Walleye: 20–29 ft on the mud, the top edges of the flats fishing best; still the main bite; leeches on a slip bobber if you can find them, otherwise fatheads on a slip bobber or a jig; pulling crankbaits is working too. Walleye: shoreline rock structure, the first walleyes moving into their fall pattern; pitching a jig and minnow or a jig and crawler; pulling crankbaits in the evening. Smallmouth: putting on the feed bag, and it should keep improving as the water cools; drop shot, Ned rig, tube jig, or a hair jig with a minnow; some rigging creek chubs and small suckers. With live bait, do not let them swallow it. Perch: 19–24 ft on the mud-to-rock transitions out deep; small jigs with a chunk of crawler or a minnow. Conditions summarized from the Sep 4 Livin MN Outdoors report — watch it at the source link.
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Mille Lacs Lake fishing reports
Everything posted about Mille Lacs Lake lately, newest first, from guides, tournaments and regular anglers. Anything from the last two weeks also bumps the matching spots on the live map, so you'll see a "matches a recent report" tag on them.
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Recent reports on Mille Lacs Lake
Walleye: 20–29 ft on the top edges of the mud flats, better than the bottom edge right now; leeches if you can still find them, otherwise a crawler or fathead on a slip bobber or a small jig; leadcore with crankbaits is working too. Perch are on the same flats. Walleye: 12–16 ft on the shallower rock piles, early and late in the day; pitching a jig and minnow or a jig and 3/4 of a crawler; the first sign of fall patterns. Smallmouth: 10–25 ft; Ned rigs, drop shots, tube jigs; some are rigging minnows, so watch the deep hooking this time of year. Conditions summarized from the Aug 28 Livin MN Outdoors report — watch it at the source link.
Open on the live map →Walleye: 22–28 ft on the mud flats; slip bobber with a leech (leeches are scarce — call bait shops ahead), or crankbaits on leadcore early and late; fish sit deeper too but risk barotrauma past 28 ft, and cooling nights are starting to pull fish back toward shallow rock. Perch: 20–25 ft on the mud; small jig with a small leech, or a slip bobber; keep moving if you're only finding small ones. Smallmouth: 8–26 ft on rock reefs and isolated boulders; Ned rig, drop shot or tube, with some giants in the mix. Pike: 8–14 ft on the bay weed lines; big spinnerbaits, spoons or crankbaits. Conditions summarized from the Aug 21 Livin MN Outdoors report — watch it at the source link.
Open on the live map →Trevor Lo Fishing posted a new Mille Lacs fishing report (Aug 14). Fresh first-hand smallmouth bass intel — read it at the source link.
Open on the live map →Mille Lacs: the mud flat and gravel bite is on, and the last two hours of light with a chop is the window. Mud flats in 24 to 28: troll spinners and crawlers over the tops. East-side gravel in 18 to 24: spinner rig and a leech, and keep moving until you mark fish. West-side rock early and late: leadhead and a minnow, or a slip bobber after dark. The best fish are coming off the gravel-to-mud transition, not the top.
Open on the live map →Walleye: 20–28 ft on mud flat points and inside turns; slip bobber with a large leech, best on a breeze or overcast; fish taken past 28 ft show barotrauma. Perch: 20–28 ft on the same mud flats as the walleyes; slip bobber with a leech, or a crawler chunk to sort for them. Smallmouth: 8–24 ft on sand-to-rock transitions, bigger fish deeper and smaller ones on shallow boulders; drop shot, Ned rig or tube in crawfish colors. Pike: 6–14 ft in the bay weeds; trolled plugs or spoons, or a heavy spinnerbait. Conditions summarized from the Aug 7 Livin MN Outdoors report — watch it at the source link.
Open on the live map →Tournament results — Classic Bass Champions Tour on Mille Lacs, Aug 2: won by Charlie Wright. Big smallmouth bass 6 lb. Every-fish-counts format, not a five-bass bag: Wright weighed 37 bass for 141 lb 2 oz over the full day, edging Evan Blakley's 39 fish for 136 lb 1 oz. The 50-angler field weighed 566 bass — 459 smallmouth and 107 largemouth. Full standings at the source link.
Open on the live map →Trevor Lo Fishing posted a new Mille Lacs fishing report (Jul 16). Fresh first-hand smallmouth bass intel — read it at the source link.
Open on the live map →Tournament results — Classic Bass Champions Tour — Mille Lacs Walleye, May 19: won by Allan Nistler. Full-day every-fish format: 23 anglers weighed 208 walleyes for 572 lb (2.75 lb average). Winner had 18 walleyes for 70 lb 9 oz; biggest 5 lb 8 oz. Full standings at the source link.
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