I was on a two day fishing trip on Leech Lake in north central Minnesota in late September. Leech Lake is one of the Midwest’s most diverse fisheries. It hosts great populations of walleyes, perch, largemouth bass, and muskies. On this trip I was sharing a boat with two friends that I always look forward to fishing with. Dana Pitt owns a resort on Leech, Al Maas is a legendary guide on Leech. Al has seen Leech at its highs and lows, and he says that right now, Leech is at one of its highest points. The action we had on our trip convinced me that Leech is at a high, and from the variety of sizes of fish we caught, it would appear the next few years could be even better.
We hit the water on Tuesday morning a little after sun-up. The lake was flat, the sky was clear, the air temperature was in the low 50’s. This was the kind of day almost any angler would look forward to.
Al said there were some walleyes deep and some shallow. Since shallow walleyes are usually biters, we decided to start shallow. We never went deep: Didn’t have to. The shallow walleyes bit all the while we fished for them. Eaters for the frying pan and slot fish that had to be released. The slot on Leech is the reason there is an abundance of big fish but also plenty of smaller fish that can be taken home.
We were fishing a necked down area between two larger bodies of water. There was a channel about eight feet deep with large feeding flats and random beds of cabbage on the flats. The walleyes were holding on the edge of the cabbage in four to six feet of water.
In shallow water it’s best to get your bait out away from the boat to prevent spooking the fish. We were casting eighth ounce stand-up Fire-Ball jigs in a variety of colors, but parrot and parakeet where the best. We were tipping the jigs with rainbow and fathead minnows in the three to four inch range. A dragging retrieve was best. This technique will work on many lakes, reservoirs, and rivers across the Midwest and wherever walleyes swim. As the water cools off, the fish will move deeper for most of the day, but will continue to make daily forays into the shallows. Areas that the wind is blowing into will be best.
As we were heading to the boat ramp in early afternoon, Al said he wanted to make one quick stop to see if any perch were around. We tied on sixteenth ounce jigs and began drifting across a huge shallow sand flat. The water was only three or four feet deep. We cast the minnow tipped jigs behind the boat, let it sink to the bottom, and started slowly lifting and dropping the jig with our rod tip. Much of the time there was a perch on the jig right away. We caught lots of seven to nine inchers, but also plenty of eleven to thirteen inchers to keep things interesting. There aren’t many fish that are better on a plate then perch.
This bite on Leech is dependant on weather. If temperatures stay warm or moderate, the bite will continue. The bite will continue if the weather cools off, but techniques will change. Regardless of weather, you should make plans to visit Leech. I hope to get back up there soon, maybe we’ll see you there.
PHOTO CAPTION: Al Maas with a Leech Lake walleye. The bite is on now, take advantage of it.
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By Bob Jensen