Well it was quite a week of Leech Lake for our Leech Lake Fishing Guides. It started off with sunshine and calm conditions, switched to sunshine and wind, and finished off the weekend with cold, strong northerly winds, and ALOT of rain and even a few snowflakes. Fishing much like the weather was very sporadic and inconsistent at times.
Throughout much of the lake, water temps range between 50-56 degrees on most of the water. Fish are being found depending on the conditions in 5-14 feet of water. It seems 7-10 feet has been best most days and the key is still finding bait and playing the wind as much as you can. 1/16th to 1/4oz jigs tipped with shiners or rainbows are still producing much of the bite as well as dragging a lindy rig with a leech. Once again look for sand/weeds, sand/gravel, as well as rocks to all be holding Leech Lake Walleyes.
Advice on where to fish
West side of the lake the best bite continues to be in the areas that are near or adjacent to areas that walleyes spawned and with some wind blowing into these areas with bait it can create some great fishing. Weeds are also producing fish, in both cases long lining or casting to these fish is by the far the best presentation. On the Main Lake, some of the rock areas are starting to kick out fish around Pelican as well as the major points and the area around Bear Island. The fish on the East Side of the lake seem to be running more on the above 20” mark and the fish on the West Side seem to be running alot more below 20”.
There also have been some bonus perch getting caught this year, especially when focusing on sand and weed areas. A 1/16th oz jig and a minnow is the ticket to catching these Leech Lake jumbo striped tigers.
Panfish update
Have not gotten a ton of panfish reports, when you get those bright sunny days and the water warms that is the time to seek out these fish, but remember right now they are very susceptible because they are spawning so treat them with care and practice quality conservation to preserve these fish for the future. Those trophy gills of 10” or more and crappies of 13” or more are the fish that are incredibly old and what keep great genetics in the lake, so keep that in mind if you get on a great bite.
