The "Rookie" Report

One week of the 2015 Leech Lake walleye game is in the books. As has been the case in many Upper Midwest areas, foul weather has been a controlling factor on the fishing report front. I was on the water only 4 times in 7 days. When we have gotten out between big winds and nasty rain, the bite has been pretty good with limits in the live-well. As usual, it can be and has been spotty–with slow periods and then all of sudden you bump into a good active bunch and if worked right, quick numbers of fish in the boat can grow fast. The north and west side of the main lake has been the best being a little warmer water than other areas. Cold front after cold front still has the water around 50 degrees or a hair colder this week. Fish are in scattered schools on most of the popular flats and points–7-9ft. of water. Find the first one…focus there until it wears out and then find the next roving school. So far–typical Leech Lake jig/shiner combos are taking most fish but leeches on slip-sinker rigs have been getting better and in a week or so–if we get some consistent warm temps, everything in the box will be in play. And all of the walleye haunts on the entire lake will be potential good destinations. Walleye size has been all over the ruler with good numbers of eaters in the totals.

Sounds good for a Rookie Report.

Trappers Landing Lodge wrote:

Sounds good for a Rookie Report.

Well….when I get 40K plus hours on Leech Lake like I have on Lake Mille Lacs, I will hope to loose my “Rookie” status. One could easily assume I will always be a Leech Lake “Rookie”. I have another 39K hours to go…lol

There’s ICE on the hood and roof of the truck this morning! You gotta be awful mad at’em to fish today! And I ain’t that mad…

Steve I am sure that you have watched the IDO episode from last week when James n Joel opened on Leech. I loved to see them fishing fatheads! I for one always laugh at all the money people spend on Spottails (but admit I do buy them too!) when fat’s work just as good. What are your thoughts on Leech concerning Spottails vs Fatheads? I just cannot tell a difference in how the eye’s on Leech bite! RR

roosterrouster wrote:

Steve I am sure that you have watched the IDO episode from last week when James n Joel opened on Leech. I loved to see them fishing fatheads! I for one always laugh at all the money people spend on Spottails (but admit I do buy them too!) when fat’s work just as good. What are your thoughts on Leech concerning Spottails vs Fatheads? I just cannot tell a difference in how the eye’s on Leech bite! RR

If you put a gun at my head, one in the chamber and the hammer back and tell me it will go off if I don’t catch a walleye, I will reach for the spot-tails. But that said….I agree with you ( unless lol)

If you put a gun at my head, one in the chamber and the hammer back and tell me it will go off if I don’t catch a walleye, I will reach for the spot-tails. But that said….I agree with you ( unless lol)
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Ha! Perfect!

Its like the great redtail chub conversation up here too!!! They are great bait, but so are dace, fatheads & sucker, minnows!!!

Steve, reminds me of when I moved to Minocqua and asked when we would get local status and they told us 20 years!!! Well I am a local now according to those rules and may be moving further north before its all done…

Mark

mbenson wrote:

Its like the great redtail chub conversation up here too!!! They are great bait, but so are dace, fatheads & sucker, minnows!!!

Mark

Put the gun at my head, one in the chamber, hammer back, tell me it will go off if I don’t catch a walleye–given the options you offer Mark–including Red-Tails, I will take the Pearl Dace ALL the way…then Creek Chubs–then Red Tails…and then the rest.

I fished three times this past week–including today.
Early in the week I had a pretty good day–17 legit keepers for three of us ( put back a handful as we got close to our 12th one in the box)–7 too big and 4 too small–and I only caught one! Then it got tougher the next time out as we had to work hard to find the first one before we could zero in on a school. And then school was out as fast it would start–having to hunt a lot for the next school. Today we had 7 dandies the first hour–gonna be a good day right?—not so fast! One per hour the rest of the time out today.

Seems leeches are as good as any lately ( both on slip-sinker rigs as well as jigs)–as the jig shiner thing still works fine/best but will dry up with the shiner supply in a week or so I suspect. Water is warming fast the past couple days after a 5-6 degree drop earlier in the colder than a well-diggers a$$ week.

Monday next…with hopes the bite gets a little easier for an old weather -beaten transplanted Rookie. Dang pea size brains those walleyes swim around with can make a guy have to think too much! lol

Good report, they are starting to like Leeches, I went through a pound this past couple of days.

Put three days on the Leech Lake walleye’s turf this week again. One really good trip ( lots of keepers–mid day fishing) and the others pretty good once the first one was boated.

We put the small crank baits in the water this week and found them to be a good choice in areas of flat bottom or straight shoreline stretches. 7-9ft.

Opted to not fish the big annual tourney this year ( this past weekend) –now with regrets. Next year….

Back at’em tomorrow!

Today’s fishing was or sounded like a broken record…”another one TOO BIG”. I surely was not in a fish fry type spot/area today….after 3 out of 22 were small enough to legally keep in 4 hrs. of hunting. 7 between 25″ and 26″. Over 26″? Don’t ask…lol

Bobbers are suppose to float…today we used “faulty bobbers”.

