Its been a little while since my last report, not because I have not been on the water but because my hard drive on my home computer crashed and needed some expert help to bring it back to life. In the past 10 days, I have been on the water nearly every day scooping out new bites or new ground for upcoming guide trips or tournaments. The bite for big fish has improved dramatically over the past 10 days. I am still 100% trolling for these fish but as always, little details make a huge difference from putting 2-3 fish in the boat, to accomplishing double digits for a day’s outing. 10-15 fish per day has been the norm for my boat the last 10 days and the majority of those fish are over the 26” mark. As of today, my boats total fish over the 28” mark has reached 10 fish. Where can a big fish hunter go and have that kind of average in the state of Minnesota other than Mille Lacs lake? It truly is a big fish factory!
The warmer weather we have been having over the last 5 days has brought the big females to the dinner table in extraordinary fashion! Trolling crank baits and planer boards has still been my number one choice for anyone looking for a trophy fish. Finding the large schools of these fish is the biggest obstacle you will have when targeting these nomadic fish. Most of the schools we have been finding over the last couple outings have been areas within a couple hundred yards from the infamous mud flats of Mille Lacs lake. Most anglers will hug these structures pretty snug with livebait rigs, but when crankbait trolling look for areas holding fish just around or adjacent to the edges of these flats and pay attention to the depth of water they are relating to. This important detail cannot be stressed enough when targeting fish that are in open water looking for their next available meal. You can’t catch them unless you see them on your locator right? After a good school of walleyes are located, pinpoint their most consistent depth they are relating to and target that depth!
I have seen trolling speeds vary greatly with weather playing a large role in fish behavior and how they respond to presented lures. 1.2mph-2.7mph has been the lower and upper end of the speed spectrums. The most consistent speed seems to be 1.7-2.0mph (gps) for getting the fish to go in an active school, however both slow and fast speeds need to be applied day in and day out for triggering these nomadic walleyes. One keynote when tackling trolling speeds above 2.0 mph, pick lures that run well in that quick pace. The Cotton Cordell Grappler Shad (CD15) has produced many fish this past week trolled at a very quick pace. These crankbaits are ready for high speed trolls with nearly zero tuning time needed for this pace. Right out of the box will give you the added confidence that if its presented near fish, it will be hard to resist. Another real good producer for me in both slow and fast trolling speeds has been the Smithwick Spoonbill super Rogues. These Rogues not only run true out of the box, they also excel at ultra slow trolling speeds. A slow subtle side-to-side roll is an amazing trigger in slow trolling speeds that a lot of anglers forget about. These lures will run you close to 25 feet of water with 200 feet of line out behind the boat.
With the water temps finally reaching that mid 60-degree temperature, the big female walleyes seem to be putting the feedbag on. Today we got off the water with 11 fish with the majority over the 26-1/2” mark including 3 fish over the 28” mark! The best bite is yet to come in the coming weeks given we get some continued warmer weather to promote more feeding trends.
Look for more pictures of previous trips to follow this report down below in the next several replies to this message! Until my next report, think big fish and keep those eyes peeled on the depth finder, as that unit needs to gain 100% of your confidence for your eyes near the bottom. I still have openings in the next several weeks if anyone is interested in learning a new technique that will put more and bigger fish in the boat for you whether it be Mille Lacs or your favorite lake near home.
Good luck and I will see you on the big pond!
Here is a pic of Chad Would and a picture of another 28″+ fish making its way to the boat on a guide trip last Thursday. Nice fish Chad and thanks for spending the day with me. I hope you and your buddy Ed got full nejoyment of out the day on Mille Lacs!
Here is a picture of Chad Would’s buddy Ed with his second 29″ fish for the day!
Nice fish buddy!
Here is Steve Flygstad’s 29″ fish that hit today. Steve and I managed to boat a double header today and both fish went 29″ inches. Besides Lake Erie, that is the biggest double I have had to date!
Post deleted by Steve DeZurik
Here is a picture of friend Matt Braunwarth of Minneapolis with his biggest walleye to date! Nice fish Matt.
Here is yours truly getting into the action as well as my customers insisted that I reel one of the fish in for the day!
Here is a picture of Art with his two boys Luke and Charlie hoisting a nice 28″+ walleye that Luke got the thrill of reeling in. These young anglers are anglers in the making for the future after our trip together! Glad you guys had a fun day on the water and look forward to possibly fishing wiht you again someday!
Here is a shot of Luke hoisting a nice 26″+ walleye that fell victim to a Grappler Shad pulled at nearly 3.0 mph! Whe na fish hits the lure at this pace, you best be glad that rod is in the rod holder!!
Great report Steve !!!
sure looks like you’ve put some dandy fish in the boat up there
Here is Ed with a gorgeous colored walleye that was caught swimming really shallow over 35 feet of water. The Grappler Shad took this fish trolling with an inline planer board.
Here is Jeff Crotty of Coon Rapids, Mn with a nice walleye!
Here is Steve Flygstad with another fish over the 28″ mark.
Simply AWESOME! Many people dream of putting a 28″ fish in the boat just once in their lives. Great report and keep up the good work!
Great report Steve ,Thanks for the details
Steve,
You say you are running planer boards. Are you using snap weights to get those Grappler Shads down that deep? I’m headed up to the pond on Saturday with a friend and would love to troll up a couple of big fish.
Mike,
The last couple of outings, I have been marking fish really high in the water column (8-12feet down) and this is perfect range to put a Grappler shad longlined behind the board, however when the fish seem to be relating deeper I will change and apply a snap weight to help get that lure down to the appropriate depth. Just keep you eyes peeled on the depth finder and put those lures where they need to be. I always like to target within a couple feet above the fish that I mark.
Hope this helps! Good luck on your next trip. Find a active school and stay on them!
Hey –
What’s with the winter jackets and hats??? I can definitely relate – my winter hat was on all day 6/25 and was disgusted with myself for leaving my insulated bibs at home!
Nice report and way to get on those fish that have been tougher this year than ever before.
Nice Job!
ted
Ted,
Gotts love Mn right? One day sunscreen and beads of sweat and the very next day insulated bibs and jackets!
I am ready for summer anytime now.
The past week in a half now the big fish have started to show them selves more consistently…a little behind schedule but glads its finally here. I could of used this bite a few weeks back during tourney time.
Thanks Steve.
I’ll do my best to find them and I’ll report back. I love open water trolling!
Great job again, Steve!
Steve,
Thanks for a great time last Thursday, you got the monkey off my back (over 28″). Good weather, good fun, and great fishing! If you ever need a reference I’ll give you two thumbs up!! Great job!!!
Ed Truskolaski
Rush City
Only 2 more weeks Mr. DeZurik
Thought Iwould add a couple more nice fish pics from last night. Steve Flygstad of Milaca,Mn and Trina Schmidt of Ramsey, Mn joined me for a few hours on the big lake looking for a couple more briusers.
Here is Trina holding one of 3 monsters that came to the boat for our short night of trolling.
This last fish of the night was the biggest of the night as well. This one hit the tape at 29″. Nice fish Trina!
What do you suppose cause the fish to be so beat???
Awesome fish!!!
Its a fungus infection that grows like a sist then falls off the fish. Totally normal and safe to eat if you see that on smaller fish.
I’ve seen the “wart” stage of this, but never have this stage. Icky!!