Minaki reports for end of July?

[Dale_E]

I'm headed for Minaki at the end of this week.

Any fishing reports?
Long lining - trolling Big Sand?
Water level?

Also, when people talk about fishing Trapper's Cabin, I know where it is, but I don't know if there is some specific structure off of the point, or how exactly to fish it? Is there a better time of the year to fish there than others?

Thanks for the help.

Tom

[ChuckE]

We've had some good success at trappers cabin by jigging and rigging the eastern side of the point that it is located on. You'll find deep weed growth, and good structure in 12 to 20' of water on this side of the point. You may have to wade thru the smallies that always seem to hold or school in this area, especially in mid-summer to fall.

Just off the very tip of the point, you'll find a nice drop off where the water breaks from ~12' to 30' fairly quickly. Sometimes the walleye will be suspended off this break, especially if there are schools of baitfish on the sonar. Sometimes they'll be just at the bottom of the break if you don't see bait fish. In the early morning or late evening, it is not uncommon to find them at the top of the break or even in toward the shoreline, and you can catch them by casting shadraps or tubes very easily. If they are on the break, we often fish them with drop-shot rigs and crawlers or gulp minnows, worked up and down the break. (For some reason we don't ever have much success jigging them, when they are suspending or at the bottom of the break.)

As you go into the big bay to the east of the point, you'll notice that the the bottom at 20' or so turns from rock to gravel and then to mud. Target the transition areas with jigs, we often find them in the gravel and you'll see them on the sonar.

By the way, on the way up to Trappers Cabin, don't forget to check out Pine Island, and the deeper points that come off of the south and south-west sides of the island. It can get a bit snaggy, but is a good spot for bigger fish. Sometimes you can find nice numbers of walleye on the norht and north-east points too, especially if you mark baitfish.

There is a 15' hump (rockpile) that is about 1/4 mile to the west of Pine Island, that has a 25-30' shelf around it. (This hump is actually in the middle of the waterway that leads toward West Bay.) Look for active walleye on your sonar and only fish it if you see them holding on the shelf or edges leading to the top of the hump. If you don't see any walleye on your sonar, don't bother. If you don't see them there however, then take a quick look at the rock point just to the south of the hump. It is rocky, but there are some nice shelfs on either side of the north point (especially the one on the east side) that can be jigged for good numbers of smaller walleye.

Chuck

[Dale_E]

Thanks for the great info Chuck

[IaCraig]

We just got back about midnight last night. The weather was mostly nice and the water levels are down, which put the walleyes in consistent patterns. Also, the number of boats were down so once you found the eyes the boats with bushnel fish finders did not move in on you. From what I have heard, the muskies were not doing as well as the last few high water years, but some are still being caught.
For walleyes. First, I did not target them much because this trip was with my wife and 2 boys who prefer casting for northerns. However my 12 year old and I went out a couple of mornings about 6:30 and we had no problems finding limits of eyes bottom bouncing the well known humps on Big Sand. We caught some eaters at Moore's point, no-name (the shallow hump about 1/8 mile NW of burnt island), and the 14' hump to the NW of Green Island and the big reef between the rockpile and Earl Island. If we fished in 15 feet or less the smallies would hit and some were 3 lbs. (they are great fun). Our fastest walleye action was in 25 - 32 foot of water around that NW hump on Green island bottom bouncing leaches, having doubles more than once. But as I watched boats all around it seemed like everyone was having pretty decent action. The avg eye was probably 14 - 15 inches, but we had no problem filling our 2 fish limits with 16 - 17 1/2 inchers. Lots of slot fish! Also, I consistently saw boats along far SE shore of Big Sand so they must have been doing well there too. I heard reports from around Strawberry & the mouth of rough rock, but I didn't try it because we found plenty of eyes going from hump to hump in Big Sand with almost no boats. Both mornings it took fewer than 3 stops before we found good fish. Nothing big, our largest being a strong 25 inches. Only a few boats were trolling Big Sand in the evenings, our worse trolling night was 2 eyes and our best was 5.

