Mille Lacs Fishing Reports

grubson wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>beardly wrote:</div>
Back to Mille Lacs. It is good to hear big fish are out in the basin… but June seems early, maybe that’s why they were suspended?

Or, they’ve always been there. The use of FFS has just now made those fish vulnerable too.

You can see them with 2D just fine.

Why would his buddies be pissed that he said they caught fish in the basin of a gigantic lake?

Don’t see how FFS is ruining any catch photo release tourney. If anything it is showing that fish swim and swim in a lot of different depths and areas.

Either way sounds like the fish are biting can’t wait to get after them.

This….
Why would his buddies be pissed that he said they caught fish in the basin of a gigantic lake?

Don’t see how FFS is ruining any catch photo release tourney. If anything it is showing that fish swim and swim in a lot of different depths and areas.

Either way sounds like the fish are biting can’t wait to get after them.
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Why could they be pissed?? Because 47+/- other boats in the tournament weren’t doing that. You can bet there will be more guys targeting suspended basin fish from now on, regardless of the season.

It’s only ruining tournaments for those of us without FFS.

The old PWT guys must be rolling in their graves seeing whats needed now to catch fish in a tournament.

The old PWT guys used technology to get every advantage that they could too and that’s a well known fact. Some things never change.

You can’t equate the green boxes to FFS no matter how hard you try.

When people aren’t catching fish it’s always because of too many people and technology is ruining the sport. Now the fishing is good and all I hear is there are too many people and technology is ruining the sport. Right….

Fishing technology has and will continue to evolve. Some have more of an impact than others. FFS is great (I use it), but I don’t think it’s had the greatest impact on fishing. IMO that award goes to GPS mapping. We wouldn’t think of fishing Mille Lacs without mapping today.

I fished the Mille Lacs on Monday and did not slay them. Started out on the north shore by Garrison and worked out to the flats in the northwest corner. I caught 3 and missed a 3-4 bites and dropped a couple on the way to the boat. Rigging with a leech had the most action but did not try a crawler on the rig. I tried both crawler and leech on slip bobber, hunting them with LiveScope. Had one bite that dropped it immediately and never go another bite on it. I marked a few fish 10 feet down off the flats. Maybe I’ll have a jig rigged up with something to go after them next time. Tried a new rod and reel I got for rigging. A Sixgill Lykan medium with a Scheels Outfitters One Series reel (Daiwa). Handles the 20″+ better which you get with regularity on Mille Lacs than the medium light I had been using.

Not all of us really care about giving out details on a public forum. The tactic of targeting suspended fish would be next to impossible without FFS straight up. People say that you can go over them with 2D and do the same. The fish on the bottom sure probably get a few. But the fish up high not happening.

I learned a TON about how the walleyes of Mille Lacs react to a boat going over them. Those guys out on the flats I can sit and watch fish meandor away from boats as they get close or go over them. Sure again you might get one that don’t care but more often than not, those fish don’t like it.

How do I feel about FFS in tournaments, I am two sided on this one. I personally hate it, but I love it. The reason I hate it, is because its transformed tournament fishing. It’s all anyone does anymore. It’s not the same as a few years ago where rigging and other tactics were used, and we had to be technical which is what I really liked. At the same time, I love it because it is fun but its also frustrating at the same time. When you see fish and they don’t want to bite I don’t care what you do, sometimes they just will not bite. so, FFS doesn’t really help in that aspect, but it does make me more efficient.

I heard an MLF announcer at a recent MLF bass event talk about it. When certain conditions happen and they can’t use FFS because of certain reasons, you see the newer guy’s struggle because they’re very good at FFS but royally SUCK and there finishes show if they had to go the old school way they struggle.

Back to telling people what we were doing and sharing it on this forum…. Straight up….. We don’t care….at all. A person with FFS can go do it but not all spots hold those calibers of fish. You still need to find them.

We can’t keep fish and we don’t have another event out there this year so it’s not a big deal to us. I will be fishing the couples event out of Hunters Point in a week and a half, and I truly don’t think I’ll be doing the same thing at the same spot. I’ll check it out though lol.

As far as FFS in general for fishing, it keeps my kids entertained and it’s much easier for them to enjoy fishing. If they’re not catching, they lose interest. So, if I can get them on fish with it, it keeps them happy, entertained and spending time with me. No one’s forcing anyone to require it to fish. If you fish tournaments, you won’t be able to compete without it though. It’s the nature of the beast. There are slot limits, and it just gets me to my limit faster.

