July 25, 2025 Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux Fishing Report

The news of the week on both Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux are the heavy rains that saturated bogs, and backwater lowlands. As a result, there has been a steady increase in the flow of water from small reivers and streams. With the increase in warmer, nutrient rich water flow comes a decrease in water clarity.

The Secchi disk reading, taken offshore near Raven’s Point on Thursday was 11 feet. Still clear by historic standards, the 11-foot reading represents a full 50% reduction from the 22-foot water clarity we reported back in early June 2025. That’s good news for anglers who have battled ‘boat shy” walleyes, pike and panfish. Reports of sighting fish on electronics, and catching them, in shallow 10-to-12-foot water depths is encouraging.

Walleyes held, and were caught in shallow water thanks to declining water clarity

In the aftermath of thunderstorms that affected our region on Wednesday, perch, pike and walleye action was sluggish. That said, there were still some “catchable fish” and that’s a good sign, we think. If fish bite on the days when they’re not supposed too, action is more likely to be good when weather conditions are favorable.

For now, finding vegetation is one secret to consistent fishing action. Heavy growth, like stands of cabbage and coontail hold perch, sunfish and pike. Less dense stands of submerged plants like flat stemmed pondweed, and other pondweed varieties are holding some crappies, more pike and at times, walleyes.

Surface temperatures rose into the mid-70s during mid-July. But this week they declined and ranged between 70 to 73 degrees as of 7-24-25. The decline in water temperatures is likely to mean that we’ve already seen the warmest conditions of the season. Affected by cooling temperatures, trolling presentations now produce fewer sunfish, rock bass and other “warm water species”. Spinners, tipped with minnows will continue to produce walleyes, pike and perch though, and remains a mainstay presentation for many anglers, especially those who fish on the big lake.

Spinners tipped with live bait is an effective trolling presentation on Lake Winnie

We reported that wiggle worming had been a productive presentation for folks who targeted walleyes on Cutfoot Sioux. Alternative presentations like Lindy Rigging with lively leeches and air injected night crawlers have produced walleyes too. In the fish cleaning shack, one pair of walleye fishermen said, “our catch, 7 keeper walleyes and a half dozen keeper sunfish wasn’t bad, but we did have to put up with a lot of small perch.”

It is true, there are a lot of small perch in the system right now, and they are very good at attacking baits that are intended for other game fish. The gamefish though, walleyes, are feeding on those small perch. So, putting up with the unwanted attention from little perch is unfortunately part of the secret to success in catching walleyes.

Some anglers report that using large swim baits is one alternative to live bait, and a remedy for pesky perch syndrome. Casting to the edges, pockets and gaps in shoreline vegetation with 1/8 to ¼ ounce jigs tipped with 3-to-4-inch plastics will work. Use a steady swim-drop, swim-drop retrieve, allowing your lures to work deep into the cover. Paddle tails, shad imitators and jerk baits are good, bucktail jigs have been gaining in popularity too, experiment and let us know how they work for you.

Last week we wrote, “Walleyes during mid-summer often find small spots of hard bottom structure within stands of vegetation.” Focus on these small, spot-on-a-spot locations and your productivity will rise. In case you missed it, or need a refresher, read our fishing report July 13, 2025.

Mid-lake structures are always popular spots for locating and catching walleyes during mid-summer. During late summer, we expect to see a shift away from the smaller, isolated “humps”. Walleye populations tend to build up on the lake’s larger bars like the Bena Bar, Horseshoe, Moses, Center and Sugar. Watch for schools of walleyes along the edges, where shallower water meets the lakes deeper basin. The most active fish will hold high along the edges or even spread out across the tops of these massive structures. Key water depths are 14 to 24 feet.

Trolling spinners, combined with bottom bouncers will allow for efficient searching. Once located, use Lindy Rigs and Live bait, slip floats or again, cast jigs tipped with swim jigs or paddle tails. Some folks prefer to focus on northern pike, and for them, trolling large crankbaits is effective. Use lures that run 10 to 12 feet deep and focus on isolated patches of gravel or rock on top of the bars.

