Mille Lacs Lake Fishing Report for February 14th, 2021
Ice Fishing Mille Lacs provides its entire lake-wide Mille Lacs Fishing Report for February 14th, 2021. Since the last report, Mille lacs has received a much needed deep freeze, which has nicely accelerated ice thickness. Still, during the deep freeze, the ice did see some unstableness once again from the same areas that plagued Mille Lacs ice back in December. Well, ‘almost’ all the same locations besides the north end of Mille Lacs.
Our team is waiting until after this cold snap to update our Mille Lacs Lake Ice Thickness Map as we had updated the map just before this recent cold snap. Mentioning the current sub-zero cold snap, although welcome for generating ice thickness, the below zero temperatures have impacted the walleye bite Mille lacs we had seen several weeks before the drop. There have been isolated reports, along with signs, from around the lake that the walleyes bite is starting to turn back on. However, the past week’s reports have shown a dramatic slow down since the beginning of this cold snap.
Overall Mille Lacs Lake Fishing Report
We look at what information and data we have received in the past five to seven days for our overall Mille Lacs Fishing Report. We then provide an overview from across the lake regarding the overall walleye bite, the hottest presentation, ideal regions, and bottom types for walleyes, perch, and tullibee.
Overall lake-wide, the past week has seen mixed walleye and perch reports. Again, while stating the obvious, the reoccurring reports have been the Mille Lacs, the bite has slowed due to the sudden drop in temperatures.
The Current Mille Lacs Walleye Bite
Twin Pines Resort guest with a big Mille Lacs walleye.
The big Mille Lacs news is many anglers report seeing nicely sized walleyes on underwater cameras and electronics but cannot entice into biting. In some outings, upwards of twenty to thirty walleyes have been noted to come right up to angler’s presentations very fast and aggressive.
Even with the sudden burst up to the bait, no matter what, anglers are having a tough time turning the encounter into the fish biting enough to be hooked. The walleye fly right up to the bait, even lightly nibble it, but the fish either snags the minnow head or body off while never bringing the hook/bait into its mouth. The best advice if this is happening under your fish house is to move, but with the fridge temps, this is easier said than done.
Marshall Outdoors gets out on the mud flats of Mille Lacs and finds many walleyes of verifying sizes. He was able to drive out to some new mid-lake mud flat spots with his truck. After this cold front, almost any Mille Lacs Lake area should be accessible with a pickup truck.
Although reports of ice anglers catching walleyes in open basin areas are becoming more common, we have heard and seen more reports of walleyes caught from shallower regions. That said, fishing reports of walleyes caught from deeper areas over gravel and mud are still coming in. It’s roughly a 55% to 45% split, with shallower walleyes being the most caught in the past five to seven days.
The best areas to target for Mille Lacs walleyes going into next week should be the top of bars, humps, and flats right now. The best times to target these areas will be between 1:00 pm until an hour after sundown when anglers see these walleyes on their electronics, but it is becoming more challenging to get them to bite.
Twin Pines Resort fish house rental guests with a very nice Mille Lacs walleye.
The Current Mille Lacs Tullibee Bite
Jeremy Decker with a chunky Mille Lacs walleye caught out of Randy’s Rentals.
Anglers have been reporting tullibee on both mud and gravel areas of the lake. Generally, they can be found in 25′ of water or deeper, and they come through roughly 10′ to 20′ under the ice.
The best bait for Mille Lacs tullibee has been smaller jigging spoons or regular jigs tipped with two or three red larvae worms. A smaller fathead or crappies minnows being a choice if anglers do not have the larvae.
JKV Outdoors shares a tullibee report from Bomback Mud Flat on Mille Lacs. They get into some very nice Mille Lacs tullibee and good numbers.
The Current Mille Lacs Jumbo Perch Bite
Most of the Mille Lacs jumbo perch reports have been from the lake’s southern areas around gravel. A few Jumbo Perch reports on the mud flats, but the perch caught on the mud tend to be biting lite and filled with insect larvae, indicating they are eating healthy.
