Mille Lacs Lake
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Mille Lacs Lake Fishing Reports
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Reports from all past years within a 60-day time frame
Species
WalleyeSeason
Ice
Technique
Ice Fishing Spoons
Structure
Reef
Forage
Minnows
Water Temperature
35°
Rapala Jigging Rap 1 1/4" / Glow Yellow Perch
Out of Stock
Sufix Ice Magic - EOL 6lb / Clear / 100 Yards
Out of Stock
13 Fishing Wicked Ice Combo 28" / Medium
$34.99
$54.99
Plano EDGE Micro Jig Box Micro Jig Box
$25.99
$29.99
StrikeMaster Lithium 24v Auger 8"
$352.99
$449.99
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Umbrella Rigs
Structure
Boulders
Species
WalleyeSeason
Ice
Technique
Spoons
Structure
Rock Pile
Forage
Perch
Spent a few hours out on the ice. Found a good inside turn on a steep break. Fish started coming in around 4pm. Caught 3 and missed a couple. They were pretty aggressive on the spoon. 12ft of water
HotbaitVMC Rattle Spoon 1/8 oz / Glow Gold Fish
Out of Stock
Species
WalleyeSeason
Ice
Technique
Ice Fishing Spoons
Structure
Points
Capitalizing on the early ice bite can be some of the best walleye fishing for the winter season on Mille Lacs. Safe ice measuring between 5-7 inches was found on the North End of the lake, allowing me to safely fish some of the more subtle shoreline points, as well as some the adjacent midwater humps and rockpiles. What proved most successful was drilling a spread of holes across varying depths starting on the top of the point or hump and working out across their dropoffs into deeper water. The fish would cruise these points consistently throughout the day into the evening. Calling in the more aggressive feeding fish with an Ultra Light Jigging Rap or Rapala Shad proved successful. For the less aggressive feeding fish, switching to a slower fall rate spoon, such as the VMC Tingler Spoon or VMC Tumbler Spoon proved the be the ticket in turning them from lookers into eaters.
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Drop Shot
Structure
Boulders
Drop shots are a staple on Mille Lacs. Strike King dream shot work great. Using your electronics to find boulders, especially isolated boulders. Once you have one marked on your electronics, make several short accurate casts around the boulder to find the fish. Typically depth doesn't seem to matter, anywhere from 8' to 20'.
Species
WalleyeSeason
Winter
Technique
Lipless Crankbaits
Structure
Boulders
Forage
Perch
Water Temperature
45°
Fishing boulders on points seemed to work best today. Some gravel and rock transitions were good.
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Winter
Technique
Soft Swimbaits (Sm/Md)
Structure
Boulders
Forage
Cisco/Whitefish
Water Temperature
40°
Boulders and transition areas in 20-25 ft dragging a keitech swimbait on an Outkast jighead caught all my fish. Would take a while to find the fish but once I caught one I would catch 5-10 more in the same spot.
See Video
Michael Ringwelski
Bronze Ambassador
11/18/23
Species
WalleyeSeason
Fall
Technique
Vertical Jigging 0-9'
Structure
Rock Pile
Forage
Minnows
Water Temperature
38°
The east side of Mille Lacs continues to hold fish even in these later months when the water is cold. Water temps are dipping into the 30’s which is starting to make the fish a little more lethargic. Shallow shoreline rock piles around agate bay and gravel piles towards the sand hold larger schools of 18-20” walleyes. To find some of the bigger fish, they’ll be roaming around the sand in 7-12 ft often alone or with one or two fish. This is where you’ll find those slot fish and maybe slightly bigger. Gently dancing the jig on the bottom while slowly reeling produced the most consistent bite, you won’t feel the classic jig “thud” but you’ll just start to feel “mushy” weight while retrieving. It’s key to have a medium light action rod so you feel them before they feel you. Shiners and suckers seemed to produce the most, and if you can’t get them to bite don’t be afraid to toss a finesse bobber rig with a shiner to entice the bite
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Texas Rigs (Worming)
Structure
Boulders
One of my last days of the season was out on the Big Pond. With the rougher conditions and cold weather I focused my time on large boulders the size of the hood of your truck, or as big as your boat. If I found one smallmouth, I typically would find a few - but you had to capitalize on your 'catch window' and throw back in the same area as quickly as possible. If you spent too much time taking pictures or admiring your catch you could miss the window to keep them fired up in the colder temperatures. When finesse applications were not working - I would move to a Deep Jerkbait and normally got freight trained on the the very long pause. White and ProBlue colored baits were a key to the bites.
