Explore Minnesota Weekly Fishing Update - Aug. 22, 2019

Largemouth bass pulled from Pelican Lake located north of Brainerd in Crow Wing County / Francisco Dela Rosa

Water temperatures are starting to fall, with most waters ranging from the upper 60s to low 70s at the time of this report. Walleye can be found in the shallow weeds, as well as deeper waters.  Jigs tipped with minnows and nightcrawlers are starting to out-produce spinners. Expect many species of fish to begin schooling.

Overall, the weather will be great for fishing Friday and Saturday, with highs ranging from the low to upper 70s, light winds and plenty of sun. On Sunday, there will be a chance of thunderstorms in most areas of the state.

For rules, regulations and other helpful information on fishing in Minnesota, consult the DNR's Fish Minnesota web page.

[Northeast] [Northwest] [Central] [Minneapolis-St. Paul Area] [Southern]

Northeast Minnesota

International Falls - Rainy Lake

August walleye fishing has been excellent on Rainy Lake with strong numbers of 14 to 17 inch keeper fish being taken, along with a mix of slot fish throughout the day to make things exciting. Most walleye appear to be holding on the main lake reefs and some of the break lines that lead out into main lake basins. Depth of fish depends on the day but most recently walleye have been caught in water as shallow as 17 feet and as deep as 35 feet, with 26 foot depths being the most consistent. As always, use your electronics to locate fish. A ¼ ounce jig and minnow has been effective but fish are also being caught on lindy rigs tipped with a minnow or a leech.        

The smallmouth bass seem to be split between shallow and deep water. Fish found in the weed and boulder areas in 6 to 10 feet of water are being caught by anglers using lures such as plastics, spinner baits and stick baits. Other bass have moved down to the 15 to 25 foot range, holding at points and reef tops. The deeper fish are responding best to jig-type plastics and drop shot presentations.     

Some crappies continue to be taken by anglers trolling spinner/minnow combinations and spinner/plastic combinations in the Black Bay area. Early morning hours appear to be best but action varies greatly from day to day. The points and sunken brush piles (if you can find them) in 18 to 26 foot depths have also been producing crappies.
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Most large northern pike are now holding in deeper waters ranging 17 to 35 feet deep. Trolling a large lure has been the best method to find and catch these fish in the warm waters of August. Trolling two to three mph with a large, deep-diving crank bait is a great way to target these fish. Some large pike continue to hold at the weed edges especially when the wind is blowing into the weeds. Spinner baits, spoons and large jerk baits are all good choices. 

Overall, anglers are encouraged to “fish the fish,” not the fishing spot. Seasoned Rainy Lake walleye anglers understand that deep water reef fishing is a game of hide and seek. Good fishing spots (reef tops and edges) are often huge, sometimes covering half a football field or more. Simply fishing the spot might produce a fish here and there, but your chances of dragging your jig over a school of feeding walleye and catching a limit are slim at best. Spend a little extra time searching before you cast a line, and scour the structure with your electronics. Once you have located a school of fish, park directly over them or mark them so you can keep your bait on the school of fish. 800-325-5766; www.rainylake.org

Kabetogama

Fishing remains fantastic on Kabetogama and Namakan lakes. In fact, this has been one of the best years for fishing in quite a while. The walleye bite remains strong, with anglers finding good numbers of fish in 25 to 30 feet of water when pitching jigs and lindy rigs with shiners, leeches or shiners. The key has been to stay mobile and use your electronics to locate schools of fish.

Fall patterns are starting to develop with some walleye now coming from 10 to 12 foot depths on jigging raps and leeches under slip bobbers. Anglers also report good numbers of large northern pike and bass. After a great day of fish, enjoy an evening campfire listening to the loons. Also listen closely for the wolves which have been unusually vocal lately! 800-524-9085; www.kabetogama.com

Ely Area Lakes and Rivers

Walleye continue to cooperate with anglers. While most of the fish are in the eating-size range, some anglers are catching a few wall-hangers. The key is to stay flexible and try a variety of lures, baits and methods until you find what works best. Remember, fish preferences change when the weather changes. Nightcrawlers continue to work well, but when the bite gets tough, try leeches or minnows. 