Jumbo Mille Lacs perch on the mud flats are not on top of the flat’s central area but off the flat and around smaller structures with hard bottoms adjacent to the mud flat. A stationary deadstick with a medium shinner works excellent, or a brightly colored jig head or rattling jigging spoon tipped with the whole minnow seems to be working best in mud flat areas of the lake.
Liz with a huge Mille Lacs 14″ jumbo perch caught out of KJ’s Ice Fishing Resort
Mille Lacs walleye caught from Lyback’s Ice Fishing.
Jumbo Mille Lacs perch caught on southern gravel are found away from the gravel structure’s top areas, rooming around in packs adjacent to the gravel bars and flats and not being found atop bars, reefs, or even in their transition areas. Reports of jumbos around rock piles or rocky structures found in ten to fifteen feet of water have been heard, with the jumbos roaming not on top but close by these areas.
The current Mille Lacs jumbo perch theme right now seems to be not targeting them in prominent areas anglers would be targeting walleyes. The best times to target Mille Lacs jumbo perch right now are between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm. The only reports of real jumbo perch caught (13″ or larger in our opinion on Mille Lacs) have been during sunny days. A rattling jigging spoon tipped with a minnow head or half body is best.
Mille Lacs Jumbo Perch Tip
If an ice angler is catching perch 10″ or less, then the big jumbos are not in this area, and it would be best to move. Perch 10″ or less indicates an excellent food source for large predators fish, and generally, jumbo perch do not congregate with smaller perch.
Jumbo Mille Lacs perch associate with other jumbo perch and roam together in packs. Targeting jumbo perch will require many ice holes being drilled and roughly 50′ apart, which makes finding them much more manageable.
Twin Pines Resort guest with a nice Mille Lacs Lake walleye.
Blair from Johnson’s Portside on the east side of Mille Lacs in Isle, Minnesota with a weekend fishing report.
Barnacle’s Resort guest with a lengthy Mille Lacs walleye.
Miscellaneous Mille Lacs Ice Fishing Report Information
Some tullibee and jumbo perch have been caught on a southern gravel bar adjacent to deeper water. Some anglers have seen some increased success during this cold, raising their presentations a little higher off the bottom (2′ to 4′).
Shiners and suckers remain the hot bait (if you can find them up at the lake) on deadsticks while accompanying a jigging rod with a rattle type lure on it. Good colors for walleyes have been red, orange, and yellow, but glow jigs have been catching fish.
The Red Door Resort on Mille Lacs shares an ice roads and lake access report.
Why Are Mille Lacs Walleyes Not Biting or Biting Extremely Lite?
The sub-zero temperatures and high barometer have played a role in the lite biting action of recent. Also, the lake has abundant food sources for larger fish right now, from small perch to a thick bug hatch within the deeper areas of the lake.
Additionally, the tullibee’s decent year class and their size is also another indicator of how much food walleyes and other predatory fish in Mille Lacs currently have at their disposal.
Jeremy Decker staying at Randy’s Rentals of Mille Lacs Lake with a great walleye.
Resort Mille Lacs Fishing and Ice Reports
Beachside Resort Fishing Reports
Beachside Mille Lacs Resort Weekend Wrap Up 02/07/2021
As you all know, it was a cold and windy weekend to be out and about. Typically the fishing isn’t the best when the temp drops as it did, but for many, that didn’t hold. We had many houses report catching multiple fish per day, and due to the cold, there weren’t many people out moving around and spacing out with tip-ups, etc. We didn’t have any significant cracks open up, and despite the blowing wind and snow, we were able to keep our roads open throughout the weekend. Our Ice Crew did a fantastic job plowing at all hours and keeping things open. We are very fortunate to have these guys on our Ice Team!
FISHING CONTEST WINNERS
- 1st Place: BIGGEST FISH – Eskimo Ice Pistol – Jesse Borg
- 25.5″ Walleye
- 2nd Place: Biggest Perch – $25 Gift Certificate to Muggs Bar and Grill – Mark Christian – 12.5″ Perch
- 3rd Place: Biggest Walleye (2nd biggest walleye if 1st Place is the biggest walleye) -$10 Gift Certificate to Beachside Resort Bait – Sara Spiering – 25″ Walleye
Congrats, you three! Thank you to the Fish House Fabricator Group for having their event at Beachside again this year! You guys have some pretty sweet shacks!
