Well, it might be close to a mile..
Erickson’s landing (kabekona access)toward sand point is a good bet for better sized fish.
Going out of Walker marina in town to any of the humps will put you on 12″-17″ fish.
Whipholt access out to Olson’s reef has 12″+ of ice, but the bite has been slow.
Cheers and hook-sets!
A few more October fish.
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Walleyes
With the recent cooler temps and northwest winds, the fall bite has turned from so-so, to full-on. Excellent numbers of these favorites are hitting the landing nets on rocky, wind-swept points and reefs on the main lake. A decent weed bite is also happening in Portage, Sucker and Steamboat bays with some bonus jumbo perch adding to the experience. A good ol’ jig-and-minnow has been the main presentation lately. Walleyes and perch should continue to school-up tighter and tighter as the water cools into the lower 50’s.
Muskies
Water is in the mid-50’s now, and these giants are on the move. Large bucktail spinners, topwaters and jerkbaits are all moving and catching fish. Shallow rock reefs, rocky shorelines and sand beaches have all kicked-out some dandies the past few weeks. As the water cools into October, the bites often get fewer, but the biggest fish of the year will soon let their guards down. The careful handling and release of these apex predators is essential to sustaining the fishery.
Cheers and hook-sets!
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The walleyes and perch are active. Jig and minnow in 8-10 f.o.w. will catch you fish.
The Chase on the Lake Hotel is very nice, and right on Walker bay. Yes, $150+ per night, but it’s in town and very nice. Most of the resorts are still on the “weekly rental” mentality, but you could check around.
I have at least one for you, and a few split-grips too. I know I also have a 9’3″ XXH w/full cork. I’ll take inventory and get back to you.
Great report Phil! THX
Whats the current water temp on Leech?
I took the day off for fam, but water was mostly upper 60’s on Sunday.
Walleyes
Not much has changed on the walleye front in the past few weeks. There are still a lot of fish scattered throughout mid-depth flats, and some nice fish are being caught trolling crankbaits and covering water. We should be on the verge of a very good shallow jig-and-minnow bite as the baitfish, walleyes and bigger perch start to bunch up a bit in the shallows. As the water cools, we typically see some great action once these concentrations are located.
Muskies
We have been spending a lot of time casting for the trophy muskies of leech lake, with some great results. Fish are being caught on shallow rock reefs, shorelines and weeds throughout the lake. These fish use the entire lake, so don’t be afraid to try new areas. Bucktail spinners, large jerkbaits and topwater lures are all catching fish the past few weeks. The careful handling and quick release of these apex predators is crucial to sustaining a healthy fishery.
The next 50-80 days are typically some of the most productive to pursue the walleyes, perch and muskies of Leech Lake.
I hope to see you out there.
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Maybe I missed it, but what month? Leech is great for walleyes at first ice, mid- December through mid-January, and not very productive after that (maybe just for 1 hour per day in February for walleye bite). Good perchin’ mid-day all winter though, and then walleyes at dusk.
The walleye bite this past week has been up-and-down, which is typical for August. We have seen very good days with great numbers and quality, but have struggled other days when conditions are sunny and calm. Larger perch and pike are already starting to show up with the recent cool-down, and the walleyes should really start bunching-up in the shallows soon too. Muskies are very active.. more on that soon. Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass have been bending rods with a vengeance.
Cheers and hook-sets!
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Two more..
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A few more..
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Walleye fishing has actually been pretty good the past month. Pitching jigs and leeches near rocks, weeds and sand patches has been my go-to most mornings. Trolling crankbaits has also put some nice fish top-side. August is also the best time to learn how to utilize our electronics. “Road hunting”, or driving structure until you mark fish on your electronics, is a very productive way to put fish in the boat when nothing else seems to work. When I mark fish on my sonar, I like to drop down a live-bait-rig, and give it a few minutes before moving on the the next good “marks”.
Muskie action has been good one week, and tough the next. Fish are starting to show up more on primary spots, and those putting in their time are scoring some nice fish. Rocks, weeds, sand and open-water areas all can hold these fish.
Smallmouth bass action has been really spectacular during mid-day when the walleyes are uncooperative. Largemouth action continues to be really great in the way-back rice and bays.
Cheers and hook-sets!
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ejd- I ate a big slice of humble pie yesterday, we only managed 4 walleyes in 4 hours. The ones we did catch came as shallow as 5 feet of water, down to 25 feet of water. We are marking fish all over, but the amount of bait is really amazing. I would plan on fishing early and late in the day, or whenever the conditions are good (wind, clouds etc.). There are a lot of fish in the lake, it would be hard to pin down a depth as fish are keying on crayfish, mayflies, perch minnows… etc.
