The fishing in northern Minnesota is hot and it doesn’t matter if you want to chase panfish, walleyes, or even bass. They are all biting! The weather patterns have bounced a little bit making fish finicky some days and gorging themselves others. If you are on a lake when they are chewing, be ready for a fun filled day!
 

I took a friend out recently and we chased some walleyes, catching most our fish in 14-16 feet of water, but some fish were seen holding deeper in 22-25 feet. However, those deep fish didn’t seem to be nearly as active. We did find a few fish dragging a Lindy Rig tipped with a leech. This seemed to be our most productive bite. However, when the wind picked up we decided to troll spinners, which were also tipped with leeches, and landed a few fish as well. Crawlers are starting to work wonders as well. A good buddy of mine, Reed Ylitalo, has been fishing local lakes working weedline edges using crawlers and it has been effective.
 

The weather has been hit or miss lately, but on the nice sunny days it seems as though all the lakes are packed with people. Try to venture off the beaten path a bit. I have been actively fishing the same set of coordinates on my Lowrance, and yesterday there were 6 boats running my line catching a fish here and there. I decided to fish a bit shallower and found more fish. Thus, I was able to be more successful on the water while doing the exact same technique as everyone else!
 

The panfish bite has been good as well. I stopped at a spot I know that usually holds some sunfish and crappies in 4-5 feet of water, and was unable to locate any fish yesterday. I worked hard on that shoreline only to back out to about 6-7 feet of water and locate a few. Using a Kenders Jig tipped with a Clam Maki plastic we were able to slip bobber fish and catch a few crappies and sunnies, all of which were returned back to the lake.
 

This time of year is a great time to get on the water, take your son or grandson out and have a blast catching all the panfish you desire. However, please remember to practice selective harvest and only take enough for a meal and let the rest go.
 

Tight Lines,
 

Chris Berglund
Team Yukon Outdoors