Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota fishing report 6-22-08

The walleye fishing on Mille Lacs Lake continues to provide some decent action. I have been catching fish on the mud flats and the gravel areas of the lake. The west gravel has given up some nice fish as of this week. Pulling blades rigged with big night crawlers along break lines in the 26-32 fow. Blades in hammered gold, orange, and hammered sliver has provided the best results. This area had also provided the most slot fish for my boat this past week. That was up until I fished in the 12th.Annual Hunters Point walleye tournament this past Friday-Saturday.. Tom Fellegy and I were able to only catch one slot fish on each of the days….a pretty poor showing!

I had also had some mixed results rigging leeches on lindy rig’s on the mud. During the past week the mud has provided some pretty good action also. Most of the fish my boat had caught were over the Mille Lacs slot limit of under 18 inches. Really fun fish to catch and release during guide trips, But not good while fishing a walleye tournament! I have been running 10 ft long leaders with red hooks and large leeches. The fish have been at times on top of the flat and can be found off the flat. Using your electronics can be the key. Make sure to locate some fish before you begin to fish. Many times people just pull up to a certain flat and throw out the line and start fishing. While you might not have any fish in the area…….its best to first see the fish on the locator and than proceed to start your fishing. Some active fish have been found a short distance away from the structure. So it will pay off at times to motor around off the flat looking for your fish also.

The surface water temperature of the lake has finally made it past the 60 deg. mark! I have had as much as 68 deg’s on a couple of days! With this increase in temperature I now hope that the blade bite will finally take off. It just has not been your typical early summer in central Minnesota! I really enjoy pulling blades ( spinners ) on the warm June days. There is nothing like the blast of a walleye hitting a spinning blade rigged with a night crawler! They really hammer it!!

The big 4th of July Holiday week will be upon us in just a short time. It would be a good time to make some plans and drive up to Mille Lacs and get in on some of the great fishing this lake has to offer. From the walleye and smallmouth action to maybe something with bigger teeth!! Make the trip and I’ll hope to see you soon.