Brainerd, Minnesota
Fishing Report: 05-12-25
It was a beautiful weekend for the Minnesota Walleye Opener in the Brainerd Lakes Area. The sun was shining, the weather was warm, and the walleye were biting. Gull, North Long, and Pelican Lake were all productive. The best bite was shallow. Key locations were sandy, wing-swept, shoreline breaks in 5 to 7 feet of water. The key was finding the schools of spawning shiners. The walleyes, and just about everything else, were targeting them. The best bait combo was a 1/8 oz jig tipped with a spot-tail shiner. The good jig colors were black, blue, and white glow. The best tactic was casting up shallow and working the jig back slowly. The northern pike were right there too, holding on the deeper edge of the structure. The bass were even shallower. Most are related to the backside of the weeds. The crappie have started to spawn on many of the smaller lakes in the area. The sunfish are on their beds. It is a fun time to be in a boat. Give Michelle a call, She can answer all your questions and get you fishing with one of our guides.
JOHN

Brainerd, Minnesota
Fishing Report: 05-05-25
The weather forecast looks great for the Minnesota walleye opener. With highs in the mid-70s to low 80s, it definitely will be one of the warmer fishing openers in recent years. The crappie fishing remains fantastic. Key locations have been cabbage pockets near known spawning areas. The best water depths have been 4 to 6 feet. Small plastics suspended below a casting bubble/ bobber have been the most effective method of putting fish into the boat. I wouldn't be surprised to see crappies spawning on some lakes within the next week or so. The sunfish bite has been good as well. The best depths have been 3 to 4 feet near healthy stands of emerging cabbage weeds. The bass have invaded the shallows and provided plenty of excitement. A 5lb bass on a crappie rod makes for an epic battle. The walleye finished spawning weeks ago. They should be relating to the first break in 6 to 12 feet of water this weekend. Pitching an 1/8 0z jig w/shiner minnow should be a deadly combo. I hope you have a good opener.
JOHN

Brainerd, Minnesota
Fishing Report: 04-30-25
The Minnesota walleye opener is quickly approaching, and it looks like the weather will finally cooperate this year. Early ice-out and recent rains have helped improve conditions, but we still could use more moisture. The spot-tail shinners should be spawning within the next 10 days. Let's hope conditions hold so there wouldn't be another shiner shortage on Opening Day. The bass have invaded the shallows, adding to the fun. The sunfish have moved shallow, too. Key locations are backwater areas with mud bottoms. Soft plastics suspended below casting bobbers continue to be the most effective method of catching fish. Local turkey hunters have had a successful spring so far. It seems like there are more turkeys every year. Remember to use tick protection when out in the field. They have been exceptionally bad this year. I will be fishing with the kids on opener again this year. We haven't decided where yet, but there are many options. Thanks again for the calls.
JOHN

Brainerd, Minnesota
Fishing Report: 04-21-25
The warmer weather continues to move the crappies shallow. Key locations have been backwater areas with soft dark bottoms. Small jigs tipped with soft plastics and suspended below a casting bobber have been very effective in these areas. Pearl white, rootbeer, and cotton candy have been good color patterns. The lakes are low. We sure could use some rain. The creeks and rivers are low too. I have not seen several creeks this low in decades. Many traditional crappie spots are devoid of fish this year because of the low water conditions. Be mindful when crossing main lake points with your boat. Some rocks are closer to the surface than they have been in the past. Our June calendar is starting to fill up. Give Michelle a call and she will help you set up a fishing trip.
JOHN

Brainerd, Minnesota
Fishing Report: 04-10-25
The first boats of the season have hit the water in the Brainerd Lakes Area. Most medium-sized lakes should be ice-free by this weekend, while the bigger lakes are still about a week from being open unless we get some rain. The best panfish action has been in the backwater areas. The small ditches, creeks, and swamps with muddy bottoms warm quickly on sunny days, attracting hungry panfish into the shallows by late afternoons. The best locations are those with access to deeper water areas nearby. Small bobber/jig minnow combos are effective in these situations. I am anxious to get the boat out on open water. Schools of crappies relate to the first break just outside of these locations, waiting for the warm water to set the table. Small minnows consume the first hatching insects of the season. The panfish follow close behind. It is time to get the yard work done. Good crappie fishing is just around the corner. See you next week.
JOHN