Walleyes from the 2023 year class are growing, and now range from 12-1/2 to 13-1/2 inches

We’ve been following and reporting on the progress of walleyes from the 2023-year class. Observations from guests and friends on the lake continue to support the notion that there are a decent number of fish from that year in the system. Now measuring at 12-1/3 to 13-1/2 inches, the young walleyes promise to provide some “keepers” soon. We’ve long suggested following a voluntary guideline of 14 inches before harvesting, and its likely fish in that size range will be available later this fall. Harvest sparingly now, and the season outlook for 2026 should be a good one.

Perch fishing has been spotty for our guests this summer, but catches are somewhat more consistent now. Numerous reports of perch feeding on adult crawfish have been coming in. To find larger perch, 10 to 11 inches in length, seek out areas where vegetation and gravel or light rocks are combined. Picture structures where crawfish thrive, and you will have the recipe for location of keeper size perch as well.

We mentioned earlier that there is a strong population of young yellow perch in the system right now. Pesky as these small fish are right now, they will mature, and when they do, better fishing for quality size perch will be available. We’re looking forward to that!

Recently, we reported an announcement by the Minnesota DNR Fisheries Chief, Brad Parsons, about his plans 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 encouraged you to participate in an online survey aimed at gauging public opinion about the rules change. We reported too that the deadline for participation in the online survey is August 15, 2025, and that is true. However, an advisory from our friend Gerry Albert, retired large lake specialist for Lake Winnie, cautions against believing that this survey deadline constitutes the end of an official public comment period.

“The official period to receive public comments will come at a later time”, Albert says. “This survey is only intended to measure public sentiment. So, while it may serve to shape, or fine tune the language used in the official rules’ proposal, the survey does not constitute any official assembly of public commentary about the proposal.” Albert concluded.

We still encourage you to 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. We also suggest that you be prepared to make additional comments when the regulatory public comment period begins.

Cutfoot Sioux, Lake Winnie Fishing Report July 13, 2025

The scene was quiet at the marina this Saturday morning in preparation for our guest roster to change over to a new week. But even as we hustled to facilitate “change over day”, friends of the Bowen Lodge family were out on the lake, checking the fishing conditions for our upcoming week.

“Changeover Day” Bowen Lodge Marina Saturday July 13, 2025

First off, a moderate west wind brought in both cooler temperatures, and another round of hazy conditions caused by forest fires burning in west central Canada. The darkened sky, combined with a light-to-moderate algae bloom in the water, helped spur fish activity in both Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux.

Secchi Disk Reading 10 Feet Deep, Cutfoot Sioux Saturday July 13, 2025

Surface temperatures have been on the rise this week and were hovering around 75 degrees on Saturday morning. Caused both by warm and sunny temperatures, and an increased water flow because of the recent rainfall, the added warmth has brought on some additional algae blooms. The Secchi disk reading in Cutfoot Sioux was 10 feet deep on Saturday morning. Still clear by historic standards, but far better (for fishing) than the 18-to-20-foot readings we saw early this summer. The added turbidity makes less wary and somewhat easier for anglers to approach and catch.

Vegetation, especially in Cutfoot Sioux continues to mature. Fish holding plant varieties like cabbage, coontail and flat stemmed pondweed are green, lush and growing deep. Anglers with a long history of fishing Cutfoot Sioux will recall the days when finding a cabbage bed deeper than 8 feet was a chore.

 These days, we see plant life flourishing in water depths down to 14 feet of water, even deeper in some regions of the lakes. Wild rice beds now stand tall above the surface, and bulrush patches are green and mature too. The heavy vegetation isn’t always loved by anglers, but it is loved by gamefish. So, embracing fishing presentations that target the thick vegetation will pay off from now, on into the early fall.

