After a long hiatus, Hawg Hunters Guide Service is back in action. This spring it has been a challenge to find time to hit the water, so opener 2005 has been much anticipated in our camp. With the weather not exactly cooperating on Saturday, we were left with mixed results from our two groups, on two different bodies of water. Bob Bowman and his crew were rewarded graciously with numbers and size on the St. Louis River, however my Dad and I were not as lucky up on the northwest side of Mille Lacs. Regardless of how the fishing and/or weather was this weekend, it just feels good to be back on the water…
I guess I’ll just start with the good. Bobby hit the water Saturday morning at about 5:45. The St. Louis can be downright exasperating on opening morning, and this year would be no different. With record numbers of anglers from both Wisconsin and Minnesota hitting the river every year; short waits at accesses, good fishing spots, and common courtesy can be a challenge to find. Bob started the day trolling cranks (Reef Runners, Glass Shad Raps, and Storm Thundercranks) up near the 23 bridge, a regimen we usually follow the first couple trips to the Louie, until we nail down the migration pattern of the fish. Pictured above is good friend Chad Strowbridge with a 28” spawned out piggie, that smacked a chartreuse Reef Runner in 6’ of water. Once a good school of fish is located the next step is to slow it down, drop anchor and start pitching jigs tipped with fatheads (bigger the better) both up and down current. The key on most days is to keep contact with the bottom, but not drag the bait. That was the routine for the remainder of the day, search with cranks and follow up with jigs. A plan that produced 32 walleyes, a handful of Smallmouth, and a couple Pike on Saturday.
Now the not so good, my Dad and I went out of Garrison on Saturday morning with the wind laying low and the temps surprising balmy feeling, but it didn’t last. My strategy was to cover ground, and to accomplish that I employed something a little different, and judging by the looks I got, not real common. I was pulling a Big Jon dual planer mast with double collapsible boards. I kept to the outside of the main groups tugging Down Deep Husky Jerks in various colors anywhere from 18’-26’. Early in the morning I was marking a lot of fish in the 23’-26’ range, many suspended 2’-4’ off the bottom. But was unable to get any takers. Truthfully, I didn’t see a single fish landed among the 100 or so boats up on that side, and that includes the launches. About 11:00 the wind really started to rip so I figured we would slow it down for about an hour or so. We rigged rainbows, leeches, and crawlers anywhere from 7’-23’ and again had nothing to show for it. Frustrated, and quite chilled, we decided to call it a day. Score: Mille Lacs 1, Hawg Hunters 0.
Finally, a metro report. When I got home from Mille Lacs, I loaded up and shot over to Forest looking for a confidence booster on my home water. I was surprised to find weed growth deeper, thicker, and greener than I had seen in about the last 5 years. Working a mid-lake bar on First with a jig and minnow combination, all I could muster was a couple of scrappy pike. When darkness fell I moved on to Third and worked the breaks around the point. Fishing till 11:00 p.m. all I had to show was one fathead, bitten clean in half, I guess I was a little over anxious on the hookset. If anyone is looking for Crappies, now is about the time that Sylvia and Twin up northwest of cities start to heat up. We had a great trip a couple weeks ago, scoring multiple fish over the 13″ mark. Look shallow, and look for warm water, and if you’ve never been there before, look for the crowds.
Bob and I will be on the St Louis this week Wednesday thru Friday, look for the Alumacraft with two guys in red jackets on board, be great to meet ya’.
Dan Larson
In-Depth Angling Field Staff
Hawg Hunters Guide Service
612-247-9398
Dan, nice report, you made me feel like I was along for the ride. It reminds me of the line “idle hands are the devil’s tool” no danger of that for the Hawg Hunters, you sound busier than the preverbial birdog scratchin’ fleas. Good Luck this week on the Louie, I’ll look forward to your reports.
dave
NIce report and pics Dan! I have alway wanted to make it up there, but just haven’t as of yet. I know very little about this river except that it can be incredible fishing. Any tips on where to start. I’m talking about landing location, camping, etc. I know some of this water is off limits. Is there a map or anyhting showing this type of info? Any information would be appreicated, feel free to PM. Thanks Dan and good luck on the water.
Rob,
Here is a source for maps.
http://www.fishingmap.com/shop/lake-maps-by-publisher/lakemaps/lakemaps-maps-for-the-st-louis-river/page1.html
We put in just west of Gary, or New Duluth. The access is called Boy Scout Landing. It is a good access with two lanes, and tons of parking. We camp about a mile up river from the access on the right side of the river. The river has nav bouys, almost the whole way up to the 23 bridge. If it is your first time up there, take it easy on the throttle anywhere north of the small island just down from the bridge, I personally have seen a lot of guys blast up onto 6″ water not knowing that the rocks came up that fast, just watch for riffles. Cranks in pearl, white, silver, or chartreuse seem to produce the best. Don’t be afraid to fish shallow, if you troll up current and catch a fish, drift back with your cranks in the same area. If you are fishing south of the landing spinners and floaters can be the ticket. Silver, lime, chartreuse, and orange are good colors, with big blown crawlers being the bait of choice. The river is full of lumber, be ready to lose some some tackle. Early in the spring the bite is usually better up from the access, as we approach the end of May the bite can move as far down as Spirit Lake. Don’t neglect flats towards mid-day, sometimes areas that don’t have any discerable features hold fish. Periods of stable warm weather were the river temps rise 5-10 degrees, in the past has really turned the fish on. Bends in the river, no matter how subtle, in a lot of places hide subtle main channel breaks that are worth fishing. You get two rods so if you are anchored up, have a rod ready for a gob of crawlers because the sturgeon are everywhere. The river is no secret, so if you hate crowds, just forget about it. There are a lot of people, but there are a ton of fish.
I plan on heading up north to the river this saturday, never been there but have had it on my hit list for a while. I have heard the big females move down river right away,have you found this to be the case