Northern pike remain very active in the shallows since this is where the majority of bait fish can be found. Cast a spinner bait or spoon into the shallows, or switch to a surface lure which often grabs the attention of the pike since they disrupt the water and can draw fish from far away.

Largemouth bass fishing has been great for anglers using topwater frogs fished over the lily pads, thick weeds and pencil reeds.  Texas-rigging with large worms also remains effective in the weeds. Smallmouth bass are being pulled from the gradually sloping rocky shorelines and the tops of shallow sunken islands on spinnerbaits, in-line spinners, wacky-rigged worms and tubes. Leeches and minnows can also be very effective for smallies.

Sunfish are eagerly taking bits of worms and wax worms on a small jig or hook. This is the easiest way to get youngsters hooked on fishing since these fish are quick to grab the bait and will often bite all day long. Consider using soft plastic baits which generally stay on the hook longer than live bait.

Crappie fishing remains consistent for anglers fishing the cabbage beds with jigs and twisters or crappie minnows under a bobber. A few are being taken during the day, but anglers are taking good numbers on cloudy days and during evening hours when crappies move into the weed beds to feed. Large bluegills have been mixed in with the crappies. Small crawlers and wax worms fished under a bobber have worked well for the large bluegills.  

The stream trout are active in the area's designated trout lakes with responding to small spoons and spinners, cast or trolled, as well as crawlers under a bobber.

Lake trout fishing has been excellent for many anglers this last week, especially during early morning hours. Trolling spoons with downriggers or fishing stick baits with at least three colors of lead core are working well about 40 to 60 feet down over deep water. 800-777-7281; www.ely.org  

Cook County: Lutsen-Tofte, Grand Marais, Gunflint Trail and Grand Portage Area Waters

Fishing on Cook County area lakes remains excellent. The walleye are responding to minnows and crawlers worked in 8 to 15 feet of water on Poplar, Crescent and Cascade lakes, in 18 to 25 feet on Gunflint and Saganaga lakes, and in 10 to 12 feet on Devil’s Track and Two Island lakes.

Rainbow trout are being pulled from Kimball and Leo lakes on crawlers and spinners from the surface on down.

The Lake Superior waters near Grand Marais continue to give up good numbers of salmon and lake trout. Trout are being pulled from 170 to 200 feet of water on spoons and downriggers. Salmon are active in the upper 80 feet of the water column, responding to salmon flies, spoons, flashers and dodgers. 218-387-2524; www.visitcookcounty.com

Duluth - Lake Superior, St. Louis River and inland waters

Fishing on Lake Superior continues to be great with good numbers of lake trout, coho salmon, walleye and the occasional Chinook being taken. Meat rigs (flasher/fly combinations tipped with a smelt head) are still turning fish, and anglers are having success with spoons in a variety of colors. What has changed is the best trolling depth. Over the last few weeks, waters deeper than 150 feet produced lots of fish, but most fish are coming from roughly 100 feet of water this week. In the weeks ahead, anglers will want to chase trophy lake trout. Stream fishing will continually pick up as well. Expect the bite to only get better as we move into the fall.

The St. Louis River is giving up fish to anglers trolling mid-size crank baits off the channel edges. The lower sections of the river are giving up a few pike, perch and walleye, and an occasional muskie. In the coming weeks, look for the river bite to pick up.
The inland waters have been great for fast fishing action. Anglers pulling crank baits over the basins in back bays are taking nice fish. The reservoirs north of Duluth all the way to Lake Vermillion are giving up lots of perch, walleye and northern pike. Long-lining has been more productive then pulling boards. Jigging small soft plastics have also been productive. For bass and pike, try casting spoons or drop-shotting near the shorelines in most inland waters.

