Category: Fishing Reports

Walleye Bite is Starting to Change!

The Leech Lake area fishing has been on fire for all species! The walleye have been active in a variety of depths as they are entering yet another transitionary period all too soon it seems. We have been finding our best luck for active fish in 9’-14’ of water, focusing primarily on the weed flats or off of the wind-blown rocky points. Although you are still able to catch a few on a standard shiner and jig, the walleye have seemed to favor lately lindy rigs, slip bobbers, or harnesses with either a leech or crawler. The key to success lately, especially in fishing shallow or extremely clear water is the use of electronics. We utilize our side-imaging on our Raymarine Axiom to find the schools of fish. This prevents unnecessary “troll-overs” spooking the fish. We then focus on either “pitching jigs” or using slip-bobbers to these surrounding schools. If you don’t get a hit, move on to the next school, and come back later (different schools feed at different times, especially depending on lake, time of day, structure (etc.)).

Panfish Action is Still Prime!

You will find, fishing several lakes in the Leech Lake area that the Crappies and Bluegills are still on the beds! And very active!
The are easy to target this time of year, but remember not to “over-harvest” these beauts as they are protecting the eggs on their spawning beds. For a majority of lakes in the area the panfish action is on fire! And more than a few are producing trophy-class fish. Plastics, crappie minnow, or angle worms on a tungsten jig under a float are great options for these fish during this time.

Bass Outlook is Looking Spectacular!

With just a few days away from bass opener the Largemouth and Smallmouth bite has been absolutely incredible! We have been finding them rather shallow, guarding beds on gravel bars, rocky points, or outside of the reeds and in the “frog water” (back water). Tossing a simple plastic like a “wacky-worm” or “ned-rig” has proven to be the best for targeting both!

Click here for professional assistance in your fishing endeavors! Follow our page for up-to-date Minnesota Fishing Reports.

We hope you are all enjoying Minnesota’s favorite pastime! Remember to be kind to others as well as nature!

Get out there and “Break the Chain of Routine!”

*Toasts!

-Captain Justin and Alice Wiese

Here is your Fishing Report for the Minnesota Northland! For the areas of Walker, Longville, Grand Rapids Minnesota Fishing Opener never ceases to amaze us. Years past we are all too familiar with cold air temps, generally ugly precipitation, marginal surface temperature, high winds and frozen fingers. Wow! Was this opener a surprise or what? The early ice out set stage for an early spawn; however, water temps still lingered a little less than ideal for several days, nonetheless, our opener was a successful one and we have been on them since.

What has been happening since last weekends opener?

We started our season on Leech Lake. The walleye are not in their typical transitions this year compared to most. Especially with the recent calm and high-sun days which has made the bite a little tough. Be prepared to work for them. We have been finding the Walleye scattered in the shallow weeds in 6’ to 8’ of water, as well as out deeper along the rocky bottom areas in 9’ to 14’. Low light conditions (early morning/evenings) have proved to be best. And still a simple jig like the Drop Tg Tungsten by Clam Pro Tackle, and a Shiner has still been our “go-to” method, and leeches have also been producing numbers. Upcoming forecast of clouds, precipitation and wind is looking promising, and the bite is sure to increase!

When it comes to Crappies, the bite is on and so is the spawn!

We have been finding them in the pencil reeds or along the shallow shorelines. Remember, surface structure can be just as beneficial as submerged, so look for areas around docks or fallen trees. Our best set-ups have been 1/16^th oz jigs and plastics, or a small feathered jig like the Northland Fire-Fly Jig and Crappie Minnow under a float. Giving your rod a “twitch” every so often will provide action to your jig and maximize your chances of enticing even the stubborn ones.

It’s up to us!

Again, we stress the fact, as these fish are on the beds it is important to be selective in your harvest, the 9” to 11” are going to be your best eaters, while releasing the larger ones. Although, several lakes in our area it seems to be difficult to find any under 12” right now, so it is best to limit your harvest on those. As well as not pressure them too much. If you caught a few in a “honey-hole” move on to the next.

The season is shaping up to be nothing short of spectacular! Click here for professional assistance in your fishing endeavors! Follow our page for up-to-date Minnesota Fishing Reports!

We all hope you are enjoying Minnesota’s favorite pastime! Remember to be kind to others as well as nature!

Get out there and “Break the Chain of Routine!”

*Toasts!

-Captain Justin and Alice Wiese

Fishing Opener!

The big Minnesota Walleye, Pike and Lake Trout Opener is next weekend!!

Who is ready for it?

Us as Minnesoatan’s know an early spring has been a long time coming, we are happy to see the walleye have been able to spawn before the big day, that is, the Minnesota Walleye Opener! An early spawn means those post spawn fish will be on the chow, and with increasing temps in the forecast Spottail Shiners should be more than readily available this opener.

The local “bait shops” like the Remer Trading Post, have been finding them in their traps, and doing fairly well for it over the past week. Dave is one of the best in the business, give him a call to check (and possibly reserve) availability!

Where to go? What to use?