Good luck out there!
July 3 notes- Leech Lake
Walleyes
Waters are warming back up and walleyes are being caught on typical summer patterns. Cabbage weeds, sand, and rocks have been best the past week, with jigs and leeches still being my top producer. Trolling deep-diving crankbaits in 15-25 feet of water has been productive as well. Typical for summer, early morning and evening fishing is your best-bet on sunny and calm days. Clouds or wind can keep walleyes biting all-day-long however.
Muskies
The muskie casting bite has yet to really take off, but any day now fish should show up on predictable summer locals. We have caught a few fish trolling in large basin areas, these fish are still relating to open-water whitefish and tullibees that can roam fairly shallow until the water warms. Once the surface water warms into the 70’s, tullibees will go deeper, and many muskies will migrate toward summer ambush spots where they key on forage that relates more to structure.
Bass and Panfish
July is a great time to take a break from walleye fishing during mid-day, and focus on the excellent bass and panfish opportunities that Leech Lake has to offer. Largemouth bass are found in very shallow wild rice, reeds, and lilly pads, and can be easily taken on top-water frogs and swim-jig combos. Smallmouth bass are found near rocky shorelines and points, and will take a variety of jigs or crankbait combos. Crappies and bluegills can be found now in weedy areas adjacent to classic spawning areas.
Cheers and hook-sets!
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Not every day has been gang-busters, but the Leech Lake walleye bite remains very good overall. The recent mayfly hatches have made walleyes in some areas quite selective in what they will eat. Small leeches or a half of night crawler has been best either on a light jig (in shallow water), or on a lindy rig (a bit deeper). I have heard some great reports of people pulling spinner-and-crawler combos, but I haven’t put the time in with these personally. Trolling crankbaits in 20-25 f.o.w. has been good for bigger fish in my boat as well.
Typical for summer, spots that have names on them have been pounded, and don’t always kick out fish the way visitors hope they will. Reeds, cabbage weeds, sand patches and boring looking flats and shorelines can all hold fish, you just have to give ’em a whirl. 5-15 f.o.w. has been best overall for numbers.
Cheers and hook-sets!
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Hi All,
I’ll be coming up to Leech for the first time this week and staying on the West side. Sounds like lindy/leech combos have been producing but I was curious as to what else I should be trying.
Has the spinner bite started yet? If bug hatches are close this can’t be at behind.
Also, do many people troll this time of year? All the reports I have seen are shallow, could trolling lead deep be productive?
Saw some good weights from the AIM tourney this weekend and would be fun to get some photos with a few big ones!
Sam
It seems like you are on the right track with your research. Honestly, it has been a different bite every 2-3 days from my experience. Throw a bunch of darts at the board and see what sticks some days. Good luck out there!
Here are my notes for this week. Bear with me ssperch, here is my $.02
As the shiner minnows and perch scatter, fishflies, and mayflies hatch, crayfish molt from their hard shells etc., walleyes really do have a buffet of food options now. Walleyes are definitely doing different things about the lake.
We are catching walleyes on slip-bobber/leech combos in 6-foot-tall cabbage weeds, Jigging Rapalas in sand patches, pitching light jigs and shiner minnows in shallow pencil reeds, and trolling crankbaits on leadcore line in 25 feet of water.
Most days, you have to let the fish tell you what they want. Often it does pay to “match-the-hatch”, on other outings we present a lure or bait that stands out from the multitude of protein options that we are competing against. Whatever the approach, it’s a beautiful lake full of beautiful fish, and figuring out how to trick them sure is a lot of fun.
Cheers and hook-sets!
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Just a few here-and-there so far, nothing major that I have seen. Water temps are just about there though…maybe this weekend yet?
Walleyes
The walleye bite on main lake rock reefs has been very good when the wind blows, or we have some cloud cover. A jig and shiner, jig and leech, or live-bait-rig and leech have all produced fish. Probing the tops of shallow rocks with a slip-bobber and leech has been productive at times as well. Cabbage-weed beds are also holding some fish, this will only get better as the crayfish move into these areas to feed and molt. During mid-day, we have also caught some very nice fish trolling crankbaits on deep breaklines in 20-25 feet of water. We should see some bigger bug hatches this week, and additional tactics such as spinners and night-crawler combos could start to shine.
Muskies
Leech Lake has long been known as a slow starter for muskie fishing. I believe these fish take their time getting to their more predictable summer spots, following meandering schools of baitfish for most of June. Fan-casting or trolling large areas can be productive however, just don’t get discouraged if fish don’t show up where they are “supposed to”. We were fortunate enough to land one nice fish on opener and have some action with a few others.
