Lake Winnibigoshish Cutfoot Sioux Fishing Report August 17, 2022

Shallow water fishing is back in vogue on Lake Winnie this week!

Jared Saufferer with Bowen Lodge Guide Customers

A string of sunny, warm days moved the needle up on surface water temperatures over the past weekend, briefly reaching highs in the mid-70s on Monday before cooler overnight temps and breezy weather arrived. Temperatures have now re-settled into the 71–72-degree range, but first, that warm up did trigger an uptick in the lake’s algae bloom. That’s important because the nutrient rich water not only provides food for tiny fish, but also diffuses light, which encourages walleyes to move into shallow water when they’re feeding. Add some wind, some overcast skies, a strong population of walleyes and the stage is set for a good outing on the big lake.

As the photo of our resident guide Jared Saufferer and his crew reveal, those were the conditions on Tuesday and the result was locating good numbers of fish on shallow breaklines in water depths of 6 to 8 feet.

Walleye Location: Shoreline Breaks, 6 to 8 feet of water

Key presentations vary with anglers’ preferences, but trolling spinners tipped with a minnow account for the largest proportion of the effort. Jigs and Minnows, trolling crankbaits and night crawler harnesses are also productive for those who choose those alternative presentations.

 The action was wild and wooly on Tuesday, and most folks on the lake caught fish using minimal effort. Without doubt, the grey skies and choppy water made that easier, but we think that an advancing line of thunderstorms encouraged the feeding frenzy even more. If the action slows today, we’ll be advising guests to explore an alternative game plan, fishing mid-depth flats.

 Center Bar, Bena Bar, Sugar Bar and other prominent mid-lake structures offer miles of habitat in the 12-to-16-foot range. Walleyes, perch, and pike move in both directions across the sprawling flats. On a clam, sunny day, we may still locate some fish in shallow water, but there will also be many fish scattered across the mid-lake-terrain, holding on gravel, rock or patches of vegetation. The report we offered on 8-04-22 provides valuable information about this pattern, so check that for a refresher.

 Both pike and perch appear to be more locked into the mid-lake pattern than are the walleyes. Finding perch rooting around on gravel and light rock to locate crawfish is one reliable pattern. Also reliable is locating them at the soft-bottom base of mid lake structure feeding on insect larvae. Water depths vary from one structure to the next and could range between 5 and 16 feet for the gravel/rock pattern. Water depths of 22 to 28 feet will get you close to the deep water, insect feeders.

 Pike, especially larger ones are feeding primarily over open water on the big lake right now. There are some smaller, eater size fish roaming the flats and along shallow breaklines wherever vegetation is present. In the shallows, you’re likely to catch almost as many pike trolling spinners for walleye as you will by targeting them. Over the flats, trolling large crankbaits is a good idea. Deep, steep breaklines along the dominant mid-lake structures can be effectively targeted using large, lively minnows on Lindy Rigs, or added to large blade spinner rigs.

 On Cutfoot Sioux, deeper vegetation is holding some pike of quality size. These can be targeted by casting larger spinnerbaits, soft plastic swim baits or wooden jerkbaits. During late summer, casting for pike could also produce a musky, so keep your eyes peeled, watching for any sign of a follow.

 Panfish have taken a back seat to walleyes lately, so there is not a lot of current information. That said, the few anglers targeting crappies suggest that vegetation is still the key to finding them. Target the holes and gaps between cabbage plants using small jigs tipped with plastic action tails. It would be a surprise if there were more folks fishing them later, so watch for the next report.

Lake Winnibigoshish Cutfoot Sioux Fishing Report August 4, 2022

What’s your idea of a beautiful day on the lake?

We know that the answer to that question is subjective, everybody has their own ideas. But when it comes to walleye fishing on Winnibigoshish, don’t be surprised when our guests tell you that cloudy, windy, and turbulent weather adds up to their idea of “a beautiful day”. The time-honored term “walleye chop” has never lost it’s meaning here and nowadays, a good chop on the water and an overcast sky will likely provide you with a great walleye fishing trip.

 Surface water temperatures dropped last week but have since stabilized. After hitting highs in the 78-to-80-degree range, they are now pinned into a tight range of 71 to 72 degrees. Those numbers represent cooler highs than we’ve experienced in recent years. But, considering we’ve experienced 2 back-to-back cold fronts moving through the region, they also represent warmer “post cold front” lows than we’d been accustomed to in recent history.

