There is a good bite on the north sand break, like Bobber said. Plenty of fish to mark and plenty of fish to be caught. Run your rig and find the fish. You will mark pods of fish in the depths from 24 fow all the way to the breakline base (about 18 fow). If you are not marking fish, the fish are not there……So be mobile!!!
Stickboy and I launched the rig at 7:30 and fished the breakline around the Red Door resort. Our technique was to run 12′ snells with a leech. I ran a red hook/red bead and Stickboy ran a green hook/green bead. The fish preferred the red that day, so after about 4 fish, Stickboy switched over. We kept our drift speed between 0.4 to 0.7 mph.
The fish were very neutral to negative. We ended up boating 10 fish. 4 were "keepers" in the 13 to 15 inch range. The other 5 fish ranged from 20 to 24 inches, with the biggest coming from Stickboy at a nice 27" fatty!!!
We had a lot of "biters" that would hit the leech and spit it out. We also lost a few fist that came unbuttoned on the way to the boat.
The key factor is working the bait slow when they are this negative. Let the leech do all the work and DON’T DRAG YOUR SINKER!!!! Even though this is considered the "sand area", there is still a lot of "muck" to stir up if you drag. So, keep that sinker about a foot off the bottom!!!
Also, one last bit of info. The key art of lindy rigging is to move SLOW, let the leech do all the work and swimming. If you are moving to fast, all you do is drag the leech and not give a natural presentation.
Get up there now, because the bite is only going to get better!!!
Good report Gary! Thanks for the tip on the sinker
.
That’s it! I gotta get up there this week.
Gary:
When Lindying, do you set the hook right away or are you a believer in giving out line and letting them run with it? Do you vary based on the mood of the fish or time of year?
Great report! Will be fishing Mille Lacs Fri-Sun. Sounds like both walleyes and smallies are going pretty good.
Good question Cougareye!!!
No, last Friday, I was feeding alot of line. The fish were very lethargic, in which you would just feel weight. Even with a high quality graphite rod, all you would feel was weight. That is very typical with using long snells and when the big fish just are negative. They come up and gently clamp their jaws on the leech and just sit there. This is when it is critical of giving line to “feed them”.
Of the fish we caught last Friday, only about 4 fish took the hook to the gut. The others were just lip hooked. And we were feeding with counts up to 10 or even 15.
When the fish do take the hook to the gut, it is critical to cut the line and don’t pull that hook out. The fish will survive with that hook in the gullet, you just have to be gentle with them.
Some of the more aggressive biters last Friday did give us a good “thump”, where they slammed the leech. These fish that thumped the bait and we got to the boat were the smaller males.
Another key point in lindy rigging is the technique of feeding line. As we all know, you keep the bail open and your finger on the line. When the fish hits, you let go of the line with your finger, wait a few seconds and set the hook.
HOWEVER;
When the fish are biting this light and they are that negative, it takes nothing for them to have reason to spit it out. So, a key here is to always be prepared for the bite. When they do hit soft, or you only feel weight, it is important to bring the rod tip back to the fish and release your finger at the same time. This prevents/eliminates a “load up” of line pressure and you “slingshotting” your line back at the fish.
This is another key factor to not dragging your sinker. If you are dragging your sinker, not only are you stirring up the muck on the bottom, which you will be pulling your bait through in a few seconds and spooking away fish…….But you can’t feel that “weight” that suddenly appears at the end of your line. OR You think the weight is just your sinker in the muck.
Think about it. The fish is negative in the first place. They bite your bait, load up the line (remember, mono has stretch!!!), then you snap the line out of your finger. That, at times is enough to spook the fish and make her spit it the bait.
The last key factor in negative fish, and I said this before in my report……..
You have to SLOW DOWN!!!! Let that leech just sit there and swim in front of that fish, tempting it to the point it has to eat. When the fish are negative, and you coming zipping by, pulling that leech, they just won’t respond.
Find the fish, get on top of them and tempt away. They will bite!!!
Good luck up there. Now is the time to boat some tunas!!! If the bite is a bit slow and the water warms up more, focus on the first few flats on the north side. The big females already are making their migration out there. They are “post spawn” fish and are very reluctant to bite, but there are some big pigs to be caught now. You just have to put in the time.
To bad the walleyes had moved on by Sunday. I was up there and nothing was going– not even on the usual suspect spots on the north end sand in the evening. Still marked some fish, but they wanted nothing to do with presentations similar to those mentioned in the “expert’s” report above. I even dove in to take a look see…walleyes be fat with big bellies full of bait fish & perch. Try Carlsona area flats and breaks–may have moved over there. At least thats what my ‘source’ says.
Heddar, Heddar, Heddar…….
Are you still sore, because I catch bigger and better walleyes than you???
I see the master has now become the apprentice!!!
Good luck up there smallie fishing!!!
This is a fishing web-site, not a forum for Star Wars geeks sitting around stroking there light-saber and using words like ‘master’ and ‘apprentice’.
