Jeff Hanson's Guide Service

McQuoid's Inn/Lindy Tackle Fishing Report

8-30-10

Late August has continued to be great. There have been occassional slow days here and there, however most days have been really good. This past week has been excellent with about 20-30 fish a day. We are still trolling leadcore and crankbaits out in the basin, off of structure in the 30-32' depths. About 1 out of 2 to 1 out of 3 fish have been keepers with a lot of nice 19 inchers mixed in. We had a 28.5 incher on saturday that was pushing 9lbs.!

Fall fishing should be awesome and the south bays perch bite should be starting in about 3 weeks or so. I expect a good fall for the perch bite with so many of the 11-12 inchers in the lake this year again.

8/14/10

Crushed them out in the basin again today, pulling leadcore and cranks. We caught 30 and kept 10. A lot of nice 21-24 inch "throw backers" also. It was really windy but the fish were snappin!

8/12/10

The last 2 days were good again. We are still fishing the basin areas with leadcore and crankbaits.

Some of the spots are close (only 1/4 to 1/2 mile) to structure and other areas are miles from structure. Fish are biting pretty much all day depending on weather. The fish I have been cleaning are full of young of the year perch, which is normal for this time of the year. You can see these "clouds" of small perch on the graph in the areas we are fishing.

The basin bite should stay good all fall and we should continue to see a great bite into September!

8/9/10

The basin areas and deep transitions are still producing fish with leadcore and crankbaits. Small Shad Raps and Lindy Shadlings are the best baits in the 25-29 foot depths. We are just getting into the typical late-summer patterns now with the deep basin bite. The shallow rock bite is also going good on the windy days. Some reefs are better than others with slip bobber and leech being the best way to catch these fish. Some big smallies have been caught also in the mid range depths. On of my guides had a 21.5 incher the other day!

8/3/10

The deep basin areas have been producing fish for us all over the lake. Off the gravel, off the mud flats, off shoreline transition areas and even out in the middle of nowhere. We've been using leadcore with Shad Raps and Lindy Shadlings. A lot of these are bigger 21-27" fish with some keepers mixed in. We've also been getting a lot of keepers 15-20" in mid-range depth rocks using slip bobbers and leeches. A little wind has helped the bite in both areas but we are getting fish even on the calm days.

We are still cleaning a lot of fish everyday. Today I had 14 keepers in my boat. The rocks should only get better as we get later in August and the basin bite will continue through fall.

7/29/10

Fished muskies this morning, had 2 hit, but didn't hook up on either.

Walleyes seem like they are starting to be more consistent in the basin areas. We are getting them trolling crankbaits and leadcore in the 31-33' areas adjacent to mud and gravel flats. Several baits are working well, especially the Lindy Shadling in tullibee color.

Smallmouths are in the 8-10' depths off the sides of the reeftops. Casting or trolling crawfish colored crankbaits and jigging with Lindy Munchies has been getting fish.

thanks,
Jeff

7/27/10

The last week has been a little more hit and miss than we have had earlier this month. Some days are still very good. Some days are slower. Fish are still just stacked in certain areas on the mud flats, in basin areas and on deep rock and gravel. In the next week I am expecting the shallows to really turn on, we just need a couple days of strong wind to stir up that water and get some current going on those reefs. Those fish are already there, we just need the conditions to catch them. By shallow, I am talking 3-8 feet on the tops of rock reefs. These spots are typically key "spot on the spot" areas where you can't mark the fish due to the depth. You just need to know the spots ahead of time and then go in there and fish them when conditions are right.

The deep bite will continue and it seems that some days they want a Lindy rig with either a leech or crawler and then the next day crankbaits work better. The Lindy Shadling is still one of the hotter baits. I've been doing a little of both each day, based on fish location on the flats and what they show for preference.

We've still been getting some jumbo perch mixed in with the walleyes everyday also.

7/20/10
Fishing picked back up again over the weekend. Saturday was good, sunday was better and monday was really good. We are still getting fish out on the mud. It seems like each day is a little different. Some days they are spread out and cranking them w/ leadcore and shad raps is the best method. Then, the next day they'll be just stacked on the edges and Lindy rigging them is the best w/ leeches and crawlers...
With the new slot of 20", it's been pretty easy to get a limit or very close to it everyday. There's a lot of meat on those 19.5 inchers! It's pretty awesome how well the rigging bite is staying strong well into July like this. I am starting to think we'll be able to keep rigging well into August as well.

