Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux Fishing Report September 19, 2025
Last week, we reported that summer had past, and that water temperatures had been driven down to the lowest of the low 60s. The cooler temperatures triggered early fall movements of walleye, perch and northern pike. Some fish relocated from deep, mid-lake structure onto shallow water flats. Some relocated from heavy shoreline vegetation that begun dying and showing up on those same shallow water flats. The result, scenes like the one you see pictured here, large, mixed schools of perch, pike and walleye, feeding on minnows and small, young of the year gamefish.
This week, summer-like weather returned, water temperatures rebounded into the upper 60s. Under sunny skies and warm temperatures, algae blooms held up and water, while clearing, remains moderately stained. So, in most regions of the lakes, the schools of migrating fish remained in place, and can be found on all 4 sides of the lake.
At the same time, travel conditions on Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux have been favorable. We can’t say that the action has been fast, but on most days, folks who search for active fish have been able to capitalize on an uptick in feeding activity; particularly improved has been perch action. Perch locations vary, but there are 2 main strategies for finding the best spots.
First, shallow patches of wild celery, known also as eelgrass are a preferred habitat for perch. Key water depths range from 2 to 6 feet and most common locations are in the outer flowages, and back bays. Explore the vegetation by either drifting or slowly trolling while fishing with jig and minnow combinations. Once encountered, anchoring, or “spot-locking” works well because the tightly formed schools of fish seldom move away from this type of cover.
Second, flats that feature low-lying grasses also hold good numbers of perch, mixed with walleyes and pike. Keye depths vary but generally range from 6 to 12 feet deep. On the screen of your graph, the vegetation appears to be thin and wispy, often growing only a foot or two off the bottom of the lake. The cover holds massive schools of small, newly hatched perch and other minnows. Sometimes there are crawfish on the flats too, and when present, they encourage the larger perch, which feeds heavily on them.
Depending on the weather conditions, presentations will vary. Drift fishing with jigs and minnows is reliable, and the preferred presentation on breezy days. Trolling with spinners tipped with minnows is effective as a search method. In some larger regions, continued trolling may be efficient, but when smaller spots, and tightly formed schools of fish are found, stopping the boat and still fishing may be more effective. In recent days, “spot-locking” and fan casting with 1/8-ounce jigs tipped with fatheads has worked well. Experiment with plastics, some days they are effective, and large paddle tails or twisters can help discourage smaller fish and increase your catch rate of jumbos.
Note that we mentioned perch, before reporting about walleyes. That’s because this week, walleyes have often been the “by-catch” for folks who have targeted perch. Fishing on the same, mid-depth flats, using the same primary presentations, walleyes will be caught during the pursuit of perch. So, with at least a half dozen known areas holding these mixed fish schools, anglers should be able to locate and catch some of each.
Hank Milius, Bowen Lodge Guest, Lake Winnie Walleye September 16, 2025
Folks who prefer fishing for walleyes but not in a mixed bag scenario may find some success on mid-lake structures. Large, mid-lake bars like Horseshoe, Center Bena and others hold some fish. One caveat, many of these fish are either too small, or too large to be of interest for harvest. Small, 12-to-13-inch fish tend to dominate the population on the large bars. Secondarily, there are a good number of protected, 18 to 22 inch ‘slot-fish”. So, folks interested in “CPR”, Catch Photo Release walleyes, can find opportunities here.
So far, key depths on the bars range from 16 to 22 feet, and barotrauma hasn’t been an issue. We’d appreciate, and so would your friends who love walleyes, if you would learn about the impact of barotrauma, and avoid fishing in deep water. Catching fish in water depths over about 26 feet strains the swim bladder and internal organs. The deeper the water, the worse the problem gets and in depths over 30 feet, certain death is the outcome for a significant portion of the fish there.
Walleyes, when located, may bite, but they may not. The food supply is incredible right now and the fish are extremely well fed. The secret to consistent catches is to locate several schools of fish and rotate your efforts between spots. It’s common to fish at 2, 3, or more spots before encountering an area where the fish are feeding. Sooner or later, persistent anglers do find biting fish, even on some of the so-called bluebird days.
Some folks are choosing to even the playing field by waiting to fish for walleyes until evening. Walleyes on many of the same flats we’ve discussed already become active as the sun goes down. We hear reports from anglers who troll shallow running crankbaits at sundown and put fish in the boat at a rapid rate. Casting large, aggressive plastic swim baits and paddle tails is also effective, even after dark.
Folks who prefer the cast and retrieve style of fishing would be well advised to remember Cutfoot Sioux. While most folks head out to the big lake for walleyes, there are folks catching fish in Cutfoot. Locating points, corners and clear sandy spots between patches of heavy vegetation is the key. Slow troll, or spot-lock in position within casting range, toss your jig minnow, of plastic tails toward the shallows. Retrieve using a drop-hop-swim-drop-hop-swim presentation. In vegetation, using jigging raps cause problems, but in areas with a clear bottom, these have been effective too.
Every week, we discuss the size structure of walleyes from the 2023-year class. While it is improving, catching fish above 14 inches remains difficult. DNR fisheries folks often comment that harvesting some of the smaller, 13-to-14-inch fish isn’t unreasonable. So, if you’re looking for a fish fry, we wouldn’t discourage harvesting some of them. That said, we’d also like to see a good number of these fish released in the hope that they’ll spawn next spring and then grow to a more attractive size for harvest during the 2026 season. Please exercise good judgement and harvest only what you need, saving some for the future too.
Crappie fishing in Cutfoot, and Little Cutfoot has its ups and downs. Clearly, the crappie population is below average. Folks find some, get excited about the start of a “fall run”, and then are disappointed when the action fizzles out. Guidance about catching them consistently is tricky, but if we notice an improvement, we’ll let you know.
Sunfish are more widely dispersed and may be a better alternative for many. The average size of sunfish has been good, with good numbers of harvestable fish in the 8-to-9-inch range. Remember, Cutfoot, Winnibigoshish and all connected waters are now subject to a special regulation on sunfish. Anglers are allowed to harvest no more than 5 sunfish per day.
Spinners tipped with leeches or night crawlers are still a good search tool for locating sunfish. Stopping the boat, and fishing vertically using a jig, plain hook, or small ice jig are efficient presentations. Tip your lure or hooks with small, cut pieces of night crawler. Hold steady, sunfish prefer slow-and-stationary presentations.
Northern pike are showing up in a wide variety of locations. They can be found on the shallow flats, near cabbage patches, along steep breaklines and on rocks. We see some folks fishing for them intentionally, and the are catching fish casting large jerk baits, paddle tails and bucktails. Many of the pike being caught come from the pursuit of walleyes. For eating size fish, trolling spinners or jig and minnows will get you plenty of them. Casting jigs tipped with plastic swim baits in the 4 to 6 inch size range has been very effective this week. Use a 17-to-20-pound test fluorocarbon leader to protect against bite-offs.
We’re on the verge of what we look forward to every season, the fall walleye bite. Beginning today, daytime high temperatures are expected to remain in the low-to-mid 60s. Surface water temperatures, now in the upper 60s will begin declining again, and as they do, more fish migrations will follow. Feeding activity will increase, and so will the duration of feeding runs. From here on out, the news should get better every week, so stay tuned for more updates.