Tom with a nice keeper walleye while Phil fishes on.
By Jared Saufferer
Another opening weekend has come and gone at Bowen Lodge and it started out hot; in more ways than one. With the unseasonably warm weather for this year’s opener, anglers were greeted with temperatures in the mid to upper 70s and a lack of wind for a majority of the weekend. However, the uncharacteristic weather did little to stop a ferocious walleye bite.
Gazing out from the Bowen Lodge marina early Saturday morning, several bars in Cutfoot Sioux Lake held small numbers of boats actively working short breaklines. Those boats were able to stay away from the larger crowds and hone in on their own pods of walleyes. The fish were hungry and on the prowl in 8-12 feet of water.
Heading out to Lake Winnie, anglers were scattered all over the lake searching for the hottest bite to start their opener off right. Areas of the lake that had the most pressure were Three Sisters, The Dugouts, The Dishes, and the Sugar Bay area. Most anglers focused on depths from 10–16 feet of water and even deeper as the day went on due to a calm, windless lake, which seems to rarely be the case for any opener.
Many of the fish being caught in these areas were from the 2018 and 2019 year classes of walleyes that are abundant in the lake at this time. The average size of these fish ranged from 8 to 13 inches. Most of the fish that have made it into the frying pan are part of that 2018 year class, and we have encouraged our guests to keep fish that are over 13 inches. Boats also caught fish in the protected slot (18-23 inches). These fish are healthy and heavy, so tighten the drag and get ready for a great fight.
The bait of choice for most was the traditional jig and minnow technique. Simple, yet effective for these early season walleyes. ⅛ oz jigs tipped with a shiner or a fathead both produced fish at an equal pace. Fatheads did seem to have a better hook up ratio due to some of the walleyes being a hair smaller. Often, shiners would come back with scales missing, skin peeled down, or with just a head. It was key to be patient and wait for the fish to grab on.
The water clarity on Lake Winnibigoshish seemed more clear than everyone expected for fishing opener, as well. It was important to keep the jig and minnow away from the boat as much as possible. Successful boats used electronics to their advantage in locating fish and pitched or casted to schools of walleyes, making a huge difference in catch rate and avoiding spooking fish in calm water.
There was also a large number of perch and northern pike that made their way into many boats and the fish cleaning house throughout the weekend. These fish seemed to be more active during those times of calmness during the “Midday lull” that seemed to have taken place on both Saturday and Sunday for many anglers.
Crappies were caught on Friday before anglers were off for the 2021 fishing opener in Cutfoot Sioux and Little Cutfoot Sioux. The average size fish that came in was impressive and what many know as a “dinner plate,” or slab, some even extended past 14 inches.
With some rain and low pressure systems in the forecast, we expect the jig and minnow bite to continue to be effective for the next several weeks. This time of the year fish hover around the first break line, moving into deeper and shallower water depending on light, wind, and temperature.
