Brainerd Fishing Report: 6-12-13
The fishing action is heating up in the Brainerd Lakes Area. Water temperatures are in the high 60's on many local lakes. (It's about time!) The best walleye action has been happening on North Long and Round Lake. Key water depths have been 10 to 14 feet. The walleye have been feasting on the spawning shiners. Search out large shoreline structures that extend well out into the lake. These are prime shiner spawning locations. The walleye have been even shallower on windy days. The best bait has been an 1/8 oz jig tipped with spot tail shiner.  The crappie action has been strong on most local lakes. The best locations have been shallow. Search through the newly emerging reeds on the calmer days. It takes a little work, but you'll be amazed when you find the fish. The best crappie lures have been small tube jigs suspended below a casting bubble. Fan cast likely areas on the windier days and then anchor when you make contact with your first decent sized crappie. The crappie are grouped up now. Find one and you've found a bunch. Keep the 9 to 11 inchers for the frying pan and let the larger females (12+ inchers) go for seed. The smaller ones taste better. The bass are in the shallows. The inside weed edge is where the action is at. Don't be afraid to crawl up into 5 to 7 feet of water. There's far more bass relating to the inside edge right now than the second weed line. The best lures have been 1/8 oz jigs tipped with rubber worms. Make sure the jig has a stout hook with a large shank. There's nothing worst than hooking a 5 lb+ bass and then have the hook straighten out because you were using a light wire hook.  Life is Good!
JOHN

Brainerd Fishing Report: 5-29-13
The daytime walleye bite has been spotty. The deep hole near Zorba's restaurant has been producing the most walleyes during the daytime hours. The hole is located in the Narrows of Gull Lake just north of the bridge on county road 77. The best times have been between 5:30 am and 10:30 am. The hole is within 100 yards of the public access on the north end of Gull and consistently produces good numbers of walleyes each spring. The best bait for fishing the hole is a lindy rig tipped with a spot-tail shiner. The best walleye action has been occurring after sunset on Gull Lake. Long line trolling in 6 to 8 feet of water with a floating Rapalas has been the most effective technique. The best speeds have been 1.3 to 1.5 mph. Good lure colors have been blue/silver, black/gold, and black/silver in sizes 11 & 13. The largest underwater bars on the main lake have been producing the most action. Look for structures which connect to the shoreline and then extend well out into the lake. The best bars will have huge sections of 2 to 4 feet of water. The edges of these large "table tops" are where the walleye are being caught. The wind blown sides have been the best. Bring on the summer. I'm ready for a little heat.
Life is Good!
JOHN

Brainerd Fishing Report: 5-23-13
Local water temperatures have been cooler than we would like to see this late in May, but hopefully the weatherman will help us out in the weeks to come. There was frost on the ground this morning. I can't remember the last time I saw frost the day before Memorial Day Weekend. The local crappie fishing has been strong the last week, especially before the recent cold snap. The cold front pushed most of the crappie schools out of the shallow water and back to the first break. Key locations have been in 6 to 8 feet of water. Small jigs suspended below casting bubbles have been accounting for the majority of the fish. The walleye action on Mille Lacs has been great. The majority of the walleyes are holding on the sand in 12 to 14 feet of water. Numbers and size has been the rule for the last 10 days.  Keep thinking those WARM thoughts. It will be June soon.
Life is Good!
JOHN

Brainerd Fishing Report: 5-13-13
Bring on the heat. The weatherman is predicting a high temperature in the upper 80's tomorrow. The best news is he is predicting four more days in the upper 70's after that. We could use a whole week of it. There's still a bunch of ice around, but its going fast. Pelican, Gull, and the Whitefish Chain still are 90% ice covered. The only open water areas on these lakes are in their upper reaches. The best walleye action is coming from current areas. Casting from anchored locations into 2 to 4 feet of water with small swim baits is accounting from the majority of the walleye we are catching. The best retrieve has been slooooow. The local crappie bite has been slow too. This should change with this week's predicted heat wave. Search out small backwater areas which heat up quickly. The best locations will have mud bottoms. Keep thinking those WARM thoughts.
Life is Good!
JOHN

Brainerd Fishing Report: 5-06-13
The 2013 walleye opener is rapidly approaching. Too bad the local lake ice didn't get the message. It's going to be close this year, but I think the majority of the area's ice will be gone on all but the biggest lakes by this Saturday. The good news is the weatherman has predicted highs in the mid 70's for the next several days. There's also a good chance for measurable rain on Wednesday. This would be a bonus. Nothing eats the ice off a lake quicker than a nice warm spring rain. The Ranger boat is really to go. Think WARM thoughts and think of Spring.
Life is Good!
JOHN

Brainerd Fishing Report: 4-18-13
The weather hasn't been cooperating this spring in the Brainerd Lakes Area. We currently have 12+ inches of snow on the ground and there's another weather system moving in tonight. The prediction is another 6 to 8 inches of snow accumulation before the storm ends. The good news "might" be here next week. The weatherman is calling for highs in the 50's by midweek.. The key will be the lows at night. The ice will start disappearing fast once the evening lows stay above 40 degrees. The panfish action is starting to pick up throughout the region. Key locations have been 9 to 12 feet of water near good healthy stand of cabbage weeds. If you can find good, green, healthy cabbage right now. The panfish will be close by. Today is the start of the first turkey season in Minnesota. It sure doesn't seem like spring, but look on the bright side. We won't have to worry about wood ticks for a little while. :)
JOHN

Brainerd Fishing Report: 3-28-13
I can't believe it's been almost two months since my last fishing report. Local ice conditions have kept me from ice fishing since late February. The 30+ inches of extremely wet snow we received over the period has caused tough conditions throughout the area. There's currently 1 to 3 inches of standing water beneath the snow on most lakes. I must be getting older, or wiser, because the slush has kept even me from thinking about ice fishing. It's not a pretty sight when your snowmobile hits one of those wet spots!  I've spent the majority of my free time watching my son's high school basketball team. What a season! The Warriors finished the year with a 28-2 record and a trip to the state tournament. Go Warriors!! Today's forecast calls for highs in the lower 40's. Hopefully the trend will continue. With basketball over, and almost three weeks without catching a fish, I think I'm starting to go through withdrawals :) :)
JOHN

Brainerd Fishing Report: 1-31-13
The temperatures have turned bitter cold throughout the Brainerd Lakes Area. The weatherman says we can expect the lows to drop down to -27 degrees F tonight. I don't know what the current temperature is outside, but I can tell it's getting pretty cold when I can start hearing the sound of the rafters of the house shrinking due to the cold weather. The beginning of the week was warm and fogging. We had several days with temps in the mid-thirties. Those days are now just a pleasant memory. Kyle and Bob took advantage of the warmer temps and moved a few darkhouses to a new breakline they've been wanting to try. The work was hard, but their determined efforts paid off big time. The last two days have been fantastic in the spear shacks. The last two groups reported seeing multiple pike in the mid to upper thirty inch range, plus an abundant number of smaller pike, each day. The weather always seems a little warmer outside when the big pike are swimming through the hole. Life is Good!
JOHN