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Brainerd Lakes Area
Fishing Report:
July 18, 2010
I've been spending
most of my time on the Whitefish Chain, this past week.
Walleyes, Northerns and Bass are all mixed in on some areas of
Lower Hay, Upper and Lower Whitefish. A Lindy Rig and Redtail
Chub along 16' - 18' close to the sand/cabbage breaks is where
to focus. The wind picked up a lot the first part of this week
with a few storms coming through, so the North and East corners
of the bars have seem to hold most of the active fish. Gull has
been consistent, but the quality of the fish tend to run smaller
than on the Whitefish Chain. Bass action has been very good on
almost any lake. The water temps have really kicked these fish
in high gear.
July 7th, 2010
Gull,
Pelican, and North Long's walleye action isn't as good as the
weeks prior. You can still manage to catch a few, but you will
need to be patient and persistent on locating the active fish.
On Gull, look at the North end, wind blown bars and points in
10' - 16' with Rigs and Chubs. Pelican's walleyes have been a
lot nicer fish, but the action is inconsistent - if you may
check 5 or 6 spots and not find them and the last spot they'll
be there. Mille Lacs has been the best bite in the area. Lindy's
and Leeches have proved to be the best for me, but some anglers
are catching them on spinners and leeches.
June 23, 2010
Fishing has been good as of late. Walleyes
are showing up on Whitefish, Gull and a few on Pelican. Lindys and chubs
have been the best, otherwise working a small jig and a plastic
in the weeds have produce a variety of fish. Work as tight to the weedlines as possible to catch them
or use the jig in the weeds. Mille Lacs is still kicking out
lots of fish and we've had numerous guide trips over there.
Working the flats on the edges with Lindy's and Leeches have
proven to be the easiest method. Otherwise some anglers are
trolling leadcore or spinners to find their fish. With a
spinner, leeches and minnows are out producing crawlers for
most.
June 13, 2010
Walleye action has heated up as the
weather turns for the worse. Last week we had very nice weather
and the fishing was ok. This week, the fishing has gotten a lot
better, but we are getting more rain and the wind has picked up
and more the East. Gull has a lot of smaller 14" inchers or less
being caught right now on Lindys and chubs. Work as tight to the
weedlines as possible to catch them. Pelican has been a little
less consistent with some days being good and others not as
good, but the quality of fish have been much better. Chubs
worked on Live Bait Rig in 24' - 32' of water on Pelican. Focus
on saddle areas on both Gull and Pelican to maximize your time
on the water catching fish. Mille Lacs has sure gotten a lot
better since Opener. The mud flats have sure been pretty
consistent for me working 4' to 6' snells with Leeches. Fish
have been on the edges, on top and even 30' off the mud flats
eating. All lengths of fish being caught too.
June 7, 2010
Walleyes have picked up at bit, Pelican,
Gull and Northlong. Work the weed edges in 12-16 feet of water
on Gull and Northlong with Shiners and Lindys or pitch a jig and
minnow into the new cabbage growth to catch a variety of fish.
Pelican has been good, as long as you have some clouds. Sunny
days have been tough. Smaller bass have been going well on area
lakes, look to toss spinnerbaits into the pencil reeds. Crappies
are still be caught on Hubert, Gull and some other surrounding
smaller bodies of water. 8 - 12 feet of water.
May 26, 2010
Perfect summerlike days have kept the
walleyes a little difficult to pattern, especially when lakes
are as flat as glass. Anglers are catching them in 10 - 32 feet
of water and a lot has to do with which lake you are on. Shiners
or Chubs on a Lindy Rig has been the better choice for me,
pulling them as tight to the weed lines as you can. This past
week I've been on Gull, Pelican, Upper Hay, Northlong and Round.
A lot of guides this past week had to change up and do a little
Crappie Fishing, which has been really good. Old reed beds or
transitional spots with a little rock have been excellent.
Unlike most bass openers, this year the bass should be off their
beds and actively feeding. Reports coming from Mille Lacs are
starting to get a lot better, with anglers pulling spinners and
crawlers having success.
May 17, 2010
It's hard for me to remember the last time
we had this nice of weather on Walleye Opener. Even with no wind
and a bright blue sky, I still managed to talk my self into
starting the year off on Pelican Lake. These conditions are by
far the worst for most walleye anglers and especially on Pelican
Lake were the water is so clear. Being I had a trip Sunday
morning, I wanted to find a few fish out there instead of
heading somewhere else. Most fish were caught relatively deep in
26' - 28' on rigging with shiners. There wasn't all that many
fish being caught out there, but the nice weather most likely
had something to do with it. I've heard similar reports on Gull,
Round, Mille Lacs and even Leech with reports there was a lot of
fishing and not a whole lot of catching. Anglers that did catch
fish, were the ones giving up on walleyes and switched over to
the crappies. Good reports coming from old reed beds or on the
deeper edges of these same areas - crappie minnows, Power
Nymphs, Gulp Alive minnows tipped on any hair type 1/32 ounce
jigs and a bobber. Casting didn't seem to aid in the catch. They
wanted it slow and in front of them. Look for more improvements
on the walleye fishing, as soon as the wind picks up. Today was
another flat calm day!
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