@A-Jay - I went out yesterday (Thursday) after work - no trucks/trailers at any of the three parking lots/ramps I went to - that should have been a clear sign that the howling NorthWest winds were a bit too much to be on the water - but having waited since last November 2nd to be on the water - well, I went for it - no dock, wind screaming, waves crashing - when I backed the boat in it was rocking from the wind/waves - but hey, I'm Boston born and bred and now 20 years Minnesota weather hardened - which means I don't know how to quit (which has clear pros and cons) - put on my chest waders and snow mobile jacket, used ropes to secure the front and back of the boat to some trees - it took me a good 20 minutes of grunting and pushing (with the oar) to get the boat away from the shore to get in deep enough water to put the trolling motor down (and barely in the water) to try and get to deeper water - it was a rough ride, got tossed all over the place - caught 5 fish (16 inch LMB was the biggest, earliest bass I have ever caught) - for the landing I had to summon all my winter fitness training strength/endurance as I got battered around trying to not have the boat smash into the shore while trying to get it on the trailer (which was swaying from the crashing waves) - lots of swearing and cursing at the wind - somehow I got the boat onto the trailer without getting crushed - the boat was on the trailer crooked, but it was on the trailer - Hoping to get out tomorrow - and yes, I will have a full snowmobile suit as well as shorts and a t-shirt in the boat - the zany weather roller coaster continues

I went with a friend this morning for about 4 hours. We caught 13 largemouth and 3 pike. Biggest bass was 17 inches.

Jerk bait was still producing fish but a bladed jig also produced a bunch too now. Water temp was universally 54-55 degrees wherever I went. Only one particular area was productive and I'm not really sure why either. There is basically zero weed growth out there right now. I'm guessing the water temps aren't going to rise much this week with a day of rain and some cooler temps.

I have the annual crappie contest with my Father and Son in a week.

It was steady rain and cold (mid 30's) yesterday so I did not venture out - but that gave me time to re-spool a few reels - misty/light rain now (Sunday morning) but that should stop around 12 noon - so I will look to go out between 12 and 1, hopefully for 4 hours or so - @gim , thank you for the tip on the bladed jigs, I will get a few ready and give them a go today- I also will bring along some smaller jerk baits and smaller spinner baits

@WaskaCrank12 the bladed jig had to be retrieved at a very slow rate to generate bites, presumably because of the water temp. As slow as you can, just as long as it's vibrating.

@gim - thank you for the info !

I did go out today (Sunday) and the weather was rougher than anticipated - 44 degrees, North wind with some very strong gusts, and the rain came at a steady pace - I threw around a bladed jig, a small spinner bait and small jerk bait for 3.5 hours - no bites, never felt I was near any fish at all - the rain started to come down heavier so I headed toward the ramp - when I got there four boats were also looking to get off the water - so I figured I would throw in a lure as I waited - I threw in a Zed-Man TDR Bugz on a ball head jig - an instant bite by an 8 inch LMB - next cast - bite, 6 inch LMB, next cast - bite, 8 inch LMB - I ended up catching a total of 20 of these small sized LMB on about 30 casts - it was crazy, never had anything like that happen before - this was in about 6 feet of water, rocky bottom, about a 50 yard long area

Got out for the first time this year, on a metro lake. Water temp was 55 degrees. Saw some beds. Picked up a coupla bass here & there, some 15 inchers. Then it happened. My buddy stuck a big one. Just under 22 inches, fat as a football. Biggest bass I've ever seen. Man, this pre-spawn fishing sure is fun.

17 hours ago, Doubles said:

Got out for the first time this year, on a metro lake. Water temp was 55 degrees. Saw some beds. Picked up a coupla bass here & there, some 15 inchers. Then it happened. My buddy stuck a big one. Just under 22 inches, fat as a football. Biggest bass I've ever seen. Man, this pre-spawn fishing sure is fun.

Yee-haw!

Participated in the annual crappie contest today with my Father and Son. This is my 13th season doing it, and the 3rd as a Father-Son-Grandson event.