Brainerd, Minnesota
Fishing Report: 04-03-25
April Fools arrived one day late this year. It brought 7 to 8 inches of wet heavy snow to the Brainerd Lakes Area. Although we needed the moisture, it did not come in the form we wanted. Most of the smaller local lakes are now ice-free, with the ice starting to pull away from the shores on the bigger waters. There has been limited ice fishing this past week. The buds have started to grow on the maple trees, signaling the end of another maple sap season. We finished bottling the last of our syrup yesterday. We produced 10.5 gallons for the season. Now it is time to start thinking about open water. The plan is to get the boat ready to go next week. Hopefully, we will see open water within the next two weeks.
JOHN

Brainerd, Minnesota
Fishing Report: 03-22-25
Given the current conditions, the ice has pulled away from the shoreline on many lakes, and very few ice anglers are venturing out. The conditions are perfect for maple syrup, and we have been collecting for the last few weeks. We produced 5 gallons of finished syrup on our first boil and are hoping for another 4 to 5 gallons on our second boil this coming weekend. It is time to start getting the boats ready. The ice keeps getting darker with each passing week. Prepping the boat will be my next project once we finish with the maple syrup. See you next week.
JOHN

Brainerd, Minnesota
Fishing Report: 03-15-25
The ice is starting to pull away from the shore on some of the smaller lakes in the area. There has been a good crappie bite on some of the larger lakes in the area. This bite should only continue to improve as the ice darkens. The maple sap was running hard yesterday. We collected 38 gallons for the day. The forecast looks good for the next week or so. We are planning our first boil this weekend. We would like to collect another 80 to 100 gallons by then. We plan to use a new reverse osmosis system before the boil to speed up the boiling process. Hopefully, the system works as intended. Depending on the sugar content, we would like to produce 7 to 9 gallons of finished maple syrup with the first boil. Thanks for all the calls! The summer fishing season looks like it will be busy again this year. Give Michelle a call. She will answer all of your questions. See you soon
JOHN

Brainerd, Minnesota
Fishing Report: 03-07-25
The ice traffic slowed to almost a stop this past week after Mother Nature decided to give us one last taste of winter. The walleye and northern pike seasons are now closed until the Opener on May 10th. Our 2024/25 ice house rental season is over as well. We still have a little snow on the ground but it should be gone by next week. The maple sap has started to run again. Conditions look perfect for next week. We have 40 trees tapped and hope to produce 15 gallons of finished syrup this season. The VRBO is completed! It really turmed out nice. We have booked several groups already. We also have another batch of shorthair puppies. It has been a crazy few weeks. The panfish bite should improve as the temperatures start to rise. The best panfish bite always occurs when the ice starts to darken. See you next week.
JOHN

Brainerd, Minnesota
Fishing Report: 02-28-25
The ice house rental season is quickly coming to a close. All overnight ice houses in the Brainerd Lakes Area must be off the lakes by March 3. The cold weather is gone and the fishing has improved. The crappie bite was excellent this past week. Key locations were shallower near good stands of healthy cabbage weeds. The sunfish access was equally good. Key water depths were 6 to 8 feet. The best places were holes in the weeds. The clear water makes these locations easy to see. The pike were active again this week. Tip-ups rigged with sucker minnows were the most effective method for catching these toothy critters. The maple sap has started to run! It is a sure sign that spring is near. It looks like the next ten days will be perfect conditions. See you next week
JOHN

Brainerd, Minnesota
Fishing Report: 02-21-25
We experienced another brutally cold snap lasting five days this past week. The extremely low temperatures caused several local schools to close for a few days. Needless to say, there was not much activity on the ice during this period. The walleye activity was slow. Many fish would swim up to the baits, eye them for a moment, and then swim away. Active jigging would turn the fish off instantly. The few walleyes caught were all on rattle reels baited with small shiner minnows. The crappie action was slower too, as well as the pike. We still have a few weeks of ice fishing left this season. Overnight fish houses need to be pulled off the lakes by March 3. Hopefully, the weather stabilizes and we can get a few more good weeks of fishing. Spring is just around the corner and the phones have already started ringing for the open water season. Give Michelle a call and she will get you set up. Stay warm.
JOHN

