Leech Lake Bluegill

After a month of getting caught up with things around the yard and garden I finally got the boat out to do some fishing.  Our destination was Leech Lake but the target species was going to be up to the kids.  They prefer the action of panfish but love to catch big walleye also so I wasn't sure what the choice was going to be.  No matter what, I was prepared to enjoy a nice day on the water with the family.

The kids decided they wanted action and then wanted to go swimming.  So, Lisa and the kids went to the beach in Walker to swim and I put the Ranger in the water to go look for some Bluegill.  I told the kids I would be back in an hour to pick them up.  Good thing I gave myself and hour because just before I was ready to quit I ran into a nice school of Bluegill and the size was impressive!  These were the kind of Bluegill that felt like you were pulling up a garbage can lid out of deep water.  The ones that circle and circle and pull drag but you don't make any ground on.  I knew the kids were going to have fun with these.

I picked up the kids at the beach and we headed back to Agency Bay where I was fishing.  We were targeting large bluegill in 12-19 feet of water.  The action was not extremely fast but we easily caught a limit and a half to eat and released a few giants like the 1 pound 5 ounce, 11 inch Bluegill Cole is pictured with here.  The two biggest Bluegill on the day went 1.5 and 1.3 pounds, with several more at the 10 inch/ 1-pound mark.  It has been quite a while since I got into nice bluegill like this.  What can I say, Leech Lake continues to impress me this year and I can't wait to get back.

Speaking of getting back, hopefully that means in the next couple days.  I am really looking forward to getting back and hitting the big walleye hard again.  However, with Bluegill action like we had it will be tough to break out the walleye gear.  It was certainly nice to get back on the water and I look forward to many more days on the water with the family before I leave for the FLW Championship in Bismark.