We will have another fishing contest this up and coming weekend, which will be FREE with the purchase of a road pass. Be sure to follow the Beachside Resort Facebook page to stay up to date on fishing contests and ice conditions.
***WEEKEND FISHING CONTEST (2/12/21 – 2/14/21)***
FREE WITH THE PURCHASE OF AN ICE ROAD PASS
- 1st Place – Biggest Walleye – Striker Predator Jacket or Predator Bibs
- 2nd Place –2nd Biggest Walleye –Season’s
- Season’s Tackle Walleye Mystery Box
- 3rd Place – Biggest Fish – $10 Bait Certificate
Ice Roads Report
Our Ice Roads are in great shape still with no bridges or major cracks to cross. We have roads out to 5 Mile Reef!
Fishing Report
February’s bite continues to be better than January, which is not the usual. We see a lot of slot fish and 24-25″ Walleye. There have also been some tullibee and Jumbo Perch being caught in the deepwater north of 2nd reef and south of the gravel bar. There has also been some tullibee being seen on the north side of Beachside Banana.
Guest Reminder:
PROPANE: It’s cold again this weekend, and people are going through propane a lot faster than usual. Anglers should plan on packing an extra tank of propane if they have one. BEACHSIDE RESORT FILLs PROPANE AT THE BAIT SHOP!
Wilderness Warmth Mille Lacs Fish House Rentals
Wilderness Warmth Mille Lacs Fish House Rentals Fishing Report and Weekend Update
It looks like the cold won’t be letting up anytime soon. Last weekend fishing was great until Friday AM. Sometime after that, they seemingly shut down because the evening bite was way down. Some anglers were still catching a few fish each day, many being nice size fish, but things came to a grinding halt overall. Dead sticks and rattle reels produced while jigging continued to be slow. Shallow rocks, mid-depth transitions, and deeper bottom edges all produced fish with the shallow 15-17” edging out more fish.
This weekend, we are expecting any fireworks. A few fish per day for anglers tucked up inside their Wilderness Warmth fish house rentals warm, and the ones who are hard enough to get out in the elements moving around will manage a few more if they stay mobile and on top of them. Shiners and suckers remain the hot bait to get if you can find it. Red, orange, and yellow hooks under a still line produced the fish 1-4” off the bottom. Glow jigs also caught some fish, but there wasn’t any healthy pattern when the cold front hit.
With the forecast calling for -20 to -25 below through Sunday, I suspect it’ll be pretty quiet. With a high of -5 tomorrow, -3 Saturday, and -6 Sunday, we’ll be running equipment at a minimum, so we’ll get some spots opened up as the temps allow, and there are currently some still open, but you’ll want to message us if you are coming up and need a spot.
Most importantly, if you head out, you need to have plenty of propane, treated fuel, a backup heat source, and other cold-weather essentials. Suppose you have a generator plug your vehicle in. As many found out again last weekend, this cold will freeze things up even with new cars. A portable booster pack and jumper cables are a great thing to carry with you, a necessity in M.N., and everyone should have them in each vehicle all the time. When it gets cold like this, regulators freeze up, batteries and other equipment will fail, so plan accordingly and be prepared for it.
BOBBER’S BOBBER’S DOWN
W.W.
Ice Camp Outfitters of Mille Lacs Lake Report
Dominic & the crew are staying out in our Vallhalla rental house and putting in the work during the brutally cold weather we are having in Minnesota this week to catch some eyes. Most fish are still coming on small shiners and fatheads on set lines with small colored hooks. We see lots of fish on the flashers when they want to find their next meal. No better place to wait out the polar vortex than in a nice warm ice cabin!
We have one house left for Valentine’s day (Sunday) and President’s day, which is this coming Monday. Send Ice Camp Outfitters Mille Lacs Rentals a message or give us a call (320) 345-7111 if you are looking for a last-minute trip before the season closes.
Dominic out of Ice Camp Outfitters fish house rentals with a Mille Lacs walleye.