It is often said that history repeats itself, but seldom do 2 fishing seasons match as closely as we see this season. Remember our fishing report for this same week last year? In it, we offered, “Out are the cold and blustery conditions that tested guests who fished with us last week. In, are warmer air temperatures, sunshine and calmer breezes. Revealed are ultra-clear water, along with flighty walleyes.” For more, read the full Bowen Lodge Fishing Report May 25, 2025
The temperatures, both water and air, are tracking closely with those we observed last year. This week, we’ve seen air temperatures rise into the mid-80s and under bright sunshine, surface temperatures increasing dramatically. On Tuesday, dark water areas on Little Cutfoot reached into the mid-70s. The clearer waters of Winnie and Cutfoot managed to reach the 66-to-68-degree range.
Shiners, small perch and other “baitfish” were encouraged to move onto shallow water flats. Walleyes, larger perch and northern pike followed and could be seen without the aid of electronics. In the clear water though, most of those fish were un-approachable. Jake Premo, Jake’s Guide Service said, “There are big schools of walleyes in the shallows by us, on the west side of Winnie. It’s just so clear that all we can do is watch them swim away”.
The phenomenon was echoed by others as well. Walleyes in the clear water can easily spot anglers attempting to get within fishing range. They slowly meander away whenever any boat approaches.
Most attempts by anglers to get a look at the fish before presenting a lure will fail. But for folks willing to troll slowly near the shoreline breaks and make long casts, without first spotting fish, some success can be expected.
Creeping along at boat speeds of .3 to .6 mph, cast lightweight jigs in the 1/16-to-3/16-ounce weight range toward the shallows. Retrieve the lures using a light hop-drop-hop-drop retrieve until contact is reached. On Tuesday, this approach helped our guests Fritz and Penny Becker catch some walleyes, and northern pike too. They were, at times, fishing within sight of our resort. They were fishing in about 5 feet of water, from a boat position held along the drop-off over depths of 8 to 9 feet of water.
On that day, they used live bait, a combination of golden shiners and large fatheads on their jigs. Soft plastics can also be used and there are a variety of baits that will work. Ripple Shads, Mooch Minnows, Keitech Minnow, and Eye Candy are popular choices. The best sizes range from 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 inches, experiment with colors and sizes until to discover your own personal favorites.
There are some alternative walleye locations over deeper weed flats located in back bays, incoming flowages and some isolated portions of Lake Winnie. In water depths of 9 to 12 feet, walleyes, along with a mix of perch, pike and rock bass have been somewhat easier to catch than those found in shallower water.
The developing vegetation, growing over a semi-soft marl and sand mix provides cover for baitfish. Often, these patches of sparse vegetation can be fished using a presentation that one angler calls “mud-raking”. The term refers to casting lightweight jigs tipped with either a minnow or using leeches or night crawlers and using a super slow, hop-drag-hop-drag retrieve.
Reed Ylitalo, one of our preferred fishing guides, used a similar approach to gather a mixed bag of northern pike, perch, rock bass and walleyes this week. “I just creep along watching for pods of fish on my side-imaging and stop when I see something. Then we cast and slowly hop the jigs back to the boat. We pick up a fish or two at each stop, and then move again, looking for more.” Ylitalo advised.
The secret to using this approach is to move slowly and methodically. Boat speeds should be held to .5 mph or less, while searching for fish. Spot-locking, anchoring or deploying a talon is the best way to present your lures. It’s likely the best way to trigger strikes when the sunshine and calm water forces fish to hold tight to the bottom.
Warmer water, baitfish migrations and developing vegetation will improve next week as warmer, stable weather persists. Walleye, perch and pike locations will broaden as their habitats expand. Panfish too, are likely to become easier to locate as water temperatures rise.
Crappies, while not on a full-scale spawning run, are beginning to show up in areas adjacent to spawning territory. Earlier this week, some anglers fishing either Cutfoot or Little Cutfoot managed to catch a moderate number of them. When queried, the secretive fisherman said, “I wouldn’t say we got into ‘em, but we found a few. Some were in the shallows, but most were deeper, located in water depths of 10 to 14 feet along the break lines.”
We expect to see more crappies moving toward the shallows soon, as surface temps approach the mid-60s, spawning activity will intensify and we’ll have a report again next week.
As we reported last week, perch populations are roaming the flats. Not much has changed in that regard, and for most folks, perch continue to show up as a by-catch of their walleye fishing rather than through targeting them specifically. This is a period of the season when perch are notorious for being absent. But often, the ones we do find during early summer will be in cabbage, coontail or other mixed vegetation. If you’re searching for them, try areas like these first.
Northern pike continue to be found in good numbers along steep, shoreline-related bars. Focus on water depths of 10 to 18 feet, troll or drift the edges using 1/8 to ¼ ounce jigs tipped with larger minnows, 4-to-5-inch golden shiners are ideal, but most any minnow variety, if it’s on the larger side, will work. Use an aggressive snap jigging presentation to trigger strikes.
Already mentioned earlier in this report, northern pike are showing up over developing vegetation on the mid-depth flats too. Historically, this is a period of summer when locating baitfish almost always leads to finding hungry pike. Follow the ageless advice, “find the bait, and you’ll find the fish.” Paddle tails, 3-1/2 inch up to 4-1/2 inches on longer shank jigs area a good choice for targeting pike. Fan casting the flats, and retrieve using a fast snap-swim-snap-swim retrieve will put some pike in the boat.
Travel safely this weekend and remember, you’re always welcome to pay us a visit. We have a great boat ramp, live bait, boat fuel and tackle. And for folks in the market for quality cutlery, Bowen Lodge is a Benchmade dealer. The water series fillet knives, along with dozens of other Benchmade products, are available here, in our lodge.