Tess Taylor with WJJY 106.7 Radio and husband Derrick experiences Leech Lake Walleye Fishing

Being a fishing guide I get to experience many ups and downs as the pressure of success that comes with the fishing day lays in my decision making.  There are many variables that we can control but many that we can't like the weather.  The past few days we have had cloudy windy conditions, which usually means the fish bite and they have, but each fishing trip is a new day fishing as the fish are on the move from spring locations to there summer spots.  Making our decisions on the water even that more important to a successful day of fishing.

Well the pressure was on today!  I had a great opportunity to share the Leisure Outdoor boat with Tess Taylor of WJJY 106.7 Radio and her husband Derrick.  To add to the pressure Tess was talking about how excited they were to go fishing to the listeners and holy buckets if we had a tough day of fishing it was all on me the, "fishing guide".  Well today was one of those days we were greeted with awesome weather fir a day at the beach.  It was flat calm and Sunny not your ideal conditions to put boat loads of fish in the net.  Nervous?  Yes I was to say the least!

I arrived at the Chase on the Lake docks and met up with Tess and Derrick excited to spend the morning fishing but secretively a little apprehensive as I knew that one of the uncontrollable variables was not in our favor, the weather!  Not showing my apprehension I told myself, "The fish are always biting somewhere!" so off we went on the flat calm water of Leech Lake.  Toby, my fishing partner, had found a school of walleyes the day before where we had caught several fish that day.  We pulled up next to him as he was also out fishing.  Toby had been there for an hour and said he had a caught a few but nothing like the day before.  Crap!  Not what I wanted to hear.  After a really good motivational talk to our bait we dropped down to the walleyes I was marking with my graph but they were deeper then the day before.  They wouldn't bite!  So I slid up a little shallower and found another school of fish and boom a bite.  Tess did battle with the fish and to our disappointment a little northern pike came to the surface.  The ice was broken and it didn't take long and I heard Derrick set the hook.  Fish on and Derrick did battle with the first big walleye of the day and then it was Tess's turn with another big walleye.  We were on the board and a little relief was lifted as we had two nice walleyes in the boat but that was it.  The others decided to put their little fin up and say, "not today!" to our bait.  Off to the next spot!

As the fish move deeper a key piece to a walleye fisherman's success is trusting your fish locator.  We drove over a deeper hump and marked a few fish so we made a pass marking more fish but again they said, "Not Today!".  The relief I felt was thrown out the window as I thought they aren't going to bite today but remember, "They are always biting somewhere!"  I had three other spots on my mind, where we had caught fish the day before, but they were about a 5 to 10 minute boat ride, which isn't much, but then I thought to myself, "Let me check one more spot."  This was only about 150 yard area from where we were so we drove over.  This was a small spot that has been so good in the past but the fish haven't used it all year so I was just going there hoping they moved in.  I pulled up to Waypoint 165 and BadaBoom there they were.  I looked at Tess and said, "If we can't catch a fish here, we suck!"  It didn't take but three minutes and Derrick was feeding line to what ended up being a perfect 17 3/4 incher and after that it was GAME ON.  The fish were on a feeding frenzy and it was big fish after big fish!  When we started I had a line down but it got to the point where I didn't even put a line in as Tess and Derrick was putting the hurt bag on em'.  I took some photos and a few video clips of the action which you can view below.  Oh and we stopped back on the fish we marked earlier for one last chance at a big one.  Well again they wouldn't bite so I went out a little deeper marked a large fish and said, "Lets end it on a big one!".  Just when I said lets pack it up Derrick sets the hook and did battle.  Check out the video below!

All I can say is what a day.  Tess and Derrick are some of the funniest people to share a boat with and we found a school of fish that turned what seemed like it was going to be a tough day into an amazing memory!

Remember "The fish are always biting somewhere!"  Sometimes you find that spot and sometimes you don't but as a fishing guide those spots are what we try and find each and ever trip!

If you would like to share a boat with us please click here www.leisureoutdooradventures.com.

"Make a Memory"
Jeff Andersen

*Click on photo for larger view*

(Derek with the first walleye of the day)

(Tess's first walleye for the day)

(Tess caught a good double)

(Tess and Derek with a team effort)

(Picture from the video above)

Leech Lake Walleyes - The big ones are biting

A day of golf at Tianna Country Club, a great dinner at the 502 Restaurant, a night stay at beautiful Chase on the Lake and some great fishing with Steve, Steve, Thor and Baker is what I had the chance to do this week on Wednesday and Thursday.  It was a rain filled couple of days but that didn't dampen our spirits!  It was the first time I had the chance to golf Tianna Country Club and what a beautiful course.  I'm not golf pro like the crew mentioned above but I hit enough good balls to want to play again!  I have to mention that my last chip for the day my club almost went farther then my golf ball as the club slipped out of my hands because of the rainy conditions.  The boys thought that was a pretty funny!  After we had enough rain on the course we decided to go dry off and enjoy a nice dinner and I can't think of too many better spots then the 502 Restaurant at Chase on the Lake.  We sat next to the window looking over beautiful Leech Lake as we talked about the big fish that were waiting for us to catch in the morning!  We chowed down on some amazing food, watched the Minnesota Twins in one of the beautiful lake side condos and we hit the hay in the most comfortable beds in the planet. 

