Bite Indicator
🎣 Editor's Pick: Upper Mission Lake (Crow Wing County) — Northern Pike, Crappie & Bass
October fall patterns are here. Water temps have dropped to 55–58°F, and fish across the Brainerd Lakes are making their seasonal moves. Panfish are schooling in 25–35 ft near structure, close to the deepest part of each lake, so find the deepest basin on your map and look for humps, breaks, and bottom transitions next to it. Walleye are deep by day and push shallow onto rock and sand flats at dusk and after dark. As water cools through the 50s, minnows are taking over as the top live bait: red tails, shiners, and fatheads. Pike and muskie are in the fall big-fish window. On the rivers, fish are migrating upstream and stacking up in deep pools and below dams. Shallower lakes are starting to turn over. If fish look scattered on your sonar, try a deeper lake that hasn't turned yet.
Editor's pick this week: Upper Mission Lake, an 882-acre lake in Crow Wing County with a 36 ft maximum depth, about 6 miles of shoreline, and a public access on the north side. It connects to Lower Mission Lake through a navigable channel. The primary species are northern pike, largemouth bass, and crappie, all in good numbers, with walleye, bluegill, perch, and rock bass also present. Northern pike are the headliner during this week's hot fall bite. Big pike are on the last green weeds next to the deeper basin and around the channel to Lower Mission, where baitfish funnel through. A large sucker under a float, a big spoon, or a jerkbait worked slowly along the deep weed edge will find them. Upper Mission has its own pike regulation: all pike 24–36 inches must be released immediately, the possession limit is 3, and only 1 can be over 36 inches. That replaces the North-Central Zone rule. Crappies: with a 36 ft max depth, the fall schools are concentrated at 25–35 ft right around the deepest hole, a small area that's easy to cover with sonar. Drop a 1/16 oz jig with a crappie minnow straight down on the school. The crappie and sunfish limit is 5/day each, and deep fish don't release well, so decide on your keepers before you start. Largemouth bass are slowing in the cold water but will still take a slow jig or a jig-and-minnow on the remaining green weeds in the afternoon. Walleye are a bonus here: try a jig and shiner on the breaks off the deep basin at dusk.
Lake-by-Lake Reports
Gull is in full fall pattern at 55–58°F. As one of the deepest lakes in the area (108 ft), Gull holds its pattern longer than shallow lakes and turns over later, so expect stable fishing until temps approach 50°F. Panfish have moved to 25–35 ft, schooled over structure along the edge of the deep main basin. Look for sunken humps and steep breaks that drop into the deepest water, and mark the school on sonar before you drop. Walleye are deep by day on the east-arm rocky points and sunken islands, then slide shallow after dark.
Walleye: Jigging Rap #7/#9 or jig and shiner on deep breaks and sunken structure in 18–30 ft during the day. After dark, cast or troll shallow-running stickbaits over rocky points and sand flats in 4–10 ft. Crappies: vertical 1/16–1/8 oz jig with a crappie minnow right on the marked school. Muskie: Gull is trophy water and the fall big-fish window is open. Run big suckers on quick-strike rigs near the last green cabbage and rocky points adjacent to deep water. Smallmouth are grouped on deep east-arm rock in 15–25 ft, so try blade baits and hair jigs.
Pelican's clear water makes this a low-light and after-dark walleye lake in October. By day, walleye hold on the deeper north-end breaklines in 20–30 ft. After dark they move up onto shallow sand and gravel flats in 5–12 ft to feed. Crappies and Pelican's big perch have moved to 25–35 ft near the deepest part of the main basin, often on mud-to-hard-bottom transitions. Pike are on the last green cabbage on the north and east flats.
Walleye: Jigging Rap or jig and minnow on the deep north-end breaks by day. After dark, troll shallow crankbaits over the flats or run a slip bobber with a red tail. Use light 8 lb fluorocarbon and long casts in the clear water. Crappie and perch: vertical jig with a crappie minnow, or a small jigging spoon tipped with a minnow head, right on the school at 25–35 ft. Pike: large sucker under a float or a big spoon along green weed edges near deep water.
The Whitefish Chain is one of the best crappie fisheries in the region, and in October those crappies have moved to 25–35 ft, stacked near the deepest holes and the steep breaks that drop into them. Mark the school on sonar and fish straight down. Walleye are on the breaks off the big cabbage and coontail flats in 14–24 ft by day. The channels and neckdowns between the chain lakes concentrate fish as they move toward their wintering basins, and they're worth checking at dusk.
