Brainerd Lakes Area

Spending time with kids gives a new outlook on our lives. They look at things so different than most adults; every little thing is an adventure. This fishing report is one with my kids, as we spend a few days on the water in the Brainerd area, a short vacation with just me and my kids. We would fish areas that I fished at their age and still have many great memories spending time in a boat with my dad and uncles.

I started the trip the night before we left. I brought Jonathan, my youngest at age 4, downstairs to my fishing room. A treat in its self as the kids are not aloud in that room. I grabbed my crappie tackle boxes and opened them, I then grabbed his new Plano box that he received by attending the sport show and told him to fill his box up. His eyes got as big as dinner plates and his hands were a blur moving tackle from my boxes to his. Jigs, Flu-flu’s, bobbers, bobber stops, pinch on weights, more plastic than one could use in a year, and he even managed to get into one of my bass boxes and helped himself to some 4/0 wide gap worm hooks. The rest of the night he carried his fishing box everywhere, even brought it to bed with him.

I knew that the crappies had moved into the shallows and were ready to tear up any offerings that were tossed their way. After loading up the boat and driving to our little lake we unloaded the boat and off we went, but it is not an adventure for the kids unless they are driving so with the tiller handle in hand and my dad sitting next to them, as a precaution, we were off. The smiles and giggles affected all three generations in the boat. Thankfully we were on a lake with no other boats.

Armed with bobbers, crappie jig and a minnow both kids had there rod in hand and waiting for the word from dad to cast. After easing into the spot I gave the word and they fired casts in every direction, watching a bobber bob is not my cup of tea BUT watching my kids do it was priceless. I cracked a pop and before I even got to take a sip Katie’s, age 7, bobber slowly slid out of sight and she set the hook with authority. The battle was on, between a 12 inch crappie and a giggling, smiling little girl. Our biggest crappie of the day most others were in the 10-11 inch range. Before Katie even got her fish in, Jonathan’s bobber disappeared with a PLOP another fierce battle was in the making. My dad helped Katie net her fish while I just made sure that Jonathan held on to his fishing rod. This went on for an hour with fish after fish being caught by the youngsters in the boat while me and grandpa watched and laughed, sometimes at the kids but mostly with them.

Well I knew that eventually the kids would wear down, so the chips and juice were sitting on the bullpen waiting to get called up. The call came shortly after an hour or so, by that time I lost count of the crappies that were boated.

It was time for the parents to get their chance. My dad was throwing a small homemade fly that resembles a scud on his fly rod while I was throwing a white Charlie Brewer Slider, a small 1.5 inch paddletail. We each caught many crappies and my dad caught a number of decent sunfish as well. I really did not mater what your offering was as long as you were in an area that held fish you were going to get a bite.

The main areas to look for are shallow bays, boat cannels, last year’s reed beds and trees that have fallen into the water. The main thing though is warm water even one or two degrees can make or break a day this time of year.

It was nice for me to fish memories BUT it was nicer to make new ones.

Take a kid fishing and make your own memories,

Ron