Outright Angling Fishing Report May 13, 2019

Walleye fishing is here, and Leech Lake area guides, resorts and other local establishments are off and running. The fishing has been great, with the classic jig-and-minnow doing most of the damage in 5-14 feet of water, just as many predicted.

 Details matter, and paying attention to boat speed, jigging cadence, jig color etc, is key to putting more of these delicious-state-fishes in the boat right now. Don't miss the best walleye bite of the year, local resorts and guides still have some limited availability this month. 

Crappie fishing remains strong, with good numbers of fish showing up at the end of our lines, along with some real trophy slabs. The shallow extremities of the lake are great places to look for these fun and tasty fish. 

With bass and muskie fishing right around the corner, angling opportunities will be quite plentiful here at Leech Lake. Pick a species or two and plan your next outing, I would love to have you aboard.

Cheers and hook-sets,

Capt. Phil Bauerly

outrightangling.com 

2019 Leech Lake Fishing Opener Forecast

Well, things are shaping up nicely for the MN fishing opener here on Leech Lake. With decent weather and temps forecast for this week, we should see water temps approaching 50 degrees for opening day. Walleyes will likely be finishing up their spawning rituals later this week, so the careful handling of larger females is good practice.

Major main lake points and adjacent flats are typically good areas to check, depths of 5'-12' are typically most productive. If this isn't working, try moving to the shallow, warmer water at the north end of the lake where baitfish and walleyes often congregate on 5'-10' flats. I like to avoid the crowds and find fish that haven't been bothered as much. If you have side-imaging, you can often key in on these spooky fish much quicker, and make long casts in this cold, clear water. Pitching 1/8 oz jig and minnow combos is the classic technique, but soft plastics and even hard baits can produce well too.

Crappies can be a nice bonus this time of year, and many slab crappies have already been caught all the way around the shallow perimeter of Leech Lake this spring. We are seeing crappies staging in deeper water during the cooler mornings lately. If you have side-imaging, you can locate these fish a bit faster. Later in the afternoons, try the shallow shorelines and pencil reeds in 3-5 feet of water for these favorites. We typically harvest a couple of nice crappies per person, and release the rest for future generations. Wow will they put a smile on your face!

Have a safe and fun opener everyone, we'll see you out there!

Cheers and hook-sets,
Capt. Phil Bauerly
outrightangling.com

Fall Update- Leech Lake

Outright Angling - Leech Lake Fishing Report for 10/15/2018  

Well, with water in the 40's now, we don't have a whole lot of time to get out on the lake. Mother nature is in charge now, but the fishing has been pretty fantastic! 

Walleyes have been schooling-up and binge-feeding on minnows the past few weeks. The bite windows can be short, but those anglers crossing paths with active fish are experiencing some really great catches. It's pretty hard to beat casting a jig-and-minnow combo in 4-8 feet of water. We have also been getting bites on a bit heavier jig with a 3"-4"plastic minnow tail, and even rattle baits some days. We should have great opportunities for walleyes at least through the month of October this year, for those willing to brave some chilly fall temps.  

Muskie fishing has been productive for those willing to chase "the fish of 10,000 casts" (luckily we do a bit better than that). We often do cast for hours (or troll) for the right opportunity with these fish, but the adrenaline filled pay-offs can be huge. Large spinners, big rubber baits and jerkbaits are all good options right now for muskellunge. Main lake points, rock reefs, and rocky shorelines where the wind has been blowing in are all good locations to search for that fish of a lifetime right now. If you want bragging rights on the biggest fish in Leech Lake, well...you sure can't catch them from the couch. Get out and give it a try!

Cheers and hook-sets! 

Leech Lake Mid-Summer Muskie Update

The ball is definitely rolling! Casting for muskies has been really fun the past week, and some fish were caught trolling in the weeks prior. I'm predicting a good casting bite now to November. If you think you might want to get out on Leech Lake this year, give me a shout. I still have some availability each month, I would love to have you aboard! 

Isaac from Texas got on the board early during his first ever attempt at muskie fishing.

He then upped-the-ante with this beast! 

Congrats on a real beauty!!

Here is Thomas from South Dakota with his first muskie, caught during less than ideal conditions.

We had a decent trolling bite dialed-in the last week of June. Since then, it has been all casting.

Fellow guide Steve Nosbisch jumped in with me one morning and scored this heavy fish on a topwater. A really nice Leech fish! 

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We typically don't even take these little guys out of the water. This one was so striking,

 I just had to take a quick pic.

We are getting a few nice pike too.

9 yr olds can catch muskies too!

Mark got to pose with his best Leech Lake muskie while fishing during great conditions.

Cheers and hook-sets! 

Capt. Phil Bauerly 

June Wrap-up- Leech Lake Walleyes

It has been a very busy June, with a lot of great people and great fishing to boot. June typically starts out with very consistent fishing, with jigs and shiner minnows being the standard presentation. Later in the month, walleyes expand their forage menu to mayflies, crayfish, larvae and perch. A wide variety of presentations are now being used including; crankbait casting and trolling, lindy rigging chubs and leeches, slip bobbers and leeches, vertical jigging lures, and casting jigs and plastics near weeds and rocks. 

Pictured below are just a few highlights from the past month of fishing on Leech Lake.

Note: I'll be switching into hard-core muskie mode soon, but am still looking forward to walleye fishing three-to-four trips per week or so in July and August. Mid-September until the end of October is typically good walleye fishing on Leech Lake too, I still have many dates available for fall fishing.

Not too many of these in South Carolina.

Tiana with the fish of the day! 

Limits of quality eating sized walleyes are the norm during the first six weeks or so of the season. 

Contact me now to get good dates on my 2019 calendar.

Stormy day limits.

Mid-lake fish. 

More mid-lake action.

Sunny day slab of a walleye.

Grip and grin.

A nice cold-front fish.

Reef donkey.

Tough conditions but getting it done.

Digging them out of the weeds.

A nice golden fish from shallow water.

A rare triple! 

21" Smallmouth Bass for Chris, the biggest I have seen! 

Cheers and hook-sets! 

Capt. Phil Bauerly 

Walleye Opener Success- Leech Lake

It's been a great start to the walleye season, awesome weather and a darn-good bite.

Nice fish are scattered in loose schools in 5-10 f.o.w. If you have side imaging, you can locate these concentrations a bit quicker. 

The fish are biting in windows, so you may have to grind a bit until the bites come. 

 Avoiding crowds and getting the bait away from the boat seems to help. 

Jigs and 4" plastics are getting hard bites when the standard minnows get denied. 

I'm looking forward to putting more of these golden fish in the net in the weeks to come. 

Cheers and hook-sets! 

outrightangling.com