LOCAL REPORT

Fishing really seems to be up and down, fantastic some days, then a lot of work the next day. The heat and storms seems to affect the fishing.Patterns change weekly. However being able to change daily seems to be the key to success. Rigging Roach rigs with crawlers and leeches seem to be a good go to on a lot of lakes. Bottom bouncers with the Northland Butterfly spinners are also a fast way to find fish and cover ground. Mid lake humps are starting to load up, but not always on top. Use your Lowrance electronics, look for those places that are soft to hard bottom. Fish really like this transition area this time of year. The bug hatch play a big part this time of year. Look for any of these products that are working at Gene's Sport Shop in Perham. The staff will definitely help you out!

Stay Safe

Bret Setterholm

Bret's Guide Service

bretsguideservice.com

218-731-...

"Most the walleyes we are finding as of lately are relating to the cabbage or weed edges, especially if the wind is blowing into them. Rigging leeches at .5 to .8 MPH on those weed has has been a consistent bite with the occasional day of them wanting a big minnow. The jig rap and slow death bite is also starting to produce fish on a day to day basis, and will continue to improve over the next several day. Long lining a jig in shallow water is still producing some of our biggest fish in and around the weed beds, especially if the wind is blowing. We also have been finding some nice schools of crappies the last week hanging off f the steep breaks schooled up and ready to bite a jig rap or a jig tipped with a minnow. It is a great time of year when many different presentations are working, and fishing will continue to stay hot in the days ahead!"

Balcer Brother...

Fishing has been consistently picking up with the water temps raising.  The shiner run has been in full swing improving the bite in the shallower water.  I’ve been finding most of the walleyes on area lakes in that 8-14 ft range.  Jigs and shiners are the key presentation, with occasionally using a Roach Rig as well.  Targeting the new weed growth  has also been another factor in success.  New sparse cabbage is a great area to find walleyes as the bait fish like to hang out there.  Panfishing has been really good in the areas of bays with dark bottoms with warmer water.  If you can, drive along and sight fish for those panfish.  Slip bobber and smaller minnows have been a great method for fishing panfish.  Weather temperatures are getting warmer, consistent weather, means fishing will keep increasing into the summer months!  For all your fishing and hunting...

It looks like summer is finally here to stay! After a cold, snowy and windy opener weekend ( go figure!) it looks like the summer weather is going to finally stick around for good! Water temps right now are cooler than normal considering the time of year, but we have plenty of heat and sun in the immediate forecast which should bring temps up and really turn the fishing on! Walleye fishing has been good on Little Pine, Big Pine, Ottertail, Rush, and other area lakes. Anglers are having the best luck in 4-10 feet of water casting or trolling a small jighead with a shiner, sucker, fathead or soft plastic. As we approach Memorial Day weekend, crawlers, leeches and Lindy rigs in deeper water will likely start to produce more and more fish as the water temp rises. With the late spring, late shiner run and cool water temps to start the season, we have the perfect...

With opening weekend coming up, here is an update on what we have been up to and what the store is going to look like this weekend and moving forward. Our hours moving forward are going to be  7:00 a.m - 5:00 P.M Monday - Saturday and Sunday 7:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Friday , May 8th, we will be open 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. and Saturday , May 9th, we will be open 5:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. We have spent that last several works cleaning the store, preparing for summer, and accomplishing chores and projects throughout the store we have previously put off. Our inventory in the store for the opener is looking good, and are fully equipped with all your fishing needs! Moving forward, ordering inventory has been a little tougher and shipping has been slow, so we apologize for any inconvenience. We are open to normal business, but ask please limit your time in the store and le...

To say that this ice season has been a disappointment so far would be an understatement! Most area lakes have 6-12 inches of ice, and the ice is varying greatly from spot to spot on the lakes. We have gotten 15+ inches of snow on this ice, which is making the lakes flood bad in some areas, and slush pockets are causing a headache for many local anglers. The good news is that the fishing has been good and traveling on the lakes is very doable with small ATVs, and the fisherman who are traveling out in portables are being rewarded. The bad news, however, is that getting a permanent house out can be tough traveling through snow/slush and flooding has been common. There are, however, many permanent houses out on area lakes. It is an odd year for ice, and your best bet is to get out there and explore for yourself, for the conditions vary GREATLY from lake to lake...

I posted a video on our Facebook page on Saturday explaining the current ice conditions, and not much has changed since then except our recent snow fall. On Saturday the MAJORITY of area lakes had 4-8 inches of good ice, with some lakes having even less and some having a bit

more. Before Mondays snow fall there was a few inches of snow on the lakes with slush in areas, and yesterday morning we got hit with another 4 inches. We saw a good amount of small wheel houses going out on area lakes on Saturday, and the extreme cold weather of today and tomorrow should help add to the existing ice. This is obviously not the ice conditions we were hoping for, and extreme caution needs to be used when venturing out on area lakes for ice is varying greatly on what part of the lake or what lake you are on. We are sitting really good on minnows and our inventory is good, an...

Winter is coming, and we are beyond ready for the hardwater ice fishing season. Thanks to the help of our great employees, we have been working around the clock the last 2 weeks to get the store ready for ice fishing, and I can confidently say that the store is about 99% ready for the ice fishing season. We are excited for the change of seasons, and this year we have more ice fishing inventory and new products than we ever have had before. The shelves are loaded, and now we just have to wait. At the start of November things looked extremely promising for early freeze up, but the last few days in lake country have been warm, rainy and windy , all of which obviously do not help ice conditions.  

I will do my best in the next several days when the weather cools down to give a ice report every couple days and report what local anglers are saying about ice co...

It is hard to believe we are already into the month of October... Fall is flying bye! If you are thinking about putting your boat away for the winter, reconsider because the fishing has been great! Walleyes and crappies are biting right now in 25-40 feet of water on shoreline breaks and deep holes on Big Pine, Little Pine, Ottertail and other area lakes. Sucker minnows on a lindy rig are still producing well for the walleyes, and Jigs with a fathead or small sucker are producing both crappies and walleyes as well. Bait has been relatively tough, and it appears redtails and creek chubs are done for the season.  The fishing will remain good all the way until the lakes freeze!

We are also hearing good reports of muskies being caught on the area lakes that have muskies. Throwing lures and trolling big suckers are both producing, and this bite also will only...

As we turn the calendar to July the fishing remains very good! Big Pine, Rush, Little Pine, Star, Ottertail and many other area lakes are producing a very good walleye bite right now. The summer heat has pushed a majority of the walleyes out into the deeper water, and most good reports we are hearing are coming from 17-30 feet of water on mid lake humps, 

 mid lake points and shoreline breaks. Bottom bouncers with spinners and slow depths have been working extremely well, and will allow you to cover more water to find those fish! Lindy Rigging a leech, crawler or minnow has also been extremely productive when you locate the schools of fish. Casting or vertically jigging a Rapala Jigging Rap or a Shiver Minnow is also producing fish , and this presentation will only continue to get better over the coming weeks! Fisherman are still getting fish in under 10 feet...