Also, not consistent with past experiences, walleye action on the big lake remains strong, even during the “post-cold-front” periods. We think it’s because the fish themselves are helping us out, the present-day walleye population is high enough to provide our guests with more opportunity to encounter fish. It makes sense, the more often we locate them, the better the chance we have of catching them. If anglers are willing to adjust to changing conditions, like wind directions, cloud cover and the like, they are usually rewarded with success.

There are schools of fish on the north, south and west sides of Winnie for sure. There may be schools of fish on the east side too, but with the prevailing winds, it’s been hard for our guests to access that side of the lake. Key spots have been Raven’s Point, Mallard Point, Stony Point, and Little Stony Point. Between the “key” locations, walleyes can be found scattered along the shoreline breaks in water depths of 5 to 8 feet of water.

 On days when the wind won’t blow, fish make short migrations away from the shoreline and spread out across flats in water depths of 12 to 16 feet. Getting a lure in front of them may take longer, but when it happens, they will strike.

On the shoreline, trolling spinners tipped with minnows or night crawlers is the most productive. But when the wind blows and fish are more concentrated, jig and minnow presentations are providing action too. Gold blades are the mainstay color on Winnie, but copper, orange, chartreuse and perch patterns are good alternatives. Use bullet sinkers in the 1/8 to ¼ ounce size range at trolling speeds of 1.1 to 1.3 MPH to keep the bait in the strike zone.

 On the flats, trolling spinners has been reliable too. Some anglers are using bottom bouncers for precision placement, but many are simply adding extra weight to the bullet sinker setup that they use on the shoreline breaks. One great way to make an “on-the-fly” sinker adjustment it to add a split shot sinker above the swivel, under the bell of the bullet sinker. Experiment with weight, boat speed and line distance until you find the sweet spot.

 Locations on the flats can be random, with fish moving and feeding their way across the sand ripples. But locating patches of gravel and light rock will enhance the spot’s ability to hold fish more consistently. The more skilled and experienced anglers are using electronics to pinpoint gravel patches like the one you see pictured here. The gravel patches are attractive areas for crawfish and at times, high populations of them. Both perch and pike love to eat crawfish too, so don’t be surprised to find them feeding in these areas too.

 Perch, as it happens, are showing up now in larger numbers on not only these deeper rocky patches on the flats, but on any rocks anyplace in the lake. Judging by the entrails of fish we see in the cleaning shack; crawdads have become a major food source. The life cycle of the crayfish is important to perch, when there are lots of baby “mudbugs” or when the adults are in a molting phase, the perch will gather in large numbers.

 If you encounter perch while you’re trolling for walleye, consider slowing down and looking for concentrations of them on the rocks. It does not matter if the rocks are shallow, deep, or anywhere between, they are potentially good perch spots.

 Jig and minnow combinations are reliable for catching perch, so are Lindy Rigs tipped with live minnows. Try them both.

 Sunfish have been active and guests report catching them on the breaklines in both Cutfoot and Little Cutfoot Sioux. Cabbage patches found adjacent to deep water are good locations. Most folks are finding fish by trolling spinners, then stopping to still fish for them. Small jigs tipped with cut pieces of night crawler are good. Small leeches, or larger ones cut into pieces are good too. Please don’t forget, the sunfish limits have changed, so keep a close eye on your fish count.

 Crappies have not been the highlight of the summer here. When found, they are nice size, but the population is apparently at a low ebb right now. To target them, focus on fishing during the early morning or late evening, that will put the odds in your favor.

 Northern pike are prowling the flats and deeper patches of submerged vegetation. Most of them are being caught by anglers who pursue walleyes. Northerns, especially the larger ones have temporarily evacuated the shallow shoreline breaks. Feeding on the abundant forage suspended over deep water and mid-depth flats, fast moving presentations should be used. Targeting pike by trolling crankbaits on the flats is a good idea. Larger spinners, tipped with larger live minnows can also be used to great effect on the larger pike.

 Finally, as we roll into late summer, walleye size structure is improving. It’s getting easier to be selective about which walleyes we harvest, and which ones we don’t. Let’s chat when you get here, stop in at the lodge and we’ll share the latest data coming in from the DNR, along with the latest stories from the lake.

