Aqua Vu Search On Sully Comes Up Almost Empty

 

9:00-10:40 AM Sullivan Lake

24-36℉, Cloudy, 8-25mph

I went to the NW Access in Sullivan. It was about 36 degrees out. I had plenty of water in the Fish Trap, but no way to get it out. I wasted some time trying. I then went over to Jaimen's Corner and drilled holes from deeper to shallower.  I then started in the deepest hole with the Aqua-Vu. I didn't see any life, so I jigged the camera a couple of times on the bottom and that called in a decent-sized walleye. I then scoped the rest of the holes with Aqua Vu. I didn't have any confidence in a single walleye sighting, so I kept covering ground and checking holes with Aqua-Vu. I did that until I started getting cold and the wind came up. With the cold front and heavy winds moving in, I called it a day.  I never did open the rod case to fish. I'm amazed, I only saw one fish. I worked the break and weedline, also the break with rubble.

Erskine Ice and Snow

  

1st trip with Little Buddy Heater

2:45-6:30 PM Erskine Lake 12'

5-18℉, Cloudy/Snow, 6-16mph WNW

There were a couple of trucks at the Access. One had a snowmobile trailer, the other was a pike hunter. The guys with the snowmobile trailer helped me load up in the snow. I went out toward the area where the guy this Spring said he got into a school of bass, which was beyond where the guy with the snowmobile set up. I drilled four holes over about a seventy-yard stretch, then went back and looked with the camera for signs of life. There was only 3 to 4 feet of visibility with the camera, quite a bit of suspended sediment. I saw one small perch in the second hole and a couple of sunfish in the 4th hole, so I set up shop. The Little Buddy fired right up. It wasn't as warm as I expected it to be. I caught a bunch of small perch and saw a crappie or two on the camera, possibly a walleye as well. As it got dark, I caught some small crappies and missed a few as well. It started snowing. Thankfully, the guys with the snowmobile didn't take off, so I had their truck lights to guide me back to the access. They helped me get the smitty up the hill. We talked about the area lakes. They were not really familiar with this area.

4Crip

19YP  

2025 Opener Part 1: Mille Lacs

 

8" Rippin Rap (Chrome Blue)

12:00-4:00am Eddy's Jetty Mille Lacs

44-49℉, Partly Cloudy, 7-12mph N

I elected to take the North Jetty Harbor Mouth due to the stiff wind blowing in. There was one guy who showed up at about twenty to midnight, and two boats headed out and came back a couple of times before heading out for about 3 hours. I got a cigar 40 minutes in, then lost a 20+" inch fish at the rocks about 5 minutes later. Both bites on the blue/chrome Rippin Rap. I lost the Rippin Rap.  

I thought it was going to be AWWWN. I didn't get another bite for almost two hours, a 21.5" fish. I got that one at the North Corner. About 20 minutes later, I lost what felt like a keeper at the Harbor Mouth when dialed into the retrieve. At 4 am, I decided to bag it and head to the GOMH. 

An OK Opener, but with conditions, I should have had more opportunities.

3 Eye 

Complete 2025 Opener Report is at the Log Blog

My Final Fish of 2024 (11/09/24)

24.75" Jerk Shad (Chart Shad)

 

It turns out that this trip to the jetty on November 9th produced my final fish for 2024. Fall fishing pretty much sucked, and I didn't get out in the Trophy the final week I had it in the water, even though there were a couple of decent days I could have. My mind was distracted by the election and my upcoming hip surgery on the 19th. The 2024 Fishing Season was really good for big silver bullheads and that was about it. Not sure when I will get out fishing again, as I don't wnt to take any chance of injuring my new hip.

