Mille Lacs - opener

[walleye seeker]

I am fishing Mille Lacs for the first time, opening weekend. Since I've never been there, I'm hoping someone can give me some advise on where to start (we're staying on the s.e.end)and what patterns to expect, what bait works well etc. Any advise would be welcome. Thanks!

[Bad Finger]

Bring a good anchor. A slip bobber rig. A pound of leeches. And last but not least....a very accurate ruler!!

[Schnauzer]

Ditto on the Bad Finger advice. There are lots of reefs on the SE side and it won't be hard to find them - just look for the crowds of boats. There will be a lot of slip bobbering and you might want to slowly troll a lindy rig with a leech or minnow too (using an electric trolling motor). It will likely be too crowded to pull cranks - same with drifting.

[walleye seeker]

Is it really that crowded on Mille Lacs? I'm bringing kid's and was hoping to drift fish. No room? Tell me you're kidding!

[steve fellegy]

The crowd will be mind boggling to a first timer at Mille Lacs, for sure. But.....don't worry, the walleyes aren't necessarily glued to the crowds. There will be shoreline stretches that are away from accesses or marina's that will be less crowded and have plenty of catchable walleyes within. Even in the crowds, drifting, as you refer to, will be fine since Mille Lacs opening crowds are used to fishing in those situations. If it's windy on one side of the big lake, and you want less crowding, head for the waves.
Take a look at Mille Lcas at midnight opening friday night....you will assume there is no way for a walleye to be left for the next day.lol Always is fun to watch and hear the reactions to Mille Lacs first timers on opening weekend.
Good luck!

[walleye seeker]

Thanks! I feel better, I think? LOL

[Waterfowler]

I lost my virginity last opener on Mille Lacs. Coming from SD, it reminded me of the flats at night in fall on Oahe. Little cities pop up all across the structure in the lake. I had an amazing outing. One suggestion, tie your snells for live bait fishing long, 10' is not uncommon. It took me a little while to figure that one out. We caught all our fish on chartrues gammie #6 hooks with a glow and chartrues bead on the snell. Take lots of leeches, the bite this year is going to phenominal. The sand in the NE corner can be very good that time of year too, but it's a pretty good ride from where you are staying. Good Luck, it's only 26 days away.....

[walleye seeker]

Is the water clear or stained? What pound test for the snells? Did you drift or troll? Thanks for the help!

[mnjimcarp]

gin clear water. perfectly clear! 6 lb. test leader is fine. the walleyes will be easy to catch if the weather cooperates. haha

[mmillelacs]

My first suggestion would be to get ahold of a walleye whiffer or a reel bottom map and go from there good luck

[fishin fool]

Could someone just troll the shorelines and have a good shot at "decent" fish? Do they line up and drift over a spot like they do at LOTW? The lake is huge are the fish that bunched up you need to worry about crowds?

[rookie angler]

What kind of weight do you suggest on the snells? (split shot, walking sinker "bottom bouncer", Lindt "snagless", bullet etc.)

[REW]

A couple of different options - many folks that fish the mud or mid lake flats like to use "egg" sinkers -- they tend not to get caught in the mud so much - and because there is a long length of lead on the line, very little line wear.

If you are fishing the rocks and or gravel - then a bottom bouncer, long legged sinker is in order, or possibly a 3 way rig, with a lindy snagless sinker.

Often, if the bite is light - and if you want to fish with a slip bobber - 4 lb test line works very well indeed. It is easy to land very large fish on 4 lb test - as long as you have good drag, and don't get in a hurry. Also, if you are using 4 lb test line, a longer lighter action rod - helps to control the fish - without risking so much problem with breaking the line. This is the same as steel head fishing - 20 lb fish on 2 lb line.

As a matter of fact - a 8-9 foot steel head rod makes a wonderful slip bobber rod.

You will find on opener - that many of the "locals" stake out a spot. They have a favorite "rock" that they anchor over and consistently catch fish.

Others will "aimlessly" drift over the sands, and or mud - but can be equally effective.

It really depends on the year, wind, stage of spawn, etc. etc. etc.

After about the first couple of days - the fishing areas and "hot spots" will began to be dialed in. With many thousand fisherman out on the lake for the first weekend - it doesn't take long to figure where the active biting fish are located.

Use your head, use common sense, watch the wind, carry a long anchor rope and effective anchor - a lb of leeches, a few minnows, a few worms and catch a bunch.

Take care
REW

[rookie angler]

Your insight is much appreciated! Thanks for taking the time to educate a "novice". Good information!

[waterfowler]

I'd say Mille Lacs has clearest water I've found in my short stay in MN. I definitely wouldn't consider it gin clear though. I like 6lb or 8lb flourocarbon leaders, but flouro is not a requirement. Get the whiffer map mentioned above at any of the local Gander stores.

I prefer to drift, but the odds are that the wind will blow too hard. If you don't have a drift sock, it's a nice tool to have in the boat. If you happen to get a day with no wind, you'll need the electric to pull you along. The speed of your drift and the fishes mood will dictate what size of lindy weight you'll need.

A good anchor is a must and if you have two, even better. It's nice to be able to anchor the front and rear of the boat along structure you choose to slip bobber. Make sure you have long ropes on each.

If I think of anything else, I'll try to post.

Again, good luck, hopefully I'll be up there too.

John

[Fishless]

Do fisherman typically target walleyes at all depths (shoreline, reefs and flats) in early season? Are certain depths more productive early? Are slots more likely to be on certain structures, while bigger fish are at other depths? Do the walleyes seem to school by size early or do you get a "mixed" bag?

[Schnauzer]

I'm sure you'll get a better reply than this but one thing I can add is the fish are all over. Historically and traditionally, most of the early season fishing is on the reefs or sand (shallow). Then, when the water gets warmer (50's), the mud flats and deeper depths become more active with fisherman. The cycle completes when the fishing goes back to the reefs in the fall. However, there are fish on the flats year round so people will fish them year round, from opener to ice. I tend to stick with tradition and fish the flats in summer and the reefs during the spring and fall. However, last October, we hit the flats one afternoon and did quite well so I'll be more likely to do that again in the future - spring and fall.