Leech Lake , Mn.

[NebEyeDoc]

Great Job Steve. Wishing you continued success.
Steve G.

[stevefellegy]

Originally Posted by NebEyeDoc

Great Job Steve. Wishing you continued success.
Steve G.

Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in awhile....me being like an old blind squirrel! lol

Good luck on your coming Leech Lake walleye hunting trip! Maybe see you on the water....

[stevefellegy]

Did well on small crank baits in 7-10ft. on the only day out this past week. Rocky “slopes” the best… More to report this coming week with more trips planned…

[stevefellegy]

No doubt, Leech Lake is as about diverse as walleye haunts get. I have said before, one has to view the lake as at least 3 lakes in one. ( which is not uncommon among many walleye worlds around the continent)

Want precise advice? The bite is pretty good from 5 ft. to 45 ft. of water these days…so go figure! lol

That said, I firmly believe, no matter the time of year, water temps, wind, sun, clouds or whatever, a big majority of the Leech Lake walleyes live in less than 8 ft. of water–24/7.

BUT! On the calm days, catching those fish in the shallows can be like trying to perform brain surgery on an ant. Where there is a will, there IS a way!

So….luckily, if one looks hard enough, there are good numbers of fish on small humps/rocky ridges–shoreline or mid- main lake related etc.–in water 12 ft. to 22 ft. And they bite! And they eat most any of the typical walleye catching menu choices.

And then there is the “other lake” within Leech Lake–the depths of mighty Walker Bay. If you “go hunting before you go fishing”…Walker Bay can be good to you. Very good as the NWT guys saw this past weekend!

So–in a nut shell–even though the lake fishes very big these days–the catching has been good and should continue to be good. Find’em…they will bite!

"You gotta go hunting before you go fishing"...

[NebEyeDoc]

Steve,
Thanks for you help. We had a GREAT time on our trip to Leech. Coming to a large lake having never fished it can be a little intimidating. We often fished all 3 of these sub lakes you spoke of in the same day.... and had great success! We reserved the same cabin for next year at the same time. You haven't heard the last of us...ha! My wife got her biggest walleye to date at 24". She was very happy! Anyone interested in coming to this area and in search of a guide...Steve is your man. He knows the lake well. Leech lake is fishing very well this year. If you don't have your own boat, book a trip with this guy and you will not be sorry...
Steve G

[stevefellegy]

This past week was a good numbers week the few times we got out. Keepers were hard to come by in my boat. "Too big" was about a 4 to 1 ratio. LOTS of 21" to 24" 'ers in the system--no doubt. Fun fish!

We "cruised" this week to get the fish. That means we fished lead core/small crank baits and or spinners/bouncers/crawlers. I stayed away from the drop offs and cruised flat basin type stuff adjacent to the sharp depth changes---17-18ft. was best. At least 100 yards or more from the drop offs. The schools we would find were about the size of a football field and would move as much as 400-500 yards from day to day. But they really snapped at the cruisin' stuff we flew by them...just find the first one.

So it was a good week with no reason to believe it will slow down this coming week if one follows the patterns as they evolve....

[stevefellegy]

The "bite" for me continues to be pretty good ( not "great" --not "fantastic")--WHEN I find the fish. In other words--they ain't hard to catch. But...

I have fished mostly calm water the past few days so I haven't targeted any "shallow" fish. Consistently, sometimes having to "hunt" for a while, I am finding the easy fish in around 17-18ft. along or off the edge of hard bottom/rocky banks--mostly mid-lake related stuff. Spinners/bouncers/crawlers shine but the lead core/small cranks work fine if the area and the fish is/are set up for it. The "cruisin' bite" continues. That said--the deep fish are like Gypsies these days...on the move! Not far but as far a few 100 yards up or down the road they have been following. There surely are no fences down there!

Keepers are about 1/3 the catch for my boat the past few days--the rest--"too big".

For 40 plus years I have yet to see a "bug hatch" slow the walleye catching down anywhere and this past week or two is no exception as the mayfly hatch has been and still is pretty big on Leech Lake . Yes---floating bugs get on the line but the fish 17-18ft. below don't care. Remember--fish do not read In-Fisherman nor have watched any videos etc. so they simply do not know they ain't suppose to bite during bug hatches! lol

Tomorrow (Monday) is a "bobber" fishing trip per the clients request--to learn the fundamentals of the "bobbering system". We will fish LESS than 8ft. all day. I like the wind forecast so the fish won't run away from the boat too far...staying within casting range. Should be "interesting"? Stay tuned....

Find'em--the bite is just fine these days and will be as usual. If they ain't there--they don't bite! "You gotta go hunting before you go fishing."

.

[stevefellegy]

We stuck to the "bobbering" plan on Monday. (I had not been looking for shallow rock --5-7 ft. fish for a couple weeks so fished somewhat blind) About 3 stops in a 3 hr. span with a couple "sets" on each spot--we had a total of 3 walleyes. Then the next spot we bumped into them--even though it was now early afternoon. We landed several limits of walleyes in a couple hrs. via about 3 different "sets" on the spot. Interestingly, 90 percent were nice eaters--15"-17". Only a handful of "to big". So--6-7ft. eventually paid off as the bobbers sunk just fine considering a somewhat mellow northwest wind and early afternoon action.

Today (Wednesday the 1st)? Went back to the "easy fish". And 4-5 hrs. later--life was NOT easy! The "gypsy" schools were just that--for me at least. I felt like a "Rookie"! lol After looking for the magic spot with several moves to several deep rock edges...cruisin' with both spinner/bouncer rigs and lead core/small cranks--we came back to our starting spot and got a handful. Hindsight being 20/20--I should have never left fish to find fish?

Anyway---that's the "Rookie Report". Maybe one savvy shallow move on Monday and a very hard to swallow humble pie today...

Good luck to all over the fireworks weekend!

[bullhauler]

I'm heading up there tonight it'll be my first time up there. Crawlers and leeches seem to be the best baits as of now??? Just want to make sure I grab everything I need and I didn't know if anyone was still using minnows much? Thanks

[stevefellegy]

Originally Posted by bullhauler

I'm heading up there tonight it'll be my first time up there. Crawlers and leeches seem to be the best baits as of now??? Just want to make sure I grab everything I need and I didn't know if anyone was still using minnows much? Thanks

Crawlers and leeches fished with the common rigs like spinners/bouncers or slip sinker rigs are fine. Small crank baits (#5 shad raps?) work well too---both in shallow ( 7-10ft.) or deep water with lead core or a weighted/sinker system to get them down to the bottom. ( 2 mph) Minnows will work too! Find'em and stay on them--that is the KEY!