our five largest fish was a 27 1/2, 26, and 3- 25’s. Rich had the two biggest, so I felt I was doing my part with the guiding duties.
Here are a few pics.
Jack…

Here is another of my 25’s. Sure are full bodied.

Rich has done very well in the past years during the year on Mille Lacs, and I think this was his first time during mid to late Fall. HE IS now a believer in late Fall night fishing.
Jack..

This last picture is Rich with our largest of the night. A 27 1/2″. Was was a fun and comfortable night. Thanks Rich for joining me for the night. He was using a blueish glass HJ no. 12.
Jack..

Those are some very nice fish Jack! My brother and I are heading up for 3 nights of fishing next week so I hope the bite will still be going strong. I was curious what the water temperature was for you guys on Friday night? Also, is the dock still in at the access for Casino Bay?

EyesHaveIt

Eyes,
The water temps were right at 45, and the dock was in at the ramp. The channel is not marked anymore with the red/green buoys. so you need to remember to head straight out from the access and keep your motor tilted up til at least 50 yards out or further. You will do just fine fishing between weather systems. good luck and keep us posted.
Jack..

Way to go Jack,
Sure was a beautiful evening out there. Very nice fish indeed Not sure if I will be out again this year, but for those who are still out . The bite is HOT Just be safe – and use good judgement.

Congrats again

Hey Jack. Nice pictures. You look kind of tired from netting all the fish. Hope your elbows recover soon. Just kidding. Thanks for a great night on the water and making sure all the big eyes were on the left side of the boat.

Rich,
It really does take total knowledge and boat control to make all those fish hit the PORT side rod. Yes the elbows are healing nicely. THE SEASON is not over yet.
will talk soon.
and by the way, CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR FIRST POST, and welcome to IDA, you are going to like it here.

Jack..

Way to go Jack and Rich!. Very nice looking eye’s.

Guess I’ll have to take control of my weekend schedule. The “honey do” list seems never ending. After seeing all the nice pic’s from everyone fishing the full moon bite this fall, one of my early News Years resolutions has to include Mille Lacs Fall Fishing. dave

Thanks Jack! I appreciate the information. Glad to hear the dock is still in for now anyway. It is good to know also about the red & green markers being removed out in front of the access. I have 1 last question. What depth of water did you catch most of your fish from? Thanks again.

EyesHaveIt

Friday night was a great night on the lake for us also. We spent all of our time in front of the landing at pikes point. Spent a fair amount of time trolling the inside of the weed line there and then a little later hitting the weeds in the 10′ range. Ended up packing up the boat around 11. By that time we had caught close to 30 walleyes. For size they went about 50/50 on eater sized fish and larger ones. Was a little disapointed that 26.5 was the biggest walleye we found. Did land a hog of a pike that went 39.5″. Need to find some deslimmer for the boat now.

lazercraw rouges worked well during the cloud cover. Tiger Roam was the ticket when the clouds went away. Even managed a couple of fish at the end on the night on a firetiger husky jerk.

Slow speeds and lots of S turns. Most of our fish with the lures suspending in the water. Would then gun the motor to set the hook. Was really suprised at how active these fish where friday night. I seem to remember the fish this time of year needing a little coaxing on the release. The fish this night would hit the water and take off like rockets.

Hoping friday was not my last trip on mille lacs this fall. The weather is not looking good this week. Might be back to the river for me.

I just got home from another night on the big pond. Not a great night but the fishing was steady. Fished casino bay with one other boat for most of the night. The biggest fish came in at a fat 27 inches and another hand full around the 25 inch mark. We also managed to bring a meal home as well. All and all it was a good trip with good weather. Pulled hj’s in the firetiger in 5-7 ft of water at 1-1.2 mph. Also pulled in a hand full of large northers. I may try to get out again tonight if the snow can hold off.

I just cant quit!

Thanks for the pics Jack!

Eyes,
point on north end of bay, depth 6-9 feet. and Indian pt, about 8 feet. in the weedy bay, you can use floating rapalas and go shallower like 4-6 feet. if you are not getting many bites over the slightly deeper water.
let us know how you do and TAKE the camera.
Jack..

Nice fish Jack! Glad to see the luck is still around! I couldn’t imagine what the lake looks like today with all this wind!!
I am hoping for one more trip, but it doesn’t look promising!
Good talking with you and I’ll keep in touch on the hardwater luck when I get a chance to get out there!
Take care Jack and on a great fall run!
WW

Thanks for the information Jack. I appreciate it. Despite the forecast, my brother and I are still planning on heading up to Mille Lacs to fish Thursday, Friday, & Saturday nights this week. Will post a report when we get back.

EyesHaveIt

I am going to try a Friday Night fishing trip to the big water aswell. I will wait to see what the wind will be before I go though. 20+ MPH really blow, literally.

WW..
thanks for the comments, I only got up there 4 times in a month. but it was fun. I’m hoping year is not quite over on ML. but it is not looking too good for anything mild soon.
Eyes, good luck this week. Be safe and fish smart.
Rich, who you headed up with, your boat??? watch the temps and winds.
thanks guys,
Jack..

Yeah Jack, im headed up tommorrow after work. I just got to try the bite one more time. Winds should be about 10MPH and the temps pretty mild for late November. I roped a guy from work to come with me. Hope I can put him on some fish.