The Bite on Mille Lacs continues to hold strong for both Big Jumbo Perch and Walleye. This weekend I was fortunate enough to guide the same group for an entire weekend. This gives me a chance to cover a lot of different bites and really get to show what the lake can produce.
Friday evening we started out on the Mud in search of limits of perch and walleye for the Pan. The bite on Friday evening was really good for Mid January standards. This first Picture is Jon D. with one of the 25’s he caught this weekend.
The perch were on a tear on Friday evening and again Saturday AM. The bite slowly tapered off by afternoon and the fish became very negative. By Saturday afternoon it was necessary to have a camera down to see the bites. The guys using the MarCum OVS 560 underwater camera had no problem catching a limit of nice eaters. The overall size of the perch was really mixed. The fish we kept were anywhere from 10 inches with the bigger ones touching 14 inches. Now I don’t care who you are, those are GIANT perch, just shy of 2 pounds!! This picture is one of the HUGE JUMBO’s we caught on the weekend.
As for the walleye bite, well, it is still really good. If I said we caught over 50 walleye on the weekend I would not be lieing. Now, let me explain. There must be a HUGE year class of these guys in the next picture. We easily caught 40 of these in a day and a half. These little 7 inchers are very aggressive and have to be handled with care, as they just inhale your presentation. They are a very welcome site however!
The bite on Sunday AM was better again. We targeted shallow water since we were only fishing the AM bite. The bite was very good in the AM but quickly faded as the sun peaked out. We were able to score a few more eater walleye like these Ken S. is holding before they vacated the shallows.
For the weekend we kept the 3 man limit of eater perch we were after as well as 8 walleye. We had several fish over the slot and had a few more opportunities at bigger fish that did not make it onto the ice. As I mentioned earlier, we had A LOT of walleye that were on the small side, and that was sure encouraging.
The bite for Perch and Walleye continues to be strong, even though February is just around the corner.
I am off the ice for the next two weeks for my little sisters wedding. So, if anyone is interested in picking up a MarCum LX-5, LX-3tc, LX-3, LX-2 or LX-1 Flasher, it is time to clean house and get ready for my February trips. Email me if you are interested or search the classifieds on this site for my adds. They will all be ready to go tomorrow.
Some nice eater perch.
Travis with a nice 18 inch keeper walleye
Jon D. with a HUGE JUMBO PERCH. This 14 incher is actually the biggest Perch I have seen alive
Dave with a Typical Mille Lacs Lake male Perch. These 10 inch males are abundant, and if you like good eaters, they are perfect.
Jon D. with his other 25 incher this weekend
I took this picture because it is one of the things I enjoy most about guiding on Mille Lacs
Wow !nice fish Scotty ….14″now thats a toad
I`ve heard of a few of those this year already.Can’t hardly wait for March,nothing better than catching “sow bellys”.Keep up the good work.
jiggle-jiggle
I am going to have to get my butt up there sometime. The reports week after week are just amazing
Great jod Scott
Very nice fish!
Those sunrise’s are absolutely beautiful, so is that 14″ perch!
that’s an awesome fish Scott!
Great Report!!!! We also hit Mill Lacs for the first time this weekend out of Hunter’s. Our group only caught seven walleye and 2 eelpout for the entire weekend …but did very well with the jumbo perch. Putt2win caught a solid 14″er easily over 1.5+#lbs. Should be able to post that photo soon. Otherwise very fun weekend with good friends.
Very nice fish Scott! By “it’s almost february”, do you mean you expect the fishing to slow down considerably? Luke H. and I were talking about coming up there again possibly.
Andy, typically the walleye bite gets very tough after Jan 15th. This year the bite continues to hold on, which has not been typical the last 4 years. The Perch bite only gets better, and believe me, late ice is going to be incredible
Those sure are some dandy perch. was there a better color that worked or were they just eating what you put in front of them. How many times did you have to move? could you stay on them consistantly?
WOW! Thats a impressive perch, not to mention that 25″ eye. I can’t wait, I am headed to the pond on Feb. 19. Hope the bites half that good. Great post Scott
Scott,
What’s your thoughts on the bite holding up so late in the year?
You think the unseasonably warm winter has an affect on it?
or the amount of forage?
Thoughts?
You can tell the fish were going to bite…………I stayed off the lake this weekend!
Awesome report
You definitely have the lake figured out and can put clients on some excellent fishing 
Scott or anyone, while we were out there this weekend we got what looked to me to be a blue Walleye, I fish the pond a lot and have never run across one like this. I have seen them in Canada but never here, has anyone else ever run across any of these on Mille Lacs? I will try to post a pic shortly, it is pretty cool looking.
We only fished two different spots on the lake this weekend, but we fished a lot of different holes on the spot. Saturday we were set up on the edge of a mud flat and worked about 50 holes scattered out across the flat.
Hooks, the bite seems to be hanging on this year because there is an abundance of smaller (under 20 inch) fish. The last few years those fish were few and far between. Small fish are eating machines and they make the bigger fish compete for food. I credit the balance of the lake to why the bite continues to be good this winter.