The alarm rang early in the morning and yes it was still a misty windy day but the boys were eager to set the hook on some ol' marble eyes.  Toby and I got the Ranger Boats ready to rock and we hit the water.  Our goal was the catch a few eaters then go for some big ones.  So off to the main lake flats we headed.  After fishing several spots and catching a few keepers, which were very spread out, we decided to head to big fish zone.  Toby had found a school of biting fish and like a great partner called us up and said come on over.  The sun came out and it was game on and it didn't take long for the rods to be bent with big fish giving the boys all they could handle.  After doing battle with some big walleyes we decided to go clean up the keepers and call it a trip. 

Below, of course, are a couple of fish from the trip!

"Make a Memory"
Jeff Andersen

Leech Lake Walleye - Fishing Guide

Walleye Fishing on Leech Lake is on fire and if you like catching big ones now is the time.  Have you check out our website?  www.LeisureOutdoorAdventures.com  Toby and I had the chance to take out the guys who built it fishing the other day and what a day!  In my boat was Luke, the code writer for the website, and his brother Gabe.  In Toby's boat was his brother Shane, our web designer, and their Dad, Dean. 

These guys were an absolute blast and I only wish all of my guided fishing trips went this well.  I asked the guys, in the morning, do you want to go for numbers or would you like to go for big ones?  Both Luke and Gabe said, "Go big or go home!"

BIG it was and off we went.  We fished with crawlers, leeches and red tail chubs on a long 7 foot rig with both 3/8th once weight and up to 1/2 once.  The fish early in the morning were positioned on top of the rock reefs and as the day progressed and a few fellow anglers driving over the spots the fished pushed off to the deeper edges but it didn't seem to slow them down.  We went BIG and the boys put a hurt bag on the big walleyes! 

Toby's boat also did well on the big walleyes with the big fish, a 29 incher, between the two boats.  Our biggest was 27.5 along with two others over the 26 inch slot and several fish just under.  We also caught a few limits of keepers mixed in with the big ones.  Here are a few photos of the trip.

Thanks to Luke and Shane for the amazing website and for the memory of an awesome day fishing!

"Make a Memory"

Jeff "Breezer" Andersen

Mille Lacs and Leech Lake fishing Report posted by Leisure Outdoor Adventures at 7 minutes ago Tags: Walleye, Minnkota, Ranger Boats, St.croix, Live Bait Rigging Leisure Outdoor Adventure web designer Shane Kvalevog posing with one of his Leech lake walleyes. Mille Lacs Lake Fishing on Mille Lacs lake continues to be fantastic. I had the opportunity to fish the lake twice this week. Once with my 10 yr old son Hunter, and Father in Law, Cy. The 2nd was on a guide trip with the boys from Graphic Packaging out of Brainerd. We fished the mud and North end sand during these two outings. Both areas are hot. I would say that the north end sand was a bit more consistant for keeper (under 18) inch fish. Tactics varied for the two areas. Leeches and Crawlers on the sand, while spinners with crawlers seemed to be preferred out on the mud. The sand bite was best in 22-24ft. The mud bite was going on the edges of the flats in 24-29 ft of water. Web host Luke Davidson (left) and Leisureoutdoor adventure owner/guide Jeff Andersen holding one of manyLeech Lake monster walleyes. Leech Lake, Had a chance to get back up on leech again yesterday for a trip with our Website Crew, Shane and Luke. These guys were a blast to have in the boat. We had a long day on the water (13 hours). The day went fast though with fantastic fishing. We boated 4 fish over the 26" protected slot and 8 keeper fish with several fish in the slot over 22 inches. The Walker Bay fish continue to like minnows on lindy rigs in 22-25 ft of water while the lake fish are showing preference to crawlers. I have been using 1 and 1/2 oz bouncers to keep the rigs close to the boat and out of the rocks. This method is effective to cover water quickly. Once a school of walleyes have been located, stay on them with short passes back and forth. This method has been good to find somewhat scattered fish. On the main lake walleyes have been in the weeds, on the rocks, and in-between. Big pike are being caught in Walkerbay suspended on and off deep shoreline breaks. These fish can be targeted trolling live bait or with crankbaits in 25-30 ft of water. Get Hooked with us before the fishing slows for the summer! 855-LOA-HOOK Email & More Edit

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West Goose Flats ( Minnesota, United States - 47.186, -94.513 )

Agency Bay ( Minnesota, United States - 47.103, -94.517 )

Agency Narrows ( Minnesota, United States - 47.098, -94.538 )

South Walker Bay ( Minnesota, United States - 47.095, -94.566 )

Cedar Pt ( Minnesota, United States - 47.133, -94.577 )