| It was the magic day for the beginning of the fishing season, but things started out on the slow side. The weather was sour--cold and rainy for the most part. A few nice walleye and lake trout were caught opening weekend but the coolers were not full. The walleye were being caught with leeches backtrolling lindy rigs in shallow bays, while the lake trout were biting on floating rapalas being trolled along the rocky shores. |
| The weather has improved and the fish have started moving around and feeding. The guides have been finding the walleye on the rock piles on Saganaga Lake and have been fishing with slip bobbers. Some were caught and released that were up to 30" in length. The lake trout have started congregated along the windy shores of Gunflint, North and Saganaga Lakes. They have been feeding on smelt in Gunflint and are as big and hefty as we have seen in years. They have been averaging near 5#. |
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The walleye are schooled up along the windy shores in the shallow waters and biting quite well.
Mark Model caught and released a 28" walleye
Sarah Madsen caught and released a 30" walleye
Don Warnke caught and released a 31" walleye
The smallmouth bass are in the shallows and biting aggressively. Guests have had very successful days casting the shallow shores on South Lake. The walleye on North Lake are coming in to feed in the evenings in the shallow bays of Little North Lake. They are running up to 5# and seem to be biting best on slip bobbers at about dark. The lake trout are at all depths. Some guests have done well this week trolling floating rapalas about 10' deep, in 30' of water, for suspended trout. Some of the guides have gone another direction--they have started working the bottom in 25 to 30 feet of water, trolling spinners and minnows. Gunflint is still producing the biggest average size, but Saganaga has been generating big strings of 3-4 pounders. |
The fish have gotten into their summer routine and are schooled up around the multitude of rocky reefs on Saganaga, Gunflint and North lakes. The walleye are feeding in 15-20 feet of water and seem most interested in leeches being presented with slip bobbers. Quite a few lunkers have been caught and released recently:
Lynn from Eden Prairie caught and released a 28 1/2" walleye
Shane from Eden Prairie caught and released a 28" walleye
Lyn caught another one- 30 1/2"
Paul Simon from St. Louis caught and released 3 big smallmouth bass- 17", 17" and 19"
David Meyer from Chaska caught and released a 29 1/2" walleye
Glen Taylor from Rich Hill, MO caught and released a 29 1/2" walleye
Jeff Glock from Oak Park, IL caught and released a 29 1/2" walleye
Cary Rydberg from St. Charles, IL caught and released a 29" walleye
Jim Schwartz from Omaha, NE caught and released a 28 1/2" walleye
Mable Schwartz from Omaha, NE caught and released a 29" walleye
(why do the wives to this to their husbands?)
Dennis Todd from Rockville, MO caught and released a 28 1/2" walleye
Sheryl Wood from Grayslake really had a hayday with 4 lunkers: A 30 1/2", a 29 1/2", a 30", and a 28 1/2"--all walleyes It will be hard to talk fishing to her and have any kind of story that matches this one
Dennis Todd from Rockville, Mo caught and released a 30" walleye |
We have gotten through some dog days of summer (really hot by our standards-it got over 90 a few days) and now the fishing has gotten back on track. The walleye, smallmouth bass and lake trout are all hitting--the normal haunts for the walleye along the rock reefs, the big smallmouth bass are hiding in the rocks down about 20' and the lake trout are on the mud flats at 40+'. Here are more of the recent catch and release trophies:
Dennis Todd from Rockville, MO caught and released a 29" walleye
John Draher from Oakdale, MN caught and released a 29" and a 29 1/2" walleye
Josh Dere from Raleigh, NC caught and released a 20" smallmouth bass
Dennis Todd from Rockville, MO caught and released a 32" walleye
Trent Rice from Ames, Iowa caught and released a 21" smallmouth bass
Scott Johnson from Ames, Iowa caught and released a 29 1/2" walleye
Isak Dains from Rockville, MO caught and released a 28" walleye
John Walgren from East Dubuque, IA caught and released a 30" northern
(which was caught right off our boat dock) |
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