Contrary to conventional wisdom one of the most productive times to put the smack down on some hungry walleyes is in the dead of summer. Combining the hot bite with warm summer weather makes right now the perfect time to get out on the lake and provide a positive fishing experience to friends & family who aren’t the most avid anglers.
For months we’ve been talking about it and finally this past weekend the timing finally worked and I was able to hit the water with my brother Adam, his girlfriend Jamie (a walleye virgin), and her dad Mark. With patterns changing quickly and having not been able to get out for a few weeks I wanted to get out ahead of time and do a little scouting so I made plans with fellow IDO member TravP to hit the water on Friday. Knowng that the wind on Sunday was going to be ferocious and hoping to stay away from the crowds the game-plan was to start by checking out shallow water locations that frequently produce all season long when the wind is blowing. However, after three hours and multiple locations all we had to show for our efforts were several jumbo perch and a tank 38" northern. Finally we gave in and headed for the flats. With only a couple hours before Trav had to head out we wanted to cover water quickly so we started by pulling leadcore. It didn’t take long to realize that the fish were still looking for a slightly slower approach so we switched over to pulling blades through schools of fish that we had already marked with waypoints and quickly brought a few fish to the net. One more quick stop to check out one of my open basin trolling runs brought another two quick eyes, but after the rough start and with limited time we ended the day with only 5 walleyes making their way to the boat. Amittedly I was a bit disappointed with our results, but this trip was still a success in that it really helped me put the pieces of the puzzle together to set us up for Sunday. Realizing that we all have off days once in a while, the important takeaway is that we can often learn more from the information gained on a slow day than a great one.
After sandwiching in a Saturday trip up to Lake Superior (check out Grant Sorensen’s report) Adam, Jamie, Mark, and I met up Sunday morning at Fisher’s and headed out to the mud. The wind had us rockin’ and rollin’ as we headed out which would have made scouting difficult but by using what I had learned on Friday we were quickly able to pick up where we had left off and almost immediately were on fish. Mark quickly got us started when he skillfully brought a hefty 25" ‘Eye to the net on our first drift using a homemade crawler harness with an orange and chartreuse blade. And then before we could even put the net away my rod doubled over with another 27.5" toad. We continued this pattern for a few more passes along the edge of a flat until everyone had caught fish with the most productive color being a silver blade with blue and silver beads.
The key for keeping on the active fish was to stay directly on the top or bottom edge of the flat. In 20-25 mph winds precision fishing is typically somewhat challenging, but having recently upgraded to a Terrova I was simply amazed at how much more efficient I was at controlling our position even in the worst of conditions. Not only was I able to have precise control using the GPS features, but with the remote I was able to do it all while moving freely around the boat helping to bait and rig rods, net fish, and even reel one or two of my own.
Another tip that helped me keep everyone’s bait from dragging on bottom was that I had set everyone up with line-counter reels and identical 3 oz weights so that as we changed depths I could call out exactly the number they needed to be at in order to keep the bait just above bottom. This definitely helped shorten their learning curve and in no time at all everyone was keeping their bait "in the zone" like a pro.
Although we were already experiencing a great bite I wanted to give everyone the full Mille Lacs experience so after our 3rd pass we decided to stow the harnesses and switch over to deep diving crankbaits. We made a quick run to the upwind side of the area I had scouted on Friday we started our run by setting up a Purple Shad Deep Thunderstick and Green/White Reef Runner on boards with a Purple TD-11 Taildancer and Flash Perch Thunderstick on leadcore. No more than I had explained to them how to set the clicker tension go off when a fish hits a board line than the Purple Thunderstick rod started screaming and Jamie pulled in her new personal best 25.5" walleye! And once again before we even had the net away the board on Adam’s rod started thrashing and he pulls in a personal best 26" ‘eye! Talk about a fun couple minutes complete giant smiles and with high fives all around!!
Unfortunately with extra travel time due to the wind and since Adam and Jamie needed to be home early for a sand volleyball league we were quickly running out of time. Rather than having a chance to go back and really get the board bite dialed in we decided to continue with the wind in the direction of home and make one final run across a nearby mudflat. Mark and I switched over to a Salmo Hornet and #5 shadrap on our leadcore rods and we pulled the deep crankbaits in to 110′ & 120′ behind the boards. In just one quick pass over the top of the flat we picked up 3 more eyes and our first box fish of the day. Not surprisingly the Purple Shad Deep Thunderstick (my personal favorite) was our hot crank for the day as it caught 3 of our 5 crank fish in just 45 minutes of trolling. It was surprising however that it also caught the only keeper for the day as one of the three was a very ambitions little 16" perfect sized keeper. The moral here is don’t discount pulling the larger cranks right over the top of a flat as well but just make sure to keep them a little higher in the water column as they aren’t only effective in the open basin.
Sadly it was already time to go home as what seemed like a matter of minutes enjoying a successful fishing outing with family had actually been almost 4 hours on the water. We ended the day with 15 walleyes ranging from 16-27’5" and everyone had a blast. Not only did Jamie catch her first walleye ever, but both Adam and Mark also set new personal bests. What an awesome day on the water!
For any of you who haven’t been up to Mille Lacs yet this year or ever now’s the time… The fishing is great now and it’s only going to get better!