Chamber Blog

Park Rapids Area Fishing Report, June 7th, 2009
Unstable weather had kept the fish on the move and anglers desperately trying to stay both warm and dry. However, those who continue to venture onto our area lakes are finding good success, despite Mother Nature’s uncertainty.
Walleye anglers are still catching fish in relatively shallow water, 8-15 feet of water with leeches (the bigger, the better) working well. Nice “eater-sized” fish have been most prevalent, but the larger females have really been active too, with some real trophies boated in the past week.
Muskie anglers started the season last Saturday, greeted by overcast skies and hot action. A number of boats landed nice fish, with a 50.5 inch fish topping the reports. Some fish are sitting on the shallow sand flats, while other, more active fish are cruising the weedlines.
Bass have been quite active as the largemouth finish up their spawn and smallmouth get started. The largemouth have been both very shallow and on medial depth weedlines. A soft plastic bait like Northland Tackles Slurpies Dipstick Worm is versatile and fools the largemouth in both situations.
Northern pike action has been fair, but the size has been better than average. As the water warms and the weather stabilizes, expect pike activity to heighten. Right now, most fish are relatively shallow as they prey upon spawning sunfish.
Speaking of panfish, the bluegill have started to spawn, but were rudely interrupted by cool temperatures, high winds and rain. Nests that were occupied under sunny skies have been temporarily abandoned as the fish moved into weeds in 6-10 feet of water. Those fish will likely return to the shallow water in the next few days.
Larger female crappie have started to move out onto the weedlines, though the smaller male fish continue to wander in shallow reeds, cattails and lilypads. In our area, the “go-to” crappie jig is a 1/16th ounce Irv’s Magic Jig. But expect to catch a few bass, bluegill, and northern pike even though the target is crappie.