Back from Mille Lacs

[Smithvillesteve]

Got back from Mille Lacs sat night. It was good bad and ugly. The good was we caught a handful of really nice fat fighting 3 and 4 lb smallies. We found some good fishing spots in 3 of the 4 quadrants based on what the wind was doing. Mostly ned and drop shots. If somebody on here wants to step me through the process of putting pics on here i will do that. Old phone, 5s, and limited tech abilities due to age. The bad. When we got there sunday it was 80 degrees and windy. Only 15 mph winds but that is enough to get that big water rocking pretty good. So we didnt want to go out 2-3 miles offshore and target those reefs and big boulders like we wanted to. There were some guys in cabin next to us that were leaving and they had some good days. 25-30 smallies with some 5's and one 6. But they fought the wind all week. They also fished the full moon if you believe in that. Well, by monday it was 50 degrees and 35 at night. Yep, the dreaded cold front! It was dang cold on that water!! The ugly: Monday we fished an area on the lake and wasnt doing very good so we moved to another area. As i was backing my buddy down the ramp i watched in horror as his boat slid off the trailer. Ramp wasnt that long and not that steep. Motor and lower unit were in the water and his bow was up in the air. No motor or lower unit damage but put some cracks in the bottom back of his fiberglass boat. Tow truck got boat back on trailer. I figured our trip was over but the next day my buddy went to a hardware store and bought some FlexSeal spray and tape. We were able to continue to fish but we had to run the bilge every 15-30 minutes. That kept us close to the ramps and we never made it out to middle where we wanted to fish. That is a beautiful place up there. Pristine. Nice homes. Clean. I really enjoyed the area and wouldnt hesitate to go back. There are some big smallies in there. 

[Phil Lilley]

You should be able to click "Add files" and choose your pics.  But not sure on the 5.

[rps]

On 9/17/2020 at 10:16 AM, Smithvillesteve said:

Got back from Mille Lacs sat night. It was good bad and ugly. The good was we caught a handful of really nice fat fighting 3 and 4 lb smallies. We found some good fishing spots in 3 of the 4 quadrants based on what the wind was doing. Mostly ned and drop shots. If somebody on here wants to step me through the process of putting pics on here i will do that. Old phone, 5s, and limited tech abilities due to age. The bad. When we got there sunday it was 80 degrees and windy. Only 15 mph winds but that is enough to get that big water rocking pretty good. So we didnt want to go out 2-3 miles offshore and target those reefs and big boulders like we wanted to. There were some guys in cabin next to us that were leaving and they had some good days. 25-30 smallies with some 5's and one 6. But they fought the wind all week. They also fished the full moon if you believe in that. Well, by monday it was 50 degrees and 35 at night. Yep, the dreaded cold front! It was dang cold on that water!! The ugly: Monday we fished an area on the lake and wasnt doing very good so we moved to another area. As i was backing my buddy down the ramp i watched in horror as his boat slid off the trailer. Ramp wasnt that long and not that steep. Motor and lower unit were in the water and his bow was up in the air. No motor or lower unit damage but put some cracks in the bottom back of his fiberglass boat. Tow truck got boat back on trailer. I figured our trip was over but the next day my buddy went to a hardware store and bought some FlexSeal spray and tape. We were able to continue to fish but we had to run the bilge every 15-30 minutes. That kept us close to the ramps and we never made it out to middle where we wanted to fish. That is a beautiful place up there. Pristine. Nice homes. Clean. I really enjoyed the area and wouldnt hesitate to go back. There are some big smallies in there. 

Yikes! I have seen a fiberglass boat dumped off the trailer. It was somewhere around 1964 and it was my father's boat. That did not end well.

By the way have you ever seen someone with a puce face?

 

[curtisce]

Sorry about the trailering accident. Did it slide off carpeted bunks? Saw it happen to a tracker aluminuim boat this spring. I lived up near there for a few years. It the only freshwater lake I have gotten seasick on. I was looking for accomadation up there this summer and didn't find a whole lot. Where did you stay?

[Smithvillesteve]

Yea he had carpeted bunks but he also had some plates installed on the bunks to make the boat slide off and on easier. Knowing that he should have kept that boat pinned up. It didnt enter my mind because i know my aluminum boat would have been fine. Live and learn i guess. 3,000 dollar repair!! Ouch!! We stayed at a place called Fisher's. Up in the northwest quadrant. Really nice. But expensive.