MilleLacs Sept 1st – What should I expect for Smallie chasin??

Making my first trip ever to Mille Lacs as it’s a LONG drive from St. Louis, MO. But, I’ve convinced my wife to come up and check out the great up North and chase Smallmouth bass. She doesn’t really fish, so she’ll mainly just be watching me while I try to find something that is a cast and retrieve type approach/location so she can tie something on and fling em around from the back of the boat. Me? I’ll do anything, other than live bait. I just prefer fishing artificials and trying to stumble into em.

I’d LOVE any advice you guys might have on what I should be looking for to know I’m in a good area that might hold smallies? We’re renting a house in Isle, so I’ll be in that SouthEast corner. I love topwater, lipless cranks or any cranks, spinnerbaits, and I’ll mess around with plastics like drop shot rigts, jigs, tubes, etc. If you were a first timer, how would you approach the fishing? She’ll only likely give me 3-4 hours each morning before it’ll be time to play some golf, check out the local towns, and chill on the patio at the house.

Can ya help a rookie out???

I don’t fish it for smallies and rarely Bass fish at all anymore. However if it were me I would start on any of shore rock with some depth around it and there is a lot of that down on the south end. Hope you have good electronics with a map chip as there are lots of hazards down on that end also. Drop shot or jig and plastic should do the trick. I am sure more of the Mille Lacs boys and the real Bass heads on here will have some better advise. Welcome to IDO!

Are the hazards typically marked? What are they typically? Rock piles? Shoals? If I’m paying attention to my mapping softwards should I be ok? Or, is there a bunch of “came out of nowhere” isolated goofy things that wreck lower units and pop up in water that was otherwise 15 feet deep?? Thanks for the info and any other tips I can get!!!

They typically do not remove the buoys until sometime in October. That said, it will all depend on the water level, if it stays dry, by the end of the year there very well could be unmarked hazards.

Most hazards are marked, if you have a relatively knew map chip in your graph you’ll be fine. Most maps are pretty darn accurate for mille lacs.
September 1 is the beginning of the fall transition time. There should be fish deep (15-25ft), shallow (3-10ft), and in between. Find rocks and/or big boulders and you’ll find bass. The south east part of the lake is full of rock piles and reefs that hold fish year around.
The water is very clear so finesse tactics on light line usually are best.

What’s the topwater fishing or spinnerbait fishing like if I get around these rocks?? I’m CERTAIN I’m not good enough to fish deep. I have good electronics, but stink at using them. I’m better if I can just know that I’m fishing a pile of rocks or a shoal and know where to work the area over with 2 zillion casts (I’m resilient!!).

Also, if I come out of that big pocket by Isle, how far will I have to run to fish a bunch of that stuff. Is it all generally within a mile or two of that corner? The good rocks?

Watch your electronics and you will be fine as far as obstacles. I believe they don’t start pulling bouys until after Labor Day, which is September 4th. In general if you find rocks you will find smallies. If your wife isn’t too interested in actively fishing, I’d set her up with a sucker minnow on a wide gap hook and slip sinker to drag along and she will probably out fish you.

If you are avid golfers there are some phenomenal courses in the Brainerd Lakes Area that are worth checking out.

Yes, yes we are. Would LOVE your golf course recommendations!!! Especially if within 40 min or so of Isle!!

Brainerd is about an hour from Isle. You’ll have to drive around to the opposite side of the lake to Garrison and then take hwy 18 west to Brainerd. There are pristine, world class courses to play there though like Legacy and the Classic at Maddens.

I have personally never caught a smallmouth on that lake using a topwater or spinnerbait. Not saying it can’t be done, but with the water being so clear and the pressure so high, aggressive power tactics like that generally do not produce. Jerk baits produce, but they are more of a coldwater tactic.

Use natural-colored plastics to target them in the rocky areas mentioned above. Contrary to what people say, its not easy to catch them, especially in hot, sunny, flat conditions with artificial lures. Back off from your target too and make long casts so you don’t spook them.

Being that you’re staying in Isle, you could try casting in Isle or Wahkon Bay for northern pike too. There’s some dandies in there. Just make sure you tie on some kind of leader so they don’t bite you off.

He is going in September. My favorite time to fish for giants.
Oh and don’t take highway 18 east out of Garrison it will bring you back to isle. Haha.

Ripjiggen wrote:

He is going in September.

I missed that part. I see it now in the title. I’ll edit my previous post.

Lol meant hwy 18 west, not east.

yancimator wrote:

Yes, yes we are. Would LOVE your golf course recommendations!!! Especially if within 40 min or so of Isle!!

Deacon’s Lodge and The Classic at Madden’s are probably the best of the bunch, but you can’t really go wrong with any of the Craguns, Maddens or Grand View courses. Deacons is an Arnold Palmer designed course that usually is at or near the top of best MN courses along with The Classic. I’ve never played Izaty’s on Mille Lacs but have heard that is a nice track too.

http://www.golflink.com/golf-courses/mn/brainerd/

Nothing wrong with Izatys if you want something close to where you are staying.

