August 16, 2010
Wow!!! That is
all that can be said about the
fishing in the Brainerd Lakes Area
this past week. The walleyes are
cookin' on Gull and the Whitefish
Chain. Try a live bait rig tipped
with a redtail on the outside
weededge of shoreline and off shore
structures. The bass are poundin'
crankbaits on North Long, Gull, and
many other area lakes. We've
started to find large schools of
bass suspended beneath schools of
bait fish over deep water. This is
a perfect time to cast deep diving
crankbaits over deep water adjacent
to steep drop offs. The muskies and
northerns have been terrors in the
deep cabbage weed beds on Mille Lacs,
Alexander, and Cedar. It has been
more of a top water bite until this
past week and numerous fish have
been responding to bucktails cast
over and pulled through the
cabbage. It is a great time to me
fishin' in the Brainerd Lakes
Area!!!
August 1, 2010
Fishing in the Brainerd Lakes Area
remains highly productive but we've
had to dodge more than our share of
weather!!! The walleyes are going
well on Gull, Whitefish, and Mille
Lacs. The bass are really chomping
on all area lakes. The northerns
have really started to get active
and the musky fishing is just
starting to pick up. Look for the
walleyes to be moving from shoreline
structures to off shore structures
(i.e. sunken islands,
humps, flats). The bass have begun
to drop deeper of the outside
weededge of shoreline structures.
The northerns and muskys are hanging
out in cabbage weed beds waiting to
ambush baitfish on both the inside
and outside weededge. It is a great
time of year to be a fisherperson in
Minnesota!!!
July 14, 2010
Fishing in the Brainerd Lakes Area
has been fantastic this
week...walleye fishing has been
awesome on Gull, the Whitefish
Chain, and Mille Lacs. Try the
outside weed edge on Gull and
Whitefish with a live bait rig
tipped with a chub. On Mille Lacs
try the mudflats with a live bait
rig tipped with a crawler on a six
foot snell or try pulling bottom
bouncers with spinners tipped with a
crawler or a Berkly Power Crawler.
The bass fishing has been nothing
short of spectacular with a variety
of methods working on Gull, North
Long, Whitefish, and Mille Lacs.
Try smallies on the rocks with a
wacky work hooked plastic worm. For
largemouth folks are having success
with weedless jigs tipped with
plastic worms or deep diving
crankbaits on the outside weededge.
The northern bite is starting to
pick up and will only get better as
the water warms further. Try a
Northland Tackel Weed Weasel
Jig tipped with a pike sucker on the
outside weededge. Good luck fishing
and be safe on the water!!!
June 28, 2010
Fishing in the
Brainerd Lakes Area has been
fantastic in recent weeks. There is
generally something biting
everyday. The walleyes have been a
bit up and down with fluctuations in
the weather. However, with a little
wind or overcast you can put some
walleyes in the boat. The fish on
Mille Lacs are going strong on the
mudflats. Try a live bait rig with
a 6 foot snell tipped with a blown
crawler. The walleye bite has also
been good on Gull and North Long.
Try the outside weed edge of
shoreline structures with a live
bait rig tipped with a red tail.
The bass fishing has been coming on
strong and is about as good as it
can get on Gull, Round, and North
Long. Pitchin' a jig tipped with a
plastic worm or a minnow has been
"lights out" on good numbers of
fish. The northern bite was
just starting to get some legs and
then the storms and cold fronts blew
in...that bite should only get
better as the summer progresses.
Nice catches of northerns are being
experienced on the Whitefish Chain.
Please remember to boat/fish safely
over the weekend of the Fourth!
June 11, 2010
Well, the walleye
fishing is really picking up in the
Brainerd Lakes Area. While the
night time bite has been strong for
weeks the daylight bite was lagging
behind. Those days seem to be
over...the bite on Gull, Pelican,
and North Long has been very good
during the daytime. It is wind and
weather dependent, but if you have
overcast and some breeze, the
walleyes have been biting. Try a
live bait rig tipped with a redtail
on the outside weed edge of
shoreline structure. The bass bit
is going strong and the good success
has been experienced in the
"shallows." Try pitching a jig and
plastic up onto a shallow rock reef,
sand bar, or bull rush bed and hang
on. The northern bite has been a
bit subdued but we are picking up
some nice fish when "rigging" for
walleyes. Good luck on the water
and have fun!!!
May 29, 2010
Fishing in the Brainerd Lakes Area
has been very good. Walleyes
are going strong on Mille Lacs, look
for fish on the flats or deep off
the rocks during the day. Look for
them shallow on the rocks or
shorelines from one hour before dark
until you have to leave the lake.
