Today, Jens Heig, Bowen Lodge kicks off the season of fishing reports with notes from the 2026 walleye fishing opener. “Another opening weekend is in the history books and 2026 will be remembered for everything big: big winds, big waves and big fish.
Lake Winnie Fishing Opener Weekend 2026
On the opener, a strong, gusty wind out of the north required anglers to earn their fish! With both surface water and air temperatures still in the low to mid 40-degree range, the atmosphere had the feel of early spring. Photos of anglers we received featured folks bundled up in warm winter fishing gear. As cold as conditions were though, fish were caught!
The 2018-19 walleye year class, as we anticipated, was well represented in this opener's catch. On Saturday, many boats landed upwards of 30 to 40 fish, with most of them landing within the protected 18-to-23-inch slot sizes. Walleyes measuring 19-to-20-inch fish were most common, referring directly to the well-known and very large class of 2019. Some of the more experienced anglers reported a catch-to-keeper-ratio of 5 released fish for every 1 fish harvested.
Sunday featured slightly more of the smaller, "Keeper" fish which made an appearance in Tamarack Bay. Anglers located walleyes along the river channel and on shoreline breaks in the Plughat Point neighborhood. We expect to see more of those “Tamarack Bay” fish to be caught in the coming weeks. The bay is an important spawning area for spottail shiners, and small perch. So, as water temperatures rise, baitfish populations will build and attract more hungry gamefish, walleyes included.
The north shore, all the way from the rock pile west to Stony Point, was a popular destination, as well. Walleyes there were found in water depths of 12 to 15 feet. That target depth, which is somewhat deeper than over typical opening weekends, probably meant that baitfish were scattered across the flats and not concentrated on shoreline breaks. Again, as the baitfish begin spawning, they will pull walleyes into shallower water.
Growth rates in both Winnie and the Cutfoot Sioux chain of lakes have been historically strong. That was apparently confirmed by the fish that we saw in our cleaning house, they were footballs. Right now, walleyes are healthy, fat, and vibrantly colored. We’re looking forward to seeing plenty of great looking fish featured in customer photos during the upcoming summer season.
Bowen Lodge has some openings for Memorial Weekend. So, if you’d like to take advantage of improving weather conditions and find some of these fish for yourself. Remember, we have a great boat ramp. Open to the public at affordable rates and we have live bait at the lodge. We look forward to hosting you soon!”
Despite the intense search for walleyes, there are a handful of anglers pursuing perch, northern pike and panfish.
On Wednesday, northern pike began showing up along steep, shoreline related breaks in water depths of 10 to 20 feet. Most folks will catch plenty of them while they pursue walleyes using jigs and minnows. But to target pike, trolling crankbaits along the steep breaks is a good strategy. Long, minnow shaped baits that run in water depths of 8 to 12 feet are a good choice.
Perch and panfish have temporarily taken a back seat to walleyes. Soon though, anglers will get more interested in them, and we’ll have a thorough update for you in time for the Memorial Day weekend.
If you haven’t already, we’d love to have you read the season forecast we published on May 1st. In it, we talk about walleye populations, developments in DNR management, and what fishing trends to anticipate during the upcoming fishing season. Use this link to read the full report, Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux 2026 Fishing Season Outlook.