When In Doubt
Monday, January 2, 2012 at 11:27AM 
When I think about going raw rye fishing and think about where I might set-up for a guide trip or outing I am always wondering if they will bite. All of my fishing decisions are based off past experience and I usually have confidence going into an area. On this particular trip to Mille Lacs I opted for the "easy" route. I was in doubt of being able to get out to where I really wanted to fish so I stayed close to shore and fished the shoreline break outside of the Harbor Inn in Garrison.
We arrived on Thursday and had high hopes for what the next few days of ice fishing on Mille Lacs may bring. After getting set-up on what my fellow guide friend PK would call a "wiggle" we proceeded to put the smack down on the gravel lizards for 2.5 days straight.
I was joined on this adventure with Jen Herzog and Brennen Herzog and as you can see in the above 2 photo's they were able to scream "FISH ON" and land some really nice walleyes. Many of the fish we caught over the 2.5 days were giants but we did manage to catch plenty of "eater" size fish for the oil as well. We ate fish 2 different times throughout the trip. Most of our fish over the weekend fell victim to a #2 Fluorescent Pink Gamakatsu Octopus hook tipped with a golden shiner. It is a really difficult rig.....not. It is as simple as it gets and sometimes keeping it simple is good. Don't over think it. The other thing we had luck on was a gold colored Northland Macho Minnow.
Even the guide got to catch a couple....
This fish measured in at 27". I think it's my jammy pants, they have been good luck the last few outings. :)
Here were a couple "eaters" I caught on Saturday morning. The set lines(tip ups, rattle reels) really seemed to be the trick on this trip. We did catch some fish jigging but most of them came on set lines. We did also manage a few nice jumbo perch, with the biggest being caught by Peach and coming in at 13"(below).
As for metro and other area ice conditions. Mille Lacs had 11" of great ice on the west side but with the "crack" still being an issue there was a couple hundred yard stretch of open water. We were plenty far enough away from the water and tfhe crack was not an issue to us. I set up only 200 yards off shore on the break line. Lake Minnetonka ice conditions are improving and there is 4-8" on most of the lake now with much of it being 6"+. But there are still areas to look out for so be cautious. Lake Waconia has 9" of great ice or more on the entire lake. I have been driving wheel houses out with my 4 wheeler for the last week. I am going to be guiding Waconia the next few days. The crappie bite has been good on Waconia. If you are looking to catch gravel lizards you should get with me for a Mille Lacs adventure. The bite has been fire. I am headed to the lake and ice as we speak. Stay tuned. Until next time, Fish On!
Lake Waconia
Reader Comments (2)
Great stuff, and thanks for the report.