Leisure Outdoor Adventures: Leech Lake Fishing Guide Report

David Badger with a Giant!

I am happy to report that the bite is OUTSTANDING this year with no signs of slowing any time soon. Leech Lake continues to amaze my every day with its diversity of sized walleye. Ever year class from 12-30 inches have been caught with plenty in the 13-18 range that are keepers with the 18-26 inch slot. If we had to go with a single technique right now, it would be Spinners at .8-1mph. The fish are really keying on crayfish in the rocks and sand right now. 12-18ft of water on most wind blown points are holding fish of ALL SIZES. Crayfish and perch color blades work well, if you haven't check out Jolly Roger Tackle's line of spinners, they are tough, durable, and simply catch fish. When pulling these blades, having longer rods can really pay off when you have calm conditions and want to get your bait out away from the boat. We typically like to use theJason Mitchell Pro Walleye Series 8'6" telescopic rod or the 10'6" Pro Walleye Series rods to do this. If not pulling blades, pulling a lindy rig with a slow death hook and crawler would be our second choice to catch these fish. The speed at which you present these presentation is key, so pay close attention to how fast you were going when you are catching fish

Guides Freed and Ernster were out doing some scouting and found back to back 29" and 28" walleyes in 5 minutes.

Although not known for Smallmouth, Leech has yielded 6 smallmouth this past week on various rock piles. Being we don't target bass alot on Leech, our team of guides is confident that with some time, a angler could dial in on them pretty well. 12-18 fish were caught while trolling for walleye on the 10-12 ft rock ledges.

Northern Pike are loaded in the cabbage beds in Sucker and Portage bays. Lots of 30-34 inch fish caught with spinner baits and trolling spoons over the tops of the weeds.

There have been good reports of largemouth bass and panfish being caught in Boy, Steamboat, and Headquarters Bays as well.

If you are wanting to hit the water with us give us a call at 1-855-LOA-HOOK and be sure to check us out on Facebook. We are ready to roll this July. We hope to see you on the water!

Check out some more pics from the last week of fishing