Crappies and panfish fast entering "post spawn" phase of summer.

Two old fishermen’s saws that almost always turn out to be true are these.

When the Lilacs are in bloom, crappies are in the peak of their spawning season. Whenever there’s a dragonfly hatch, sunfish find their way to the shallows and begin fanning their spawning beds. Those proverbs are obviously true because panfish action has really taken off over these past few days.

As you can see by the photo, this male crappie is wearing his Sunday best, his black spawning outfit. You can see too by the wear and tear on his tail fin that he’s been working hard, fanning the silt out of a depression in the soft, marl bottom.

Female fish do not change color during the spawning season, they retain their normal, silvery color all year long. Knowing this makes it simple for anglers to practice selective harvest. Simply hold on to the darker male fish for your fish fry, and set the females free to finish their business in the shallow water.

Ordinarily, we’d give some advice about locating ideal spawning habitat, but by the time you arrive at Bowen Lodge to check it out, the spawn will probably be over. We believe that because over the weekend, crappies were already being caught in post spawn locations like cabbage weeds, shallow rocks and in the evening, cruising along the edges of shoreline breaks.

If trends follow those of most typical seasons, then locating cabbage weeds is going to be the most reliable location. Cabbage is widespread and can be found in numerous locations in Cutfoot, Tamarack Bay of Winnie, Third River Flowage and Sugar Lake. Key depths are 7 to 10 feet, occasionally a little deeper.

Best presentations for fish found in cabbage weeds include action type jigs. They could be tipped with plastic twirl tails or have safety pin style spinners like a Beetle Spin or a Lindy Spinner. Even trolling traditional live bait spinners like the Little Joe will work, but these should be utilized when the fish are most active along the weedlines.

Exploring for and fishing the cabbage beds for crappie is fun enough, but what makes this really fun is that those weeds are full of surprises.  Sneaking along the weed edges, casting a small jig into the pockets could easily lead to an excellent mixed bag catch. Besides crappie, there will be walleye, perch, northern pike and even the odd largemouth bass inhabiting those weed patches.

Anglers who want to specialize in walleye fishing can do it. The main bars on the big lake are loading up with fish headed into “summer locations”. Insect hatches are beginning to emerge and as they become more widespread, walleye populations on mid-lake structures will grow.

Jig and minnow is still the preferred presentation, even on deeper bars. But Lindy Rigging with live bait is effective as well; leeches and night crawlers have been productive for some folks on Winnie. Key depths are 18 to 24 feet, so for jigging, ¼ ounce jigs will do the trick. For Lindy rigging, 3/8 ounce weights are standard; some folks prefer heavier weights ranging from ½ to ¾ ounces. As long as you can easily maintain occasional contact with the bottom, you’ll be in good shape.

By now you’ve heard that folks aren’t catching a lot of keeper walleye and it’s true. Many fish are in the protected 18-23 inch slot size and many more are in the 11 inch range, still too small to be suitable for the creel. But while you’re catching and releasing walleye, you will encounter schools of perch that have reached keeper size. Most folks who want a meal of fish are utilizing perch for that purpose.

Don’t forget about northern pike either, they are active right now too and provide both action and protein. You’re liable to catch plenty of them on your jig and minnow combos while pursuing walleye. But for folks who only want to pursue pike, they can be caught on a wide variety of presentations. Spinnerbaits, plastic swim baits and slip floats with large minnows are 3 of the most reliable.  

The week ahead looks promising, warm stable weather should be the backdrop for a fantastic week of fishing. Be sure to look us up if you’re in the area, we’d love to show you around.

Lake Winnie Walleye, Perch Report May 21, 2020

In the ebb and flow of the natural world, fish and wildlife populations fluctuate. There aren’t many places where the fishing, hunting or even berry picking is always good; populations rise and fall in response to changes in weather and habitat.

We, along with our guests have watched Lake Winnie’s response to changing conditions and can’t help but to be amazed at the resiliency of this body of water. Despite changing conditions, she keeps kicking out impressive year classes of fish. The big year classes don’t always come at the precise time we want them to, but they do come and we’re watching one massive year class mature right now.

The walleye year class of 2018 is among the best ever for Winnibigoshish. Not only were there huge numbers of fish hatched, but they had both good survival and great growth rates during their first year. We’re seeing anecdotal evidence that they must have also had a great survival rate over this past winter because anglers are catching them left and right this spring.

The ‘18s aren’t ready for the creel yet, at an average length of around 11-12 inches, they’ll for sure be eaters by next spring. Some of the really fast growers may even reach an acceptable size later this fall; we’ll keep you posted about that as the season progresses.

On the lake, the wind calmed down and allowed the sunshine to work its magic this Wednesday. Surface water temperatures jumped up for a time, briefly exceeding 60 degrees but dropped back into the 56 degree range once an afternoon breeze churned up the water.

Some of the local guides have been on the lake this week and report that Walleye anglers are catching good numbers of fish at both ends of the size spectrum. There are a lot of fish in the 20 to 22 inch range and a lot of the small, 2018 class fish being caught as well. Fish in the middle sizes are at a premium for now, but do occasionally strike and there are some keepers available.

It’s amazing though how Mother Nature provides alternatives. While we wait for the gap in in “keeper” size walleyes to narrow, perch of both good size and good numbers provide plenty of table fare. The massive populations of perch that we’ve observed in recent years have matured. Many fish now exceed 10 inches and there 11, 12 and even 13 inch perch in the mix as well.

Most anglers take advantage of opportunity when they come across perch during their pursuit of walleye. But for folks who want to gather a fish dinner, they can be targeted with great success.

Finding the fish has not been difficult; the best structures are soft bottom flats adjacent to the lakes large bars. There are some hatches of small insects going on out there and the large, spawned out females have gathered for the feast. Shoreline related bars appear to be better than mid-lake structure, at least for now. Watch your electronics as you follow the edges in water depths of 14 to 20 feet; you will find them.

Under most circumstances, 1/8 to ¼ ounce jigs tipped with fatheads is a reliable presentation. If you encounter finicky perch, here’s a trick for triggering them to strike. A Lindy Rig, trimmed short, to about 36 inches and tipped with a lively minnow, like a rainbow chub will elicit strikes from neutral fish.

We typically use a ¼ ounce sinker, but additional weight could be added in deeper water or under windy conditions. Troll or drift along the breakline slowly, best speeds are from .4 to .6 MPH. Let the minnow do the work, you don’t need to impart any action, and just keep the bait in the strike zone and you’re set.

Panfish haven’t become active yet, but they could be soon. Water temperatures will likely rise over the next few days and that will encourage crappies to begin roaming into spawning territory. During this time frame, crappies in Cutfoot almost always stage a feeding run during twilight. You have to be prepared for the moment, position your boat along the weed edges in the early evening. Crappies typically begin to move just before sunset and are active for an hour, maybe less.

Most folks rig small jigs below a slip bobber and tip it with a crappie minnow. But casting small jigs tipped with artificial tails can also be effective.