western MN fishing report

Fishing in western Minnesota is good right now. We've finally had some stable weather and the fish have responded. The bass are biting in many area lakes. They are post-spawn in most cases now and many are located on shallow to mid-depth flats with emerging weed growth. Lots of ways to catch then now. Search lures like spinnerbaits and rattle baits are working well, as are Texas-rigged plastics.
Panfish action is also good. Crappies are starting to migrate to deep weedlines, while the shallows seem to be holding bluegills still.
The one negative might be the walleye bite. Seems like the unstable weather of this spring really has them messed up on lots of lakes. Fished a tournament over the weekend where some anglers reported catches in 8-10 feet of water and others got their fish as deep as 45-feet. Go figure! Best advice is to stay mobile in your search for these fish at this time.

Lots of luck on the water this summer and, as always, take a kid fishing if you get the opportunity!

Mike Frisch
Fishing The Midwest fishing team member
Elbow Lake, MN

[TOOLMAN 1]

Hey Mike,heard from Score that you and your dad were going to
Mille Lacs.
Did you get to go and how did you do?
Thanks,Tim

Toolman -

Yes, we hit Mille Lacs one day last week (I believe it was Friday). Apparently, a storm had rolled through the area the night before and we battled strong NW winds. The bite was kind of tough. We rigged on the mud and caught some fish, but nothing great, just a fish here and there. Crawlers on long snells were our best producers. From "bait shop talk", it appears the evening bobber bite is probably the best option. We only made a day trip and didn't stay for the evening. There did appear to be lots of fish on the mud, we just couldn't coax many bites. Let us know how you do if you go.

Mike