About the smallies being educated and not hitting on top or on spinnerbaits, chatters, and cranks. It all depends on the SMB’s mood at the moment. You could get skunked, or they could rock your world. Several guys wrecked ’em on a chatter when MLF was here in the Fall, great numbers and size. If they are hitting on topwater or a small chart/white spinnerbait you will know it quickly at any place you stop.

yancimator wrote:

Also, if I come out of that big pocket by Isle, how far will I have to run to fish a bunch of that stuff. Is it all generally within a mile or two of that corner? The good rocks?

I personally don’t bass fish Mille Lacs a lot but that time of year I would be looking for rock piles in Grubson mentioned above. I seem to prefer the single large rocks a bit by themselves rather than a large piles of rocks. I also prefer the Garrison rocks in the Northwest or the rocks from Agate Bay down most of the East shore to almost McQuoid’s depending on conditions and what is fishable based on weather and wind. Have caught them on tubes, standard bass jigs, drop shots, and even walleye jigs and plastics or really deep cranks. Never bothered with top water or spinner baits.

Tube jigs. Black with red flake. Fish them on the boulders.
Bone colored whopper ploppers. I run them fast and right over shallow rocky reefs.

Man I WISH they’d be hitting on whopper ploppers. Now THAT is something I can tie on my wife’s rod and tell her to cast and reel!! Thanks for all the advice guys. Gives me something to start with.

One last question for the group, do any of you occasionally chase pike to get your arms jerked hard every now and then? I also like to spend some time trying to catch a slimer when I’m up North. Any bays or specific grass lines where you think I could do well pulling a spinner for Pike? I know everyone up there hates em, so I’ll be doing you a favor by annoying em for ya!!! LOL

yancimator wrote:

One last question for the group, do any of you occasionally chase pike to get your arms jerked hard every now and then? I also like to spend some time trying to catch a slimer when I’m up North. Any bays or specific grass lines where you think I could do well pulling a spinner for Pike?

Plenty of pike to be had, and some monsters as well. ML is not a very weedy lake, so if you find a good weedline you can run into the pike with a rapala or spoon. They also roam seemingly the middle of nowhere, but that’s a much bigger challenge imo.

If your staying on the water chuck a sucker minnow under a big bobber from the dock in the evening.

Plenty of pike in Vineland, Cove, Wahkhon, and Isle bays. Should be good weeds in all those too

Thanks guys!!! And, thanks for the bay recommendations Craig! Save me some serious motoring and searching time if I know a bay or two to check out with some spinnerbaits or spoons tied on. Appreciate all the info!!!

Agate reef all they way down to lakeside reef we catch them that time of year trolling cranks for walleyes in 15-17ft. 50/50 walleye smallie mix

Is it sad that I just sat in my 100 degree garage and rigged up 14 rods for my sept 1st pike and smallie trip to ML??

Hoping to find some pike around the weeds in the Isle Bay where we’re staying and then figure out how to find the boulders and shoals to throw 15 different baits at the smallies!!!

And if THAT doesn’t work, welllll then I guess I’ll take the wife to the casino, the golf course and try to find the most interesting places for good grub around the lake!!

Any local knowledge places of interest you’d recommend to eat at?? Cool atmosphere and/or great food and views??

Thanks gang. Toooo hot down here to fish now so just counting the days till September!!!

yancimator wrote:

Any local knowledge places of interest you’d recommend to eat at?? Cool atmosphere and/or great food and views??

Nitti’s Hunters Point has a good bar and grill. It’s on the east side of the lake north towards Malmo.

Do Boathouse just north of Isle is on the lake.
Castaways just south of Malmo has phenomenal broasted chicken.
Bayview inCove bay has great pizza.
Wahkon Inn is a “townie” place & huge portions.
Mugg’s in Wahkon has great burgers & a very nice decor with ML theme. Our go to place.
Casino? Never go there. Most anyone who lives around here stays away.

On the casino topic, can I ask…….why do you stay away? Is it not safe? I’ll be with my wife and we were going to go for something to do one evening. Is that a bad idea or do you just not like casinos?? I haven’t been to one in 20 years, but figured we’d do something different one night

yancimator wrote:

On the casino topic, can I ask…….why do you stay away? Is it not safe?

That has nothing to do with it. Its perfectly safe.

Some individuals here are soured by the natives and their netting policies with walleyes, and the casino is on tribal land. So their position is to not support the casino in any way.

I personally would hit up the casino given a chance. The hotel/rooms are nice, the food/dining options are solid, and I like to gamble a little.

Thank you sir!!! I appreciate that insight!

Since I was the one who brought it up I will expand on my remarks.
It isn’t simply the netting that gimruis cites. Actually the local ML band does very little netting in Mille Lacs. Other bands from NE Mn and NW Wi do far more.
For me & I dare say a HUGE number of locals it is that there has been an expansion of the Rez foisted on us by govt. administrative action. I have an issue of a potential taking of rights. I’m the great grandson of the 1st name on my abstract of title. He bought it from the US govt and it was not on a resevation then.
I wouldn’t worry about violence at the casino. I strongly advise against going into the 2 housing areas, east of Isle or by the casino. Great places to score some fentynol.

I love the Casino up there.
Very friendly people, never felt insecure or threatened. EVER.
The “Pond” is also a great lake to drive around. Maybe an hour if no-stops, but if ya like to throw em back it will take longer.
If you are a gambler, every bar has pull tabs.

Have fun and good luck fishing.

BTW – have your wife soak a sucker, might hook up a 60″er.