Night trolling options…

Hello all,

I *love* trolling for walleye after dark, and I’m trying to expand my range up towards Alexandria this year (I usually fish Shamineau, Mille lacs, Alexander, Koronis, and Leech).

I am NOT asking for any specific spots, but I’m kind of at a loss with all of the lakes up there as to where I should start. I’ve asked around and been told about the “good” lakes, but the netting results on the DNR’s LakeFinder don’t look all that impressive for some of them. I know there are a lot of variables that go into how well these lakes “survey,” so

Also, does Osakis have a good night bite? Minnewaska? (Big) Sauk? I know these lakes are full of ‘eyes, but I usually struggle with after-dark trolling on stained lakes.

Thanks for any general guidance–I hope I’m not asking for too much. Also, if you want some info on the lakes I mentioned above, I’d be happy to share some more specific intel privately.

Some lakes up here may have phenomenal walleye fishing, but in some instances shut off after dark for various reasons. Lakes with notable night bites (for me) would be Minnewaska, Osakis, and Reno. Bait shops will say Osakis has the “hottest” bite right now. My experience is that if you think you are too shallow, go shallower. Can’t tell you how many times I get back to an access dock and there is multiple walleyes in the prop wash gulley. Can be frustrating. New moons are more productive than full moons for me.

Otter Tail and Battle shouldn’t be left off the list either. Arguably the most consistent when it comes to a night bite. Especially September through November

Some of the nettings can be very misleading in the area as far as numbers go. Minnewaska has a great night bite along with Reno. As ganderpike said look shallow and if there is some sand grass or shallow weeds nearby it should produce a winning ticket. Especially in the fall you might not even need a boat, just waders.

Interesting discussion on night trolling for walleyes as that is my preferred way to fish them too. I have found new moons to be better than full moons too although conventional “wisdom” suggests otherwise. I agree on the shallow comments as well.

Pick any of the mentioned lakes or similar that have clear water & sand and given enough time, you’ll put together a formula. Expect plenty of bass after dark too if there’s not much in the way of wind. Occasional bonus crappie too. If you’ve got planer boards, get the lights for them and run your boards between the boat and shore.

Don’t neglect doing some casting though as well. If it’s flat calm and there’s a lot of moonlight, the eyes can be spooked by the boat enough that they won’t bite. This would be especially fun running livescope.

Thanks for all the helpful replies. I grew up fishing Mille lacs exclusively, and then when they instituted the permanent night-ban, I sort of branched out to a few other lakes where I was able to replicate what worked. I’m often fishing alone, too, so it’s a bit tough with one line to get things dialed in on new water.

I often look for the deepest water closest to shore and start there. And I’m almost always towards the outside weedline or hoping to pull over the tops of weeds growing 1/3 or 1/2 of the way to the surface. Looks like I have some things to learn.

Fishing in super shallow water (especially with lighted boards — my favorite way to get ’em after dark) sounds fun. I’m guessing the bottom is (mostly) clean sand in these areas?