Heading up the second week in June. Hows the bite in the Brainerd area?

Heading up the second week in June. Hows the bite in the Brainerd area?

Joe,

I went to the Brainerd area last summer to fish the Mississippi but encountered some high water which shut down the river pretty much. As a back up plan, we decided to hit numerous lakes within 20 miles of Brainerd and all of them had good to great populations of largemouth more than ready to hit jigs around the numerous docks or fished around the outside weedlines. These lakes really saved our trip and my only recommendations would be to fish the smaller ones when the wind is expected to blow pretty good, and fish the larger ones when the winds are manageable. Sunny days were awesome because the bass went to the shady docks! Good luck.

Joe,

I went to the Brainerd area last summer to fish the Mississippi but encountered some high water which shut down the river pretty much. As a back up plan, we decided to hit numerous lakes within 20 miles of Brainerd and all of them had good to great populations of largemouth more than ready to hit jigs around the numerous docks or fished around the outside weedlines. These lakes really saved our trip and my only recommendations would be to fish the smaller ones when the wind is expected to blow pretty good, and fish the larger ones when the winds are manageable. Sunny days were awesome because the bass went to the shady docks! Good luck.

Thanks Nick. We fish the Gull Lake chain every June. Great bass fishery. Do pretty much what you suggest only with Texas rigged Power Worms and spinner baits.

Just spent memorial weekend at my dads in the Walker area (an hour or more north of brainerd). We did excellent on small and largemouth. The smaller lakes seemed to be better because the ice was still on the lakes in northern MN not to long ago. By the 2nd week in june they should really start cranking up. The reeds and most other vegetation isn't quite up yet.

Weightless senkos were the ticket last weekend, but we also did well on crankbaits and swimjigs. Surprisingly the big 7" senkos were hauling in the big bass. 5 and 6 inchers were doing pretty good too.

There are so many good bass lakes in the Brainerd/ Walker/ Park Rapids area that you couldn't fish them all in a season.

Good luck on your trip!

Just spent memorial weekend at my dads in the Walker area (an hour or more north of brainerd). We did excellent on small and largemouth. The smaller lakes seemed to be better because the ice was still on the lakes in northern MN not to long ago. By the 2nd week in june they should really start cranking up. The reeds and most other vegetation isn't quite up yet.

Weightless senkos were the ticket last weekend, but we also did well on crankbaits and swimjigs. Surprisingly the big 7" senkos were hauling in the big bass. 5 and 6 inchers were doing pretty good too.

There are so many good bass lakes in the Brainerd/ Walker/ Park Rapids area that you couldn't fish them all in a season.

Good luck on your trip!

Thanks for the report and the tips. Can't wait.