Mille Lacs Lake Walleyes In a Blizzard

Braving the cold and the current snow storm ended up being a very rewarding challenge for myself yesterday. With temperatures in the single digits and -20 wind chills, I knew from the beginning it would be quite the excursion. I must say that is was similar to no other experience I’ve had on lake Mille Lacs. Whether it was the solitude of zero visibility or the potential life threatening conditions, I’ll never know, However, this is one trip I’ll soon not forget.
Leaving Albertville at 6:45, I arrived at 9 AM after a grueling drive in white out conditions. After the disheartening drive, I was greeted by the Red Door resort and a fleet of ambitious plow trucks already fighting to maintain favorable conditions for the holiday weekend to come. I was pleased to find plowed roads out to Bombeck flat with 16+ inches of ice to greet the tires.
Armed with ATV and all arsenal, I overcame drifts capable of consuming small horses. Drifts are a huge issue for ATV travel currently. I found myself digging out of drifts several times. One particular drift engulfed my ATV and I was thrown from it. I lay there for a moment questioning my ambition, and finally decide to get back in the saddle. After a grueling travel to the flats of lake Mille Lacs, I proceeded to search for active fish on the flat tops.

I’d like to give a scenario I’m now faced with: I had just overcome a 45 minute ATV ride in which I could not see further than 5 feet in front of me due to snow blindness. Upon arriving, directional perception was completely lost. Just simply keeping track of drilled holes and what part of the flat each hole was on was nearly impossible. After an hour of searching for fish I was able to develop a system to maintain my perception of position and depth. The ATV would stay at the starting position, the auger at the last hole drilled, and my snow shovel at the last “marked fish” hole. A few times, I glanced up and saw what appeared to be a Polaris Ranger coming at me. It turned out to be my ice auger laying 40 feet from me. That is how difficult any perception was.

Having found no quality fish, the iced up strikemaster worked its way to the edges and finally down to the flat bases.

Now concentrating on mud flat bases, I began finding more quality “red lines” on the MarCum but to no prevail. As my mind wanders in the solitude of the storm, I begin to think all is lost and the storm has taken everything from me: my ambition, energy, and possibly my right foot.

I remove my boot, heat up my frozen foot, and regain my senses. I had remembered reviewing a 32’ plateau on my LakeMaster software that looked fishy. And behold it was only one mile away! One mile of treacherous drifts, wind, and snow. For the first time in a great while I had had enough. I parked the ATV on the spot, drilled a hole and called it home before giving up entirely. With God’s good grace, I was thrilled at the presence of a captured 25” walleye followed by multiple solid red marks on the MarCum.

Not less than 20 minutes of my arrival and 4 quality fish, the storm subsided and the sun greeted my wind blown, snow pelted face. It was now a good day as I actually belted out a battle cry of victory for the rest of the lake to hear. The lake was now truly a different world. I harvested my four slot fish and three other greater than 24”.

All fish caught were in greater than 31’ of water. Smaller fish are available at shallower depths. Lure of choice was a Custom Jigs and Spins slender spoon in gold and orange. These fish were not in the least hesitant to bite. These were feeding walleyes staging ambush at the nearby shallow water. Many small yearling walleyes were present along with other 2 to 3 year old fish. These young fish were found fairly consistently roaming with other smaller fish on the tops of the flats, proving the exceptional health of the lake. We will soon find these small fish consuming forage at massive rates.

Lake travel is by snowmobile. An ATV can get around as long as you’re packing a shovel. From my new point of view, Snowmobiles are the only means of travel. I encountered no active heaves or cracks.

I apologize for the quality of the pictures. If I turned the flash on the camera only picked up the snow.

I’d like to thank Mr. Chris Leonard, the owner and creator of SnoSuit. This suit was put to the test yesterday. Unbeleivable to say the least. No cold knees or cold anything for that matter. No draft up the back. Its the little things that you only notice if you’re in than a less than par suit. Now if he’d just make boots!

This will be a trip I’ll never forget. It was a true test of agility, endurance, gear, ambition and heart. It was a reminder of what Lake Mille Lacs can do.