Minnesota fishing guide Brian Brosdahl from Bro’s Guide Service gives us his latest fishing report for the Leech Lake area on June 26th, 2024.
Leech Lake Area Fishing Report: 6-26-24:
Even with some slower conditions the Leech Lake area bite has remained awesome and there’s still plenty of fish to be had. Walleye, panfish, and plenty of other species have been fishing well during the start of summer.
Leech Lake Area Conditions
Leech, Cass, and Winnie are fishing well and anglers are also having success on plenty of smaller lakes in the surrounding area. Right now there is a lot of natural forage in the Leech Lake area lakes that has contributed to a slower walleye bite. The mayfly hatch has been a big contributor to the slow bite. On Big Winnie the mayflies have been hatching like crazy as well. Overall the fishing has been slightly better on the smaller lakes.
Walleye: Leech Lake Area
Location: Key depths have been 17 to 20 feet of water on sandy and hard bottom transition areas. If it’s a windy day target those fish slightly shallower in 11 to 13 feet of water. Anglers can expect to find walleyes on sand flats and wind blown main lake points. A decent amount of fish can also be found on main lake structure like reefs and saddles. The best bite has been early in the morning or late in the evening during those primetime windows. It’s been tough to get walleyes throughout the day.
Tactics and Baits:
Anglers can catch walleyes a number of different ways. Crawler harnesses and spinner rigs has been very effective lately. They can be flatlined trolled, but anglers are having good success using them with planer boards especially on those calmer days.
Pitching a jig and plastics has triggered some reactionary bites. A tungsten jig paired with the Northland Eye Candy Paddle Shad or the Eye Candy Grub has been a couple of good options. Work these baits near the bottom. The best colors have been black and smoke shad. Slip bobbers paired with leeches or nightcrawlers are also working. A 1/8-ounce Northland Short Shank Tungsten jig paired with a half a nightcrawler or minnow is another way to get bit.
Leech Lake Area Panfish:
Overall the panfish bite has been really good. Both bluegills and crappies can be found along the weed edges. Anglers can expect to find bluegills and crappies in fourteen feet of water or less. It all depends on how deep the main lake weed line is on the particular body of water you are fishing. You can use small swimbaits, jerk baits, plastics and hair jigs for panfish. Crappie minnows, crawlers, or small leeches under bobbers are also some great options.