Lake Winnibigoshish Cutfoot Sioux Fishing Report July 19, 2022

Just at the point during mid-summer when you’d think the walleye fishing action SHOULD slow down, IT DOESN’T, at least that’s how it usually works on Lake Winnie!

Image of fishing guide Jared Saufferer (L) with customer and nice walleye double

Warm weather and sunshine have brought water temperatures up. Now in the 76-to-78-degree range, the lake has developed an algae bloom. Algae blooms are good for the lake in many ways, but for anglers, they help by reducing water clarity and that makes it easier to get close to walleyes during the daytime.

Surface water temperatures, in and of themselves are good for anglers too. The rising temperatures increase fish metabolism, encouraging them to feed both more heavily and more often. Trolling patterns, at increased speeds become effective, making it easier for folks to “cover territory”. Anytime you add a bit of wind and some cloud cover, the stage is set for much better daytime fishing.

Mid-summer conditions not only improve the prospects for better walleye fishing. But perch, sunfish, crappie, and bass action has heated up too.

Trolling patterns, particularly trolling with spinners has replaced the jig and minnow as the primary presentation. Moving at 1.1 to 1.4 MPH over shallow rocks, or along the grass lines in 5 to 8 feet of water will produce both walleye and perch on the big lake. Trolling spinners deeper, in water depths of 8 to 12 feet will produce a mixture of walleye, sunfish and crappie when targeting the vegetation in Cutfoot Sioux.
On deeper structure, use bottom bouncers or in-line weights to troll spinners while maintaining depth control. On mid lake structures like bars and humps, key depths are 16 to 22 feet. Over the flats, gravel, and rock stretches in water depths of 12 to 14 feet will produce fish too. When fishing the rocks, jig and minnow presentations will often produce, even during mid-summer, so don’t rule them out either.

Pike, especially large ones should begin moving toward shallow water soon. There are large schools of small fish showing up on the flats in water depths of 12 to 16 feet. As these schools of baitfish grow larger and become more concentrated, pike will find them. Some of the locals set their calendars for both full moon and new moon periods, but don’t be afraid to start experimenting now. Casting large spoons, bucktails and jerkbaits will produce consistently, so will large minnows like suckers, creek chubs and big golden shiners. Live bait can be fished under a slip float very effectively.

Sunfish are finding their way out to deeper vegetation and can be located using the spinners. It might be more efficient though to stop and “still-fish” once you’ve located them. On a recent outing, sunfish were located along the outer edges of a cabbage patch and caught by fishing vertically with a 1/8-ounce jig head, tipped with cut pieces of night crawlers or leeches. Orange, black, and dark green are good color choices for panfish.

Crappies are on the move, but still showing a preference for the early morning and late evening periods. Locating them by trolling spinners is good, but when they’re on the move, casting small jigs tipped with action tails is better. A 1/16-ounce jig tipped with a paddle tail, twister or shad imitation and cast into holes and pockets between cabbage plants is reliable. You’ll be surprised at how many other species of fish may you’ll catch at the same time; they are all susceptible to this presentation.

Yellow Perch are getting easier to find these days and some of them are attractive. Shallow rocks, combined with clam shells and light vegetation are holding them. Scattered packs of perch vary in both number and size structure, with fish ranging from 8 to 12 inches in length. It’s unlikely that you’ll catch limits, but trolling spinners over these shallow structures will produce enough quality size fish to make the pursuit worthwhile.

Bass fishing has heated up with warming water temperatures too. Most reliable locations are in bulrush patches and in dense patches of wild rice. Wacky rigged Senko style worms will produce at sunrise and so will top water baits like slop frogs. Typically, the topwater bite ends early, and by 9:00 AM, you’re better off with submerged presentations. In either type of cover, target the pockets and holes in vegetation using Texas rigged plastic worms or jig-and-pig, jig-and-plastics combinations.

July 1, 2022 Lake Winnibigoshish and Cutfoot Sioux Fishing Report

Turbulent weather has kept fishing guests “on their toes”, particularly ones who love spending most of their time on the big lake. The pattern, if you want to call it that, has been to squeeze in a few hours of quality fishing time whenever the weather presents an opportunity.

Walleyes, still receiving the lion’s share of attention, are turning up in a wider variety of locations. There are still decent numbers of fish on mid-depth flats near Third River, Tamarack Bay and at the west side of Winnie. Key depths range from 10 to 14 feet on the flats where you’ll find scattered pods of walleyes feeding.

