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Posts: 76
| Well, I just booked a trip to Mille Lacs in the later part of July. It will be my first trip to what I consider a big name musky water. I'll be staying on the south end of the lake. And I know the smart thing to do would be to get a guide, but do to financial issues I doubt I will. Although I will be buying some maps of course. So my question to the people that fish this lake a lot is. How would you approach fishing this lake for the first time without a guide. Some tips on what type of structure(weeds or rock) or popular baits, techniques(trolling or casting), area of the lake(north or south) would be of great help. THANX A TON IN ADVANCE!!!!
One more thing. Is trolling a good option during midday hours? |
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Posts: 3147
| Night fish!!! by that time the fish will have seen every lure in R&h and Thorne bros shelfs during the day,,I live here in Minn and the last two late Julys have been KILLER heatwaves you will probbably enjoy it more |
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Posts: 313
Location: On your favorite spot | Search, search, search, search, then destroy. Cover some water, find some cabbage, don't forget about the rocks.
$350/5 months = 70 bucks a month to save for a guide - the knowledge gained will be priceless as Mille Lacs is always intimidating when you go to seek out spots that you see on a map. Usually the spots are much bigger and way different than the picture you have in your mind.
Browse old fishing reports - no shortage there. Good luck
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Posts: 574
| I would think the fish would still be on the weeds at that point, but at over 130,000 acres it could be tough figuring out witch ones. I'd hire a guide for at least the first day. I'll be there mid July for a few days and we already have our guide booked for 4 days.
Some of these guides fill up pretty quickly, so if you do decide to hire someone I wouldn't wait too long.
For guides just off the top of my head............
Lee Tauchen, Gregg Thomas, Luke Ronnestrand, Steve Jonesi. All of these guys put multiple Monsters in the boat last year. |
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Posts: 462
Location: Madison Wi. Chain | If you are not going to hire a guide. I would spend the first half day driving around watching your graph and really getting to know 3-4 pieces of different structure very well. Mark weed lines or rock humps with your GPS so you can be on the spot during the prime time and at night. I have to admit I have never fished Mille Lacs, but usually approach any body of water in a similar fashion. BG |
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Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | I will be therethe third week of July. Great time to fish at night. This will be my third full week up there at this time and it rocks. Lot's to learn about this pond. Huge water and it gets rolling day and night.
We don't fish the whole mid day section of the 24 hour day. Lots of night fishing. Huge fish in this pond. Talk to some of the guides at the shows and anyone who has been on this water. Do your homework, this water can be very dangerous day or night. We fish the whole North end mostly but some of our largest fish come from the South East end. |
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| Be prepared to put some miles on your vehicle if the winds are whipping. If the winds are opposite the side of the lake you are on, you will need to pull out and go to an alternate launch to save your kidneys. this depends, of course, on what boat you are fishing out of. Regardless, the winds can dictate where you will need to fish and the most efficient way to get there may be by towing your boat. |
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Posts: 2089
| Give me a holler or shoot me an e-mail and I can help out with some of the details.Start your preparation now.Get a Lakemaster or ReelBottom map and start studying.Orient yourself to the lake, but remember, the scale.The size of a "bay" on ML is bigger than most lakes.What size boat will you be using?Plan on driving around to different landings, and don't hesitate to pay at a resort, as it's a lot cheaper than a deductible or a new bait.Don't go crazy buying a ton of lures.A select few, including blades, topwater and big rubber.As Hook mentioned, there are a few fish caught at night out there, just a few.LOL.There are fish everywhere at that time.You can join the conga line on the North end sand and will catch fish, day or night.Fish the wind.What was the wind direction yesterday?The day before that?Hmmm.Weeds.Don't just fish the edges(inside/outside), but right IN da weeds. The rocks are ALIVE with activity.Muskies eat there.All season.Break up the day and get rest during the "Africa Hot" part of the day.Buy a headnet.$1.47 @ Wal-Mart.The bugs can get bad, but they're not the bitin'/munchin' kind.They'll just fly into any exposed orifice and drive you nuts.So much to talk about regarding ML.Start gettin' ready now and prepare for success.Fish Hard and bring a BIG net!
