Rapala Original Floater F03
Rapala
The wounded-minnow that started arguments in more Minnesota tackle boxes than we can count. Twitch it, drown it, or just believe in it.
View on Amazongull-lake · 2026-09-17
Brainerd Lakes — Summer Still Hanging On, Eyes in 18–28
Source: Nisswa Guides / Jon Stolski
The matching tray
If the dock talk is real, here’s the tray that matches
Same hardware we already point at on the species and gear pages. Not a secret, not a bite chart — just the stuff that lives in Minnesota boats.
Johnson Standard Minnow Spoon, Gold, 2-3/4 inch, 3/4 oz
Johnson
The original weedless wonder still earns a seat in Minnesota pike boats. Cast it through pads and cabbage, keep a steady wobble, and tip it with a trailer if the fish want a little more meal. Gold 3/4 is the listing we can actually buy today.
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Storm WildEye Swim Shad 03, Fire Tiger
Storm
Pre-rigged soft shad with holographic flash and that WildEye stare that looks slightly judgmental. Cast it along weed edges and riprap when Minnesota bass want a baitfish without the drama of live bait.
View on AmazonWalleye notes →Minnesota walleye classics →Gull Lake →
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The live Brainerd card on MN Fish On was still leaning on Sept. 1 notes. This one is newer: a Sept. 11, 2026 public write-up from guide Jon Stolski at Nisswa Guides (page also stamped around mid-September). We’re pulling facts, then saying them our own way — not photocopying the dock talk.
The weather plot twist
Stolski’s short version: the calendar thinks it’s fall, but the Brainerd Lakes Area is still running a summer hangover. Temps staying way above normal. Fish still behaving like August’s cousins showed up late to the party.
Walleyes: dig a little, then drag a little
Public note: a decent walleye bite on jigs with crawlers or Lindy rigs with chubs in about 18–28 feet. Lakes he named as still producing: Gull, Pelican, and Whitefish. That’s deeper than the early-September “weedline and flats” postcard, so if you’ve been glued to 10-foot cabbage like it’s a loyalty program, maybe give the deeper lane a fair trial.
Bass, panfish, pike — the rest of the boat
Bass: Still working the deeper weed lines on Hubert, Upper Gull, and North Long, with chatterbaits and crankbaits in roughly 12–20 feet.
Panfish: Crappies and sunfish on small jigs and plastics or wax worms — Stolski pointed at Gull, Sylvan, and Lower Cullen.
Pike: A bit scattered. The bigger ones he called out were deeper on North Long, Edwards, and Gull, with deep-diving crankbaits or larger minnows on a heavier jig. (His depth line read oddly on the page, so we’re sticking to “deeper” plus the presentations he named rather than inventing a tidy number.)
Labeled outlook (his, not ours)
Stolski’s closer: the next month is when the bite should get wild for everything. That’s guide calendar optimism, not a fish we counted at the ramp.
Sources:
- September 11, 2026 — Nisswa Guides / Jon Stolski
Confirm current MN DNR regs before harvest.