Fishing Report

When is the best time to go fishing?  Here in the north woods, every day is the best day.  Our area contains a wide range of lakes with varied depths, shoreline structures, and a wide range of fish species.  Seasoned anglers know success requires patience and a willingness to try different techniques.  If you have a youngster in the group, they will most likely catch the biggest fish - it always happens.  So, maybe no technique is a good strategy too.  For those interested in learning about lake structure, water quality, or creel surveys, we encourage you to visit the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Lake Finder page.  Area lakes will either be found in St. Louis or Lake County.  Minnesota Fishing Regulations

***Fishing Report***

Walleye - Walleye reports continue to be on the good to excellent side for many walleye anglers right now. Anglers continue to report that they are finding walleyes shallow in 6-8 ft of water, either over shallow rocks or in weedbeds. Many of these anglers have been slip bobbering a leech, pitching a jig and half a crawler, or swimming paddle tails over these shallow rocks and weedbeds. If you're not finding them in the shallows, be sure to check weedlines in that 12-16 ft of water. Gold, orange, and perch colored spinner rigs, tipped with either a leech or a crawler, have also been very effective. A growing number of anglers are starting to find success trolling large crankbaits in that 15- 30 ft of water. These anglers have been trolling over large flats looking for active walleye. 

Smallmouth Bass - Smallmouth bass continue to be found just about everywhere right now. Large shallow rocky flats, rivers, downed timber, and suspected just off sunken islands are all holding aggressive smallies right now. Anglers continue to catch them with topwater baits, urchin baits, chatterbaits, wacky worms, crankbaits, and in-line spinners in that 6- 15 ft of water right now. 

Panfish - Crappies and sunfish continue to be easy to locate and easy to catch for many anglers right now. The best fishing for both species continues to be right in the thickest weedbeds you can find. Crappies have been hanging around the thickest clumps of cabbage, often on the shady side of the cabbage. 1/16oz jig, tipped with a 2” twister and dropped in that shade is really producing crappies. During that last hour of light, those same crappies start moving around those weedbeds looking for an easy meal. This is when swimming beetles, jigs/twisters, and even small paddle tails, about 1-2 ft below the surface, are very effective. If you can’t find thick cabbage beds, downed trees also will hold crappies during the day. Sunfish anglers too have been finding sunfish in thick weedbeds and in pencil reeds. Small red worms or small leeches, fished under a bobber, have been lights out. 

Pike - Pike anglers continue to find lots of active pike patrolling weed lines and river mouths. Many anglers have been trolling large spoons to cover ground and look for biters. The brighter the color of the spoon, the better. Anglers who prefer to cast for pike have been throwing spoons and large swim baits in these same areas.