Brainerd Lakes Area: 6 days and 465 lakes; help!

[NeedToFish!]

I'll be there on Sept. 14th. It's my first time to the area. I'll be staying on Pelican Lake, which is supposed to be a 'trophy walleye lake'. With 465 lakes in the area, I'd like to split my time up. I'd like to do some walleye (at least 2 days), smallmouth, pike, and muskie fishing. Crappie fishing would be nice too! I feel like a kid in a candy store!!!
I'm from eastern Ohio, where the water is dirty, and can't wait to see more than 4ft down! Gentlemen, any advice, on any bite in the area, might save me some time putting fish in the boat! Just throw out what you know. For me, this is the vacation of a lifetime, and I don't want to get skunked. Thanks in advance! See you out there!

[Garrison]

Pelican will give you options to catch Walleye, Largemouth, Pike, and some crappies. The walleyes will likely be on some of the main lake humps and longer points. During the day you can do well on jigs with minnows (I've used a lot of white jigs there and done well.) Also, Roach rigs work well. You'll likely be fishing 25- 30' of water. In the evening and after dark the crankbait bite really kicks in. Pull shadraps (#5 or 7 in perch, firetiger, or white/black) in 10 - 15 feet of water on the same structure you located fish on during the day.

The Mississippi river is a great place to get smallmouth this time of year. Below the dam in Brainerd is one of the best places for numbers with the occassional pig to boot. If you go here watch out for the rocks. You'll need to stay to the right side of the river as you come upstream. In fact at one point you may even be ducking under overhanging trees as you approach the pool below the dam. There are some good eddies on the right side and left side as well as the large bar at the end of the pool (which is the reason you need to end up close to the bank to get there) that causes a nice "Push" where the fish stack up.

I'll let someone else chime in on the other options. You'll also find Gull, North Long and Round Lake to be good options. Best of luck.

[Otter]

For muskies, Mille Lacs is 25 miles east and Leech is 60 miles north. Both lakes are large, and a guide would be a good idea. If you don't want to go that route, there are excellent lake maps available for both lakes, but watch the wind/weather. Enjoy your trip.

[BENNY]

MY WIFE AND I ARE ORIGINALLY FROM MINNESOTA, BUT NOW LIVE HERE IN COLUMBUS OHIO. MY PARENTS HAVE A CABIN ON KIMBALL LAKE WHICH IS ONLY 5 MINUTES NORTH OF PELICAN LAKE. HAVEN'T FISHED PELICAN VERY OFTEN, BUT KIMBALL HAS A LOT OF CRAPPIE, ABOVE AVERAGE SMALLIES AND LARGE MOUTH, WALLEYE, AND MUSKIE. IT'S A SMALLER LAKE COMPARED TO PELICAN, BUT HAS A GREAT PUBLIC ACCESS ONLY 15 MINUTES FROM BREEZY POINT. FOR CRAPPIE FOCUS ON THE OUTLET CHANNEL TO LAKE OSSAWINAMAKEE. YOU'LL FIND GOOD NUMBERS OF 1/2-3/4 LBS IN MID-MORNING, AND EARLY EVENING. USE LIVE BAIT WITH JIGS OR SOFT TUBE BAITS 1-5 FT DEEP. FISH WILL SUSPEND IN THE DEEP WATER JUST IN FRONT OF CHANNEL. THE LAKE HAS TWO HUGE UNDERWATER BAR SYSTEMS THAT FOCUS MOST OF THE FISHING PRESSURE. FISH WALLEYE AT NIGHT WITH 3-WAY SYSTEM (MINNOW OR LEECH) OR SLIP-BOBBER ON THE POINTS OF THE SUNKEN ISLAND IN 1-5 FT. IF YOU LIKE FLIPPIN OR PITCHIN DOCKS YOU'LL LOVE MINNESOTA!! EVERY CABIN HAS A DOCK AND YOU'LL FIND HUNDREDS OF DOCKS AND BASS...YES HUNDREDS OF BASS IN THESE DOCKS!! SPINNERBAITS WORK WELL ON THE FLAT CLOSEST TO THE LANDING. USE SOFT PLASTICS FOR EDGE FISH. AND FOR MY FAVORITE...THE MUSKIE!! THIS LAKE IS NOT KNOWN FOR MUSKIE. IT'S NOT EVEN LABELED AS A LAKE TO HOLD THEM BASED ON THE FISHING MAPS AND LOCAL BAIT STORE CLERKS, BUT THEY ARE THERE, AND THEY'RE BIG! FISH SAME AREAS AS WALLEYES. USE LARGE BLACK BUCKTAILS LIKE A MEPPS GIANT KILLER OR BUCHERTAIL 700 SERIES FOR CLEARER DAYS. GOOD FISH ALSO TAKEN ON LARGE JERK BAITS. JACKPOTS, SUICK, REEF HAWGS TO NAME A FEW. USE BLACK OR GREY FOR THESE AS WELL. THE PRIMARY FORAGE OF THE MUSKIE IN KIMBALL IS THE SUCKER AND BULL HEAD (WHICH IS LIKE FILLET MIGNON TO A MUSKIE) HENCE THE BLACK COLOR PRODUCES WELL. BY MID-SEPTEMBER WATER TEMPS HAVE USALLY STARTED TO DROP. HOWEVER, THIS YEAR WE STILL HAVE DAYS IN THE MID NINTIES. FALL PATTERNS MAY BE A LITTLE BEHIND YET, AND THE FISH STILL MAY BE A LITTLE DEEP. WATER CLARITY SHOULD BE AROUNG 10-12 FT. GOOD LUCK AND ENJOY OUR WONDERFUL STATE OF MINNESOTA!!