Did well on small crank baits in 7-10ft. on the only day out this past week. Rocky “slopes” the best… More to report this coming week with more trips planned…

Keep the reports coming Steve! Thanks…RR

No doubt, Leech Lake is as about diverse as walleye haunts get. I have said before, one has to view the lake as at least 3 lakes in one. ( which is not uncommon among many walleye worlds around the continent)

Want precise advice? The bite is pretty good from 5 ft. to 45 ft. of water these days…so go figure! lol

That said, I firmly believe, no matter the time of year, water temps, wind, sun, clouds or whatever, a big majority of the Leech Lake walleyes live in less than 8 ft. of water–24/7.

BUT! On the calm days, catching those fish in the shallows can be like trying to perform brain surgery on an ant. Where there is a will, there IS a way!

So….luckily, if one looks hard enough, there are good numbers of fish on small humps/rocky ridges–shoreline or mid- main lake related etc.–in water 12 ft. to 22 ft. And they bite! And they eat most any of the typical walleye catching menu choices.

And then there is the “other lake” within Leech Lake–the depths of mighty Walker Bay. If you “go hunting before you go fishing”…Walker Bay can be good to you. Very good as the NWT guys saw this past weekend!

So–in a nut shell–even though the lake fishes very big these days–the catching has been good and should continue to be good. Find’em…they will bite!

“You gotta go hunting before you go fishing”…

This past week was a good numbers week the few times we got out. Keepers were hard to come by in my boat. “Too big” was about a 4 to 1 ratio. LOTS of 21″ to 24″ ‘ers in the system–no doubt. Fun fish!

We “cruised” this week to get the fish. That means we fished lead core/small crank baits and or spinners/bouncers/crawlers. I stayed away from the drop offs and cruised flat basin type stuff adjacent to the sharp depth changes—17-18ft. was best. At least 100 yards or more from the drop offs. The schools we would find were about the size of a football field and would move as much as 400-500 yards from day to day. But they really snapped at the cruisin’ stuff we flew by them…just find the first one.

So it was a good week with no reason to believe it will slow down this coming week if one follows the patterns as they evolve….

Good stuff Steve,,, now I may have to run to the tackle shop.

taking the family up there this week, staying on Portage between Leech and Winni so all three lakes are options. Need to keep my kids and dad happy catching so I’ll be trying some small lakes also for some panfish, but sounds like most walleyes are away for the weed line? Need to keep it pretty simple for the kids and I don’t have any leadcore set ups yet. Anything not so specific, up toward Portage Bay?

chomps wrote:

taking the family up there this week, staying on Portage between Leech and Winni so all three lakes are options. Need to keep my kids and dad happy catching so I’ll be trying some small lakes also for some panfish, but sounds like most walleyes are away for the weed line? Need to keep it pretty simple for the kids and I don’t have any leadcore set ups yet. Anything not so specific, up toward Portage Bay?

Chomps—I have not but in that direction lately but the “Two Points” / Sandy Beach” area should be fishy. If the water is nice for traveling, the Ottertail Point area and Ivan’s Bay rocks isn’t too far up the coast. And Sugar Point across Portage Bay should be fishy…and in the mid-lake–Submarine and Annex reefs are always fishy.

Trolling #5 shad raps in 7′-10′ will find and catch walleyes in those areas–no matter the weather. There are all kinds of walleyes shallow ( less than 10ft.) but unless it is windy, any form of live bait fishing is hard since the fish will not stay within fishing/catching reach of the boat. The crank baits back 125′-150′ on 10 lb. mono creates enough space even in the calm water to catch some–lots if you find them.

Don’t be afraid to troll spinners and crawlers in 14′-20′ in those Portage Bay areas as well…

“Cruise fishing” to find them.

Edit….I just now realized you are staying on “Portage” NOT Portage Bay. LOL Just call me if you have questions. Easier on my weather-beaten fingers and mind to talk vs. type. lol

there’s a campground just down the road where one can get onto Portage Bay, so both are options. Otherwise we go over to Federal Dam and get on there. Thanks for the tips Steve, you rock!

The “bite” for me continues to be pretty good–WHEN I find the fish. In other words–they ain’t hard to catch. But…

I have fished mostly calm water the past few days so I haven’t targeted any “shallow” fish. Consistently, sometimes having to “hunt” for a while, I am finding the easy fish in around 17-18ft. along or off the edge of hard bottom/rocky banks–mostly mid-lake related stuff. Spinners/bouncers/crawlers shine but the lead core/small cranks work fine if the area and the fish is/are set up for it. The “cruisin’ bite continues. That said–the deep fish are like Gypsies these days…on the move! Not far but as far a few 100 yards up or down the road they have been following. There surely are no fences down there!

Keepers are about 1/3 the catch for my boat the past few days–the rest–“too big”.

For 40 plus years I have yet to see a “bug hatch” slow the walleye catching down anywhere and this past week or two is no exception as the mayfly hatch has been and still is pretty big on Leech Lake . Yes—floating bugs get on the line but the fish 17-18ft. below don’t care. Remember–fish do not read In-Fisherman nor have watched any videos etc. so they simply do not know they ain’t suppose to bite during bug hatches! lol

Tomorrow (Monday) is a “bobber” fishing trip per the clients request–to learn the fundamentals of the “bobbering system”. We will fish LESS than 8ft. all day. I like the wind forecast so the fish won’t run away from the boat too far…staying within casting range. Should be “interesting”? Stay tuned….