Crappies: vertical 1/16 oz jig with a crappie minnow on the school at 25–35 ft. Remember the Chain's 5 crappie / 5 sunfish daily limit, and decide on your keepers before you start, since deep fish don't release well. Walleye: jig and minnow or Jigging Rap on the weed-flat breaks and neckdowns. Pike and muskie: work the remaining green coontail edges next to deep water with big spoons, jerkbaits, or a sucker on a quick-strike rig. Heads up: duck hunters use this lake's weedy bays and marsh edges, so expect busy ramps at dawn and give blinds and decoys a wide berth.
North Long's mid-lake humps and rock piles make it a classic October walleye lake. By day, walleye hold on the sides of the humps where they drop into deep water, in 18–28 ft. At dusk and after dark, they move up onto the hump tops and rock piles in 8–14 ft. Crappies and perch are schooled at 25–35 ft in the basin, around the humps that fall off into the deepest water. Light pressure all week.
Walleye: Jigging Rap #7 on the sides of the humps by day; slip bobber with a red tail or a jig and minnow on the hump tops at dusk. Crappie and perch: vertical jig with a minnow on the marked school at 25–35 ft (5/day crappie and sunfish limit on North Long). Smallmouth are on the rock piles in 15–25 ft; try blade baits and tubes. Pike: weed edges and points with big spoons or a sucker.
Round is a shallow, weedy lake (40 ft max, 14 ft average), so it's one of the first in the area to turn over. If your sonar shows fish scattered through the water column and the water looks murky with floating debris, give it a few days or move to a deeper lake. With only one real deep area, the panfish are easy to find. Crappies and bluegills are stacked at 25–35 ft right around the deepest hole. Walleye hold on the basin edges in 15–25 ft by day and move to the shallow weed edges at dusk.
Panfish: vertical jig or deep-set slip bobber with a crappie minnow on the edges of the deepest hole. Walleye: jig and minnow on the basin edges by day; red tail under a slip bobber on the weed edges at dusk. Pike: the remaining green weeds in 8–15 ft are the best pike option here. The deep panfish are a boat bite now, but shore anglers can still reach pike and bass on green weeds within casting distance at dusk. Heads up: duck hunters use this lake's weedy bays and marsh edges, so expect busy ramps at dawn and give blinds and decoys a wide berth.
Edwards has sand, gravel, and scattered rock, and it fishes like a smaller version of the hump lakes in October. Walleye hold on the scattered rock in 12–24 ft by day, then push up onto shallow rock and sand at dusk. Crappies and perch have moved toward the deepest basin, 25–35 ft, and the perch often sit on the transitions where hard bottom meets soft. Minimal boat traffic.
Walleye: jig and minnow or Jigging Rap on the scattered rock by day; slip bobber with a red tail on the shallow rock at dusk. Crappie and perch: vertical jig or small jigging spoon with a minnow on the school at 25–35 ft. Pike: weed edges with big spoons or a sucker. Smallmouth: deeper rock with blade baits and hair jigs.
October is migration time on area rivers. Fish are moving upstream and stacking up in large concentrations in deep pools and at the base of dams, including below the Brainerd Dam on the Mississippi and the Sylvan Dam on the Crow Wing. Walleye, smallmouth, and pike are all pushing toward their wintering water, so when you find one, there are usually many more in the same hole. Look for the deepest water in a stretch: outside bends, the holes below riffles, and the slack water and eddies just downstream of a dam.
Walleye: a 1/4–3/8 oz jig tipped with a shiner or fathead, pitched upstream and worked back along the bottom of the deep pool. Go heavier in faster current so you stay in contact with the bottom. A three-way rig with a minnow also works well in the current below a dam. Smallmouth are grouping in deep wintering pools; slow down with blade baits, hair jigs, and tubes dragged along the bottom. Pike: slack-water backwaters and eddies off the deep pools.
Stream trout season on streams closed Sept 30 (outside southeast Minnesota), so leave the trout streams alone until spring. Safety: the water is cold now. Wear a life jacket, respect any posted no-fishing or restricted zones directly below dams, and watch for sudden flow changes.