Brainerd, Minnesota
Fishing Report: 02-13-25
Bitter cold temperatures slowed the walleye bite this past week. Lows reached minus 15 to -20 degrees Fahrenheit, creating challenging ice fishing conditions.The good news was the crappie bite remained good throughout the week. The best times have shifted to later in the evening. Key locations are still depressions near good stands of cabbage weeds. Active jigging has become less productive than bobber presentations. The jumbo perch population has exploded in the Brainerd Lakes Area. The perch have finally realized zebra mussels are good to eat and the lakes are full of them. The result is monster perch in many lakes throughout the area. We first noticed this two years ago and it seems the trend is continuing. I have not seen perch sizes like this since the late eighties.
JOHN

Brainerd, Minnesota
Fishing Report: 02-07-25
The walleye action remained slower this past week which is typical for this time of year. We have one month left of ice house rentals for this season. Thanks for all the calls. The crappie action has been good this past week but the bite has been occurring later and later in the evenings. Small tear-drops tipped with waxies or smaller crappie minnows have been the best baits. The best locations have been shallower, 10 to 14 feet, near good stands of healthy green cabbage weeds. The bigger sunfish have become active this past week. They are mixed in with the crappies. Use a spring bobber to float super small when fishing panfish at this time of year. Their bites are notoriously soft. The big pike are becoming more active with each passing week. Bigger suckers, even if they are dead, are effective baits on tip-ups for these toothy monsters.
JOHN

Brainerd, Minnesota
Fishing Report: 01-30-25
The colder weather has slowed the walleye bite in the Brainerd Lakes area but we are still catching a few in the evenings on set lines. Small shiner minnows are still the best baits. The larger pike have been active lately in the shallows. Key water depths have been 12 to 16 feet. Large sucker minnows on tip-ups have been the best tactic. We also have caught a few big gators accidentally while fishing crappies. It seems like every good school of crappies has one or two pike hanging close by. They are just waiting for a crappie to get distracted while feeding and grab an easy meal. The JCs fishing tournament is a go. Contestants should try catching cisco if they want to make it on the leaderboard. There are a bunch out there right now. Stay warm.
JOHN

Brainerd, Minnesota
Fishing Report: 01-21-25
The crappie bite remains strong in the Brainerd Lakes area. Good numbers with size are being caught in depression areas near good stands of cabbage weeds. The best bite has been shifting to later in the evenings. Small glow jigs tipped with crappie minnows have been the most effective bait. The panfish bite has been good too this last week, especially on the days when we saw milder temperatures. This allowed anglers to jump from hole to hole searching for active fish. Key locations are near good weeds in 6 to 9 feet of water. Small tear-drops tipped with waxies have been effective. Some big walleyes have been caught this past week, and most have been taken on set lines tipped with shiner minnows. The northern pike action was excellent this past week. There was a bunch of nice fish cruising the shallows in 10 to 14 feet on the days when we saw the mildest temperatures. Button up and stay warm. It sounds like the frigid temperatures will be returning this weekend. Other than a few big ice ridges, most lakes have enough ice for safe ice travel. Check uncharted areas in the daylight before venturing across the ice at night. Gull, Round, and North Long all have big pressure ridges shattered on them. See you next week.
JOHN

Brainerd, Minnesota
Fishing Report: 01-14-25
The ice conditions continue to improve on the local lakes in the Brainerd area. Gull la lake has 10 to 12 inches while smaller lakes have 14 to 17 inches. There are several big ice heaves on many of the larger lakes due to limited snow cover. Off-road ice travel during low light conditions is not advised in unknown areas at this time. The crappie bite remain strong throughout the area. Key locations are 12 to 16 feet on lakes with good weed cover and 22 to 26 feet on most smaller lakes with mud bottom basin areas. The Northern Pike action has been good in 10 to 14 feet of water. Tip-ups tipped with sucker minnows have produced the best results. The best walleye action has been occurring near sundown. Key depths have been 14 to 18 feet. Set-line presentations have been out producing active jigging this past week. See you next week.
JOHN

Brainerd, Minnesota
Fishing Report: 01-07-25
Happy New Years! The colder temperatures have returned to the Brainerd Lakes area and we are making good ice. We currently have all of the fish houses out on the ice. The crappie bite has been good both in the mornings and evenings. Key water depths have been in 12 to 16 feet of water on lakes with good weeds and 28 to 32 feet on small lakes with mud basin areas. Small glow jigs in chartreuse and neon pink colors have been effective baits when tipped with small crappie minnows. The walleye bite has been fair. The bite window has been short with the most action happening at sundown. Give us a call if you are interested in booking an icehouse. We still have openings on several weekends but some weekends are already booked up. See you next week.
JOHN