5/11/24, MN Fishing Opener at Eddy's Jetty Mille Lacs

 

Setting the scene

 

Northern Lights Looking towards Indian Point

Northern Lights Looking South from our place when I got home

1st Fish of the 24 Season

5th Eye of the night

12:00-2:45AM Eddy's Jetty Mille Lacs Lake

43℉, Clear Sky w/ Northern Lights, 1-3mph W light ripple

I arrived at the Jetty around 11:30PM. The Northern Lights had a lot of watchers on the frontage road, but nobody came to fish the Jetty. There was a light ripple on the water. I started with a Minnesota Rig for my first 5 casts. Not a solid plan. After a fishless first 10 minutes, I switched to a Grass Pig and had a fish pull it halfway off the jig on the first cast. I may have missed another bite about 10 minutes later. I spent 45 minutes in the North Corner before giving the Harbor Mouth a try. 

At about 1 am, the Northern Lights got much brighter over the lake, and a baitfish got blasted just to the S of the Center Standing Rock. I quickly made my way to that spot. I turned on my headlamp and saw the fish, so I turned the headlamp off. I then cast about 20' past, where I saw the fish with the Jerk Shad, and it hit on the very first cast, bazinga! It was about 18." I caught 3 more at the Center Standing Rock in the next 20 minutes. I got my final bite of the night at the Old North Corner Standing Spot on the Jerk Shad. I foolishly decided 5 fish was enough and started trying other things. A couple other guys showed up with a boat at 2 am. The guy that went to Center Jetty got a fish quickly. His buddy showed up about 15 minutes later and caught a walleye as I was packing up. He was fishing off the N Harbor Mouth. The NL were really bright from W to E in the southern sky as I made my way home. I took a picture when I got home. Successful opening trip.

5Eyes 

Last Open Water Fish of 2023

 

 9:30-11:40PM Eddy's Jetty 

41-56℉, Clear, 1-3mph SW

4' of visibility

A slight ripple on the water, but no wave action to speak of. Eyeballs would follow my lure, but not hit. Only got the one-biter and two bumps; one at Pete's and one at the N Corner on my first cast with a Jerk Shad There was a boat or two at Indian Point. Spotted at least 6 different sets of eyeballs either at the North Corner or N Harbor Mouth.

1Eye 

2022 One Fish Wonders Pike/Tooth & Walleye/Gold

As opposed to the bass list, these lures that only got a single pike are not a disappointment. I don't need no stinking pike.

As for the Walleye side of things,

only the crawtube and Brovarney Jig are not a disappointment as I do not expect to catch a golden bullhead on either, pure bonus fish. I had a decent year for Golden's  at the Grumpy Old Man Hole. The Jetty was pretty much trash for the second straight Fall, so disappointing.  

My Biggest Fish of 2022

 That Fricken Pike at the crow wing River

Bowfin at Platte Lake

This 4.67lber Will Do, Didn't Get a 5lber in '22

14.75"/1.80lb New Personal Best Silver Bullhead/Crappie

7lb Golden Bullhead/Walleye

MN DNR Will Be Opening Up C & R Records Starting in 2023

 

If the world doesn't end and I don't die. I plan on trying to hold the DNR catch and release record for bowfin and largemouth bass. 

From Star Tribune via Yahoo News:

2021 Year In Review (By The Numbers) And Report Card

 

In 2021, I set records for the number of fish caught in a year (3938), the number of days fished (242), the number of trips taken (330), and fish caught per hour (4.96). However, my bass numbers were down 113 fish from 2020. I had a record number of trips I rated as Great (74) and Good (190), and I only had (16) Trips rated as Poor, down from (33) poor trips last year. Not a lot of skunks were had this year (17). 

2021 was the Year of Ice Fishing Where Crappie Catches Were King
2021 started with me on the same old suck truck for ice fishing success. But then I got my new Fish Trap, Smitty Sled, and broke through on a school of fish on Rock Lake in January, and my fishing numbers were on fire for about a month. I ended the year on two fifty-fish nights on Bulldog. If not for the snow and my getting sick, I probably would have reached the milestones of 5 Fish Per Hour and 4,000 Fish in a year. I caught a record number of crappies in 2021 (834).
Ice Fishing Grade: B+

Crappie Fishing Grade: A

2021 Bass Fishing:

I would describe bass fishing in 2021 as solid but challenging. No matter how tough the fishing was, I always seemed to boat one or two, but man, did we have to work for bites. I fear that the bass population in Platte/Sullivan is decreasing. I never really whacked them once non-stop in 2021. If there are schools out there, they were not shallow in 2021. Hopefully, it is just a shallow water and baitfish issue that will work out if water levels and temps are more normal in 2022. We got a good number of 4's and 5's this year between the brothers and me.