As for a Blue Walleye, not from Mille Lacs. I have caught a lot of a walleye out of the pond and the shallow fish are more Golded, and the deep mud fish are lighter in color, but never a Blue. Sounds like you have a unique one there
I’ll see if I can post this picture. It is of two walleyes from the pond, the one looks like a blue walleye that I’ve seen in Canada but not around here. [image]http://pictures.sprintpcs.com/share.do?invite=DEar4pmthz8o1LgLhU6k&shareName=MMS&messageState=RETRIEVED[/image]
That is strange. That almost looks like the differnce between a shallow weed walleye and a mud flat walleye. The difference is usually very noticeable on Mille Lacs but not that much. Not sure what you caught there
Yeah I have never seen them with that drastic of a difference before either. And they were both caught in the mud
Hey Scott do you normally find the jumbos and eyes together or is one or the other found deeper in relation too the flats? Normally when i’ve targeted walleyes on the flats its right at the top edge, do you ever find them actually on top of the flat? Or out off the flat in that 35′ area? Im hoping too get up and give it a try the last weekend of the season and im curious as too if you think the mud bite will stay strong or will I be better off trying other areas? Thanks.
Depending how big the area is I am working I try to cover the top, the edges, the bottom as well as the area within 30 yards of the bottom of the flat. If people don’t crowd me in, usually I don’t have to fish that far off the flat but some days people force me to fish there, as that is where they push the fish to. I just follow the fish, somedays I don’t have to move much at all.
So will those fish on those flats move up and down them all day long? Just a matter of finding the depth they are moving at? So if you drill say 15 holes in an area and nothing much happens is it now a waiting game or is it time too move a half mile down the flat? I’ve never really ice fished the flats, only been on them in a boat. Just curious as too how too play that game in the winter.
James I almost posted right after Scott but held my lip.
If you punch 30 holes on a spot which consists of top bottom and midbreak, sit at each one for a minute or so and end up fishless or with dinks, you’ve done your work for that area. Time to move. No one ever won a tourny playing “the waiting game” I’m not saying you’re going onto Milly that hard core, but if you want fish you gotta move. There is no magic depth. Although the perch latlely have been hanging around the breaks and around the tops of the flats. Do not limit yourself to one or two spots. That last report I gave consisted of fishing a total of 13 different areas.
The fish on the flats aren’t moving up and down them all day. Its just likely that the pig eyes will venture through that area for the same reason perch are hanging out there.
I know Scott and I fish the same which consists of jumping holes. You get 2 or more guys covering that kind of area and you’ve got yourself a fishing team. I would stick to an area for say 4 or 5 spots and then try a different area of the lake. Never play the waiting game. When it comes to fishing the ol’ saying does not apply ……good things come to those who get up and find the fish!” not to those who wait. Good luck out there. Matt
Great observations Matt. I would also agree with your findings.
I kind of figured that was the case up there. I dont have a problem with drilling dozens of holes, we do it when we go chase Red Lake crappies. Im sure you know how that goes, you can move 50 yards and it can be night and day there. Is it that case for you guys on Mille Lacs? I mean when you move do you move too another flat? Or do you move around on the same flat a few times? Heres another question, is there a point when you set up for the evening bite somewhere. Just say ok its 3:00 lets get in place and get set for the sunset bite? Or do you keep moving throughout that period too? Are the odds better for an evening bite on the rocks rather than the flats? Sorry for all the questions, im really not a rookie. I just always like too do my homework and come up with a gameplan before i head somewhere fairly new too me and the info you guys are giving me is much apprecitated.
Interesting question james_walleye…I have a tendency to let the fish tell me what kind of pattern they are in…In some cases you have to move all day long..Flat to Flat..And on other days you can stay on the same flat just moving around in the 50 holes or so you have drilled already..
As far as the evening bite goes I believe its relatively the same thing…Fish will move onto the flats at “peak” times to feed, but not just anywhere on the flat…Find that special little turn, steep drop, or tip of that flat and give each hole in that area a few minutes like Matt had mentioned in a previous post…If your reading just little fish and not the solid red lines we all like to see…get off your bucket and move to a new hole…It may only be 15 ft away but it could be deeper,shallower,or a change in bottom that will hold these fish in this hole not the previous one just 15 ft away.
Numberous trips to mille lacs this winter has shown me that you can have a perfect hole drilled…I have been schooled by people fishing with me and I am litterly only 10 ft away from that person. Using the same bait and presentation..
So in closing…let the fish tell you what they want…If your not seeing what you think you should see…MOVE to another flat or just sometimes a few feet away..
Good luck and hope to see you on the water!
That is a good last name you got there Cory
I thought you would get a kick out of that . – Keep up the good fishin’!- CS
Scott, love that new avatar
Awesome fish and report as always Scott.
People were giving me a hard time about not changing my last one, so I used one from the GTG weekend on Mille Lacs. Now they think by “Bed Head” is funny
Now that you mention it,I`d have to agree;it is alittle fun looking
jiggle-jiggle
Thanks for the Clarification Scott. I couldn’t tell if it was “bed head” or “I just got my
handed to me in cards” look 
A little of Both