Mille Lacs Fall trolling, not just a Walleye thing

Well, I had my big ND hunting plans fall through the very last minute, this past Friday. This turn of events sent me from a huge high to the bottom of the barrel as fast as it took me to hang up my phone. There was only one thing that could pull me from the bottom of the barrel and somewhat salvage the weekend. That thing would be pulling cranks on Mille Lacs as I have been gazing at the clear full moon the last few nights. Wanting to try a new early Fall trolling spot, I quickly took out the Summer trolling gear from my boat and quikcly rigged her up for "Fall Mode". I called my brother Rich and told him the "NEW" plan and what a surprise would be in for as we hit the water just as it got dark. It felt good to be on the water, but even better being on the water in the Fall with the Full Moon rising in a clear September sky.

It did not take long as we did not even get set up as I put my rod in the holder to grab something and my drag starts to scream as Rich starts to get the net his drag goes also and we have our first double of the year with 2 walleyes hitting the boat with one in the slot. I was trolling just over 2 mph and I had a modified charteuse & white bent lip shad rap and Rich had a Lazer Craw Rogue on. Our location was a rocky shoreline that had isolated lil’ rock humps along the break. Our first two fish came from one of these humps and this was the pattern the rest of the night as we got into the action. The water temp was a little warmer then I thought we would have as the gauge was reading 70 degrees.

Catching some walleyes trolling in the Fall full moon was nice, but not a big surprise. As the bright moon started to rise there was a distinctive bait the fish preferred and that was a Clown Husky Jerk #12. The surprise came as the Moon got high in the clear sky, we got on a roll and started to boat some nice small mouth’s with some slot and smaller walleyes mixed in. That roll turned into a TOAD Smallie slug fest as we started to multiple 20” plus smallies. There was a time last Friday night I remember after boating a nice 20” smallie, we were letting our baits back out and I just got mine set and gave my rod a lil sweep and BAM, I hooked into another fish and instantly knew this fish was bigger and a smallie. This fish put on a great battle and made numerous runs that sent my drag singing and finally she broke the surface two times in the bright moonlit sky and I knew I was battling my best small mouth ever. She finally found the bottom of the net and we were simply in awe of the girth and the belly of this fat bottom girl. This sight still amazes me today as I reflect back, that was by far the fattest smallie I have ever seen and only wish I would have put a scale to her as I can only guess what she truly weighed. By the time the dust settled this past September 4th, Rich and I both boated our PB smallies and this night will be remembered and added to one of the many great times we have shared on Mill Lacs..

The key to our successful but short night was we found not only the location of where these fish were hanging but keyed in on 3 specific humps along the break that basically held all of our fish we caught. We cycled and tweaked presentation as far as baits went through the night and they definitely wanted a specific color. Pumping of the rod causing erratic action created about 90% of our bites also. The depths we concentrated on were about 8’ deep with the humps that came up to the 4-5’ mark. The rocks is where we found them. We tried some different proven weed, rock, gravel, and sand transitions but did not get so much as a nibble there. However, I’m guessing this will change soon with time and coole rwater temps. We boated walleyes, small mouth, rock bass and perch. No big walleyes found the boat, but I did lose a big eye that was 16’ from the boat when she came unglued. I would say would have been mid 20”es. Those that know me, I give a lot of grief to Bass Fisherman. But those of you that really know me, also know I love a good top water bite and love catching BIG smallies. Man can these big fish fight. Catching smallies in the Fall pulling cranks on Mille Lacs is not new to me as my boat usually sees a fair share through out the Fall. But, catching numbers and that many big ones, is something new and I like it. The water temps were right @ 70 degrees so the best is yet to come and the big girls (walleyes) should be getting ready to move in full force here by the end of the month. Until next time, Lip is out!

**CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE**