I took the first ride of 2003 on open water today. The rain has finally stopped after 6 straight days….The surface water temperature in Mille Lacs this afternoon was from 40.3-43.2 deg’s…the warmest temp was about a block out of the boat harbor!
“The water is cold” we will need some calm warm days to get the water temp up to 48-52 deg’s. Thats where I would like to see it for the openner. We can only hope I quess! 
Spoke with a fella on the south end today. Says the ice blew into the bay and locked up his harbor.
Bobber or Derek,
What temps “turn on” the spawn on Mille Lacs?? Is it primarily the same as the river or a little warmer??
Thanks
John
Typically they spawn at night when the water temps reach the mid 40’s. They should be spawning now and Bobber saw some fish up very shallow a while back which indicates they may have been spawning for sometime now. We should be in a good post spawn bite come opener. There should be alot of hungry males willing to bite.
This morning with the lake laying down like glass! I saw a walleye just out front of my home surfacing. While I was drinking my cup of coffee I was watching this Eagle flying around and than I saw what he was looking at! These fish were out around 50 feet off shore and in about 6-8 feet water. There was two fish bumping one another!
Last night the DNR boat went by my place at 2:30AM running the shock boat, to tag fish. They shock and dip the fish into their boat, allowing them to do their tagging. After being tagged the walleye are release back into the lake. The DNR boat made 3 passes by out front, Their generator and mega lights got me out of a great nights sleep…….. 
Talk about invading ones privacy, it sucks…….
The natives are busy netting down by Cedar Creek on the eastside of Mille Lacs. This morning there was around a half dozen boats out picking nets around Doe Island.
Geez, they are pounding my spots already 
Last year on opener I pulled fish from 39 degree water in 35 degree air and they were milking like a wisconsin dairy farm day and night. Too bad I didn’t get a picture of one of the guys in the boat who got milked from face to toe by a ripe walleye. He didn’t know it and I didn’t tell him. I just kept laughing. TGIF
Yesterday I finally got the dock in the lake. I also put a themometer off the dock allowing me the ability to check the water temperature. I have it below the surface about 1 foot. in 6 feet of water just off the end of my dock. Today I took the first ready at 46-47 deg’s…..remember this is only 40 feet off shore and Mille Lacs has been calm for three days in a row!
But with this calm weather it is allowing the lake temperature to raise and with it we hope the bite goes also!!!!!
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