Wiggle Worming For Walleyes on Cutfoot Sioux

Last week we reported that some of the popular trolling presentations were coming to their peak of effectiveness. Fishing with spinners tipped with live bait produced mixed bags of walleye, pike, perch, rock bass and sunfish. On Saturday, trolling spinners tipped with night crawlers were used to search for fish, but once located, wiggle worming was the preferred presentation used to drill into the habitat and catch both walleyes and sunfish; here’s why.

Sunfish, especially when water temperatures are warm, will strike spinners readily. But because of their nature, bluegills typically gather tightly, in compact schools adjacent to their preferred feeding structures. So, once it’s located, it’s a good idea to stop trolling, slow down, and use live bait jigs tipped with worms, leeches or cut pieces of night crawlers to catch them.

Wiggle Worming produces walleyes, but quality sunfish love the presentation too.

Walleyes during mid-summer often find small spots of hard bottom structure within stands of vegetation. While trolling presentations still work, they become less efficient because the spinners are only in the fish’s strike zone for a short time. Targeting the isolated, and sometimes small “hard spots” with slower moving, more methodical presentations is more efficient. So, on small spots located adjacent to or within the cabbage patches, slowing down and using live bait approaches like wiggle worming is a great idea for walleyes.

Combine walleyes, with sunfish and you have a great opportunity for mixed-bag catches. And if you like, presentations like slip-bobbers, vertical jigging and casting small jigs tipped with plastics will also produce fish using these, and similar structures.

Wiggle Worming walleye on Cutfoot Sioux July 12, 2025

If you’re not familiar with the wiggle worming presentation, you should be. Instead of using valuable time to go through the details here, we’ll suggest that you follow this link to a resource that walks you through the presentation in full detail. Read article “Wiggle Worming 101”.

On the big lake, trolling presentations remain effective too. In last week’s report, we offered tips about fishing with spinners both on the flats, and over the tops of cabbage patches. The guidance hasn’t changed, and it’s a good idea to review the previous report for a refresher course. Follow this link to the >> Bowen Lodge Fishing Report July 3, 2025.

Mid-lake structures continue to be popular spots for locating and catching walleyes during mid-summer too. We hear from local guides and some of the better walleye anglers who stay here seasonally, that they continue catching fish on these structures. Because many of the spots have been targeted repeatedly, many of the “keeper” size walleyes have been strained off, and that the proportion of fish in the “protected slot” is rising. So, carefully releasing these fish, especially now when the water is warm, is important.

Numerous small walleyes caught in Cutfoot Sioux and Lake Winnie: An indication of good 2023 year class?

The size structure of 2019 Lake Winnie walleyes, as we reported in our 2025 Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux Season Outlook, has shifted heavily into the protected, 18-to-23-inch protected slot. Late last summer, guests and friends were fishing the big lake reported catching good numbers of small, 9-to-10-inch size walleyes. Again, this summer, we are beginning to see decent numbers of these small fish turning up in both Winnibigoshish and Cutfoot Sioux.

This fish, measuring almost 11 inches, is like from the class of 2023 and offers a sneak preview into what may be another good year of up-and-coming walleyes. As we enter the summer lake survey testing season, we’ll get frequent updates from the DNR Fisheries staff and will keep you in the loop as new discoveries are reported.

Perch fishing has been spotty for our guests. The better size perch, 10 to 11 inches, are available but show up in random locations, and appear to be nomadic. Our best advice is to use your opportunity when it comes along. If you’re fishing an area, and begin catching some keepers, drop whatever you were doing and focus on perch for the moment. Often, returning to the same area at a different time, or when conditions change, will be disappointing.

It is not disappointing that there appears to be a lot of young yellow perch in the system right now. As these small fish mature, we will enjoy better fishing for quality size perch. We’ll make a point of getting an update about perch populations, and growth rates for an upcoming report.  

