Mille Lacs report 6/4, good luck on the Opener

[Paul Schlagel]

On the eve of the musky opener, I'm finally getting around to posting a long-overdue fishing report. I spent most of Memorial weekend flyfishing for Smallmouth on the Mississippi and a couple other smaller rivers (don't ask). The bass fishing was great. I love chasing smallmouth with a fly rod just as much a musky fishing. I wish I had more time for throwing flies at the smallies, but don't get to do much of it once musky season gets rolling. I've also been doing some walleye fishing. The walleye bite has so far been waaaaaaaaaaaay better this year than in the '08 or '09 season, and the walleye guys are, generally speaking, pretty happy with how the season has gone so far and are hopeful for a good year. All the smallmouth reports I've heard so far on Mille Lacs have been real positive, too, so the season is looking good so far.

The early ice-out and warm spring has the water temps way above normal. The lake is about 10 days to 2 weeks ahead of normal. Musky anglers should take that into account when formulating their game plan for Mille Lacs, or any lake, and think about the spots and presentations that are normally productive in mid or late June.

We'll find out soon enough how the muskies are behaving this year, and I can't wait. Be safe and good luck.

[Paul Schlagel]

Here's a few photos from a recent trip to a small river with Julie. We were chasing smallmouth with flyrods and had a great time. The fishing was good for smallish-sized smallies and we had fun. The photos include:
1) Julie with a ten-pounder. OK, it's a snapping turtle, not a bass, but it was still the big catch of the day.
2) Julie with a gigantic whopper smallmouth she caught. I'm sure she'll be thrilled that I posted this one.
3) Me, with an average smallie from the little river we were on.
4) Julie, taking the fight to a smallmouth with her 8 wt.

[Sam]

Good pics that looks like fun. Are you turning a new leaf and posting pics this year?

[Paul Schlagel]

I'll try. But, I said that last year too. It's just a pain in the butt when I don't have e-mail at the cabin. I'm only home for one day a week, at the most, during musky season. When I'm home I usually don't have enough time to even post an update and catch up on e-mail. When I have to take the pictures off my camera, resize, etc., it's a pain in the butt when time is at a premium. But, like I said, I'll try.