When it comes to Opening Day our key areas of focus on bodies of water such as Leech, Winnie, Mille Lacs, and Red Lake will be in 4’ to 9’ feet of water, or possibly even 7’ to 12’, all depending on boat traffic or fishable structure. A simple 1/16^th or 1/8^th oz Long-Shank jig from Northland fishing tackle tipped with a minnow, being drifted from .3 to .6 mph is our “go-to”. However sometimes you will notice in shallow water these fish tend to spook easy, in which case “pitching jigs” (anchoring out, casting shallow, and jigging back on retrieval) or utilizing a slip bobber rig may be more beneficial for success.

Color will always depend on clarity or conditions, but our top favorites on these popular lakes have always been the Moonlight (blue/white), the parrot (blue/chartreuse), gold, bubblegum (pink), Parakeet (green/ chartruese) or watermelon. Put focus in to structure such as shallow sand flats, or weed flats surrounded by deeper water, or rocky shallow shorelines or points. Use the wind to your advantage, whichever the way the wind is blowing, it will push the bait fish into these key areas. Having assistance from a graph equipped with MSI (Mega-Side Imaging) or even a shallow water anchor will help with fishing shallow and avoid “spooking” the schools.

What else to go for this time of year?

With the ever-popular search for “Minnesota Gold” (Walleye) fast approaching, let’s not forget about what else may be biting in the meantime! The Crappies are starting to come shallow and the bite is on, and only getting hotter! Look for areas of water in the shallow bays where the temps are touching 60° or more. Puddle Jumpers or Bobby Garlands under a float has led to our best success so far this season.

We encourage all anglers to practice good ethics when it comes to the larger Crappies as they are in spawn right now (the Bluegills won’t be too far behind). If you plan to keep a few for a meal, your 9”-11” Crappies or 7’-9’ Sunfish are the perfect eaters! Let the big males go on to protect their spawn beds!

We wishing all our fellow anglers good luck and safety this upcoming season! And please be kind to one another. These waters are there for all of us to enjoy so… smile, wave, abide each other’s space, and wish “luck” upon others as well.

Click here, for professional assistance in your fishing eneavors!

Wishing you all “tight-lines and screamin’ reels!”

*Toasts!

-Captain Justin and Alice Wiese

The Famous Rainy River is open and is definitely producing plenty of quality Walleye!
After last year’s closures in lieu of the Covid-19 Pandemic, and having a brand new boat this year, we (along with many) certainly were anxious to hit the river!

Finally the FISHING IS ON!

The water temp is currently reading in the mid-40’s and is reaching ideal spawning conditions! The water is low and we do not anticipate any inconvenience from the “Forks” this year. Our efforts over the course of the last week has paid off, leading to great numbers of fish being boated. Many at the present time are smaller males, however more than a few dandy’s were being caught, and the numbers (as well as size of fish) are increasing each and every day as more of the larger females begin to move in!

What to Expect:

Extreme caution is to be advised for anglers and boaters navigating the Rainy River. As stated the water levels are very low currently exposing many boulders, shallow structure, as well as the usual floating debris. Keep in mind the Canadian side of the fishery is still off limits to non-residents as the borders still remain to be closed. Find out more information from Canadian Border Services here. Many people were confused by this as you are still able to purchase your non-resident Ontario fishing license. However you still cannot fish these waters. Disappointing of course as we all are wanting things to go back to normal, but there is still plenty of good fishing to be had on the US side.

What to Try:

Key areas to focus while fishing the Rainy River would include deep trenches, as well as the head or tail ends of the runs. We have been having our best luck on using 1/4oz to 3/8oz jigs colored Gold, Pink, Silver or White tipped with paddle tail plastics. Our “tried and true” favorite of course are the BfishN AuthentX Pulse-R Swimbaits. Hot colors have been Fire Ice White, Stewarts Pro Blue, and the Great White. Preferred method has been jigging, slow trolling up river at .3 to .6 mph or pitching jigs cross-current and slowly jigging back in.

We are excited to see what the remaining weeks will bring! And hope to see you out there!

Get the little ones out there too, and make some memories!
Good luck to all the fellow anglers heading up to catch the last few weeks of the season!

Cheers,

Captain Justin

If you are interested in a Guided Rainy River Fishing Adventure with Captain Justin Wiese Click here!

Ice conditions: still vary across the Northland. We have found as little as 8 inches on deeper larger bodies, but average ice across the area is ranging from 13’ to 20’ of “good and solid” ice. There are a few slush pockets since the warmer weather has started, but nothing too concerning. We do highly advise people to be careful around ice heaves with all the above average temps we have had lately, and always remember… “NO ICE IS EVER SAFE ICE!” 

Walleyes: Walleye fishing has continued to improve across the area. Key areas to focus on are sunken humps and weed edges. In deeper, or heavy structured lakes, like Leech, the rocks are producing some bigger fish using either jigging spoons or set lines with shiner minnow or Light Pike Suckers. 