Carry on boys and tight lines to all of you.

Thank you for your honesty and openness Chris.

I didn’t mean to personally attack you or anyone else with my previous comment. You seem like a reasonable guy that understands the ramifications of this technology and where the tournament scene is headed.

Congrats on your finish.

gimruis wrote:

Thank you for your honesty and openness Chris.

I didn’t mean to personally attack you or anyone else with my previous comment. You seem like a reasonable guy that understands the ramifications of this technology and where the tournament scene is headed.

Congrats on your finish.

I didn’t take it as an attack so no biggie at all. I really feel it isn’t going anywhere so I just had to embrace it. I almost quit tournament fishing because of it. But why give up? Just learn and adapt and go with the flow. I know Wisconsin its up for a ban debate. It will be interesting to see what happens. I haven’t paid much attention to the whole thing. I’ll still continue to compete either way.

One of the reasons I like about mille lacs is when fish are out in the mud you can still get by with 2D sonar and catch fish. Maybe not the quantity and size of someone with FFS but it’s still a useful tool. It also doesnt bother me that people use FFS. I just dont get to fish enough at this point in life to justify the purchase, maybe someday. I must say though, when out there a couple weekends ago, I might have been the only boat without FFS!

Netguy wrote:

I fished the Mille Lacs on Monday and did not slay them. Started out on the north shore by Garrison and worked out to the flats in the northwest corner. I caught 3 and missed a 3-4 bites and dropped a couple on the way to the boat. Rigging with a leech had the most action but did not try a crawler on the rig. I tried both crawler and leech on slip bobber, hunting them with LiveScope. Had one bite that dropped it immediately and never go another bite on it. I marked a few fish 10 feet down off the flats. Maybe I’ll have a jig rigged up with something to go after them next time. Tried a new rod and reel I got for rigging. A Sixgill Lykan medium with a Scheels Outfitters One Series reel (Daiwa). Handles the 20″+ better which you get with regularity on Mille Lacs than the medium light I had been using.

I think I’m up to 10 or 12 of those Lykan rods. I grab the ml for pitching jigs long before any of my spendy croixs or Loomis rods.

Dutchboy wrote:

You can’t equate the green boxes to FFS no matter how hard you try.

I’m not equating FFS to the green boxes and I doubt if many (if any) of the PWT anglers used only flashers in tournaments because there was better technology available by the time of the PWT (Lowrance X-16 is a good example) if that’s what you’re implying but if FFS would have been available to anglers in the PWT days, the anglers would have certainly used it. Like today, tournament anglers use everything they can to their advantage to win when there’s money and pride on the line.

I go both ways with FFS. It is fun to use, but takes some of the relaxation out of fishing. With the little bit of stain in the water, the fish haven’t been as boat shy. Next time out I will likely lindy rig the breaks on the mud. The fish out there can still hide from ffs if on the bottom. Get on the deep side of the breaks and you will likely get some fish. Our most consistent pattern on the lake is still trolling cranks the last 2 hours before dark. 15-22 ft, variety of colors and sizes. From May to October, it just works! Smallies and Walleye mix. Kids enjoy picking their lures, reeling them in, and screwing around in the down time.

For the life of me I just don’t understand staring at a screen constantly while fishing. Sure I glance at my 2D here and there and like having mapping for safety on big water as much as anything. But I also enjoy watching eagles, fish surfacing, the clouds, waves, really anything nature.

I was on the mud this past weekend with my kids and we were pounding the walleyes and I never marked a single fish on my 2D graph. Meanwhile a guy was buzzing around us starting at his FFS and we were out fishing him and his buddy (they EACH had FFS) like 4 to 1.

Yes, that was satisfying.

It’s really simple….if you don’t like ffs don’t use it. It’s not going to cause a collapse of the walleye population. FFS is FAAAAAR from a slam dunk when we’re talking walleye fishing. I would still give up FFS before I’d give up Side Imaging

It is simple and you have your opinion and I have mine

There are literally fish all over the lake, but in the last week there was a major push out to the deep gravel and mud flats. On my guide trips I typically start with traditional techniques and while my clients are fishing I will look around with FFS. If I locate fish, I’ll ask my clients to cast in that direction. Once they get the hang of it, most of my clients want to take over the FFS or tell them where to cast or even have me cast for them. They are out there to catch fish. If a tool will help them catch more fish, that’s what they want to use. A high percentage of trips end with the clients huddled around the screen waiting to throw on the next mark.

