Anybody have any fishing reports, fish stories, etc. they want to share? Im chompin at the bit to get out, but stuck here at home till after Christmas doing the holiday thing. 
Hopefully somebody is getting out 
This is a curiously quiet forum this early ice season…The only people trying to drum up reports are the resorts for obvious reasons. I just don’t think there is much interest up there. Maybe people are fishing lakes near their homes??? I may be reading things wrong but this is how I see it…RR
Mille Lacs is a darn big lake to tackle on foot and since the ice has been a little dicey for motorized travel prior to LATE last week, you’re not likely to hear much. I think the Red Door was allowing wheeler / sled traffic for a little over a week now and with last weekend’s miserable storm… who’s had a chance to be out?
I think after this coming weekend you’ll start to hear from the guys on the big lake. I know there’s plenty of interest out there. 
If you are watching Hunter’s webcam, you can see the place is hopping!!!!! 
Like I said, it should be a busy weekend on the big lake.
I was up there about a week ago (not fishing) and there werent many people around.Only a few houses out in the bays.Things are just getting going up there and this snow has slowed things down a little.Not much for roads yet and unless you have a sled it is difficult to get out on the lake.Some resorts will be pulling houses this weekend so some reports should be showing up soon.
I was in the area Saturday morning and had breakfast at Hunter’s Point. Place was busy as they were pulling houses out of summer storage and lots of vehicles parking on the ice in front of their access. As others have said, with the cold temps I would anticipate the season to be in full swing before next weekend.
Good luck and be safe!
ted
Flats fishing report from 12/19.
Left from Hunter’s point in the wee hours of the morning and made the long trek to the flats with a snowmobile & a wheeler. The marked trail to the boot was easy for the wheeler to navigate, and off trail travel was fair. Even with a sled, you have to go slow with all the drifting unless you’re trying to tenderize your bait. Ice thickness was a consistent 15”+ everywhere we drilled.
Fishing was really good. We started fishing before sunrise and immediately started catching walleyes. Basic technique was various jigging spoons with crappie minnow heads. The bite at time appeared similar to last years where the fish would chase the bait, then turn around and go away. The difference was, you could aggressively jig and bring the fish back and get them to bite. It was like they wanted to inspect it the first time, and then come back to hit it. Generally, if you made them chase it up a few feet with a steady bounce to the jig, they would take it.
Did not see any perch or any other signs of life out there. Most of the catching was done in deeper water at the base of the flat, although some came at the top break. This pattern even held pre-dawn & post-dusk. Activity was okay during the mid-day sunny period, but the fish were more neutral about moving on the bait. Hooking naturally slowed, but mid-afternoon into evening was great. The cold temps and wind made hole hopping very difficult. If it was warmer, you could have stayed on the active fish, but we had to keep thawing out the gear.
It was surprising to see so many eater size walleyes. Typically, I like this time and location for the big girls, but this time it was the keeper size fish that wanted to play. It was nice to finally keep a fish for dinner.
Good luck
Im surprised you arent seeing bait out there but I know this years perch minnows were on the small side late in the year and a C O told me they might not be able to survive the cold water.I might have to run up next week and check it out.
Im surprised you arent seeing bait out there but I know this years perch minnows were on the small side late in the year and a C O told me they might not be able to survive the cold water.I might have to run up next week and check it out.
The lake is full of 4-6″ tulibee’s. If you want to catch bigger fish, you better find a pattern for those tulibee, becausee wherever they are, is where you will find the piggies. 
Quote:
Im surprised you arent seeing bait out there but I know this years perch minnows were on the small side late in the year and a C O told me they might not be able to survive the cold water.I might have to run up next week and check it out.
The lake is full of 4-6″ tulibee’s. If you want to catch bigger fish, you better find a pattern for those tulibee, because wherever they are, is where you will find the piggies. 
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