WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
October 20, 2005

All good things must come to an end, and this week has marked the end of the 2005 open water season for me. With the Fall fishing hitting full stride this week, the fishing now ends and the pursuit of Whitetails becomes the focus for many, including myself.

Before getting to the hunting, I must let you know of the great fishing that is upon us during the later part of October. Winnie has the Fall frenzy in full speed right now. From the endless structure of Cutfoot, to the North and East shores of Winnie, one will find some of the best numbers and size since the early Spring. The fish have finally made the full switch to the jigs and minnows and one can find numbers of big 20-24 inch fish along with limits of keepers.

For a wrap on the season, fellow guide Tim Dorholt and I, along with Terry Macenthun, headed for the Walleye infested waters of Mille Lacs lake to hit the full moon October night bite. This season, like last, was filled with endless action on those Salmo Stings. From a 15-lb Northern to numbers of 20-27 inch Walleyes, the night fishing was simply amazing. We did see that after pulling 6-8 fish in each spot, the action would come to a lull and by moving to another spot the action would again pick right back up. We concentrated our efforts on the North end weeds and rocks. While trolling the Stings it seemed the best presentation was 2.0 MPH with 120 feet of line out. The depths varied from 7-10 feet with the largest fish coming at eight feet.

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK:

A Heavy 27-Inch Mille Lacs October Sting Walleye

Terry M with another good Mille Lacs Salmo Walleye

If you're into catching numbers of fish at night and are looking for consistent big bites, the full moons of September and October on Mille Lacs will make for some of the best fishing of the year.

So with deer season now only a couple weeks out, I plan on hitting the woods in chase of the big buck and await for that first ice. Thanks for another great open water season and I hope it cools down soon, so we can get back to bending those rods on those first ice eyes.

Sean Colter
member of the NMLOG's
www.seancolter.com