If I’m fishing a tournament or by myself it’s almost 100% FFS related. It’s amazing on a clear lake like Mille Lacs to watch how the fishes mood changes when a boat gets with 50 feet of them. Yes traditional techniques still work, but I can tell you from watching how fish react on FFS that most of the fish in an area move around the boat and your leech dragging behind it. When we do pull bait around now, it’s with even longer leaders and lighter weights to get them away from the boat. I’ll often make S turns as well so the boat goes around the fish, but we can swing the baits through the fish.

I fished open water with FFS for the first time last weekend, it definitely is cool, but you still have to read the fish…it’s crazy that you can cast to them and they’re gone. I give props to the pros who can select the big fish, control the boat, and catch the fish they’re targeting. They are in a whole different league than us. It’s a very humbling experience

Fished Mille Lacs yesterday. Boated 3 a 15″ (lindy and leech), 19″ (jig and crawler) and 21 1/2″ (slip bobber and crawler). Lost ~20″ on jig and crawler. Fished some flats. Had most action on the jig and crawler. Wanted it slow and on the bottom. Missed several bites and had a couple more unbutton on the way to the boat.
First spot I tried was 7-mile. Passed a boat several times who was playing 70s and 80s music. Chatted with him a while. I said I grew up on that music. He said he did too and the 80s were rough on him. Said he has a trailer on the east side but used to own Rocky’s Resort. I asked if he used to post on the message boards. He said, “Yes, I am the Rockman!” Must be taking his meds because he was very pleasant.

Craig Sery wrote:

I fished open water with FFS for the first time last weekend, it definitely is cool, but you still have to read the fish…it’s crazy that you can cast to them and they’re gone. I give props to the pros who can select the big fish, control the boat, and catch the fish they’re targeting. They are in a whole different league than us. It’s a very humbling experience

.

I fished with Tony Roach last fall and he keeps his FFS at 50’, but positions 30’ away from the fish and cast into them. He says that is basically his sweet spot.
We caught quite a few, but they do scatter very quickly at times.

Fished the Mud Wed, Thurs and Friday. Caught well over 70 walleyes each day from 6am – 1pm and 7pm-10pm. Sizes were primarily 21-23 inches with our largest being 26.5″ and Several 24.75’s as well.

We were all on lindy rigs with leech and had to go very slow, .4-.6, depending on the wind (Double drift socks). When it was calm and could control the speed, we really hit them hard.

FFS was great to watch how long those fish follow your rigs and to keep us right on the subtle breaks that Lakemaster doesn’t even show.

I get a kick out of watching people think they can power cork or cast to fish with FFS. We would catch five fish while they were staring at their screens, drifting by with not a care in the world.

I was rigging at 0.6-0.7 so maybe that was it. When I was jigging I was going slower. Power corking with FFS is a blast as long as they’re biting. A couple of casts per fish, not biting move on. No bites after several fish, go back to rigging. Sometimes I’ll have the FFS pointing into the flat while rigging and stop the boat (yes, reel up my lindy rig) and fire a cast to the fish. Have caught several that way.
I do day trips to the Big Pond and rarely fish the evening. I’ll have to go up midday and do that. A lot of fish are caught in the last few hours of light.

FFS is a line in the sand I will not cross, yes I will catch less fish, but enjoy being on the water. They are legal and folks say how the fish scatter when approached, maybe they have always been doing that, just did not have the technology to see. But I do fear FFS on crappies in the winter could be devastating

I have read that Garmin is light years ahead of Lowrance & Humminbird with FFS. Is that correct?

Dutchboy wrote:

I have read that Garmin is light years ahead of Lowrance & Humminbird with FFS. Is that correct?

I would say their technology is better than Lowrance Active Target. I’d rank birds last of the three. I wouldn’t necessarily say they are light years ahead though. I’ve seen all 3 in person and I’d rank them for FFS as Garmin, Lowrance, and then Birds.

Just my opinion of course

How’s the bite out there lately, still good? Have the week off, might swing out to the pond for a day.

Had a 6 hour guide trip today. Strong winds kept us tight to the West shore so my clients wouldn’t get sick. We caught a mixed bad of Walleyes and Smallies in 15-20’ scattered rock. Slip bobbers and trolling worked equally well.

Fife wrote:

Had a 6 hour guide trip today. Strong winds kept us tight to the West shore so my clients wouldn’t get sick. We caught a mixed bad of Walleyes and Smallies in 15-20’ scattered rock. Slip bobbers and trolling worked equally well.

Deffinetely a little breezy yesterday, thanks for the report.