7/16/10
Fishing was tougher today. I think the wind that has been so strong the last couple days has messed them up a bit. I'm sure it will pick back up in the next couple days, but today they were just not cooperating like they have been. We starting out trolling and had a decent morning, then the afternoon got tough. We finally tried rigging when I found some fish stacked along the edge of a flat and got into some again that way.

7/15/10
Today was the first day of the new slot! We did really well today trolling Rapala Shad Raps and leadcore. Fish have been kind of spread out the last couple days and trolling seems to be kicking in bigtime! Everyday seems like a different flat is hot and you just have to hunt them out everyday and keep rifling through baits until you find the hot color and the hot flat and then it is on!

7/12/10

The weekend was good, we have still been catching fish on the mud. All three techniques are still working, Lindy Rigging, Spinners, and Crankbaits. The crankbaits are working better now than they have all year up to this point, which is typical for this time of year. Probably from now on the cranks will have the edge over livebait on most days. A lot of the fish are now roaming across the tops of flats and getting up 2-4 feet up off the bottom chasing bug hatches which is why the cranks really excell when this happens.

The slot changes to 20-28" on the 15th which will allow us to keep those plentiful 18.5 inchers now!

thanks,
Jeff

7/6/10

Fishing has not slowed down! Yesterday we kept 16 and caught 30! We are still getting fish out on the mud, Lindy Rigging w/ leeches and crawlers. I also got some on bobbers on the deep rocks. The best time of day has been in the mornings or all day as long as there's some wind. There have been some huge bug hatches going on and the fish are eating them, but it hasn't hindered fishing. It looks like the mud rigging bite is going to stay really good for at least a couple more weeks.

thanks,
Jeff

6/27/10

Fishing is still good, however the fish seem to be a little more hit or miss than they were 2-3 weeks ago. We have been successful lately by moving and finding the biting fish. Every day is different and the "hotspot" the day before may not be the hotspot again. We have just jumped around and hit spots until we bump into the one that's loaded w/ biters again. Everyday there seem to be fish biting somewhere. The inconsistent weather has affected some of the fish as they are not quite as consistent across the whole lake. Days w/ stable, nice weather are the best. We are still getting fish in the 20-26' depths on the mud flats mostly. I have been mostly Lindy Rigging w/ Lindy walking sinkers and leeches or crawlers. We've been seeing quite a few jumbo perch mixed in w/ the walleyes in the 11-13" range. I found one spot that's a rock to mud transition line that's just loaded w/ jumbo's... Fishing looks like it will stay solid well into July...

thanks,
Jeff

6/21/10
The wind finally broke and the weather was beautiful yesterday. Today was overcast and light winds. Fish are still biting very well although it seemed like there was a couple slower periods in the day both of the last 2 days. I have been keeping a limit of 12 everyday like clockwork. We have also thrown back quite a few "overs" and some "unders". The lake seems very healthy as there are a lot of fish representing every year class from the 12 inchers to the 22 inchers. The fish are also fatter than I've ever seen and they are still biting! We are getting fish in 20-27' using Lindy Rigs/leeches and Spinner Rigs/crawlers. The more stable the weather, the better the bite...
thanks,
Jeff

Jeff Hanson's Guide Service, LLC
Mille Lacs Lake, MN
www.hansonguideservice.com
763.477.8553

6/19/10
The inconsistent weather and high winds the last few days have made fishing difficult, however they are still biting. We are still getting fish deep on the mud and gravel pulling spinners/crawlers and Lindy Rigs/crawlers and leeches. With the high winds, I got some bobber fishing w/ leeches on mid-depth rock piles also.

6-15-10- McQuoids Inn/Lindy Tackle Fishing Report:

Fishing continues to be excellent. We are catching alot of fish on the mud flats and deep gravel bars in the 21'-27' foot depths. Lindy rigging w/ Lindy No-Snag sinkers and pulling spinners have been the top tactics. I have cleaned a lot of limits in the last couple weeks and we have thrown back a lot of big fish too. Fishing should stay great for the next couple weeks. We are also in the peak time for smallmouths right now also, they are being caught in the 3-5' foot depths on the reef tops.