Bass Fishing Grade: B-

Bass Size Grade: B+

Tournament Fishing in 2021:

Overall it was a tough tournament season for me, but I got lucky with Platte/Sullivan for the blind draw, doubly fortunate to get Darien Kiefer as a boater, and the rest is history.

Whitefish Lake: 13th Place (Saved by a rally in the final hour and a half)

North Long: 20th Place (Didn't fish well at all)

FishTrap Lake: 8th Place (Rallied in the final hour and a half)

Edward Lake: 15th Place (I sucked, Beau caught 'em fine)

Leech Lake: Skunked

Blind at Platte/Sullivan: 1st Place, Lunker, and Top Co-Angler

Serpent Lake Challenge Cup: (Snatchers came in last, my head wasn't in it)

Tournament Season Grade: A-

Tournament Performance Grade: C

Sure I sucked for the most part, but I got a W, so it's all good. 

2021 Walleye Fishing:

Ouch, this wasn't expected. Walleye fishing crashed back to historical norms after the last few boom years. Low water on Mille Lacs this Fall is the primary driver of the decline.
Walleye Fishing Grade: C

2021 Grumpy Old Man Hole (GOMH) Fishing:

Low water and lack of baitfish made fishing the GOMH the toughest in memory. Thank God for the Trophy.

GOMH Grade: C-

2021 Pike Fishing:

The great thing about the drought and early high water temps was that it threw the pike in Platte Lake for a loop. I only lost about 10 frogs this year. Last year, I lost at least two dozen. I also caught some tanks.
Pike Grade: A

2021 Bowfin Fishing:

I landed a 3 this year, including one tank on August 8th while fishing with Steve.
Bowfin Grade: B+

2021 Smallmouth & Tulibee Fishing:

Didn't catch either one in 2021. Straight up F's Homey!
Smallmouth Grade: F

Tullibee Grade: F

2021 Fishing Grade: B

Pike and Walleye Best Lures for 2021

Caught 966 Pike this year

My double-digit pike lures for 2021

28 Walleyes Landed in 2021

Walleye numbers were way down this year compared to the last three due to low water levels and the difficult Fall bite.

Final Open Water Fish of 2021

 

16.5" Jerk Shad (Tomato)

This trip was it for open water in 2021. Saw one walleye and I caught it. Low water made for terrible fishing at Mille Lacs this Fall.

Steve And I Hit the Jetty Tonight

22" Jerk Shad

21" Jerk Shad

21.5" Jerk Shad

18.5" Jerk Shad (Crackle)

I thought with the SE wind today things would be good at the Jetty. Steve was into it so off we went. Arrive at the Jetty, no wind no waves. I predicted it probably wouldn't be good until after 9PM and I was right. Steve got the first fish around 9:20PM and it was a 21.5" keeper. He would get two more, both in the keeper slot. I put on a crackle Jerk Shad with 3 minutes to go in the night and hooked into my only fish of the night on the first cast. I had Steve throwing the Ghost Shad Jerk Shad the whole time. Steve was fishing off of the Center Standing Rock. A native guy to the North of me at the North Corner got 4 fish as well. Steve lost a good one right before 10PM.

DNR Says Walleye Fishing Until Midnight This Fall

 

Early-season walleye anglers on Mille Lacs Lake will be able to keep one walleye 21-23 inches long or one longer than 28 inches. Summer will bring catch-and-release walleye fishing, with a mid-season closure, before the potential for a one-fish limit returns in the fall.