Panfish: Crappies and Bluegills have been great along weed points. Finding the “green weeds” where still prevalent is going to lead to higher success. The basins are holding big circulating schools, but big the edges of those basins are producing the more active (and biggest) ones. Try small jigging spoons tipped with a waxie. If they still seem a bit reluctant, tie on a small tungsten jig with either a Clam Maki Plastic or Silkie. 

Remember: TROUT OPENER IS THIS WEEKEND!!!! Here are some tips if you are heading out!  

Lake Trout: Try depths of 30’ – 60’ of water. Particularly focusing on points, inside turns, deep humps and funnel areas. Lake Trout are a predator fish, these locations are prime areas in which they “push” baitfish into prior to feeding. 3” to 6” white, chartreuse, or pink tube jigs are some of the top choices, not to mention your heavy jigging spoon like the Clam Super Leech Spoon. But don’t forget about any lipless cranks, like a Rippin’ Rap or a Live Target. These have been doing quite well for us in recent years. Not only in producing numbers but size as well! 

Rainbow, Brookes, and Browns: Try shallow areas with fallen trees or heavy structure along shoreline in 4’ to 8’ of water. If the lake has a shallow underwater point that has deeper water on both sides that will be best. Small spoons tipped with waxies or plastics is a great option.

Get outdoors, make memories, and bring the young ones along! They are the future of our sport!

Above all, get out there and “Break the Chain of Routine!”

Cheers!

Walleyes have been on the chow on most of the midsized bodies of water along the weed edges, sunken humps and bars anywhere from 12′ to 28′ of water. Keep an eye on the primary transition areas such as sand to muck, boulders to gravel, weeds to sand (etc.) These areas are key right now. Leech Lake does have a bug hatch going on currently, but the fish are still active and hitting. Slowing down your troll, and using simpler presentations like a Lindy Rig, Slip Bobber, or Spinner or Slow Death Rig tipped with Crawlers, Leeches, or Chubs have all been producing exceptional numbers. You might even boat a decent pike!

The Bass have been extremely aggressive! Smallmouth can be found off the rock bars and sunken humps, hitting both Drop Shots and Swim Baits. Likewise, Largemouth Bass, can be found along the pencil reeds, out from docks and various surface structure, as well as in the cabbage beds. Spinner baits, Drop Shots, and Jerk Baits have all been effective in targeting the “bucket mouths”.

Crappies and Bluegills can be found within the cabbage. As cabbage is just starting to peak, find the tallest and greenest cabbage which is close to deeper drops and you will find the fish! Small jigs tipped with Crappie Minnows or a Small Leech, or even rigging slowly over the cabbage has proven to be successful!

We certainly hope you all have been out enjoying this terrific weather we have been having and been able to keep your lines tight!

Cheers!

We have passed the peak of Winter and it should be all downhill from here, although Mother Nature is notorious for gnashing her teeth refusing to relinquish to Spring. The bite can often become tough this time of year, but certainly not impossible. Fishing in the high opportunity windows can still produce satisfying results even in the pits of February, especially since we are now in the final weekend of the Inland Walleye/Northern Pike Season, season closes this Sunday 02/23/2020.

Ice Conditions are extremely good right now, and probably the best we have seen yet this season as the snow has settled and the slush has firmed up on most of the area lakes. Which has led to more fish house and vehicle traffic, but as always use extreme caution and call area resorts and shops to check conditions prior to making your trip. It is also always good practice to periodically check ice conditions while you are venturing out there.

Bluegills and Crappies can be found cruising the weed edges, but there is not much for “green weeds” left this time of year on our local lakes, so any standing weeds or structure would be the area to target over the next couple weeks. This is where having a quality underwater camera like a Vexilar Fish-Scout really has it benefits. The inside turns of weed flats or along the steep weed points have been good for active fish anywhere from 7′-22′ depending on body of water and clarity. Don’t forget the basin fish either as February into March is a great time of year to chase those deep roaming schools. We generally fish basins from 18′-35′ of water. However, use caution when fishing anything deeper than 25′ if you do not plan on keeping the fish. Many people do not realize but panfish are not able to rapidly adapt to depth change, unfortunately there is no trick in the book that can prevent this, and a majority of fish will die after being caught in those depths even if they appear to swim off. A small tipped jigging spoon has been working phenomenal for both weed and basin fish. Somedays the waxies have been far outperforming the plastics, other days it has been the opposite, a minnow head has worked well also.

As mentioned, we are heading into our final days of the Minnesota Inland Walleye/Pike season. But there is still fun to be had! Along with Panfish and Trout some of our favorite species to target would include Whitefish, Tullibee, and of course Burbot. Eelpout will begin starting to stage for spawning soon, and there is no limit to the action that can be had! Our area has a lot to offer for those who are wanting to experience something different. With the beautiful ice conditions and some gorgeous temps in this weekend’s forecast, now is the time to get out there!

Our books are now open for our open water season! Next Up… Rainy River!! Come enjoy the extended walleye season with Captain Justin Wiese on one of the most renowned walleye fisheries in the world. Visit our website or give us a call at 218-275-7525 for more details!