Brainerd lakes fishing report 11-20-06

[iceman]

A massive cold front that swept through the Brainerd Lakes area had most anglers fixing deer stands or raking leaves. The anglers that did brave the wind and cold had minimal success battling the conditions, although some fish were caught. Before the cold front and during the full moon, the conditions were very favorable and had many anglers trolling crankbaits.

Mille Lacs this week was a very popular destination for many anglers in search of a monster walleye. Trolling one of Rapala's new Minnow baits landed a few fish in the boat for us on Friday night, but after talking with a few other anglers, we may have pulled off a little early. The bite really didn't pick up until about 1:00 A.M. and that bite continued throughout the day. Most anglers targeted a range between 5 to 10 feet of water using Husky Jerks trolling the shorelines and points.

As for the lakes closer to Brainerd, the walleyes may have been more aggressive a few weeks ago, but anglers are still scrapping together a few fish. The South end of Gull in 24 to 36 feet of water in Wilson and Steamboat Bay have had most anglers hiding from the frigid conditions. A short snelled Lindy rig or a jig and minnow combination is a traditional Fall method. For those jig fisherman, try using one of Lindy's Max Gap jigs for better hookups and more clearance for those larger chubs. This Techni Glo jig has a larger hook with a Wide Bite hook gap that is perfect for live bait and plastics.

The walleyes on Pelican have been deep, not 25 or 35 feet of water, try 50 to 60. Large schools of shiners and a few perch are roaming these areas of the lake and are holding walleyes that are gorging on these baitfish. On most lakes, deep holes are usually filled with silt or have a mucky bottom, but Pelican has areas where these deep holes consist of a cement like sand bottom. The areas do have an edge to them where they either drop off into deeper water or have this softer bottom. Concentrating on those edges, should show walleyes on your graph.

Leaves down and the cold front has put a lot of hunters into a fever. Ducks, geese, deer and a good population of grouse to the North will have many feathers flying these next few weeks. Fall has really hit the anglers hard this year, hopefully we'll get at a couple more nice days before it's time to drag out the auger!