Fishing Report From 1-30-06    

Ice conditions on Winnie and Cutfoot remain good. The snow cover melted away to practically nothing last week and most of the lakes surface is down to clear ice. This has helped to keep the ice fairly good and even though it’s not making much new ice, we’re not losing any ice either. Without snow cover, driving on the lake looks good and people are moving around freely. Ice thickness is about 20 inches around most of the big lake. Weekend traffic is moderate, with several larger groups of fishermen. Mid week, there have been smaller groups and individuals fishing in a variety of locations.

     The 30 foot depths have started producing nice fish this week. There are also some groups fishing the shallower water in Tamarack Bay and down in Musky Bay. Reports are that these anglers are catching fish, but doing a lot of sorting to get keeper size fish. Mornings until about noon or so have been better than afternoon fishing.

     On Monday afternoon, it was really easy to see fish on the depth finders, but the fish were sluggish and had to be left alone to trigger a bite. No action on the jig and letting the fish come to the bait slowly was the only good way to catch one. Fishing the Perch almost like you would Crappie fish, smaller jigs tipped with live minnows are better than big flashy baits right now. Try using a bobber on one rod and lightly jigging with another.

     There are still some Walleyes coming from Cutfoot Sioux. Weed edges are the best spots and the tips of shallow points with weeds nearby are producing both Walleye and some good Perch. Water depths as shallow as six feet and out to maybe 10 feet are where the most action is. A copper colored Swedish Pimple about a inch long and tipped with a minnow head has been good.

     Panfish action in Cutfoot? We’re not really sure, most people have shifted to Perch fishing. The crowds fishing the deeper water back in Macavity Bay are light now and we aren’t hearing much chatter. Maybe next week.

Bowen Lodge Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux Area Fishing Report 1-21-06

     Thanks to a nice run of colder weather this week, ice conditions continue to improve and fishing on both Cutfoot Sioux and Big Winnie has been reliable all week long. The plowed road system is getting better all the time and travel conditions on the lake are very good. Even though Bowen Lodge is closed for the winter, we love to keep up to date on what’s happening out on the lake, so check back for our reports and feel free to share your fishing pictures and stories with us.

     Perch anglers continue to find new schools of Perch and now there are some good schools of fish located in deeper water as well as the shallower bite that’s been going on for the past few weeks. For most of the winter, the better Perch fishing has been located along the North and West shoreline of Big Winnie from the Mississippi River Mouth all the way up to Third River Flowage. During the past week, reports are getting better on the East Side of Big Winnie, particularly in Tamarack Bay. At least one group of anglers had good action in Musky Bay this week too.

   Folks have been fishing the weed edges and on out to the secondary drop off in about 12 to 16 feet of water. Some of these fish are moving deeper now, so make a move out into 22-30 foot water along the deeper drop off areas too. Perch are chasing large schools of minnows, so you’ll have some spotty fishing at times, but the fish are on the move and that makes them easier to catch. Most of the usual Perch baits will produce right now, but don’t get complacent. The fish seem to bite on one bait for a while and then slow down. When you switch to different bait the action picks back up.

     Even though most folks are sticking with the big lake for Perch, Cutfoot Sioux and Little Cutfoot are producing some nice fish too. The Perch bite is shallower in these lakes as anglers find them in 8-12 water near the weed edges, but out toward the drop off. In Little Cutfoot, there are some Perch coming in from the main lake in about 16 feet of water.

     Ice fishing for Walleye is still consistent, but it’s mainly an afternoon bite. A good approach would be to fish for Perch until mid afternoon and then move higher on to structures for the evening run. Some of the better Walleye spots in Cutfoot are located in the shallow weeds in as little as 6 feet of water. The larger open bars and humps on both Big Winnie and Cutfoot are also producing fish, but try to avoid locations that have been fished hard already. It seems like once you locate a good school of fish, it might last for two or three days, but then the pressure start the fish moving towards a new location.

     With more emphasis on the Perch action, Crappie reports have quieted down for the time being. We’ll try to get an update on the Crappie fishing during the week ahead.