Find’em–the bite is just fine these days and will be as usual. If they ain’t there–they don’t bite! “You gotta go hunting before you go fishing.”

We stuck to the “bobbering” plan on Monday. (I had not been looking for shallow rock –5-7 ft. fish for a couple weeks so fished somewhat blind) About 3 stops in a 3 hr. span with a couple “sets” on each spot–we had a total of 3 walleyes. Then the next spot we bumped into them–even though it was now early afternoon. We landed several limits of walleyes in a couple hrs. via about 3 different “sets” on the spot. Interestingly, 90 percent were nice eaters–15″-17″. Only a handful of “to big”. So–6-7ft. eventually paid off as the bobbers sunk just fine considering a somewhat mellow northwest wind and early afternoon action.

Today (Wednesday the 1st)? Went back to the “easy fish”. And 4-5 hrs. later–life was NOT easy! The “gypsy” schools were just that–for me at least. I felt like a “Rookie”! lol After looking for the magic spot with several moves to several deep rock edges…cruisin’ with both spinner/bouncer rigs and lead core/small cranks–we came back to our starting spot and got a handful. Hindsight being 20/20–I should have never left fish to find fish?

Anyway—that’s the “Rookie Report”. Maybe one savvy shallow move on Monday and a very hard to swallow humble pie today…

Good luck to all over the fireworks weekend!

No report this week….as the only day I was planning on being out we got weathered out. Next week I will have lots to report–hopefully all good!

Look forward to seeing you up here.

Was on the water two days this past week. Very tough to put numbers in the boat for me–to say the least. Back at it Friday….

In the last report “numbers” were hard to come by but not because, as usual, the bite was bad. Not finding any good bunches was the reason behind the low numbers we caught.

And as usual, being that we found a bunch yesterday–Friday– ( thanks to a friend) we got a good catch of both keepers and “too bigs”. 22 ft. on Red Tails/slip-sinker rigs was the ticket.

Will these big numbers become Gypsies like the others last week? A half mile of walleyes “here today gone tomorrow”? Oh my….

I realize that my weather-beaten mind is easily confused but the Leech Lake walleyes have my mind and nerves beat to a frazzle! lol

The last three times out in the past few days have been feast or famine–to say the least. The confusing part is that usually when we have a tough day–it is NOT because the fish don’t bite but rather we ( me) , simply, didn’t find many. Not the case this week!

This past weekend–the graph looked like a walleye Nintendo game and the live-well had a nice “full” look to it. ( several limits of keepers and as many “too bigs”) Then came Tuesday….with the graph full of the “right” stuff and the live-well almost empty ( 4 total walleyes for the 5 hrs.). In my weather-beaten memory–I can’t recall the last time having them swarming under my boat and not biting–at least a couple or more per hour–let alone 6-8 per hour as the graph suggested should have happened.

Then today (Thursday), with the sick feeling I left the lake with on Tuesday still lingering…the graph lit up and the live-well filled up–again–limits of keepers and about as many “too bigs”! Go figure. Same spot(s) –same rigs/bait. Not GREAT but pretty good for a 5-6 hr. run and considering how the previous trip had gone.

So–it’s been good–and tough this past week for the “Rookie”. These pea-sized walleye brains have me confused!! Next time out? Who knows….lol!

FYI–Slip-sinker rigs /red tails and creek chubs in 22′-26′–Walker Bay.

Been out only three times since my last report ( twice in the past 3 days after being tied down dealing behind the scenes with this Lake Mille Lacs mess) so not so much info to relay the past week or so…

A week ago Sunday, the Walker Bay/chub bite dried up for me as we got only one fish per hour. Not unlike other slower days, finding the fish was the issue–not the bite itself.

Day before yesterday–in BIG NW winds–again looking for a good school of deeper Walker Bay fish came up empty–more or less. So after two hours of “hunting”, we headed for the main lake and put small cranks/lead core down in some basin/flats type areas–14-15 ft. of water. ( too deep for SMALL cranks without the lead and I don’t like deeper running bigger baits) And as usual–if you find the first one–and stay in that area–things can get good. We got the limit of nice keepers in a little over a hour working a football field size school–all mid-day/early afternoon by the way.

Yesterday ( Tuesday) we headed right back to the same school we left on Monday. But this time it was first thing in the morning. NO BITES in two hours! So back to Walker Bay–chubs in tow–and after hunting a few down on the screen–only had two to show for the 4 hrs. on the water at noon. After a 1.5 hr. shore stop–headed back out to the main lake lead-corin’ area that didn’t work in the morning and just like clock work ( same as the day before mid-day/afternoon) the rods bent over quite often. A dozen good ones in the boat in a couple hours with a couple gettin’ off at the edge of the net! So we got bailed out with another afternoon bite on the small cranks.

That’d be all I know.

Its the same over here get some small cranks and the lead out, it works well during the day.