Sorry for the delay in a Mille Lacs Lake report, I had some head scratching issues getting logged into a remote computer and staying logged on…..long story.
Here is my latest report.
The nights up here on Mille Lacs continue to get colder and colder but the fishing is showing signs of being much more consistent in the last couple trips. Water temps are slowly falling and as of today (Sunday am), they should be in the high 40’s. It seems a little late to finally have water temps as such, but now it’s finally arrived and the fish are starting to fall into their traditional fall patterns that we all so much anticipate for this time of year.
These fish are so incredibly FAT and healthy, that you really do a second glance every single time a fish hits the net. 25 and 26 inch fish are hitting the scales at 7lbs. Wait until we see the big mamas really show up in good numbers! The October full moon is shaping up to be a good bite with some very heavy fish to make it to the boat. I am going to predict that we will see our fair share of fish in the honest 10lbs + range this month.
Weeds mixed with gravel have been my main targets this week for locating fish in a consistent manner. Finding the spot on the spot has been crucial for our success this past week/end trips, but the last couple outings have shown more walleyes to be widely spread out within the entire weed flat areas. 6-10 foot of water has been holding the most fish each trip with the deeper depths right at sundown working best and gradually moving shallower as the night grows old. Steady trolling speeds of 1.3-1.8mph has been my most productive speeds, changing speeds from time to time has proved a few fish, but the steadier you can hold it, the better off I have been. Big s-turn trolling patterns has claimed about 75% of our fish on the last two night versus running a straight line down the shoreline. By making turns you are changing the speeds of the inside and outside lines, but they still want it in a turn versus slowing down and speeding up in a straight line troll…..Hmmmm oh well, give them what they want right? Look for the speeds to slow down to .8-1.3mph as water temps reach the low 4-‘s to high 30’s.
Looking at these pictures, you will see clearly that these fish are not going hungry by any means and being selective at what they want to eat next is evident with how many short biters we have had in the past 4-5 trips. The numbers of fish that are making to the boat now on average are right around 18 fish with equally the same amount coming undone after a short tap, couple head shakes and…..gone. Earlier in the week I had tried all kinds of crazy antics to try to get these fish to hold on all the way back to the boat, but I have had no constructive patterns in doing so at this point. The good news is now that the fish are showing signs to hit these lures harder and with much more attitude…more of what you would expect for this time of year. A slow deliberate rod sweep followed by steady fall back has claimed almost all the fish for us as of late.
The slow periods in the bite that I alluded to in my previous report are starting to slowly fade away now with walleyes showing themselves more consistently now throughout the night. Earlier in the week a good bite from about 7:30pm until 9:30pm existed and then a long lull until 1:30-2:00am with very few in between, now it’s showing signs of keeping you awake all night long with little to no down time.
If you are into keeping a few fish from Mille Lacs, now is the time you want to be on the lake, loads of 19”-22” with an occasional smaller 16-18” fish are showing up giving my customers limits to take home with them. Can’t say that I am used to that for this time of year on Mille Lacs lake, but it’s a great sign of good things to come in the future.
Look for the big fish to start showing themselves very, very soon.
Hey,DeeZee that pike didn’t have a stray firetiger HJ stuck in him did he
Thanks for a great trip sat.nite 
BRENT
No, but he did give me a little tongue lashing before I set him free!
Brent put the coals to a rather big fish that claimed one of my firetiger HJ the other night. That was the second one that weekend that got robbed from me.
IF anyone is into those toothy critters (pike or muskie), please come and take care of business for me!
All kidding aside, we are starting to see more big fish move into the weeds as of late. We lost a nice musky late last week in the wee hours of the nightfall, only to be disappointed in a bite off.
Steve, Those are some nice fish. Saturday night is going to be the night when we really get the big Mammas though!
Looking forward to getting on the water with you.
Welcome to in-depth Doc. Steve will treat you right.
troy,
Thats what I hear, have you been out with this master?
Steve, are you mostly fishing on the west side like where we put in last year when my buddy Ian and I came up with you? I’ll be out next week 2-4 times so maybe i’ll see you out there. I plan to put in at the casino…any thoughts or hints? Thanks, Micah
Jesse,
I sure hope so! We will do whatever it takes to find those bigger females. I am looking forward to the trip!
Micah,
Yes I will be out several trips this weekend and from Wednesday next week all the way through into the following week. As for hints? Right now, work the weed/gravel areas with stickbaits in the 7-10 feet areas and be sure to keep changing it up until you make contact with fish. My most productive speeds have been 1.2-1.6mph and making lots of s-turns throughout the area. Best colors for me have been the firetiger and some new custom painted colors that I have been playing with…..
As you get into the late night, be creative and search real shallow. The last several trips marked several fish in the 1-3 foot areas with a spot light.
Micah,
Naw, I was just being foolish! Jame’s report about the doctoring started my thoughts again this year and I started marking up some cranks once again. Well, put it this way I ran a stickbait for awhile with no takers while I gave my customers producing lures. After a bit of getting snuffed by my customers catching fish I relled in this mediocre looking lure, took out my magic marker and started in on some artisitc thoughts. After a few minutes I threw this lure back out and starting catching fish the rest of the night and even on several nights in a row. Is there something to it? I was a firm believer after that. As a rule, I like darker profiles in overcast skies…….so dark I went!
Hi Steve,
Thanks for the info…..This is Travis Renville’s brother. I have been on Indian Point three times this year and have put a few in the boat. I’ll tell ya one thing it’s not the same out there without my brother……r.i.p Travis. Steve, I have noticed two big differencs….first….Travis and I were pitting big fish in the boat last year…..at least a 28+ once…..sometimes two or three every trip……ok here is my question last year on our trolling runs we were just tapping the bottom every so often….on these runs, our lures would pick up some algae off the rocks…..this year I have not noticed the algae at all on the lure. I’m still tapping the bottom every so often. Does the lack of this algae in the area effect the bait fish moving in. From your reports, it appears the weed sand/gravel area’s seem to be producing the majoritiy of your fish. I know, it’s probably a crazy question but hey….I’m looking for a reason why Indian Point is so slow as of late. This year the only lure that has produce is a J-11 Firetiger….it’s put all the fish in the boat so far. Hope all is well Steve….I’m fishing Indian this Saturday. I’ll be in a Red/White/Black Skeeter 2050 if anybody else is in the area say hi.
Welcome aboard muskie. spent the day on pool 2 today and Travis came up in a few conversations. He is still missed.
Good to here you are finding a few fish on the big pond.
MuskieFever,
As for information on the rock bite at Indian Point? Unfortunately, I would be speaking out of tongue if I could comment on why that may be a bit off the pace. From what I have seen in the last couple nights in the weed areas, a more push of fish shallow seems to be much more prodiminent lately and numbers are consistently getting stronger! This fall has been a bit off the pace in the areas I have been fishing as well. Seeing the health of these fish, I believe the fish are there, but much more selective at what they decide to consume.
I am just now starting to see the bite getting better and better. I would guess the rocks will see a better bite form here on out.
Travis is missed here at IDA by many and I hope you find that fishing brings you two closer in your memories and thoughts!