Lake Winnie, Cutfoot Sioux and Connected Waters Walleyes, Pike, Perch and Panfish Report
We are heading into the Independence Day holiday weekend on a warm note. And as the sunshine warms the waters of Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux, productive summertime fishing patterns for walleye, perch and panfish have taken hold.
Oliver Goodwin with one of his many “First Ever Walleyes” Lake Winnie, July 1, 2025
Surface temperatures on the big lake range from 71 to 73 degrees, and back bays with darker, calmer waters are running warmer, 74 to 76 degrees in some areas. Vegetation is maturing too, cabbage, coontail and many of the “pondweed” varieties are green and thick. Wild rice beds are starting to stand tall above the surface, and bulrushes are green and mature too. All plants, no matter where they grow, provide cover habitat for fish of all species, including the most popular game fish pursued by our guests.
During the warmup, insect hatches began emerging and hatches of many insects continue today. Fishing for walleyes during any “bug hatch” can be challenging, but in many ways can be rewarding too. Finding the areas where maturing insect larvae is most likely to emerge will lead anglers to success. Where maturing larvae exists, minnows, small gamefish and predators will be nearby; all participating in the “summer peak” food chain cycle.
Mayfly hatch, still occuring, but winding down on Lake Winnie 7-1-2025
Marl, the mixture of semi-soft, clay, sand and shell pieces are prime real estate for bloodworms, fish flies and mayfly larvae breeding grounds. Marl can be located anywhere, and in every water depth from 0 to 40 feet, but on Lake Winnie, mid-lake humps, and sprawling flats are 3 key regions to search.
· On “the humps” the hard sand or light rock in 14 to 20 feet of water, transitions to softer, often marl bottom. Look for the transitions in water depths of 18 to 26 feet. On your electronics, the “hardness” of your bottom reading will reveal these transitions in one way. Another way to detect these regions will be locating large masses of food that appear grainy, and cloud-like.
· On the flats, patches of hard sand and gravel, or light rocks will appear as bright spots on your sonar. The soft bottom patches of marl surrounding the “hard spots” are key areas for feeding fish. Again, locating large masses of food that appear grainy, and cloud-like will be key to finding predator fish on the flats.
· Vegetation that is located closer to the shore can also be found in areas where marl is present. Even where plant life provides its own form of habitat, the presence of marl improves their fish attracting capabilities even more. Often, the type of plants dictates the species of fish found in them. Cabbage for example is prime territory for pike, crappies and at times, walleyes. Flat stemmed pondweed, eel grass and wild celery all provide ideal fish catching habitat popular gamefish species too.
Sam Goodwin with nice Lake Winnie walleye July 1, 2025
Trolling presentations are coming into their peak of effectiveness now. Families, like the Goodwins (pictured throughout), have fished this week using spinners tipped with minnows and caught a mixed bag of walleyes, pike, perch and rock bass. For Sam and Oliver Goodwin, trolling the mixed cabbage and flat stemmed pondweed provided enough fish for an evening fish fry, feeding the entire family of 9, and even some friends who stopped by.
Trolling spinners over the cabbage beds isn’t complicated, a 3/16- or 1/8-ounce bullet sinker, ahead of a small swivel and a single hook, single blade spinner is all you’ll need. Most popular are #3 hammered gold, hammered copper or hammered silver Indiana style blades with 4 or 5 orange beads. Experiment with other colors and beads too though, you never know when one color will appeal to fish on a given day. Fluorescent red, chartreuse, green and orange combinations are popular choices too.
Spinners work effectively on the flats, and in deeper water too. The only change required will be the sinkers used to deliver them to the correct fishing depths. On the flats, slightly heavier, ¼ ounce bullet weights will get the job done when water depths range from 12 to 18 feet deep. Bottom bouncers, egg sinkers or No Snagg sinkers are popular choices for deeper breaklines in water depths of 18 to 26 feet. For bottom bouncing, the rule of thumb is 1 ounce of weight for every 10 feet of water depth.
Trolling speeds can vary slightly but target 1.0 to 1.2 MPH for maximum effectiveness under most circumstances.
Crankbaits, another popular option for trolling, have been reported effective recently too, but mostly used on the mid-depth flats, not over deep water. Lures that run 8 to 14 feet deep are good, and there are many brands including Salmo, Rapala, Rebel and Storm that produce well on Winnie. Key colors include blue chrome, black chrome, orange pearl, purple pearl, Firetiger and the ever-popular “clown” color.
On sunny days, and when the water is calm, trolling effectiveness can be greatly improved by using planer boards. You’ll need some specialized gear to use them, but anglers who have rod holders, medium heavy rods and reels spooled with 10-to-12-pound test line should consider adding a couple of yellow birds, or other inexpensive side planer boards to their arsenals.
Panfish, perch and crappies can all be located using the spinners for trolling. At times though, stopping and focusing on a particular fish species may be more efficient. For example, one of the local guides used spinners, tipped with ½ night crawlers to locate a school of bluegills in a large, free standing cabbage patch. Once discovered, the spinners were stowed away and small jigs, tipped with cut pieces of night crawler and clip on floats were used to catch more of the sunfish.
Oliver Goodwin with “eater size” Lake Winnie Northern Pike July 1, 2025
Likewise, perch can be singled out using the same trolling, locating and stopping approach too. Once found, jig and minnow, live bait rigs and minnows or some of the perch imitating plastic tails will be effective.
Northern pike, sometimes undervalued by folks who prefer to catch walleyes, should never be overlooked. Plentiful 18-to-21-inch pike make up most of the supply of “legal keepers” on both Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux. These northern pike may not appear to be impressive in the fish cleaning shack. But impressive they are once you apply a coating of fish powder and fry them up in your frying pan! Not only are these scrappy fish delicious to eat but they provide fast fishing action as well. For active kids, like 9-year-old Oliver Goodwin, they can turn a decent fishing day into a great one!
Mixed bag of walleye, northern pike and perch made a fabulous fish fry for the Goodwin family and friends
Crappies, the missing link, have illuded many of our guests. Folks who do report catching them are fishing during low-light periods when the fish go on short, but intense feeding runs. Focus on the steep breaklines that run parallel to stands of mixed cabbage, coontail and flat stemmed pondweed. Crappies hold tight to these plants during daylight hours, but will move along the outer edges, and over the tops of submerged vegetation as they feed. Often, fish can be seen cruising, just below the surface during early morning.
For early morning risers, a slow sunrise float along the shoreline can reveal the locations of these, and many other species of fish. Use the calm water, and quickly determine where fish are located first, then go back and fish for them using small jigs tipped with plastic action tails. Cast into pockets and gaps, the retrieve your lure using a drop-swim-drop-swim retrieve. Hang on tight, because there will be some heavy duty surprises whem bass, pike and walleye grab your bait unexpectedly.
Click on image to participate in MN DNR Walleye Limit Reduction Rules Poll MN DNR Walleye Limit Reduction Poll
On Monday, the Minnesota DNR Fisheries Chief Brad Parsons announced his plan to go forward with a statewide walleye possession limit reduction. Presently set at 6 walleyes, the new limit, if enacted, would allow our guests and visiting anglers to return home with 4 walleyes instead.
We all have our own opinions, but ours is not important, what is really important is that you express yours. Under the rules process, public comments, which do influence how the DNR will move forward, are allowed from now, through August 15, 2025. To participate in the online survey, click the image or follow this link to the >> Minnesota DNR Fisheries Walleye Bag Limit Reduction Proposal Survey. Regardless of your point of view, be sincere and let the DNR know what it is. This is the only way that they can make the best decision; one which will affect all of us who fish for walleyes, long into the future.