Overall, the jig bite is on the horizon. As overnight temps continue to cool, the jig bite will be hard to beat. This will hold true throughout the fall. If jigging doesn’t work, you may want to try trolling. Fall fishing can offer some of the best fishing of the year. Last week, jigging small 1/16 ounce jigs in waters down to 10 to 15 feet turned lots of fish in area lakes. In waters over 15 feet, beefing-up to 1/8 ounce jigs also turned good numbers. Fathead minnows, leeches and/or a variety of plastics worked well on these presentations. The most important tool, however, was sonar. Utilizing the GPS and creating waypoints and seeking out structure helps immensely. Focus on anything that sticks out such as rock piles, lumber, submerged points and humps, and vegetation near shallower water. 800-438-5884; www.visitduluth.com

Grand Rapids

Fishing for a variety of species has been excellent throughout the Grand Rapids area. Trolling and deep-water jigging for lake trout has been great on lakes such as Bluewater and Canisteo Pit, as well as Sherry’s Arm on Pokegama Lake. Downrigger and lead core line will get your presentation down to the lake trout. Good electronics are critical when checking depths of 50 to 100 feet. Lake trout respond well to flashy spoons, minnow-type baits, and dodgers and flies. Lake trout feed on deep water forage such as tullibees and smelt, therefore mimicking these is best. Establishing trolling patterns in deep water can be key to being successful. Changing baits and concentrating on replicating the forage is also important. Lake trout are fun to catch and great smoked or grilled.

Crappies are starting to pull off the weedlines and pre-fall fishing is starting to heat up. Small jigs with a small minnow or plastic body are effective. A slip bobber with a plain hook and minnow also works well. Once crappies move to deeper water in the next few weeks, jig fishing will be the better of the two options. Slowly search for schools of crappies. Once located, use your trolling motor in spot lock position and vertically jig a light jig. Many of the lakes in the Grand Rapids area contain good populations of crappies. A few to keep in mind are Pokegama, Big and Little Splithand, Little Bowstring, Spider, and Big Cutfoot. Please release some of the larger fish to protect the fishery.  www.visitgrandrapids.com

Northwest Minnesota

Baudette - Lake of the Woods & the Rainy River

It has been a beautiful week for fishing on Lake of the Woods, with noticeably cooler nights in the 50s and daytime temps in the 70s. Walleye anglers are taking limits of fish along with some very large walleye. Anglers trolling crankbaits and drifting with spinners and crawlers in the main basin are doing well. Depths of 30 to 34 feet have been best. For the most action, use red crawdad, chrome/blue, gold, firetiger and pink UV firetiger colors. Have your camera ready and return fish to the water quickly whenever possible.

On the Rainy River, sturgeon anglers are doing well in the deep holes. Some nice walleye, northern pike and smallmouth bass are also being taken up and down the river. Walleye anglers are finding fish when trolling crank baits.

Up at the Northwest Angle, walleye fishing remains strong in 17 to 25 feet of water over the mud adjacent to structure and in funnel areas between islands. Spinners with crawlers or minnows continues to be the go-to presentation, with gold and orange colors working best. Some large northern pike are being caught by walleye anglers. The perch bite is picking up.  Muskie anglers report good numbers of large fish. The water temperature is hovering around 71 degrees. 800-382-FISH; www.lakeofthewoodsmn.com

Hackensack

Fall fishing is just around the corner! Some walleye are starting to stack up in certain spots on Leech Lake and other area lakes. A jig with a redtail or creek chub have been working well when walleye are piled up. Muskie fishing remains very good. Leech, Little Boy and Wabedo lakes have been producing numbers of fish on larger baits such as jerk baits and topwater lures. Walleye and muskie action will turn more active as the temperatures continue to drop. 800-279-6932; www.hackensackchamber.com

Detroit Lakes

Water temperatures in Detroit Lakes area lakes continue to drop. At the time of this report, temperatures ranged from the high 60s to low 70s. The transition to bigger minnows has begun, with most species responding well. Some walleye have moved into the shallows where they are chasing young of the year perch in 8 to 12 feet of water.  Walleye are also being pulled from the sharp breaks and deeper waters ranging from 18 to 28 feet deep.

Panfish action continues to be very good in depths of 8 to 15 feet near the weeds, particularly cabbage weeds. Cooler water temperatures are causing lots of large northern pike to move to the deep weed edges on the sharp breaks. Muskie catch rates improved dramatically over the last week on Big Detroit and Pelican lakes. Smallmouth action has been hot on Cormorant, Pelican and Lida lakes. 800-542-3992; www.visitdetroitlakes.com

Central Region

Otter Tail Area Lakes

Fall is knocking on our doors — watch for changing patterns over the next week or two. Most of the pattern changes will be a change in locations. Panfish will begin leaving their summer homes, heading to deeper water. They may completely abandon the weeds. Check deeper waters such as near the deep weedlines or at the base of drop-offs. 