Gary, Excellent report! That’s one of the more informational reports I’ve seen here at IDA. Nice job!
I agree! Excellent report!..For last saturday. However, I need to know what to do now, that by all recent accounts, the fish are moving on. Where are they headed? And, why? Is this typical? Is a 12 ft lead necessary, or can a shorter one be used? Is it just me?…Sunday I was there with a 10ft lead going 0-0.5 mph (gps) with a red hook (no secret), and caught zip.
This is a forum for discussion for us green-horns to learn from the “experts”, correct? Not just a site to post what happened in one particular outing when things went well yesterday?? Gary- Whats your opinion on where to go now and throughout the remainder of the early summer, particularily prior to the forage boom?
Hedder, if we had the answers to all of that, I would fish every tournament on Mille Lacs, and win each one! Maybe you are joking, and the joke is on me. But I think IDA Pro and Field Staff are very forthcoming with info. Keep in mind that a lot of us guide and fish tournaments. We cannot divulge all of the information, (Much less predict the future!) but I do believe that most staff give info very freely, and honestly. There are a number of articles in the IDA library providing info on the very thing you are asking for.
Wanna know my take on Mille Lacs? The fish are everywhere! And I am not trying to be a joker! I fished the mid-lake flats, the Jug, Carlsona, Fishers, Lakeside Reef, and caught fish everywhere. If you want to ask what type of technique would work better for rocks, gravel, or flats, I would be very happy to answer whatever question you may have. I can probably speak for Gary as well.
Tuck
I agree Tuck!
Hedder actually this forum is named Fishing Reports. That is exactly what Gary did. He reported on his fish findings and experiences from this weekend. If you are seeking more info, I would suggest posting those similar questions in the Mille Lacs Walleye forum and perhaps some people would chime in and give you their opinions on where the fish will be moving to next, what techniques to catch these fish & etc.
Another great idea is to hire a guide here @ IDA and pick his brain while you are out on the water. It is amazing how much information us “Green Horns” can learn from these guys. I can think of about 8 – 10 guides off the top of my head, here on IDA that guide Mille Lacs. I have shared the boat with a few of them and the information I learned in that one day on the water with these guys is well worth any $ spent.
Just my $.02
Take a look at any tourney on the lake. 60% might catch fish 40% may not. Most teams are using the same presentations and the same bait. Its a matter of finding feeding fish. Theres always fish biting somewhere in the system regardless of weather, food or whatever. Its a matter of finding the biters.
Its the same with any body of water. No matter how tough the bite is someone always finds the fish.
The purpose of the reports are to point a person in the right direction for areas to fish and what method caught the fish on the certain day and area. Exact spots on a body of water aren’t given as that would just lead to bodies of water being fished out. The last thing a reporter wants to do is harm a body of water. The purpose is to help ”you” find the fish.
Thanks, Bill
It also does help to have the force on your side..
I’ll have to admit it, I am surprised at how pleasant you guys seem to be, particularily in your responses above…Lip Ripper, Eye Guide, Derek & Bill, etc. I consider myself a fairly good friend of Gary, or maybe I should say Gary is a good friend of mine, and I like to challenge him sometime; whether it be fishing hunting, politics, whatever. I know Gary respects your opinions and achievements in the sport of fishing, and when I did respond the other day to his post about the north end walleyes, I was part challenging his experience to see what he would advise and also part seeing what happens on this site, as I am not big on forum-type chat stuff on the internet. I anticipated some possible critical responses from the residents on this site in his defense. I’ve seen other forum sites where people can be down right nasty to others and not helpful. However, I am impressed with your collective professionalism, and can say that Gary belongs in your midst. Hes a damn good guy and a good fisherman…probably one of the best ‘instinctive’ fisherman I know. Its a different story though when identifying threatening weather. Trust me! Do the opposite of what he says when it comes to weather.
Hi James!
Hedder,
I was trying to decide how to respond to you, knowing full well you were being a smart
. Apparently they don’t like Gary that well since nobody came running to his rescue. 
You slept through a guide trip lately??
Hedder, where did you catch this fish? Also, Gary said that you shave your chest, is this true?
Sorry for hijacking this post. One of my best friends nickname is Hedder. Both him and you both seem to be clowns 
Nice portrait, Alvin! Your parents must be proud!
Caught the ski on Lake of the woods. Yeaaaa…its a beauty, aint she?? Although done be fooled–it only looks big because Im only 3 1/2 feet tall.
Gary(Snapper-head) took the picture. Despite the blurryness, it’s the only one that he’s ever taken of me that actually looks somewhat good. Most of them he takes he has the camera on wide-angle and the pics looks like Im standing in the next county. He can forget about sending his resume to National Geographic.
Hey Kooty! Good to hear from ya!
I never claimed to be a weatherman………….”Just go towards the big puffy clouds……..They don’t have lightning!!!!!”