Mille Lacs report 8/3

[Paul Schlagel]

Wow, I see it's been a long time since I posted an update. Oh well, I'm a busy full-time fishing guide, not a blogger.

The month of July was very good in my boat, one of the best ever, surpassed only by July of 2006 and 2007. Fishing slowed for me at the end of the month with colder and unstable weather, but I'm back on the bite and lots of fish are hitting the net again. The water temp is 74-77 depending on location and time of day. The prolonged warm water temps have fueled big algae blooms in shallow water areas. The thickness of some blooms have limited visibility to 1-2 feet. Visibility is generally 4-5 feet in areas unaffected by bloom. The late-July pattern transition has been underway for awhile now.

[Paul Schlagel]

I forgot to mention the pike action. Though I only specifically target muskies, pike are sometimes caught as well. This year the pike action has been crazy. I don't remember another season that had such pike action. I already have 4 that were 40" or larger, and a very large number of pike in the 30-40" range. The pike on Mille Lacs are protected by a 24-36" slot, and it show by the number of quality pike 30 inches or larger. I usually see some pike action in June, and then again in September, when the water temperatures or forage behavior has the pike and muskies hanging out together. This year, however, the pike are staying at the musky spots even as the surface temps have hit 75 deg. or even a bit higher. Pike are slimy and stinky, they misbehave in the net, and they're murder on soft plastic baits, but the put up a great fight and are fun to catch. I don't know how long the big pike will stay around the musky spots before they leave for cooler water, but it'll keep being fun while it lasts.