Redtails

With the recent reports that the big eyes and smallies are hitting on Lindy rigged chubs up there, a buddy and I are planning on making a day trip up there tomorrow. I’ve heard they’re relating mostly to rocks right now, so we’re planning on going out of the SE side. Well the only issue I’m running into is actually finding a shop that carries chubs! I tried both Johnson’s Portside and Trailside in Isle, they both said they aren’t carrying them right now. Are you guys picking them up on the way up, or am I going to have to head to Malmo or Garrison for them? Thanks for any advice or info, and I’ll make sure to put up a full report from tomorrow!

Prince bait usually has them…my bait shop of choice
The ones in Isle wouldn’t know a redtail or spottail shiner if it bit em
Id call first as redtails were short supply….

I got back form Mille Lacs on Tuesday evening. We were fishing shoreline rock in 15-19 feet using creek chubs. The chubs we bought came from Tutts in Garrison which would be out of your way if you fish the s.e. side.
We were using lindy rigs and had a good day of catching Walleye and Smallies.
Not sure if you are from the cities or not, but you could try Vados as they usually have some this time of year.
Good Luck.

How much are red tails going for these days?

Yeah I’ve seen em at Prince before, but for some crazy reason they’re closed on one of the busiest days of the week.

rwilliam, I’ve heard good things about Tutts, but based on the reports I’ve seen I was thinking the extensive rock on the SE side would be the place to try. I’ve heard there’s some rocky stuff up right in front of Garrison, but I’ve only ever fished the reef up there. Do those rocks right in front of town continue out that deep? I’ll probably call them and Vados tonight and see who has what. Thanks again for the help.

TMF89,
Never really fished the rocks out of Garrison before.
We were farther south going form one rock point to the next trying to find active fish. We marked a lot and would fish those spots. If we didn’t catch anything we’d move on or come back later on.
Also, I think creek chubs are just as good for the smallies and probably cheaper than redtails.
Good Luck.

They were running a buck a piece……need to get life insurance on them…..lol

TMF89 wrote:

I’ve heard good things about Tutts, but based on the reports I’ve seen I was thinking the extensive rock on the SE side would be the place to try. I’ve heard there’s some rocky stuff up right in front of Garrison, but I’ve only ever fished the reef up there. Do those rocks right in front of town continue out that deep?

Tutt’s is the best now on the west side because Garrison Sports is done for the year and the Junction isn’t really a bait shop except for certain times during the summer.

Rocks out of Garrison get deep and then very shallow in spots. Complex reef. Head north past the N Garrison access and find the Myr Mar reefs. West is smaller and easier to cover…work from that all the way to the rocky shore. East…much larger but very productive, mix of varying depths, rocks, weeds, and surprises. Lot of areas not seen on maps or GPS, just have to work through and surprise!

Thanks for all the advice guys! We wound up going out of Isle mainly due to the easterly winds. We stopped at Vados on the way up and they had all kinds of chubs and shiners, some huge ones too. Went out of Liberty Beach and hit up some nearby reefs. Tried 15-30′ and definitely found most of our fish out deeper. We went in and found some good sized rock piles in 15′, but we caught way more fish on the 20-30′ breaklines. The bass were in shallower, the eyes out along the break to the main basin. Caught around thirty fish, all but two were over 18″. Buddy and I tied with 26″ eyes, and he beat my three 20″ bass with his PB 21″. Definitely had to let the walleyes chew on the baits for a bit, but the bass seemed to be making a game out of trying to rip the rod out of my hand!

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Nice Report Tyler! Sounds like a blast.

What a thrill! Thanks for the report.

Thanks for the report. Glad you found Chubs, and got into some nice fish.

Nice report!!!

Nice fish! Can’t wait to get back out.