Mille Lacs Lake Fishing Report
The Smallmouth Bass bite on Mille Lacs has made a move to deeper water. These fish can be found in good numbers in 12-18 feet of water, off of the deeper rock structure. Use a drop shot rig with a smaller bait or short tubes. The darker colored plastics have still been producing the most fish. Try colors like black and pumpkin or a dark green watermelon.
Pike are still abundant in the weeds in the bays. Start in 10-12 feet of water targeting weed lines and cabbage beds. Trolling spoons or bobber fishing a sucker minnow have produced good numbers of fish. Anglers also have still been having some luck throwing spinner baits at the reed edges and shorelines. In-Fisherman has a great link for Y-bone removal: http://www.in-fisherman.com/recipes/cleaning-care/cleaning-catch-y-bone-removal/. Be sure to check it out!
The Muskie bite has just started to heat up a little. The best luck has been pulling large cranks on the deep mud flats. There have been reports of a few nice fish off the cabbage beds on the south end of the lake as well. The expectation is the bite will get better from here into the fall.
The lake is pretty green from algae right now so bright colored baits like firetiger or something with some rattle are a good choice for muskie and pike.