Detroit Lakes Fishing Report: Extended Edition (9/23/25)

10-Day Forecast through October 3rd

Let’s talk weather.  In my experience, walleyes are most active when weather is consistent for an extended period of time–no matter if it’s warm, cold, sunny or overcast.  It is for this reason that I was excited to see the current 10-day forecast which shows 74°-81° and sunny or partly sunny skies every day!

As for the details, walleye are starting to put on weight for the winter and they are chasing medium to large minnows on a jig, lindy rig, spinner, drop shot, or bobber. I recommend redtail chubs or more affordable sucker minnows. While it's big bait season, I always have a box of crawlers on the boat. The crawlers are a good alternative when the minnow bite is tough, and they are indispensable if you plan to fish for bluegills or bass. Jigging raps are an excellent artificial option as well this time of year.

Low light hours are the best time to fish for ‘eyes, by far, and I mean low light. If you are serious about catching walleye, I recommend including the hour before sunrise or the hour after sunset in your next trip. My favorite time to fish right now is from 7:00-8:30 pm.

The darker the sky, the better the fishing!

We’ve been catching almost all species as deep as 25’ during the day (including big pike and bluegill) and as shallow as 12’ during low light hours. Fish the tips of bars, as well as sharp break lines near shallow flats and wind blown shores.  I've had the most success fishing off-shore structure, but breaklines near shore are still a good option--especially on smaller lakes that lack other options.

On your fish finder, look for big schools of ‘gills or smaller schools walleye, and bass. If you lack confidence when reading your fish finder, the only way to grow is to take a leap of faith and fish anything that looks like a bunch of specks on your screen. You can't go wrong if you do this. Even if you misread the specks and fish a big school of young-of-the-year perch, there will be predators nearby. I'll talk more about this in the coming weeks. Thanks for reading and good luck fishing this week!

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