Oh YA We Got’em “Lake Flies”

The Lake flies made their way with the help of a wind change over to the eastside of Mille Lacs. We have them pretty bad……..check out the attached picture. I’m glad to be working AWAY from the lake today.

They get in my throat/eyes/boat every year at this time but it must be especially thick this year. I haven’t fished Mille Lacs yet this year but I drove past on 169 on my way home on Monday. I’ve seen a lot of bugs on and around Mille Lacs over the years but even I was amazed at the size of the clouds of lake flies on the NW and W side. They looked likes clouds from a horror movie. I was up at Woman Lake and they were worse there than I remember too. Just imagine if they bit!

Holy cow man,
We fished the past four days up there, and the inside of my boat looked like a slaughterhouse after is was all said and done. I had these things smeared on every imagineable part inside my boat, as well as my clothes. Every time you sat down you’d smush 10 or 15 flies. Seemed like if we had a breeze we were ok, but when it laid down here they came. Are they particularly bad this year, I don’t remember then being so terrible. Are these things here year round’, or are they only temporary?
SEDNERB

This hatch of lake flies might be the worst that I have ever seen in my 46 years here on Mille Lacs. I can only go out of the house towards the lake where the wind is blowing…..the front of the house and entry area are really bad! When they finally die I’ll need to get the snow blower out and blow the damn things away! I wil attach another picture that I just took out my office window here at home. They are much worse than the picture shows.

just had to take a picture of my garage out by the street. It’s covered!!!!!!

Hitchcock anyone??? Man………didn’t know you were up for a new siding job……………did ya? Fly spackle siding………………..eee Yahhh…………right! Oughta fatten those fish up but that’s going to slow the bite some…………isn’t it?

Seeing these pics Bob…………….reminds me of “Love Bug Season” in Florida. They can be found in clouds too………EVERYWHERE!! They plug radiators, deteriate paint jobs if you don’t wash them off right away, and cover the ground like black snowflakes! I remember all too well having my wipers rendered useless and using a shovel to clear them from the walkways of the store I was working at down there (back in 1987). They have 2 waves of them every year and it’s pretty much a state wide event so many of us can be thankful that this fly hatch is a local concentration. I feel for you though……………been there!

Bobber,
How long before these flies disappear? Are they for some reason attracted to white objects more than dark objects?
SEDNERB

They will die off in a few day’s. And I’m not sure about colors as right now they are everywhere…….the bad thing is when these babies die only more will hatch later. We can have 4-5 hatches of flies each summer.
The lake biologists say that a healthy lake will have more hatches than others. I don’t know if thats all good?

Anyone know what the water temps are on the big lake?

the flies down here on cove bay were bad last night. today they were all up in the trees. you could here them buzzing really loud. fired up the leaf blower this morning and blew then off the house and patio and deck. it wasn’t too bad after around 10:00am there was a few flies at ground level, but you could work outside. water temp’s today around big point were around 56.

I would have to agree that this is the worst midge hatch that I can remember. While I was cutting grass yesterday they came out of the trees in waves. There are billions everywhere. The noise they make is a constant buzz.
Water temps are running from 55 to 58 depending on the wind and wave action.
Dino

Yeah Dino,

Another reason I love being off the lake in the woods!

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This hatch of lake flies might be the worst that I have ever seen in my 46 years here on Mille Lacs.

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Wow Bob- I didn’t even know the lake has been there that long.

Just think, shortly before he was born, three mile rock reef stuck out of the water!

I’m back from a week up at the pond and I agree, WOW what a hatch! Whenever the wind settled down, the lake became unbearable. Was one of those trips where we were hoping for a good wind.

I wonder what the mayfly hatch will be like??

Jon J.