“Lower walleye harvest this winter is allowing us to offer some open-water walleye harvest this year,” said Brad Parsons, fisheries section manager for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “We’re glad Mille Lacs anglers will have the chance to keep a walleye on opening weekend and Memorial Day weekend — two of the most popular times to fish during the year. We also hope to be able to allow some harvest this fall.”

The one-fish walleye limit will be in place from Saturday, May 15, through Monday, May 31. Walleye fishing will be catch-and-release from Tuesday, June 1, through Wednesday, June 30. A two-week closure — implemented to reduce hooking mortality — will be in place from Thursday, July 1, through Thursday, July 15. Catch-and-release walleye fishing will resume on Friday, July 16, and continue through Wednesday, Sept. 15.

After opening weekend, fishing hours on Mille Lacs Lake will be 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. for all species. Beginning Saturday, June 5, muskellunge and northern pike anglers using artificial lures or sucker minnows longer than 8 inches can fish after 10 p.m.

The one-fish walleye limit is scheduled to resume Thursday, Sept. 16, through Tuesday, Nov. 30. During the late season, the DNR also will allow anglers to fish from 6 a.m. to midnight.

“Our projections strongly suggest that fall harvest can occur,” Parsons said. “However, predicting fishing pressure, catch rates and weather involves some uncertainty so we want people to recognize that the fall harvest will depend on how much of the state’s 2021 walleye allocation remains as we approach September. As always, we will monitor the factors that determine the state’s walleye take throughout the open water season.”

The state and the eight Chippewa bands that have treaty fishing rights agreed Mille Lacs could sustain a state harvest of up to 87,800 pounds of walleye this year, unchanged from 2020. During the 2020 season, state-licensed anglers took 66,748 pounds and tribal fishing took 33,113 pounds.

This year’s winter walleye harvest was about 16,000 pounds, about half of what it was in 2020. Lower catch rates for anglers, combined with fewer people fishing, caused the harvest to return to normal levels after a big spike last year. That drop in walleye take gave the DNR more flexibility to implement a one-fish limit during the early season and plan one for the late season.

Even with the drop in winter harvest, a two-week closure during what’s normally one of the hottest times of the summer remains necessary to protect walleye. As water temperature increases, so does hooking mortality — the tendency for fish to die after being caught and released. Protecting walleye during this vulnerable period can allow for many weeks of harvest during cooler times of the year.

To help avoid incidental catch of walleye during the two-week closure, fishing for any species with certain kinds of bait will be restricted. Anglers targeting northern pike and muskellunge can use sucker minnows longer than 8 inches. But anglers targeting other fish may not use live, dead, preserved, or parts of minnows, nightcrawlers, worms, leeches, or crayfish.

“Our goal with these regulations is to meet the state’s treaty obligations while also providing the best possible experience for anglers, recognizing that fishing and the anglers it brings are economically important to the Mille Lacs Lake area,” Parsons said.

My Thoughts:

I am happy to see them expanding the fishable time in the Fall to midnight.

Winter 20/21 Mille Lacs Walleye Regs

 

I caught quite a few in the 21-23" slot this Fall, so they are out there. I plan on giving it a try in open water off of the Jetty on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Last Trip In Open Water 2020, Maybe??

I started fishing around 7:30PM. I spotted a moving eyeball when I got up on Pete's Standing Rock. I made several casts to the area. On about the 6th one I caught sight of the eye's obviously tracking to my Tomato Jerk Sahd. I just let the Jerk Shad sit and yanked when I thought it grabbed the lure, which it did. I was glad to have the skunk gone. I wasn't really enjoying myself in the cold and the fish weren't biting so about an hour in I said to myself, next fish in hand and I'm leaving. I was fishing the North Corner just about to go back to the Harbor Mouth and give the Rage Swimmer Jr. a try when the 26-incher grabbed my Sexy Shad Jerk Shad. After releasing the fish I indeed had enough and quit fishing. Will this be my last open water trip of 2020? Not sure, all I know is that I really didn't enjoy the last couple of trips very much. The thought of grinding out walleyes in the bitter cold with freezing hands is losing its luster.

Halloween 2020