North Long Lake has also experienced
a good walleye bite, some wind or
overcast makes the daytime fishing
better but the night bite has been
consistent every night. Gull is
putting out walleyes at night, try
trolling cranks over the shallow
flats. The bass opener is Saturday
and it seems as if they might be a
bit behind schedule. Look for them
in the shallow emerging weed beds.
The crappie bite has been fantastic
for weeks and some good catches are
still being reported from the bull
rush beds. Good luck!!
May 18, 2010
Fishing this
weekend was good. The crappie bite
is near peak, with a lot of fish in
the bullrush beds. This is a time
of year we have to be careful about
over harvest because the crappie are
very aggressive in protecting their
beds. I would recommend taking no
more than a meal. A small tube jig
head and a puddle jumper suspended
beneath a bobber is working very
well on Gull, North Long, and other
area lakes. The bright, and no
wind, conditions of the walleye
opener made catching walleyes a bit
more hit and miss. Folks that were
out night trolling, or fishing flats
with spot tailed shiners beneath a
lighted bobber, caught quite a few
nice walleyes. Just before
daylight, and again just before
dusk, there has been a pretty
aggressive walleye bite. The
daytime bite has been all but non-existant.
Walleyes were caught on Gull,
Pelican, North Long, Round, and the
best action seemed to be on Mille
Lacs. The walleyes are scattered
from 10-30 feet and you simply need
to find schools on shoreline
structures and put a bait in front
of them to see if they will go.
Small jigs tipped with rainbows or
live bait rigs tipped with spot
tailed shiners seemed to be the best
bet.
September 9, 2009
The walleye bite
continues to amaze and confound
anglers. Just when it appeared to
be peaking there has been a drop
off in fish activity the last
couple of days. We had been
catching a good number of small to
medium size walleyes on Gull and
North Long. Now those fish seem
to have moved on and we are
catching fewer but nicer 'eyes.
Try shoreline and mid-lake
structures on steep dropoffs in
18-38 feet with a redtail on a
Lindy Rig. The bass and northerns
are still biting strong on Gull,
North Long, and the Whitefish
Chain. Try pitching a deep diving
crankbait, jig and a worm, or
trolling a bait spin tipped with a
large sucker on the outside
weededge (actually suspended out
from the edge a ways). Looks like
another cold front coming in for
the weekend so remember when
you're fishing and it is
cold...slow down your
presentations.
September 3, 2009
The walleye bite
continues to improve...we are
catching fish on Pelican in 30+
feet of water, North Long in 16
feet of water, and Whitefish Chain
and Gull in 16-32 feet of water.
A live bait rig tipped with a
redtail is your best bet. The
bass and northern bite continues
to be strong on all area lakes and
we like a bait spin tipped with a
sucker for the nice fall northerns.
A jig and a worm or crankbaits are
working great on the bass that are
now suspended off the outside weed
edge. Good luck fishing this
weekend and be safe on the busy
waters!!!
August 21, 2009
Well, the weather
turned on us once again. The
northerns and muskies were getting
more active with the warmer weather
last week and all the rain has
cooled things off again. The sun
the next couple of days should
help...so, look for active fish on
the inside and outside weed edges of
the cabbage. The bass bite
continues to be strong on all area
lakes with fish dropping to the
outside weed edge and suspending off
steep drop offs at the weed edge
depth. Try pitching crankbaits or
jigs and worms along the outside
weed edge. The walleye bite is
showing signs of improvement with
small to medium size fish going on
several area lakes. This bite
should only get better as we
approach fall. Try a live bait rig
tipped with a red tail on the
outside weed edge. This week we've
fished Pelican, Whitefish Chain, and
Gull...finding active biters on all
lakes. Good luck fishing and play
it safe on the water
August 13, 2009
Weather may be "hot and heavy" but
bite is worth the time outside.
Several days of sun, low winds, and
high temperatures have things
picking up on Brainerd area lakes.
The Whitefish Chain still seems to
be the most consistent walleye bite
and now the northerns have strapped
on the feedbag. I took a trip over
to Mille Lacs yesterday to check out
the muskie and northern bite.
Although we didn't boat one, we had
several close encounters that were
encouraging...the muskies are
starting to perk up. The bass bite
in the are is nothing short of
phenomenal on Gull, North Long, and
Round (the northerns are also
clobbering jig spins on these waters
as well). Be sure to take care of
yourself on these hot and humid
days, but don't let them keep you in
the cabin as the bite is on!