For northerns, nothing big but we caught 10+ per day between 22 - 26 inches and a couple pushing 30 and the kids loved it. I wanted the kids to try deep water to try to pick up a couple bigger northerns, but they had too much fun casting. We caught maybe 15 walleyes while casting for northerns in the shallow bays off the river so the eyes are there too. A couple evenings as the kids worked the shoreline about 1/4 mile East of Cobalt narrows on Gun lake for northerns my sonar showed what I am sure were big groups of walleyes stacked up on the bottom in about 25'.

It isn't the Minaki walleye meca of old, but considering I was targetting eyes less than 20% of the time I was very pleased especially by the numbers of slot fish(which were hard to find last year). Don't get me wrong, I know the system pretty well so that helps a lot. A couple of other groups in camp I talked too were fairly discouraged aren't likely to be back, but they stayed within 1-2 miles of the RR bridge despite my marking spots on a map for them. The kids only disappointment was that we only hit the beach twice, but they must have enjoyed the fishing because they made me stop at Cabelas on the way home to stock up on a couple of the hot lures so they would be ready for next year!

IaCraig :)

[NW IA Mark]

Quick question, I have heard alot about trolling 'pearl shad raps' on Big Sand in the evening. Can anyone tell me what depths or types or structure to target and what time of the day this will work? My brother, grandfather and I have been fishing Big Sand for 7-8 years, but sometimes I feel like we get in a rut and don't venture far from our routine - a.k.a. go out early in the morning, call it quits by 4:30 p.m.. Are we missing something by not trying this, any truth to the stories?

This is my first post, so I apologize if the question is not appropriate or seem to make sense.

We head to Barbers two weeks from tomorrow!

[dmtag]

Most of the evening trolling in Big Sand is done in around 180-200 ft of water with the walleyes being suspended at 40-15 ft. #9 Shad Raps seem to be the bait of choice, but anything that can get down 15-30 ft will work. The depth varies from year to year, so experiment with different crankbaits till you find a pattern which works. The fish can be anywhere (sometimes everywhere) in the deep water and you sometimes need to hunt a bit to find them. We often mark our "strikes" on the GPS and work back and forth over that spot. Planer boards seem to help sometimes, and are necessary if fishing more than three out of a boat.
It is also possible to catch them by trolling the shallow water drop-off areas during the day. There are many of these humps in Big Sand where water rises to 20-30 ft from over 100.
When the trolling bite is on it can be a blast. There have been times when trolling in a boat of 4 people, three of us have had them on at one time. It can also be a bit slow and boring if the fish are not cooperating. Best time seems to be from about 7:30 till dark. The closer to dark the better the fishing seems to get. Some people stay out after dark.
I missed Minaki for the first time in around 20 years this year. Hope you can catch a few for me!

[NW IA Mark]

Thanks for confirming what I had heard. We will be sure and give it a try. Sorry, you were not able to make it to Minaki this year. We will do our best to catch one for you.

Thanks again.

[ChuckE]

We ended up changing some of our 'routine' this year, because the season up in Minaki appeared to be about 4 weeks earlier than normal and it was so hot and cloud-free during the day. (We even did a few rain dances at night the 2-1/2 weeks we were there this year, but that didn't help.) What worked well for us was to get on the water before sun-up and fish to about 11:00a.m. Eat a big meal, work on tackle, relax, and even grab a snooze and then get back out on the water about 4:00 pm or so. We'd fish from then til' just after sundown.

A good spot to fish for suspended walleye at Minaki is in the Race. That's the open stretch of water running north-south from the east side of Sugarloaf down to Milners Bay. Look for hughe schools of baitfish first in 10-15' of water, and when you find them on the sonar, look for schools of walleye off to the sides or beneath them. They are very easy to spot, but whether they are actively feeding is another story. Long line #9 Shad Raps or deep diving Wallie Divers, and don't be afraid to pinch on a 1/4 or 1/2 oz sinker about 10 to 20' ahead of the crankbait. 15 to 40' is a good range of depths to fish.

Another place to try is over by Elephant Rock (Elephant Hump?) in the South-east part of big sand over 90-180' of water. Set up a trolling pattern that puts you coming off the lake to the west of elephant rock and heads you running south of Pickerel and Olsens Islands. Stay well off the bouys just south of the islands. Active fish can often be caught in 10 to 25', if the schooled northern aren't in the same area. Bigger fish tended to come from the area to the south of Deer Island.