Crappies typically become easier to catch using trolling presentations during late summer. So far, few of them have been reported, and do not appear to be present in large numbers. Appearances can be deceiving though, and there could be lots of fish hiding in some of the dense patches of cabbage. As always, we advise you to search for crappies during the lowlight periods during early morning and late evening. Crappies often reserve their feeding spurts to these crepuscular periods and can be very easy to catch when they want to be.

We see an increase in activity among northern pike anglers recently. There are more folks casting large lures over the vegetation, on the rocks and along the steep, mid-lake breaklines. While catching numbers of eater size pike, below the 22-inch threshold using the popular trolling presentations is effective, casting large lures will produce more large fish.

Large pike can be particular at times, and often one presentation will outperform another. Large spinnerbaits, in-line bucktail spinners, jerkbaits and large plastic swim baits can all be productive. Experiment with each, and change as fish feeding preferences vary. During high, sunny skies, use large, lively minnows suspended below slip-floats for better action. On cloudy, or drizzly days, pike will move high above the vegetation, and shallow running lures will become more effective.

Last week, we announced that the Minnesota DNR Fisheries Chief, Brad Parsons plans 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.

August 15, 2025, is the deadline for all of us 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.

Bowen Lodge Fishing Report Independence Day Weekend July 3, 2025

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.

Lake Winnibigoshish Cutfoot Sioux Fishing Report June 6, 2025

A week of moderate weather and gentle breezes has brought both Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux to life. Walleyes, crappies, sunfish and perch are transitioning into early summer patterns. Surface water temperatures vary from one region of the lake to another and now range between 65 and 68 degrees. Water clarity, still high, has moderated somewhat, measuring at about 18 feet deep, vs the 22-foot readings reported about a week ago.

 On clear water lakes throughout north central Minnesota, “boat-shyness” has been commonly cited as a hinderance to walleye angler success. The term is used to describe flighty behavior of fish that become intolerant of boats approaching too closely. “Cubby” (Jeff) Skelly fished on the big lake a few days back and reported that walleyes showed some tolerance for allowing him to hover above and fish vertically.

Lake Winnie Walleye caught on a 1/4 ounce jig tipped with 4 inch paddle tail

 Yesterday, the Jacobs group, fishing with another area fishing guide encountered sunshine and calm water. Walleyes were flighty, they reported, but despite the bright conditions, the group caught fish in a wide variety of locations around the big lake. There were small pods of fish located on mid-lake structures, like bars and humps, in water depths of 18 to 26 feet. Flats, in water depths of 10 to 14 feet, held fish as well, and cabbage patches located in back bays at water depths of 6 to 9 feet not only held walleyes, but a mix of perch, pike and crappies too.

Walleyes responded favorably to a variety of presentations too, and some were caught using jigs and minnows, some on traditional, plain hook lindy rigs tipped with air injected night crawlers, and as you see pictured here, artificial lures worked too. In fact, anglers “fan-casting” with the ¼ ounce jigs tipped with 3-1/2-inch paddle tails caught as many, or more fish as their boat mates caught using jigs and live minnows.

Slip bobbers, used to suspend lively leeches a foot or two above walleyes is working well, and is the main presentation used by “sharpshooters”, the folks who use forward facing sonar to locate pods of walleyes. There’s little doubt that the technology provides an advantage when using this presentation because it allows anglers to pinpoint precisely where to cast their bobbers. Decide for yourself, but using bobbers will probably be too slow as a method when searching for walleyes using more traditional electronics.

Depending on your goals, walleye sizes will influence where and how you fish. Fish in the protected 18-to-23-inch slot range are more widely available than are the smaller, keeper size fish below the 18-inch threshold. If catch-photo-release is your style, you should find happiness on the lake’s larger bars and many of the humps. For eaters, more searching will be necessary, watch your electronics and don’t stop to fish any spot unless numerous fish are located there. Smaller fish, grouped by year classes, will be traveling together, so the more fish you see in a single spot, the greater the likelihood you will find eaters.

