Mille Lacs Lake Open Basin Trolling Report

More walleyes are making their way out to the open basin and you know what that means…. more of them are finding their way into our fishing net! Tina and I decided to do some fishing over the weekend and we had some great weather with very light winds and partly cloudy skies. This was Tina’s first time out this year in our new boat and she was ready!

We trolled for a few hours and we managed to catch a few walleyes. Overall it was a great day except a little buggy when the winds died down. At one time Tina was reeling in a fish jumping up and down in the boat trying to shake off the bugs! I couldn’t help but laugh and told her “whatever you do… don’t lose that fish!”

During a long lag, I decided to do some more scouting. Tina’s not a big fan of this and always complains I do most of my scouting when she’s with! After several ½ mile stops, I finally found some good sign and I said let’s fish here! She smirked at me and raised her eyebrows like I was either onto something or on something.

As soon as we got out our second line, bang – fish on! I smiled and said…. see that’s why we scout! Shortly after another 25 inch walleye was in the boat! 20 minutes later – bang another fish on and that one ended up in the net as well (20 inches). I was really fired up now and thought we were really going to get into them. I lectured her once again how important scouting is. However, that was the last two walleyes that we would catch in that area.

We worked our way back to our original spot due to some dark clouds moving in from the west. We trolled for a few minutes when all of a sudden our starboard planer board took off and the drag started screaming. What a hit! I was closer to the trolling rod so I grabbed it. I could really feel the fish pumping back and forth and it was not the usual head shaking that a walleye would do. I quickly gave it to Tina and set the drag appropriately. This was a big fish and most likely a musky or a northern. The fish took off again and the planer board submerged underwater. I took the kicker motor out of gear and let the boat drift in the waves trying to lessen some of the pressure on the fish. When the planer board popped back up, it was upside down and must have come unhooked from the OR-18 snap. However, it would be OK because it was now sliding down the line making its way to the crankbait. The fish finally showed itself and we were right – it was either a musky or a big pike swimming on top of the surface thrashing back and forth. Tina did a great job keeping pressure on the fish and letting the rod bend when it needed to. It was now swimming right at us and I could see it was a big northern. With one quick scoop we got her in the net with the planerboard too!

It ended up being a 38 inch pike with a big belly. The fish had also been tagged by the DNR but it was really played out due to having so much line out. Tina didn’t want to hold it so she took a really quick photo of me holding it. I wanted to get her back in the water ASAP so we didn’t even look at the numbers. I felt it was more important that she survives and that she did! This fish was out in the open basin most likely feeding on suspended tullibees and walleyes. Time to get out the musky gear!

What a great way to end the day! #11 Deep Tail Dancer (Bleeding Tiger) and a Deep Thunderstick (Firetiger) caught all our fish. I tried some other crankbaits on leadcore but had no luck.

As many of you already know, Tina and I just got married last weekend. It was our second marriage for both of us and we worked very hard in our relationship to get to where we are so happy today. Both coming from divorced parents, we thought we would never do that to our own children. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out that way. However, witnessing divorce as a child helped us correlate and communicate properly to our children along the way.

I believe the one thing that was not present in my previous marriage was true companionship. I have certainly found that in Tina. Not only is she my best friend, she’s my best fishing and hunting partner too! She makes me better at what I do and supports my passion for the outdoors. I think she realizes that it’s not just something I do for fun. She understands it’s more like a part of my being and my character.

If someone would have asked me several years ago that I would be fishing with the love of my life on Mille Lacs, I would have said you are crazy. I’m extremely fortunate that I have found someone who thinks, feels and wants the same things that I do. To get to where we are today certainly was not easy. Many sacrifices were made along the way. We built our relationship one brick at a time and we will continue to do so.

Make the most of your relationship with your loved one. Share your passion with one another and ask for their support and understanding. Be willing to make sacrifices along the way. True companionship takes work and it just doesn’t happen overnight! However, the rewards are plentiful and nothing can ever replace it.

The water temp is increasing on Mille Lacs and now is the time to start planning your open water trolling trip. Various bug hatches will occur in the coming weeks, causing more baitfish to be prevalent in the open water. And you know what that means…. more walleyes will fall victim to your crankbaits!