Mille Lacs Lake Smallmouth Bass Fishing
By: Keenan Wind, Windy Fishing Guide Service, USCG Licensed Captain
Wow, what a whirlwind of a season it has been so far. Between the astronomical amount of bait in this system, and the astronomical weather fluctuations that we are having, it has been interesting! So what is going on out there?
Water temps are starting to creep into the low-mid 70s depending on where you are in the lake. The bays and windblown shorelines after a hot day may be warmer, but you can expect low to mid 70s. Mayflies have been hatching.
If it is flat calm, topwater is a phenomenal option. We have caught a lot of nice fish on poppers, walk the dog style baits, as well as whopper ploppers. When it isn’t calm, we have been having our best luck dragging ned rigs, or swimming marabou jigs. Small tubes can also be very effective. Small swimbaits can certainly catch them, but I tend to focus more on bottom contact baits this time of the year.
Mille Lacs Lake Walleye Fishing
The walleye bite has been pretty hit or miss. We have been able to pull limits of walleyes pretty consistently, but some days they make us work harder for them than others. The best bite seems to be on a nice low-pressure and overcast day.
It is kind of miraculous how many walleyes there are in the system right now, as well as the diversity of locations that you can find them. The mud and gravel flats are holding a lot of fish, but they are a lot more finnicky than other places. The best areas for active fish has been on the edges of rock reefs, in 10-18 fow. The best way to target these fish is to utilize a slip bobber and a leech, or a dropshot and a leech. A 1/32nd oz Northland RZ jig seems to outperform a plain hook, but both work.
When the walleyes are suspended and actively feeding on hatching mayflies, it is important to keep the leech above them. There are times where my leech will be 8-10 feet off of bottom.