Thanks, Jeff

6-9-10
Fishing continues to be great. We are getting fish off the deep gravel and mud flats in the 20'-26' depths. Leeches and crawlers are both working about the same. Lindy Rigging w/ a Lindy No-Snag sinker or slip bobbers are both working. Spinners have also been getting fish and seem to get more bonus jumbo perch as well. A lot of nice bass have been caught in the last few days on the shallow rock reefs. The next 3-4 weeks should be awesome!
thanks,
Jeff

6-4-10
Yesterday was phenomenal! We caught fish like crazy almost everywhere we went. Lots of keepers (limited out) and lots of "picture" fish. The "summer peak" fishing is just starting and there should be about a month of great fishing ahead of us.
thanks,
Jeff

6-3-10
Memorial Weekend was great all over the lake. The evenings have been really fast action bobbering on shallow and mid-depth rocks during the last couple hours of daylight. The daytime bite has been really good all over the lake. It's that transition time right now where we can catch fish almost everywhere, doing almost anything. Mud, gravel, rocks, sand, transitions. Bobbering or rigging. The water is really warming up now and fishing will only keep getting better. Looks like it's going to be a great month...
thanks,
Jeff

5-24-10
2nd Weekend:
Fishing was good again this weekend. Fish are now basically everywhere in the lake in good numbers. The water temp. is now in the mid to upper 50's. People are getting fish on bobbers/leeches and lindy rigs/leeches. Although there are fish to be caught in all depths and in multiple patterns. Probably the best depths were 22'-27' on gravel transition areas. The afternoon has been the hot time from about 1:00-4:00 w/ the rest of the day being slow but steady.
Lots of keepers and "throw-backers" all mixed together.
It was a breezy weekend all day both days but the storm and strong 40mph east winds that came through mid-day on saturday were downright scary...
Thanks,
Jeff

5-17-10
Opener 2010 Mille Lacs Fishing Report:
Fishing was good all weekend on Mille Lacs for most anglers. Fish were caught in many different locations all over the lake. From the north end sand and gravel areas to the south end rock and gravel humps. Water temps started out at about 49 degrees sat. morning and ended up at about 58 by Sunday afternoon after 2 days of hot sun and calm water conditions allowed the surface to heat up. Those temps will go back down after a decent wind mixes up the surface water again.
Lindy Rigging w/ leeches was the best method although a lot of fish were caught on bobbers as well. Best depths ranged from 17-25 feet. The best time of day seemed to be early morning and then mid afternoon also got hot both days.
There were many fish kept as there are a lot of fish under 18 inches out there this year.
Thanks,
Jeff Hanson
763.477.8553

6-3-10
Memorial Weekend was great all over the lake. The evenings have been really fast action bobbering on shallow and mid-depth rocks during the last couple hours of daylight. The daytime bite has been really good all over the lake. It's that transition time right now where we can catch fish almost everywhere, doing almost anything. Mud, gravel, rocks, sand, transitions. Bobbering or rigging. The water is really warming up now and fishing will only keep getting better. Looks like it's going to be a great month...
thanks,
Jeff

5-24-10
2nd Weekend:
Fishing was good again this weekend. Fish are now basically everywhere in the lake in good numbers. The water temp. is now in the mid to upper 50's. People are getting fish on bobbers/leeches and lindy rigs/leeches. Although there are fish to be caught in all depths and in multiple patterns. Probably the best depths were 22'-27' on gravel transition areas. The afternoon has been the hot time from about 1:00-4:00 w/ the rest of the day being slow but steady.
Lots of keepers and "throw-backers" all mixed together.
It was a breezy weekend all day both days but the storm and strong 40mph east winds that came through mid-day on saturday were downright scary...
Thanks,
Jeff

5-17-10
Opener 2010 Mille Lacs Fishing Report:
Fishing was good all weekend on Mille Lacs for most anglers. Fish were caught in many different locations all over the lake. From the north end sand and gravel areas to the south end rock and gravel humps. Water temps started out at about 49 degrees sat. morning and ended up at about 58 by Sunday afternoon after 2 days of hot sun and calm water conditions allowed the surface to heat up. Those temps will go back down after a decent wind mixes up the surface water again.
Lindy Rigging w/ leeches was the best method although a lot of fish were caught on bobbers as well. Best depths ranged from 17-25 feet. The best time of day seemed to be early morning and then mid afternoon also got hot both days.
There were many fish kept as there are a lot of fish under 18 inches out there this year.
Thanks,
Jeff Hanson
763.477.8553