With only 1 week remaining before the Minnesota Fishing opener, we’re excited to share our optimism for a great fishing season on Cutfoot Sioux and Lake Winnie!
Bowen Lodge Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux 2025 Fishing Outlook
Survey data from MN DNR 2024 Fisheries assessments are in, and this week, Dan Schermerhorn, the large lake specialist for the MN DNR Grand Rapids, MN region, shared his insights into lake data for the Winnie-Cutfoot chain of lakes and flowages.
Walleye anglers will most likely notice a change in the average size of the fish they catch this season. Walleyes from the strong, 2019-year class remain plentiful, and have grown! After analyzing 2024 data, Schermerhorn estimates that the average length of female walleyes will be about 19 inches during spring. Their 2019 male counterparts should measure somewhere between 17-1/2 and 18 inches on opening day.
Walleyes from the 2019 year class are growing larger, about half will be in the protected slot on opening day
In 2024, our guests, fishing guides and friends who fish Winnie a lot, reported catching fish from other year classes too. The strong, 2018-year class remains well represented, and there were numerous fish in the 20-to-22-inch size range caught last summer and fall. Those larger, 2018 fish, combined with females from the 2019-year class will offer “catch and release” anglers lots of chances for pretty pictures of mid-size walleyes.
Summer and fall testing revealed that 2020 was not a successful spawning season for walleyes. The low success rate can be explained in part to spring weather conditions. But were also likely due in part to increased predation from the high 2018-2019 populations of hungry walleyes. Yes, walleyes eat walleyes, so fish that did hatch during spring 2020 were at higher-than-average risk of becoming a prime food source for their larger cousins.
Walleyes spawning during 2021 fared somewhat better, but statistically, the capture rate of the 2021-year class was shown to be below average. Still, reports from anglers on the lake did indicate that fish from that size range were caught. We did observe “modest numbers” of fish in the 13-to-15-inch range showing up in the fish cleaning station. So, anglers can expect to catch at least some fish in what many consider to be the ideal eating size range.
The 2022 season appears to have been another “bust” for walleye spawning. However, Schermerhorn is cautiously optimistic that walleyes hatched in more robust numbers during the spring of 2023. “It’s unlikely that the year class will be a strong as 2019, but so far, it looks good. We’ll know a lot more when summer testing begins this year, and we learn how those fish survived over this past winter.” Schermerhorn said.
In 2024, anglers reported catching good numbers of small walleye from the apparently good 2023 year class
Anecdotally, our guests and some of the local guides did report catching lots of small walleyes last summer and full. Fish in the 8-to-11-inch size range were found in a variety of locations around the lakes, and were caught in large numbers. It’s unlikely that those 2023 walleyes will attract much attention during the upcoming season. They’ll be a welcome sight though for folks who plan on fishing Cutfoot Sioux and Winnibigoshish during 2026 and 2027 seasons.
Winnibigoshish has historically been known for the fast growth rates of its walleyes, and other fish. Recently, there have been signals that growth rates have slowed on the big lake. The slower pace of fish growth is likely a sign of the impact of zebra mussels on the lake’s water.
Declines in zooplankton correspond to increasing water quality
Zooplankton, the primary food source for tiny, newly hatched gamefish, are also the primary food source for the filter feeding zebra mussels. Zebra mussels, along with other filter feeders like faucet snails, which are in direct competition with gamefish and minnows, have reduced zooplankton by around 40%. Studies are ongoing to determine whether this is a long-term change, or if the balance of nature forces mussel populations downward.
“Also related to declining zooplankton, we think, is a decline in the lake’s tullibee population.” Schermerhorn says. “There are other factors like warming water temperatures, strong populations of small minnow and gamefish species. A cool, cloudy summer causes some decline in zooplankton populations too, and all of these factors have to be considered.” He concludes.
For our guests, and most fellow anglers, tullibees are not considered a target fish to catch. But to our lake’s gamefish, especially northern pike, they are an impressive source of nourishment. Lakes with strong tullibee populations consistently produce larger pike, musky and trophy size walleyes. The declines in tullibee may explain, in part why northern pike growth rates on Winnibigoshish have stalled.
Today, Winnie has a strong population of small size northerns. Fish in the 18-to-24-inch size range, primarily, male fish, are the most plentiful. There are some larger female pike in the 24-to-30-inch size range, but trophy fish, over 30 inches are hard to come by. Expecting the lake to “come around” on its own is simply too much to ask. Even intervention by anglers is not likely to help solve the size issue.
As conservation-minded anglers, we do know that the best thing we can do is to utilize the small pike under the 22-inch protected slot for eating. At the same time, we know that releasing larger pike, all of them, is the only practice that might lead to larger pike in the future. Fisheries biologists agree, the best way, perhaps the only way to control small, stunted pike populations is to allow larger pike to eat them. By releasing larger pike, you are at least giving Mother Nature a chance to work her magic.
Be on the lookout for a feature article coming soon about northern pike, their growth rates and how we can help the lake produce more bruisers in the future.
Yellow Perch, as many of our guests know has been an on-again, off-again story over the past few seasons. Beginning in 2018, there was an acceleration of perch growth rates. At the same time, there were declining capture rates during the summer fall testing. As a result, many anglers have enjoyed catching good size fish, often in the 10-to-11-inch size range, over these past few seasons. The problem is that locating them requires above average effort, and that’s resulted in hits and misses.
Apparently, we’ll be seeing a reversal of that trend soon. During 2023 and 2024 testing, fisheries staff have seen increasing numbers of small perch. On the accompany chart, you can see the ‘catch per effort” or CPE of yellow perch increasing. Even though the news is already good, those test results are likely subject to revision. Schermerhorn, “At age 2, there are a lot of perch that remain too small for the test nets to capture. At age 3, many of those fish will have grown large enough to be captured in the mesh size of our test nets. Even though the age 2 perch population is already high, it’s logical to believe that we’ll see even higher numbers later this season when testing begins.”
Winnibigoshish yellow perch population is on the rise
Even at age 3, perch from the strong 2022 year class won’t attract the attention of most anglers. But having them in the system, and seeing them throughout the summer will provide an optimistic image of what lies ahead for the 2027 and 2028 fishing seasons, when they will reach more attractive sizes.
Panfish are important to our guests and become the primary focus for many during the mid-summer, “family fishing” period. Most of the DNR fisheries testing overlooks population assessments for crappies and sunfish. However observations provided by our guests, fishing guides and fellow anglers over the past couple of seasons have been consistent; crappies have mainly been elusive.
Crappie populations do still exist, and there have been periods when fishing for them has been good. Still, there is an apparent “low ebb” now. The thing about crappies is that we seldom become aware of a new year class until they reach catchable size. There may well already be a strong, up-and-coming population present, and we just don’t know about them yet. We’ll be watching, and reporting about crappies all summer long, so be sure to stay tuned.
Sunfish, on the other hand, have provided our guests with fantastic action in recent seasons. The bluegills, pumpkinseeds and other sunfish varieties have been both plentiful, and of quality size. We see no reason not to expect another season of good fishing for sunfish. Again, these fish often become the target of families vacationing during mid-summer. You can count on us to provide updates throughout the fishing season.
Whether you’ll be staying at Bowen Lodge, or not, we’d like to invite you to take advantage of our boat landing over the fishing opener. The cost is affordable, and we can help you avoid large crowds that will gather at the public boat ramps, especially during the early season. We’ve got live bait, gas, and refreshments too, so be sure to stop in when you’re in the neighborhood.