Anglers still bringing in big fish

Ryan Grahek, Blaine, MN took this great northern pike during his camping trip with brothers Jordan and Jake to Basswood Lake. Photos from Babe’s Bait & Tackle
Fishing report
by Captain Russ from Babe’s Bait & Tackle -
Walleye action remains steady for the most part with fish holding in twelve to twenty feet of water. Reports of lake turnover are at best premature. Water temps are still in the upper 50s.
Bait of choice these days has been spinners tipped with a crawler, slow trolled along the bottom, although some folks still rely on a jig and minnow to tempt some into biting.
Best lakes for results have been Fall and Birch, with a few good reports coming from Basswood in the Boundary Waters.
Northern pike are still on the prowl, and they’re hungry. Try fishing spoons and spinners along deeper weed edges. Some fish over forty inches have been taken recently, although most have been in the two to five pound range.
Crappie action has been heating up as well. Cooler temps are triggering a Fall pattern where they start to bunch up.
Fall and Birch have been leading the pack, but smaller lakes like Armstrong, Johnson, and East Twin have been turning out good stringers of crappies, and some fat sunnies. Crappie minnows or some of the myriad of soft baits such as Gulp or twister tails on a small jig will work just fine.