Northern pike are still coming from the weeds and cabbage stands. For now, try trolling large crank baits along the weed lines near deep water, or troll or cast large spinner baits over the cabbage stands. Largemouth and smallmouth bass are biting well throughout Otter Tail County. Lean towards large baits such as spinner baits, Texas- and Carolina-rigged plastic worms, slugs, senkos and dredger-style crank baits. Nearly everything is working right now. Walleye will bite when located. Nightcrawlers are now the bait of choice. 800-423-4571; www.ottertailcountry.com

Brainerd Area Lakes

The bite slowed a bit during the recent cold front, but picked up quickly thereafter. Fish of all species are active in the weeds but some walleye are now moving deeper than their usual10 to 20 foot summer depths.  Large bluegills are schooling up nicely and eager to bite.  Big northern pike are starting to move shallower and can be caught when casting or trolling near downed wood.  Crappies are starting to bite throughout the day.  Bass are very active and are coming from a variety of depths. 800-450-7247; www.visitbrainerd.com

Isle/Onamia - Lake Mille Lacs

Last weekend, the high winds and cold front made it difficult to fish some areas of Lake Mille Lacs. Most of the walleye that were taken came in on bobbers and leeches worked at the 15 to 25 foot reefs. Crank baits trolled through 8 to 12 feet of water on the reefs turned some fish when the wind was blowing. Smallmouth bass reports were good in depths ranging from 8 to 25 feet. The best presentations were ned rigs, tubes, drop shots and bobbers with leeches. On the each side of Mille Lacs, mixed bags of walleye, bass and northern pike were reported. 888-350-2692; www.millelacs.com

Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

Three Rivers Park District - Carver, Hennepin, Ramsey and Scott counties

The Three Rivers Park District offers fishing at 18 parks in the Twin Cities area with a chance to reel in muskie, northern pike, sunfish, bass and walleye. Launch your boat at a lake access site, rent a boat or stay on land as you fish from a pier or on shore. There are also free fishing adventures. Learn more!   

Stillwater - St. Croix River

Anglers fishing the St. Croix River are taking walleye and sauger on live bait rigs, spinners, and rapala crank baits. A few muskie follows have been reported. One of the muskie followed a firetiger suick up to the boat. Another struck a bass. 651/351-1717; www.discoverstillwater.com

Southern Minnesota

Lanesboro/Preston - Southeast Bluff Country Rivers and Streams

As of Aug. 22, National Trout Center staff announced “absolutely great fishing conditions ahead!” Dry fly fishing was likely the best it had been all season. Less than a month remains for catch-and-keep trout fishing in southeastern Minnesota. The big brown trout will start moving into their spawning areas, looking for mates and aggressively feeding to put on weight for the winter.  

Consider attending one of the introductory trout fishing courses at area parks such as Trout Fishing Basics at Forestville Mystery Cave State Park in Preston on Aug. 24, and Intro to Trout Fishing at Whitewater State park in Elba on Aug. 25. A second Intro to Trout Fishing will offered at Whitewater on Sept. 1.

Fly anglers are encouraged to check out Free Fly Tying Fridays at the National Trout Center in Preston.

For years, the MN DNR has maintained assessable fishing sites in Whitewater State Park, near the Lanesboro Hatchery on Duschee Creek, and at the Lanesboro Park and Dam. Online maps are available.   

Before you go, check out the DNR’s Stream Flow Report for the most current conditions, as well as the "Area Highlights" section of the Lanesboro Area Fisheries web page for stream maps. 800-944-2670; www.lanesboro.com

Ortonville - Big Stone Lake

Big Stone Lake is giving large numbers of perch and panfish, along with some huge bullheads. 320-839-3284; www.bigstonelake.com

Be sure to visit the Explore Minnesota Fishing & Hunting page for information to help you plan your next Minnesota fishing trip!

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