Steve
"Give it away, give it away, give it away, NOW"-Da Chili Peppers
Edited by Steve Jonesi 1/25/2007 7:53 PM
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Posts: 42
Location: Shoepack | This is a very difficult lake to fish sight unseen. Further, if the water levels are as low next summer as they were this past Fall, the difficulty is almost doubled.
Wind plays a larger part of the overall equation on this lake than pretty much any other non-Great lake lake.
IMO, a guide will multiply your chance for a great trip by 100x. It more than likely may even save you a lower unit replacement.
Good luck.
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| Start with low expectations, it is not always easy fishing. New water, at nite, throw in some(or alot) of wind, and some rocks and it can get very challenging. I would say if you put a muskie in the boat every other day your doing good. Learn from your fishless days, enjoy the bonus pike and walleyes, and stay positive. It is a different world than 1000-3000 acre bodies of water, but very cool! |
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Posts: 1243
Location: Musky Tackle Online, MN | gmaj - 1/26/2007 4:38 AM
I would say if you put a muskie in the boat every other day your doing good. Learn from your fishless days, enjoy the bonus pike and walleyes, and stay positive.
I would say if you're putting a fish in the boat every other day you're doing much better than good. For someone new to Mille Lacs, that would be phenomenal. Definitely possible. But that lake is a tough nut to crack for people that put in a lot of hours out there, let alone someone that has never been on the lake.
Aaron |
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Posts: 34
Location: Forest Lake Minnesota | I agree with AWH, I have fished millacs for a few years and finaly cought a good one last year, although I have missed many. It was only my second fish from the lake. BTW I have over 150 muskies to my credit.
Good Luck,
Dave |
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| Half the fun of muskie fishing is figuring things out based on what you have learned on your home waters. Yea, it is a big lake with tons of options. Break it down into pieces and attack it like it were a smaller body of water. If you are a greenhorn...hire a guide...if you have experience....enjoy the challenge! If you come up empty....so what....that's fishing. Going there and coming up fishless will never stop me. The potential has been proven over and over. S.J has layed it all out for you.....just go and take what it gives you. |
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Posts: 128
| FYGR8 - 1/26/2007 7:27 PM
Half the fun of muskie fishing is figuring things out based on what you have learned on your home waters. Yea, it is a big lake with tons of options. Break it down into pieces and attack it like it were a smaller body of water. If you are a greenhorn...hire a guide...if you have experience....enjoy the challenge! If you come up empty....so what....that's fishing. Going there and coming up fishless will never stop me. The potential has been proven over and over. S.J has layed it all out for you.....just go and take what it gives you.
I couldn't agree more... Mille Lacs can be tough but if you do break it down into sections to begin with the rewards can be awesome! In 2005 I kicked some major ass on the lake, last year for me sucked. As Jonesi and others have said you can focus on the north end sand and hang out with the bumper boats... Or, try the other sand in certain bays on the East/South side that aren't so pressured. Same structure on a smaller scale. Just look at a good map and figure out what you can figure out. Whatever you do don't ignore the rocks, even earlier in the season, as most dudes only focus on them in the fall. The biggest muskie I've ever seen( plus about 4 other respectable fish) was on a rockpile by a certain island in July on a crappy Northwest wind day. Good Luck! |
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Posts: 76
| I have been hearing a lot about how dangerous the lake is, are you guys refering to the wind or navigation? What are the chances of running up on a rock reef that isn't marked on a map?
Thanks for the advice fellas. |
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Posts: 2012
| The wind provides most of the "excitement" - however the lake is low and the south end is where most of the hitable rocks are....I would make sure you have a GPS with a lakechip and be smart (swing wide)
One other "tip" for Mille Lacs - Spool up with no less than 150Lbs. super braid you might tangle with a state record! but more importantly you have a better shot of getting your lure back when you cross lines with the other muskie fisherman! ( I got 3 new rods and reels and 7 Double cowgirls last year) 
Edited by IAJustin 1/27/2007 1:51 PM
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| A little research will go along ways on Mille Lacs.
Cove, Vineland, North end sand and many more spots make this a great lake to explore.
If you are hell bent on catching, hire a guide. If you want a great time exploring and learning the lake scour the web sites. I'd guess there probably were..........5,000? posts on Mille Lacs.
Check with the bait and tackle shops. They will normally give you some straight info if you are talking to the right guy's. Johnsons Portside, Meleens, Tutt's, Garrison Sports just to name a very few.
