State fishing report

A breakdown of how the fish are biting across parts of Minnesota.

August 5, 2015 at 5:17AM

Alexandria area: Lake Geneva, Mary, Reno and Milton have produced some walleye action trolling with crankbaits at 15-18 feet near weedlines. Lake Ida or Darling are the best spots for sunfish or crappie action. Northerns can be caught near weedlines on most area lakes.

Battle Lake area: Walleyes are at about 13-20 feet on lakes such as Otter Tail, West Battle and Rush using Lindy Rigs with leeches or crawlers. Donald Lake, Otter Tail and West Battle have produced good northern action at 15-20 feet near weedlines using sucker minnows or spoons. Anglers are enjoying bass action at about 8-15 feet on Donald, West Battle or Stalker Lake using spinner baits.

Duluth area: Anglers are enjoying some productive walleye action on Island and Fish lakes at about 20-22 feet using leeches or crawlers. Fish Lake and the St. Louis River have produced northern and muskie action using buzz baits. On Lake Superior, in the Two Harbors area, anglers are using flash fly lures for Lake Trout at 120-140 feet and spoons for Kohos at 50 feet.

Lake Vermilion: Walleye action has slowed considerably due to cool, windy temperatures but anglers are catching some bass using leeches or plastics at 10-12 feet or bluegills at 6-8 feet. The Little Fork, Vermilion and Sturgeon rivers are producing good walleye and northern action. For walleyes, anglers are using a floating jig head with nightcrawlers or leeches at about 10 feet and bass spinner baits for northerns at deeper depths.

Leech Lake: The evening hours are producing the best walleye action on the humps near Walker Bay using a Lindy Rig with a chub minnow at 15-25 feet or a crawler-spinner rig on Annex and Submarine islands. Muskies are hitting on bucktails or topwater baits along rocky shorelines.

Rainy Lake area: The best spots for walleye action have been on reefs in Sand Bay at 25-30 feet using leeches or shorelines during the daytime at shallower depths. Good smallmouth bass can also be found near shorelines. On the Rainy River, walleyes action is productive in swifter waters both above and below the Ranier Rapids and below the dam at International Falls.

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