Holloween on Mille

Was an excellent night of trolling on Big Point. The bite took off around 9 pm and didn’t let up. Man, what a night! Never saw a fish under 22″. A dozen or so between 24-27 with one at 28″ All fat and sassy!

The wind really kicked in Thursday afternoon. Watched the lake kick into some unfishable rollers. Kept an eye on the lake till 8 pm and decided it was too rough for this guy, especially since I was fishing alone. Plus the waves crashing into my harbor entrance makeing for a hairy entry/exit. Didn’t want to have me and my boat tossed up on the rocks on my last trip to the lake this year. Got to respect the lake. She can get mad at you and slap you around.

Dinosaur was on the point too. We had it all to ourselves. He is still up and report when he get’s back. He had a better night than I!!

J.

For those of us yet to own a boat(stream waders and shore anglers), if you ever need a very enthusiastic and experienced fishing partner let me know. Heck it would cut your cost in half(if cost is an issue). I just cringe every time I hear someone fsihing alone while I sit and read how well they did! Yes, it’s time to feel sorry for Jim!

Can’t hurt to try eh?

Jim W

Jim, I will do that. My partner pooped out at the last minute. Hard to find someone who will to hit the road on short notice. Next time I’ll try.

Fishing alone at night, under the full moon, on Mille is kinda cool, almost religious experience. Well, I shouldn’t say alone…..your never alone when you have your trusty dog sitting next to ya!! Had plenty of time to reflect on the great year of fishing that was at Mille Lacs this year.

J.

Jon,

Sounds like a great way to spend Halloween you lucky dog.I got to hand out candy like many others did I

am sure.It is good to hear of Big Point putting out numbers of nice fish as it has been real spotty this fall with a few here and there.I can only guess you were coming out of The Wharf when you talk of a tough time getting in and out as I have hit the bottom myself.I have a place at the Wharf we will have to hook up sometime and put faces with names.Brett

Brett,

Yes, I’m at the Wharf. And yes I have dinged a few props comming out of the channel when the lake is rockin’……

My trailer is right behing the bar, on the loop where Meleen’s driveway is. Red Chev, Yarcraft…. Do you know Gordy? I’m right next to him. Heck, it’s possible we have already bumped into each other….

J.

Jon,

We bought our camper in August so didn`t get a lot of time to meet everyone.We are down towards the shower house to the east.We are two places from the real nice camper the guy who worked in the lodge sold this summer.I did ran a 1775 Skeeter with a walk thru shield,Black and gold with LaCannes Marine on the side.I`m sure if we have not yet we will meet next year for sure .Brett

Ok, I know where you are at…. That was Bob’s place. Will miss that old guy. He ran a tight ship. Kept the place quiet after 10pm.

J.

I made it back to the electronic world after a few days off. As Jon wrote , the Halloween / blue moon of the 31st will remain etched in our minds for a long time. We decided to head out off of Big Point in our own boats to cover more ground and try to establish a pattern. I started at 5pm and pulled a few of my favorites of this year , a shad taildancer , a silver husky jerk and a firetiger shad. After 3 hours I had only 1 fish and was getting discouraged. Jon had pulled over for me to take a pic of his 28 1/2″ fat walleye and mentioned a Rogue was working. A bit later I heard another whoop and Jon came over to show me another beautiful plump walleye. I dug into my box and pulled out a Rattlin Rogue in the gold/rainbow pattern. This was the best choice I made all week. In the next 4 1/2 hours I picked up 18 more fish between 24″ and 28 1/2″. In some cases I was able to catch 2 in the same pass. When I quit at 1:30am I am pretty sure that the fish would have bit all night but after 8 1/2 hours I was pleased with my evening. After breakfast on Thursday we saw the lake start rolling with 4′ plus waves and white caps. We had some hope to get out again but as I have learned over the years , you take what you can get. I made a choice to not trailer to the other side and ended my week on a high note. I did forget the camera in the boat which I left at the cabin. I do hope to go up this weekend and try it again.

Great story!!! Way to get on them!!!

Jim W

I just thought of another thing to mention. The water temp on my boat said 41 degrees. It is almost time for the walleyes to move out as the tullibees move in. The warmth we have had the past week may help keep the bite going for another weekend. I plan on another attempt before bringing the boat home for some river action.

We were up on Saturday afternoon/night on the north end fishing the weeds and found it very slow, after a promising start. When you say they’re moving out, how deep are the fish moving and what types of structures are they moving towards? Would appreciate any thoughts that anyone has on this matter….

It was real frustrating catching 6 fish after catching over 50 in the same area a month ago under similar conditions (except the water temp).

Big E,

Here’s my take on your question……

As Dinosaur is pointing out, when the water temp gets into the low 40’s, those tuibees move into the shallow rocks thick… like really thick, can’t event troll because you snag them one after another. Where are the fish??? I think they are moving out a bit deeper into spots where you would ice-fish for them in the day. It is tough fishing from now till ice over on Mille. I think this night bite is or will be over soon. Just my opinion!! If you do get out, I hope all goes well.

J.

We were closing our place up this weekend (Wahkon) & I got too tied up in the garage & almost had the sun down B/4 I could get the boat launched. ( We pulled the dock 3 weeks ago, too much family experiance to risk it past mid Oct.) I hit a couple of spots that had been very good earlier this fall) A 22″ @ sundowwwn & nothing after. I only was out for 1 1/2 hrs & then we went to Mugg’s for a spot of supper. The H2O temp I had was 44 on the main lake. That was warmer than a week ago! The year end work is all done & I may go & use my p.u. camper & plug into a exterior outlet in my own yard. If any one has water temps later in the week please post. Thanks

I subscribe to Bill Lundeens weekly fishing report. Last week he wrote that as the cooler water has the tullibees move into shallow water , it pushes the walleyes off the reefs and into deeper water. He mentioned that it would be good to go to the deeper edges to look for fish. Maybe it would be the same for the weed line fish. On the north end it may mean that checking the deeper edge of the break , 20′ or so , could hold walleyes. It sure would have been a great night to be out. When I walked out this morning I took off the jacket and left it home. Another great November day.