Leisure Outdoor Adventures weekly fishing report for the week of August 16

Mille Lacs Lake

Leisure Outdoor Adventures weekly fishing report for the week of August 16.Walleyes are fair game again here on the big pond!  Go get them while you can, because they will close the season again September, 5th 2017.

The live bait ban has also been lifted till September 5th.  Just keep an eye on the most current regulations as they are always changing.

 

Walleyes can be found all over the lake.  The mud flats are always a good place to start this time of year.  Live bait rigs, leadcore, spinner rigs, and jigging Rapalas in 22-32 feet of water can be productive.  Fishing in the early mornings or evenings on the rock piles with a bobber and leech will also get you a nice mixed bag.

Smallmouth have been biting, however, we are seeing the bite slow down a little bit due to the massive amount of bait fish that are in the rocky areas.  Topwaters, jerkbaits, drop shot, and other methods have been good.  Just be sure to be flexible, as small changes may produce big results.

Northern Pike fishing has been great.  Trolling fast moving baits such Bigtooth Tackle Juice Mini 8, or the Bigtooth Straight Wire Mini.  Using sucker minnows and bobbers in the weeds between 8-15 feet of water will also produce some nice size pike.

Brainerd Lakes Area

Fishing has been pretty good this past week!  Bass, northern pike, and walleyes all have been biting.  North Long, Whitefish, and Gull Lake all have been good for multi-species action.

The walleyes have been biting on redtail minnows, jigging raps, and night crawlers.  Fishing fast, and locating active fish will yield better result this time year.  Look for windy structures such as shoreline breaks, weeds, and offshore humps.

Action fishing has been great on most lakes, and fishing the weedlines will usually produce a good mixed bag of bass, walleyes, sunfish, northern pike, and some crappies.  Get out and enjoy the summer, as these days are going by to quick!

Leech Lake

Well Leech Lake remains about the same as a week ago for walleyes in regards to patterns and presentations.

If you are looking to cover ground and find biters, the best bite remains the trolling bite continues to be a day to day deal.  Best advice we can give a person is get away from the crowds and search out similar structure and areas. Flats that are in 10-15 feet of water or along rock reefs in 12-16 feet of water seems to be the best.

 

Some of the best fishing of late has been in the evenings and even after dark with the moon phase this past week.  Look to dial in your speeds and color when trolling.  2.2-2.8 mph has been the best rule of thumb with either #5 or #7 Shad Raps.

If you are aren’t trolling, look to fishing the weeds on those hot and sunny days in 5-10 feet of water with slip bobbers or jigs.  Some fish are showing up on the deeper shoreline breaks and humps in Walker Bay in 20-28feet of water.  Rigging with minnows or vertical jigging with a jig and minnow are good ways to entice these fish and at the same time pick up some nice bonus pike.

Musky Fishing remains to be pretty good on the lake.  Reports of many fish being seen and caught are coming out.  Try fishing bucktails on secondary rock reefs or top water fishing with a Big Tooth Klack Bait in weed beds.  Best thing to do is try to search out some fish and structure that hasn’t been getting hit as hard of late.

 

Cass Lake

Fish are being taken on the main lake portion in 15-25 feet with Lindy rigs and crawlers and redtails. Look to underwater points or shoreline breaks. Allens Bay is also producing fish in 10-15 feet with both Lindy rigs and Jigs with crawlers.