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I had one mediocre outing, and three productive ones in the past four days. I guess it is fishing after all. Not hiding from the wind and fishing shallow has paid off for me lately. A jig and shiner or rig-and-leech have been splitting the catches. Finding a speed that will trigger strikes is also very important. I typically will only use a drift sock if my boat speed is over 1 mph. Lately .8 – 1 mph has been best for getting fish to open up. 6-10 f.o.w. has been best for me.
Cheers and hook-sets!
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The weather couldn’t have been more different from yesterday morning to this morning, thankfully the fish bit either way. Water surface temps are climbing out of the cellar today, I saw 51 most places yesterday but we are climbing by the minute. Yesterday we caught half of our fish on lindy rigs with leeches in 7-10 f.o.w. and today it was all jigs and shiners in 9-12 f.o.w. A lot of small pike have been feeding on the schools of shiners with the walleyes, so don’t get discouraged by the hammer handles when you find them.
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Well, we finally got our opener weather. Water temps have dropped back down into the low 50’s and the fish are acting like it. Jig and minnows in 3-10 f.o.w. on the main lake has been the ticket the past few days, and the fish have been crushing it.
Cheers and hook-sets!
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I have heard many tough reports, but most of the boats we were around were catching some keepers. We caught 30 fish on Saturday with 13 keepers, but many went 18″-20″. On Sunday (Mothers day) I fished less than a half-hour and caught 4 nice keepers (pictured above).
I was in close contact with a group of 25 that caught 125 walleyes with 70+ keepers just for Saturday. While that isn’t lights-out fishing, it’s far from the dead sea.
As far as I could tell, the majority of the boats were on 10 community spots Pine, Stoney, Goose Island area etc which are typically good spots for opener, but every few years this doesn’t work out so well.
There are some areas of the lake right now where most of the fish will average 12″-15″, I would personally rather go for some size. Often though, much of the south shore and pelican island area, we will catch mostly slot fish with few keepers.
Weekend re-cap:
Leech Lake saw a great turn-out for the 2017 walleye opener this past weekend. The fishing sure didn’t disappoint, and neither did the weather. Though most anglers worked for bites, nice keeper sized 15″-20″ walleyes went into livewells, and into frying pans across the region. Of course, picture pretty “slot fish” are always a welcome sight out here as well.
An 1/8 oz jig and minnow was our best producer as predicted, though my guest anglers saw their best action in 10-12 feet of water, a little deeper than most Leech Lake openers. Getting your boat speed just right made a huge difference this past weekend with 0.7 mph being just the right approach for getting the walleyes mouths to open-up.
The lake ecosystem is 1-2 weeks ahead of normal, with water temps in the upper 50’s on most of the open-water areas.
I predict that a host of presentations will come into play besides just the usual jigs and minnows that are the staple during most early season outings. Lindy rigs, slip bobbers, crankbaits and spinner and nightcrawler harnesses can all be potentially hot presentations should the water temps climb into the 60’s over the course of the next few weeks. For now, we will start with jigs and minnows, and go from there.
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It was a successful opener for me and my guest anglers. We worked hard for bites at times, but ended up with limits of very nice keepers, and some slot fish. What an awesome weather day besides!
Cheers and hook-sets!
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The water is really warming up, surface temps this afternoon were all 55-60 on the bigger water. With sun and calm winds forecast, finding fish that aren’t spooked by the boat traffic could be key. The bait shops and town sure are busy compared to the last eight months.
Again, be courteous, be safe, and have fun!
Cheers and hook-sets!
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It appears that all of the boat landing docks and buoys are in here on Leech Lake, we are ready for opener! Water temps in Walker bay and the main lake are hovering around the 50 degree mark, with afternoon temps up in the “frog water” approaching 60 degrees some evenings. Crappie and bluegill fishing has been dynamite in shallow protected water, and perch fishing is still productive a bit further out.
The focus for most this week will shift from early season panfish, to Stizostedion vitreum, the walleye. We are counting-down to the most anticipated day of the season for walleye anglers, fishing opener 2017!
Be courteous, be safe, and have fun!
Cheers and hook-sets!
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Camping on Kab is great. Go slow until you learn where the shallow reefs are. A GPS mapping chip is a really good idea. In my experience, fishing is probably toughest mid July- mid August.
Black bears don’t want anything to do with you, maybe just your food. Use the bear vaults and keep a clean camp as stated.