Stunning day out there. Fishing was pretty good, not great. Between the 3 of us we caught about 20 crappies in 4 hours. Biggest was a 12 3/4 incher. My son got on the board less than a minute in this morning too. He won a Daiwa combo at the weigh in.

4 minutes ago, gim said:

Participated in the annual crappie contest today with my Father and Son. This is my 13th season doing it, and the 3rd as a Father-Son-Grandson event.

Stunning day out there. Fishing was pretty good, not great. Between the 3 of us we caught about 20 crappies in 4 hours. Biggest was a 12 3/4 incher. My son got on the board less than a minute in this morning too. He won a Daiwa combo at the weigh in.

That's awesome

I was able to get out today (Saturday) - the weather was rough, contrary to what the forecast was - wind whipped and gusts howled, some rain lashed in and temps dropped hard during the day (the exact opposite of what the forecast said) - it was a struggle to fight the wind/gusts - my local big lake is wide open so there really is nowhere to go when the wind whips like this (if I knew this would be the case I would have gone to a much smaller lake, silly me for trusting a forecast) - you just have to do your best to stay in the middle of the boat, keep your life jacket on, bob up and down and deal with it - I was limited to what I could throw due to the wind - I caught several Northern Pike (Torpedo Fish) on an EVO Chatter bait, the largest was 26 inches - I caught 6 LMB ranging from 14 inches to 16 inches - 3 on a Mini-Max Chatter bait with a Yama Craw trailer and 3 on a P.D.Chopper "Dead Slow" jig with a Keitech trailer - it was a chatter bait type day

(I hope to go out on Sunday, hopefully the weather/wind is better - I will then look to post pictures)

I have been to Mille Lacs a couple times this month and it was pretty good. Not great, but good. Several quality fish. No particular presentation seemed better than another though. Jerk bait, bladed jig, crank bait, tube, ned rig, and swim bait have all caught fish.

Water temps were in the low to mid 50's. One day I could see dozens of smallmouth in 5 feet of water on a rock to sand transition but very few of them would bite. That got kind of frustrating.

I might try one more time before the fish spawn. Next week looks pretty warm so it will be happening soon. Gonna be hard to upgrade on a 20 inch/5+ pounder though.

Beautiful Fish @gim

5 hours ago, gim said:

One day I could see dozens of smallmouth in 5 feet of water on a rock to sand transition but very few of them would bite. That got kind of frustrating.

were they sitting still or roaming around? The best thing I've found for these fish is a light hair jig fished slowly. A dropshot with a leader long enough to put the hook right at face level, and a finese worm can worm good too. It might be less boring for you to fish if you are sight fishing with it.

@10,000 lakes Bassin most of them were kind of roaming around. Not sitting there on beds, the water isn't warm enough yet. What I would do is mark where I saw them, leave the area, and then creep back and make a really long cast. That produced a couple fish.

I have hair jigs so I will give one a try if I get another chance. I don't do drop shots lol

Hahahahaha! He suggested a dropshot to you!

Congrats on the 5. That’s a great chunk- you use have some good baitfish on that lake with that kind of belly on that fish.

Got out today South of the river.

68F water temps and super aggressive fish. I had a run early in the day where I caught a fish every cast for (possibly) 10 casts. Spinnerbait was the MVP.

68 degrees? Geez, that water temp really went up the past couple days.

1 hour ago, gim said:

68 degrees? Geez, that water temp really went up the past couple days.

I haven't been out in a few weeks but that was pretty surprising. Not quite as surprising as having a 22" Wally smack a full size bass spinnerbait! Never had that happen before today.

Had some fantastic smallmouth fishing today at Mille Lacs. A friend and I caught 20 brownies in about 5 hours. Mostly on plastics. A few on a bladed jig, a crank bait, or a swim bait, but the majority on a small plastic. Lots of people fishing, and lots of boats catching fish too. Biggest one we caught was a 4 pounder. Lots of 3 pounders. The water temp is 57 degrees out there. I think I am done out there until the fall. I didn't see any fish on beds yet but it will be happening any day here. Stunning day out there too.

Good day fishing today! No giants but lots of quality fish. 69F water temp south of the metro. Caught bass on hair, dropshot, spinnerbait and swimbait.