Mille Lacs Lake, MN – 9/14/03

This will be my final report from Mille Lacs this month unless something changes drastically tonight. I’ll be back in early Oct. though!

After the weather I had to put up with earlier in the week, the conditions the last two night have made fishing an absolute pleasure… and since we boated some dandy fish, I’d say it was definitely worth the wait!

The first little tid bit I’d like to share is for those that like to pike fish. The bite on these toothy critters is really on a roll right now and guys like me trolling inadequate ‘lil walleye baits are having our hands full with some pretty nice pike… and the numbers are there for the taking. I’d imagine that if a guy was to upsize baits a bit and target these fish, the size would improve as well as the numbers caught.

We’re finding these fish on the outside of any weedlines we target… often showing up in 11′ – 14′ depending on where the weedline peeters out into the lake. We’re running weighted husky jerks or #5 jointed raps on 100′ – 130′ of line and pulling out away from the weed growth and just smoking upper 20 inch – mid 30′ fish. The north end sand breaks have been particularly good to us with the pike and the bite goes well into dark as you can see from these photos. No monster hogs here but solid fish that are a fun fight on our walleye gear. I’d love to hear from someone that actuallys targets these fish in these areas this time of year or perhaps I’ll have to make a point to investigate this a bit further in October. We’ve landed some low – mid 40 inch pike in these areas in the past, using these same walleye sized lures, and I just have to think that a bigger bait would result in some real eye-poppers!

On to the walleye bite…!

It’s good. Not great. Better than a sharp stick in the eye but not the fabulous action in regards to numbers that we often see in the fall. With the temps FINALLY starting to drop into the mid 60’s we WILL see in improvment in numbers for all the guys and galls out fishing but for now, 20 – 30 fish a night is a good night from what I’m seeing and hearing.

On Saturday night we focused on larger fish knowing that we could boost our catch numbers by hitting some shallow rock reefs but we would be sacrificing average size a bit based on my experiences over the two night prior. So we went hog hunting and targeted weedlines… and our average fish for the night was in the 23 – 25 inch range. No too bad I guess.

Frank Lukes is shown here with an over the slot piggie that munched a # 12 husky jerk trolled at 2.2 MPH in 7.5 feet of water. With the brighter moonlit nights we’re seeing a preference for bright, shiny and chromed patterns like gold/black, clown and firetiger. Also note that when the cloud cover is light or non-existent, we’re able to use the added light penetration to troll a bit faster and cover more water… the last two night when the moon was on the water we caught fish moving along at 2+ MPH but when the moon was hidden or when it was still on the rise, we fared much better at sub-2 MPH speeds. Don’t overlook this adjustment to stay consistent.

And here I am in this finally photo. I swear, Frank and John MADE me do it. Usually I NEVER reel in any fish on these trips but they insisted. Thanks guys. It felt a bit akward but I did enjoy the opportunity!~

This particular fish came a bit shallower, 4.5 feet, and got itself stuck off a rock hump located inside a weedline we were fishing on the north end of the lake. This little spot has produced so well for me over the years and I have never seen anyone else EVER fish it despite its location near one of the more popular spots on the north shore. It’s small, it’s hidden out there in the weeds but when you find it, it’s a little gold mine!

Notice how healthy this fish are! Fat, plump and full of vigor! These fish are fighting like little devils right now and often lead an angler to believe the fish on the other end is much bigger than it turns out to be.

October should be prime time with big numbers of fat fish coming to the boat. If you’ve not made arrangments to get up here for the next full moon, I’d suggest you do so. Many of the resorts have openings in their cabins, the weather is often very mild early in October and the fishing will rival anything else you’ve experienced in some time!