A meal and a couple of cocktails at places such as Carlsona Beach, Fishers , Hunters , Sunset Bay and numerous others will also generally produce information.
This is a big lake with alot of water that will produce. That said you will not come there one time and learn or master the lake. This lake takes lots and lots of time and study, even the best get shut out on this lake!
Next to patience and good electronics the "must have" for Mille Lacs is a good Smallmouth set-up. LOL
State record Muskie & Smallmouth swim here, come and enjoy Minnesota's finest. |
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| IntroC,
In my earlier post, I was trying to keep you from getting over-hyped for your big trip. Too much time, money, and effort goes into a trip to come away dissappointed. I fished ML for the first time last year, and thought I would offer a little help in your mental preparation/aspect of your trip. I realize I don't have the experience to give any fish catching advice, so I didn't. I'll leave that to those who are qualified.
AS FOR THE FOLLOWING, PLEASE TAKE THIS FOR THE HARMLESS BANTER THAT IT IS.
To AWH:
I have about 20 hrs. on ML, 18 of which was in 3-4footers. During the 2 calm hrs., I was fortunate enough to get a 43"er(not big, I know). I thought I did pretty good so that is what I based my"a muskie every other day is good" comment on. Perhaps I was off some. I am fortunate to live near some good water, where multiple fish days are the norm. I was trying to suggest its not a numbers game, and may have understated the difficulty of this lake. Since I am on a 1fish/2day pace, does this make me phenomenal ?? Perhaps my new user name should be "The Phenom"
To fishermuskie:
2 muskies in 2 years flat out does not fall into my catagory of doing good. Maybe average, maybe OK, but not good.
However, congratulations on your 150 fish year. I too put nearly 150 muskies in my boat last year(NOT counting the 48 my partner and I got in 1wk. at LOTW- I only got 23, darn back of the boat). Oh wait, you didn't say anything about last year , did you. Oh well,hopefully your muskie career has been a short one. Good luck, I'm being sincere.
Remember, harmless banter. HaHa!
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Posts: 3864
| Mille Lacs is very big water and each time I put my little boat in I had to play the wind game, i.e., I only fished bays that were sheltered from the wind. And then I was careful to not get too far from shore. I carried a small Radio Shack weather radio and I stayed informed.
I was there about when you plan on going and boy was it HOT. Folks I spoke with (Extreme Mike, for example) were focusing on night fishing I think, but I had a big one strike near the boat midday (twitching a weighted-to-suspend grandma) and boated a 43" on a big white spinnerbait. Saw another big one, a lazy follow. Also saw a leach swim by that was like 10" long.
Bars are fun round them parts. EssoxLady was a hoot to party with.
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Posts: 434
Location: searchin for 50 | Just use common sense when on the lake. When it starts getting windy head for shore . There are'nt many protected areas on the pond. throw her on the trailer and head to the side of the lake the wind is coming from. Good Luck |
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Posts: 34
Location: Forest Lake Minnesota | GMAJ perhaps you should.
Good Luck,
Dave
PS I've heard they come pretty easy from LOTW, but I would't know as I have never been there.
Edited by fishermuskie 1/29/2007 9:59 AM
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| I started fishing Mille Lacs last year ,i made too trips, the first trip was in August and the weather was good ,even if you get wet it is not too bad, being the water is warm. The second trip was in middle of October and definetely the wind and weather are much tougher to deal with.
At the time I had a tuffy esox low to the water line about 17 feet and i done okay at times i launched from different launches depending on the wind direction, if you have a deep V should be no problem using common sense
I HAVE BEEN A SPOONPLUGGER FOR ABOUT 15 YEARS.
At one point i almost give up fishing, due to when ever i went to a new lake i would have to start all over.
Spoonplugging its a study how to go about finding fish in any body of water. Will talk about types of water structure breaks and breaklines, weather and light condition how effects the fish.
I have no monetary interest in spoonplugging except for helping a fellow fisherman
Mr. Buck Perry he was the gentileman that invented spoonplugging and passed it on to future generation
The book that i recomend that you should read is the GREEN BOOK
go to Buck Perry website the book is called " your guide to lunker catches"
www.buckperry.com our own site that has lots of info www.spoonplugger.net
Study the book and you will be able to figure out any lakes
Gino Testone
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