With the fishing opener behind us there’s not a lot of time until we will be into summer full force. I look for the bug action to pick up soon. It’s kind of like the old saying, waiting for the other shoe to drop. So far we have been pretty well bug free, and I don’t want to get a lot of hate mail if they do suddenly appear after reading this article.

It’s that time of the year when the fishing reports from around the state are starting to appear. I’ll send a few your way so you can see how the action has been around the state. These reports are from various bait and tackle shops in the state.

Rainy Lake: Fishing on Rainy Lake is excellent! Fishing has been &uot;easy&uot; for virtually every angler that was out over the weekend &045; and that is expected to continue. Most species are in shallow water &045; including walleye, northern pike, smallmouth bass and crappie. All fish are intermingling in the same areas, along windy shorelines &045; in about 3 to 8 feet of water. Bob Jensen, from &uot;Fishing the Midwest with Bob Jensen&uot; was on the Rainy River with his film crew last week. He reported the fishing was great. It’s easy to access, and easy to fish. There are two boat launches in our area &045; one off Highway 11 West (turn at Shorewood Drive, go one block) &045; and another located 11 miles west of International Falls on Highway 11, (Pelland Junction area). Water levels on both the river and lake are low, so please exercise caution when navigating.

Brainerd Area: Last week’s warmer temperatures have improved the walleye fishing in the Brainerd Lakes Area. Gull, Whitefish, North Long, Pelican, and Round lake are all producing walleyes just outside the second weed line. Key locations have been the inside corners and points located on shore breaks. Key depths have been between 10 to 18 feet of water, depending on the clarity of the lake. The clearer the lake, the deeper the weed break. A spot-tail shiner on a lindy-rig continues to be a tough bait to beat. Look for the action to only improve as the shallows continue to warm. The crappies are spawning in the pencil reeds right now on most of the Brainerd Area Lakes. Hubert, Round, North Long and Pelican are some of the best options at the current time. Key locations are the dead reed beds from last year’s reed growth. Cruise the shallows in 3 to 5 feet of water. The crappies will be hanging a foot off the bottom amongst the dead reeds. A pair of polarized sunglasses is a must for finding these fish. Once you find the crappies, most techniques will be effective in catching these aggressive fish. My favorite is a small (1/64 oz to 1/32 oz) tube jig and a casting bubble. These fish are super aggressive, so practice selective harvest. It’s easy to catch numbers right now, so save some for next year. Remember the crappie limit is now 10 fish in Minnesota.

Alexandria Area: Fishing in the Alex area has been good lately. Anglers are catching good walleyes on Oscar and Reno lakes. Most of the fish are shallow (8 to 14 feet) and seem to prefer jigs tipped with minnows. If you can, try a few rattle jigs. Crappie fishing has been very good in pretty much any lake you can get too. Most of the fish are in two feet of water and are very aggressive. It looks like it should be a good bass opener as well.

Grand Rapids: Walleye anglers are doing well across the area. Winnie is producing a lot of slot fish and a lot of small fish. Splithand is also producing a lot of small walleyes, along with the river. Actually, just about any local lake will probably yield a few ‘eyes to a jig and minnow combo. Most of the fish can be found in 8 to 10 feet. Fishing is okay on Winnie and Cutfoot. According to one angler fishing started at 4 feet and moved to 14 feet as the pressure increased. Most of the action is on jig and minnow combos. Walleyes are being caught on the river above Cohasset and below town.

Mille Lacs: The walleyes are biting out on the big lake. A lot of 20-plus inchers are being caught, but anglers are also catching some keepers. Most of the fish are coming on the shallow rocks. Look for good action during the day in 15 to 20 feet. Leeches, crawlers, and shiners are all producing, with bobbers being the preferred presentation method. Some nice fish are also coming on Rapalas as well.

Mankato Area: Fishing has been Ok in the Mankato area. The walleyes are biting on Madison, but there seem to be a lot of little ones. For panfish try Washington, although the bite has slowed a bit. You can also try Francis. The cats are also hitting fairly well on the river.

These are just some of the reports from areas around the state.

The big fishing talk in my family this past week was the fishing adventures of three of my grandsons. Their grandma would usually take them to fish in the creek at her home-place in Twin Lakes. It is always a thrill to see the kids fighting a big carp in the creek.

As the kids were fishing my daughter-in-law, Kim noticed my 2-year-old grandson, Grant, leaning over the water and tugging on his fish pole. In an instant he let out a yell and started screaming &uot;a fishy got my pole!&uot; &uot;A fishy got my pole!&uot;

It seems that this big carp grabbed the bait and took off with the fishing pole, which turned out to be Kim’s. They looked up and down the creek and never did find the pole. The poor kid might be scarred for life after that one.

They had to call Grandpa and Grandma and tell them; of course he was still so excited that’s all he could say &uot;a fishy got my pole!&uot;. This was repeated several times over the phone.

If he still remembers it when he gets older he will really have a fish tale to tell.

Good Luck and Good Fishin.’

&045; &045; &045;

On this Memorial Day take time to remember those that are serving now and those that have gone before them.