On the way back to the cabin, be sure to check the north channel that runs from the north to the west side of Octo Island. In the evening, the scattered fish that you'd normally mark on the deep transitions (60'+) seemed to school and actively feed in open water at 15 to 25' or so. When they are there you'll have some nice fast action. However, we noticed this tended to only occur every 2nd or 3rd evening or so -- don't know why.

Trolling for walleye can get a bit slow and tends to be boring. When you run over a school of actively feeding fish, it can also get exciting and quite hectic too! Mark where you catch them on a GPS if you can, we've found they don't venture very far up at Minaki, except after a very-very bad front moves thru or there is a 180 degree shift in wind direction.

...just our experience.

Chuck

[Aaron-IN]

One of the tricks I use that almost always works for me and doesn't even require trolling is to head up to Big Sand of an evening(after 7 pm) and look for schools of Cisco breaking the surface feeding on bugs and such. You can boat right up to those schools and cast out a shad rap and catch walleye no matter what the water depth.

[Brian D]

I just got back after spending a week there.
Because less people troll the elephants hump that is my first choice.
This year we had guests from the cost and the last thing they wanted to do was troll for walleye when they get salmon back home.
On the reefs in big Sand and litte Sand fishing was the best I've seen it in years.
Oddly this year worms on a harness with a slip weight was the top producer of the larger walleyes. Followed by leeches then live minnows.
Pistol was a poor producer of any size of walleyes.
As a note we spent 2 days on lake of the woods.
The fish there are larger on average and fishing was better
Is it just me seeing things or are the number of guest way down in the last 2 weeks at the camps???

[IaCraig]

I thought the resorts at Minaki looked emptier than normal too. If the threads on WC are an accurate representation I’d assume that a few people stayed in the US because of either fuel prices or hassles at the border......and others spent their annual fishing trip in search for better fishing and more liberal limits. I’d be curious to hear from someone who went to Lac Seul recently, I’ll bet the resorts are busy there.

IaCraig

PS - If you troll big Sand, try a variety of colors & lure depths. We had some luck on white lures like the pearly white #9, but for us perch colored deep thundersticks out produced them at least 2:1 for us. Admittedly I am a bit biased towards underdogs and prefer lures made by companies like Storm & Mann's. :) (I know rapala bought out storm, but I have a fairly good inventory of the old style)

IaCraig

[NW IA Mark]

You guys have been a great help! Our strategy has been to fish the deeper water drops on the Rock Pile, Pine Island, Wiskey Island and Green. We fish these throughout the morning and into mid-afternoon almost exclusively drifting slowly with long snelled spinners (prefer a colorado blade in the hammered silver or gold color)and large minnows & 3/4 - 1oz botom bouncer. We have not had trouble catching all we needed to eat and bringing home our limits. The posts I have read thus far will give us some proven teqniques that we will try this year.

All of my rods/reels are set up with 10lb Trilene XL and I normally tie my spinners with 10lb. XT, can I get by with this line and attach a snap swivel & shad rap to target the suspended walleyes? Will it dive deep enough........ thoughts anyone??

Any other ideas on presentation or areas to try would be appreciated.

Thanks again, two weeks from right now I will be somewhere on Big Sand with a huge smile on my face - regardless of whether the fish are biting! :)

[Reels]

I did both Minaki and Lac Seul this year. It is going to be hard to go back to Minaki after Lac Seul. Not that I dont love Minaki, but the fishery needs a rest. I think we might give it a few years off.


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[dmtag]

You should be fine with these line choices. I personally prefer to set my drag very light and use a braided line like Power Pro. I just like the way this line shows the vibration of the lure better than mono. The downside is that it does not streatch and sometimes causes the hooks to tear out of the fishes lip which is why I set the drag as loose as possible. My friend uses 10 lb mono like you and catches as many or more fish trolling as me.
I forgot to mention previously that most people let out about 150-200 feet of line. A line counter reel helps to easily keep track of how much line you have out. I've also marked my line with nail polish or whatever you can find as a reference on non-linecounter reels.
Speed can also matter. Anywhere from 2.5 to 4 mph has worked well for us. Troll in a swerving pattern, and vary your speeds. Most claim to have more success when trolling with the waves. I haven't noticed much difference.
Good luck!