Mike and Lisa Lindholm with nice size Lake Winnie Walleye

Timing your fishing trip will make a difference too. Larger fish come along at random intervals throughout the day and often dominate the catch when feeding conditions a less than ideal. Prime times like early morning, late evening or on cloudy, breezy days trigger feeding bingers and that’s when anglers catch larger numbers of smaller size fish. More often than not, you will pick up a few “eaters”, even when the greater proportion of fish are larger.

Our friends Mike and Lisa Lindholm, pictured above, fished in the early evening one day this week and found good action, combined with a few keepers. “Only caught 3 keepers, but had about 10 larger, 19-to-22-inch walleyes. Other anglers, fishing the same flat, but fishing after dark, trolled crankbaits in about 12 feet of water and easily caught fish in the keeper size range. So, decide what’s most important to you, and adjust your timing accordingly.

Northern pike still occur mostly as a bycatch of walleye angling. Locations have been random, some are caught on mid lake structures, and some are coming out of the weeds, if there is one pattern that’s better than most, it is fishing the rocks. Fan casting jigs and plastics on rocky bars has produced many northerns this week. Any rock or gravel patch found on the flats, or near the shoreline will produce some fish. Often, there will be a few walleyes in the mix too, so be prepared for an occasional bonus fish.

To date, there have not been many examples of large pike being caught. But there are some plump, 23-to-25-inch fish striking the larger size paddle tails. Yum’s Money Minnow, Berkely’s 4 inch size Ripple Shad, and other 4-to-5-inch plastic swim baits will work. Make long casts and retrieve the lures using a sweep-drop-sweep-drop retrieve.

There are a lot of pike in the protected slot, albeit just barely. Measure carefully before you toss them in your livewell because there are lots of fish in the 22-to-23-inch size range right now. Folks haven’t targeted larger pike yet, that will occur later in the summer. That’s when we’ll learn more about the availability of larger size northern, and the best ways to catch them.

Yellow Perch action has been an on-again, off-again. Most of the perch coming in right now are caught by anglers fishing for walleyes. If you want to target them, look in shallow, back bays and flowages where there are bulrushes, or other standing vegetation. Use lighter jigs, 1-16- or 1-8-ounce weights, tipped with medium to large size fathead minnows.

Crappies coming out of cabbage patches on Cutfoot Sioux

Crappies have largely moved out and away from shallow water spawning habitat. Now found in patches of cabbage or coontail that lay adjacent to shallow bulrush flats where they spawned in recent weeks. Clip on floats, 1/16 ounce jigs and small fatheads will catch crappies. Casting small jigs tipped plastics will work too and so will the safety pin type spinner jigs. Experiment with presentations to decide which one works best for you.

An alternative to fishing shallow water for crappies is to fish during the evening bite, from about 7:30 to 8:30 PM. Most folks anchor along deeper patches of vegetation, then fish using small jig tipped with live bait and suspended below slip bobbers. Key depths range from about 7 to 10 feet, wherever cabbage or coontail patches occur.

Sunfish have been found in both shallow spawning territory, and in vegetation adjacent to it. With the mid-60-degree water temperatures, it’s likely that they are, or will soon be spawning. Please remember, the temptation to take large male fish off of spawning beds causes disastrous results for the sunfish population. There are numerous sources of more detailed information, but to summarize, male fish’s only job is to ward off enemies of the beds. Without them, the size structure of the entire population declines, and as a result, your fishing will suffer. Keep some smaller fish, females when you can, and enjoy a fine meal. But leave the bulls alone to do their jobs, and we’ll enjoy quality sunfish for a long time.

During the early season, boat ramps are packed, and the lines can get long. Remember, you’re invited to use the landing here at our marina. Whether you’ll be staying at Bowen Lodge or not, you’re welcome to join us here. The cost is affordable, and you get some perks, like the use of our fish cleaning station, and the availability of live bait, gas, and refreshments too. So, be sure to stop in whenever you’re in the neighborhood.