Well, I was sitting at work yesterday afternoon and knowing I would be sitting in a stand all weekend in ND, I had to make a run up to Mille Lacs for some Eye action. Looking at the wind forecast I knew I would have to deal with that, but that did not stop my brother Rich and I from heading up. Rich has yet to get up there this Fall, so he was PUMPED. 
We checked the conditions where I wanted to fish and it did not look good. 
So still suffering from a Bachelor Party Neck/Back injury, I opted for a less windy choice and we fished the West side instead. The same place I fished Saturday with some success but no real large fish coming to the boat for me. It seems the water temps have been hovering just above 60 degrees for 2 weeks or so and last night was pretty much the same . Hopefully soon it will be dipping down into the mid 50’s and bring up the BIG FAT BOTTOM girls in force.
Well we started off making a long trolling run trying to figure out where the fish were hiding this evening. Once the sun went down, it was DARK out there, even with the street lights shimmering in the background. With the dark sky and with the moon set not to rise until just before midnight, I concentrated on darker profile baits. I tried bent lip Shad Raps, HJ’s and Rogues. The speeds I have been finding working lately with these steady temps have been under 2 mph and more precisely around 1.7-1.8 mph. After awhile of minimal success and no real size, I decided to target a small area that the fish really started to stack up in on Saturday with the same wind. As soon as we keyed into this area and made a few bait and speed adjustments it was GAME ON! 
In this few hundred yard stretch of water, with the wind blowing in it did not seem to matter if you were on the inside, outside or right in the middle of the weed-line, you got bit. I believe this area we were concentrating on is kind of a spot on a spot as it has weeds, rock and a underwater point that comes out. I believe this is the reason this spot was holding a good number of fish in and around this entire area. We finally settled in on a Lazer Craw Rogue and a Black and Gold HJ12. I kept the boat in 6-9 feet of water using my Pro Kicker steering it as a tiller. Boat control is a ton easier for me this year running a bigger glass boat. It just seems to track better and not get pushed around in the wind and waves as much as my old aluminum boat did. The other key little detail that I noticed was, the bites later in the evening were more frequent if I slowed her down a even a tad more to around 1.5-1.6 mph. With the dark sky, it just gave the fish a little easier time finding the bait in my opinion. Last night surging the rod forward definitely triggered the most bites, as you would be ripping your bait through the weeds and BAM fish on. Last night in about 5 hours of being on the water the 2 of us managed 14 eyes and 1 low 30” pike. With most of those fish coming the last 2 hours or so after dialing them in. We had to cut the night short due to a thing called Work and Money. 
Well I think the best is yet to come as water temps should be reaching that prime, magical number here soon. 
The size is getting better at this spot each and every night. Man there were some Fatties hanging out there last night, but I’m still waiting for the REAL BIG MOMMAS to show up. 
I think I might be done with weekend trips up to the POND , but hope to make as many weeknight ones as possible. Well, I’m off to ND this weekend to start my quest for a Monster Buck up there. Typically we do not see a ton of big deer this weekend up there, but it is just great to be up there knowing he could step out at any minute. I hope everyone is enjoying there weekends and a reminder to those who know. The best 30 days of the year are fast approaching. I can not wait and hope this year is more action packed then last.
BRING ON THE BIG BOYS AND GIRLS!. 
Until next week everyone have a safe and good weekend in the field what ever you choose to pursue or do! 
CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE
All the fish we caught last night were CHUNKY except for the one in the 2nd photo which was the longest of the night. We caught one 13″ that was as round as it was long.
Here in this pic is my TROLLING BUDDY mannin’ or doggin’ his position! Man I love that DOG.
Great report and fish again Rob
Great report Rob!!!!
Do I know that spot?
Man, those fish have been feeding well!!!!
Nice fish Rob.
Yep,, Tuck it is. Cant you tell by the background..
Good work Rob! Gets me pumped for tomorrow.
Great report and fish! Love that shot of you and the lab.
My black lab has been with me 5 yrs.now and it’s funny how they know their place in the boat during a night troll. Great companions
Be careful Rob! Those BIG FAT BOTTOM girls can cause neck/back injuries -especially if you hook into one at a bachelor party
Good luck hunting, hey, if you stick a deer early, you’ll have time to head back to the pond.
Sweet report and nice fatties Rob! I am getting so pumped to get up there – just gotta hit the river with Jeff for a couple days this weekend, then work a few days then i’m there!!!
Well, after playing the yes, no, yes, no game with whether or not to make the trip my brother, his brother-in-law, and myself decided to give it a shot. It was a choice that I don’t regret! We got to the lake just before the sun was setting and decided to make a long trolling run to see if we could try to develop some type of pattern for the night. After trolling for the first hour and a half we had nothing to show for our efforts and we decided it was time to make a move. We went to another area that was similar to what we previously had fished except we had a lot more wind. It didn’t take long after making the move to develop a pattern that would end up taking a respectable amount of fish. We had a 200 yard stretch that seemed to be holding a lot of the fish. The area we were fishing was similar to Rob’s in that it had a definite inside and outside weed line with a sharp drop. Most of our success was on the outside weed edge right where it broke into deeper water. The best bait of the night was a shallow running Shad Rap. We had fish anywhere from 14.25 up to 26.5, but more in the low 20″ range than anything. It was very dark and windy out there last night and we had a nice lightening show to the south. The water was still right around 60 degrees and as it falls the bite should really take off! We ended the night just before midnight with a number somewhere in the high teens. We were happy with how the night went and can’t wait for the next trip!
Great report Rob, good luck in ND.
Jami
nicely done fellas…i’ve had a rough go up there this year. I swear every time i put in, the wind blows at least 30mph. I’m due for a good night here soon.
Thanks Guys
There was just enough wind blowing in to stack the fish up, but not too much like the North End. Tuck you know the spot.
It may not be the one you are thinking but you know it. 
The Neck/Back injury is from wrestling Stacies brother on the bus and in the mud when we rolled off the bus/ It has been a LONG LONG (12-13 years) time since I have wrestled. Let alone for over a half hour. He stil does every year and man I’m out of shape.
Funny thing is nothing hurt that night 
, but the next day was a different story. 
A month and a half later, I’m still hurting. 
This year I’m hunting in 4 states,, so the odds of me sticking one early in all 4 is not good.
Let alone 1 state. 
Nice report. Now go smack a big un’ for Team # 1 !!!
big g
G, I let a 12-13 point buck walk this weekend.
Man was he a cool buck. 
Give him a year or 2 and watch out this thing will rule the woods. 
Great Report Rob,
I have not been able to get up there yet, but hope to soon.
keep those reports coming, and hoping Stacy IS able to get out also.
Good Luck in the woods this Fall, Be Safe.
Jack.