[Seriously]

People still actually spend their vacation money going to Minaki?

The lake has been raped....move on.....

[iamwalleye1]

This is my third year of not returning to Minaki. ;(

I had made it every years from 1988-2003 Some years 2 time a season. Things have changed there over the years and will change more every year to come. That is why they have put a tight slot on the walleyes.
I feel it will turn around with time.

Look back a few years on the northern slot and what is has done.

I did not stop going because of the fishing it just happened, I will return soon, Family, Medical and $$$$ issues.

[Reels]

Well, it isn't that easy. Some of us have been going for 20 years. It is more than the fishing that brings us back up. Friends, nature, relaxation. Minaki is still a beautiful place and although the walleye fishing may be off the Muskie, Northern, and Small mouth has been fantastic.


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[Brian D]

I'm sure there is a ton of reasons that there is a slow down of fishing pressure on the water. We've also noticed that the cottagers are not taking as many leasure boat cruises as well .
Personally with the crazy price of gas , our water sports and fishing trips are more planned every weekend. The rock pile pile has always been a great place to fish but the extra couple of miles little sand and south end of big produce just as well.
We now combine the kids tubing with heading out to our fishing spots . Then dump them on the beach for the day!

For trolling we've been doing it now for over 12 years, and over the years I've always noticed the same 3 - 5 boats trolling over the years. Given the cercumstances we seldom are doing the same thing on the water, and can only guess that your succesfull since you continue.
From my experiences from trolling was maintaining your depth control and speed. Being an advid lake trout fisherman I've learned that cutting back and forth is a great trick to get a strike. This a tactic I've picked for walleye as well. Also the stop and go has triggered it share of fish.
When there is a big chop I love putting my lines over the edge of reefs and points. In particular the whole stretch of the south shore.
We used to use planner boards more, now it's mainly when there's to many people in the boat.
I have my fav lure ( white pearl ) but generally let weather and light conditions tell me what to do. My daughter likes colours I wouldn't put on the x-mass tree, and yet a 9 year old putting a fishing clinic for dad ( kids doing all wrong but everything right )

Everything I read on this minaki post all works, this was some of the stuff I like to do.

[Aaron-IN]

I'll have to try that "dumping them on the beach for the day" thing...LOL.

For me personaly, fishing at Minaki is getting better every year but I don't focus on walleye.

[Brian D]

Aaron-IN I didn't know you had kids . Your place I think is much closer then the beach. I'll dump them at your place with a bag of candy.

[woods]

Reels, where did you stay at Lac Suel? How did you like the resort?

[Reels]

Evergreen. It was great. Good people that put us on fish right away. The place was very comfortable and clean.


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[Aaron-IN]

BrianD.......mine are 8 & 5 so as long as my wife is along to watch them we should try that sometime.

[Brian D]

>BrianD.......mine are 8 & 5 so as long as my wife is along to
>watch them we should try that sometime.
let me know the next time up. My girl is 10

[IaCraig]

I planned to just dump them and my wife off at the beach, but since my wife knows there were bears in Canada she wouldn't agree to let me go fish while they swam and built sand castles.

IaCraig

[Brian D]

No wife so no bear problem. Another trick with daughter was take her tubing right up to big sand to what ever reef and turn the boat into the wind and leave there for a bit. Now a little smarter she pulls herself in.To bad it wouldn't work well with lone lining! Or when she was much smaller let all the minnows go in the live well and get a little net. That used to work.
Now every fish I catch she has to bring it in if she's bored with fishing herself. ( No matter how old a guy gets it's not easy to pass your rod over )
Speaking of bears anybody have any problems this year yet? We've seen a few . I suspect this fall they will be a real problem.

[Aaron-IN]

Brian...we have had a couple come into camp out on the island. Your right, this fall will probably be pretty bad with the bears...they don't have much around to eat this year.