Ask around at the evening campfires and folks are likely to have varying opinions about walleye fishing on Cutfoot and Winnie this week. Some anglers who know the lakes and have fished here a lot will say that they’ve done well. Some, in fact, have been doing very well! But ask less experienced anglers and they will probably say that they’ve struggled to catch walleyes consistently.
There’s no doubt, walleye fishing has had its ups and downs this year. One day that features fabulous catches can be followed by another that dishes out modest catches. Clear water, bright conditions, changeable weather, and migrating fish have all made contributions to causing trouble.
Walleye location now centers on the lake’s larger bars like Horseshoe, Moses, Sugar and Center. On those “main bars” there are miles of flats, areas where water depths vary little, and fish spread out horizontally. Structure is minimal on the flats, and knowing where to start can be confusing, but for many, the expansive flats have provided good walleye action.
Depending on the specific bar, and its location, water depths range from about 14 feet, down to about 16 feet. Walleyes will be found milling around, feeding on minnows, crawfish or insect larvae. Fish could be encountered anywhere, but finding rises on the flat, especially where gravel or light rock is present will help narrow down some of the better walleye spots.
Aggressive, fast-moving presentations can help anglers find fish on the flats faster. Trolling with spinners is one option, crankbaits that run in water depths of 10 to 14 feet are a good option, and fan casting with jigs and plastics will produce good results too. For a small investment, adding side planers to keep your trolling presentations out, and away from your boat will help a lot.
For anglers who own and use forward sonar units, moving along the edges of the bars in search of pods of fish is an advantage. One walleye are located, “spot-locking” the boat and presenting leeches, suspended below slip floats have been productive. Casting jigs and minnows, or jigs and plastics have also been effective.
Anglers who prefer fishing over structures can find walleyes on some of the smaller, mid-lake humps, but the search could be long. On Winnie, there are lots of humps and for now, relatively few of them host decent numbers of fish. This will likely change soon, and populations will build, but for now, be prepared to move often, and fish only once walleyes are spotted on your electronics.
On the humps, wiggle worming, or Lindy Rigging with air injected night crawlers are productive. Jigs and minnows will still produce fish too and so will leeches and slip floats. One trick that local guides are using is heavier, ¼ or 3/8-ounce jigs tipped with ½ night crawler. Fish them vertically, and slowly, the walleye will engulf the shorter night crawler quickly, so feeding line to catch fish is unnecessary.
Avoiding hooking fish deeply is important because many walleyes have now entered the protected slot. Over 18 inches, but under 23-inch walleyes must be released, and by some estimates, will make up as much as 2/3 of the daily catch. One of the better guides reported this week, “we caught a total of 42 walleyes, and 14 of them were keepers,” he said. Others report varying but similar ratios of keepers’ vs released fish.
Northern pike, valued by many as a bonus fish for the table have been active recently. Finding patches of cabbage in the back bays and flowages will produce good action. There are also a lot of pike following the steeper edges of mid-lake bars.
Presentations depend on where you find fish, but trolling spinners through the vegetation is one great method for searching. A single hook, 2/0 Aberdeen, and a size #3 or #4 hammered gold, copper, or Firetiger spinner blade and a fathead, or small shiner will produce results. The weights you select will depend on water depth and cover type. In the cabbage, a 3/16 or 1/8 ounce bullet weight will be good, along steep breaklines, uses ¼, ½ or even ¾ ounce weights to get your spinners running at the most productive depths.
Jigging with live minnows, or plastic action tails is highly effective too. In the cabbage, fan cast using 1/8-ounce jigs and along the steeper breaklines, use ¼ ounce sizes. Any pike that wants a meal can move fast enough to catch your lure, so jig aggressively for northern pike using a sharp and fast “drop-snap-drop-snap” retrieve.
Trolling the flats with crankbaits will produce pike too. Use larger, fatter and louder crank baits for pike. Many of the rattling style lures are productive, so are brightly colored ones. Firetiger, orange, yellow and red are typically good colors. When you find rocks and gravel. Try some of the crawfish pattern crankbaits, they are highly effective for pike that root around in the rocks, feeding on crawdads.
Panfish and perch action has been spotty this week. Crappies are most often found in patches of cabbage or coontail and are best pursued during low-light periods. Early morning is perfect for moving along the vegetation while casting small, 1/16 or 1/8 ounce jigs tipped with plastic tails. During the evening sunset period, anchoring and fishing with slip floats, small jigs and live minnows will be effective. Crappies will feed, cruising along the edges of the cabbage, or other submerged plants like coontail.
Sunfish have been found in both shallow spawning territory, and in vegetation adjacent to it. With the mid-60-degree water temperatures, it’s likely that they are, or will soon be spawning. Please remember, the temptation to take large male fish off of spawning beds causes disastrous results for the sunfish population. There are numerous sources of more detailed information, but to summarize, male fish’s only job is to ward off enemies of the beds. Without them, the size structure of the entire population declines, and as a result, your fishing will suffer. Keep some smaller fish, females when you can, and enjoy a fine meal. But leave the bulls alone to do their jobs, and we’ll enjoy quality sunfish for a long time.
Traffic at public boat ramps have tapered off now, but you’re still invited to use the landing here at our marina. Whether you’ll be staying at Bowen Lodge or not, you’re always welcome to join us here. The cost is affordable, and you get some perks, like the use of our fish cleaning station, and the availability of live bait, gas, and refreshments too. So, be sure to stop whenever you’re in the neighborhood.