August 25th Fishing Report

Here is this week’s fishing report from the guide team at Leisure Outdoor Adventures

Leech Lake

Walleye fishing has been on the up tick of late with fish hanging in 12-20 feet of water most days. Anywhere you can find sand and weed edges seems to be the best right now or scattered rock and gravel. The deeper bite hasn’t been as good, but better for bigger fish, just not a numbers bite. Try dragging lindy rigs with crawlers, big minnows, or rainbows along breaklines or the edges of humps. Jigs with leeches are still producing fish as well as slip bobbers within the weeds.

The crankbait bite has been best on the Main Lake still. Trolling #5 or #7 Shad Raps or Flicker Shads is a great tractic along the edges of the Main Lake Rock Reefs early in the morning or evenings. Leadcore in the basin areas is the best bet during daylight hours.

Musky fishing has been overall pretty good the past two weeks. Fish have been actively moving and are being found on main lake rocks, weedlines, and sand breaks as well. Casting large rubber baits, twitch style jerk baits, top waters, or burning bucktails are your best tactics.

Brainerd Lakes Area

The Brainerd Lakes area has seen the walleye bite pick up with a slight drop in water temperatures this past week on many of the area’s bigger lakes. Walleyes can be found primarily in 13-25 feet of water, and fishing the wind has been important. Using a creek chub or redtail minnow, jigging rap, or slip bobber tipped with a leech has been the ticket. The school of walleyes tend to be more active during the low light hours, so fish prime time bites. Look for rocks, weeds, and sharp break that have bait fish near by as the walleyes have been holding close to these minnows.

Bass have also been very active on the deeper weed edges, and can be caught using a jig/worm (Ned RIg), Texas Rig, deep diving crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and other methods. Look for cabbage weeds or coontail weeds, and make sure to fish the deeper pockets thoroughly. Early morning and evenings will also produce a topwater bite on some lakes. In the same areas, panfish have been very active. Cast either a small spinning jig with a plastic, or a crappie minnow and slip bobber for good action.