Mid-lake bars and humps are generating some attention mow too. Experienced anglers recognize walleye migrations following typical seasonal trends, starting on bars that connect directly to the shoreline, and then fanning out toward more isolated structures.

Key depths vary with weather conditions, sunshine forces fish deep, often found suspended out and away from the breaklines. Clouds, rain and a good chop encourages fish to move up onto the structure, typically holding at the upper edges and occasionally, onto to the tops of the sprawling bars. Fish found “on top”, in the 14-to-18-foot depth range will be active and feeding. Fish found in deeper water, 28 feet and deeper are frequently in a holding pattern, and they may or may not be feeding.

Vegetation, like cabbage beds are producing fish too, but have become increasingly difficult to locate. Some say it’s because of the Rusty Crawfish, an invasive species that decimates vegetation. Whether that is truly the cause of declines in plant life or not, know that when you do locate a good cabbage patch, you’ll likely find fish in it.

Presentations for catching walleyes include slip-floats, Lindy Rigging, jig and minnow, and trolling spinners. Anglers fishing during late evening and after dark, are trolling with crankbaits as well.

Cooler weather, combined with high water conditions are keeping the lake water both clear and relatively cold. Surface temperatures now oscillating between the high 60s and low 70s depending on the conditions of the day. Because the water is so clear, anglers have struggled on sunny days. Even during breezy conditions, anglers faced with sunshine and blue skies are advised to fish the early morning and late evening for better odds of success.

Northern Pike now found roaming the steep edges of mid-lake bars are striking large minnows. Trolling with live bait spinner rigs and suckers in the 6-to-10-inch size range will be productive. So will drift fishing using slip-floats to suspend the large minnows 3 to 4 feet above the bottom. To date, there is no evidence of significant pike activity in shallow water. That said, any premium cabbage bed or rock pile is usually worthy of a few casts using larger spinnerbaits, spoons, or large, shallow diving crankbaits.

Bass and panfish are on the prowl in shallow water. Bluegills have been fanning beds, and some of them are done spawning. Others. Interrupted by turbulent weather, are not finished with spawning. This makes locating them interesting, some are located in stands of bulrushes, others are on patches of gravel and some of them will be located in cabbage or other vegetation.

Casting small “spin-jigs” like a beetle spin or road runner will help locate fish. Once found, your presentation can be fine tuned to match the situation.

Don’t get caught off-guard by the game warden, Cutfoot and Little Cutfoot are part of the “Quality Sunfish Initiative” and have a 5 sunfish limit now. So be sure to keep close tabs on your fish count.

Perch fishing has been spotty. There are schools of nice ones located occasionally, but consistency is moderate at best. Soft bottom areas near deep structure, gravel patches and wild celery are key locations. Locating good food sources is key, but perch are very adaptable, so those sources vary. Insect hatches, particularly midge, will attract them. So will crawfish and larger schools of smaller, minnow size perch in the 1-1/2-to-3-inch range.

Once located, jig and minnow combinations or live bait rigs and minnow combinations will provide consistent action.

Lake Winnibigoshish Cutfoot Sioux Fishing Report June 12, 2022

For a few weeks, there were a handful of “known walleye bites” occurring on the big lake. Over time, 3 or 4 of these community spots had provided most of the action and most of the fish harvested too. Now, our guests and fellow anglers are finding it easier to be more creative on both Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux.

Phillip Sigfrinius with hefty Lake Winnie Walleye

Walleye migrations toward mid-lake structure have begun. In the early stages, shoreline related structure such the steep breaklines and long fingers that lead into the lake’s deepest water are the best producers. Some of the free-standing humps and bars are producing fish too, provided that they are located near shore, or near one of the prominent shoreline related bars.

Fish location varies from spot to spot, but generally, inside turns and soft points on the structures are holding the most fish. Long, straight stretches are producing few if any walleyes. The steep, straightaways do offer some opportunity for northern pike though. If you’re scanning the breakline with your electronics and spot singles on your screen, it’s likely that pike are the fish you’re observing.

Key depths vary from spot to spot also, but for the best action, 16 to 22 feet is the most reliable. You’ll spot fish deeper too, but these are typically less aggressive than their shallower counterparts. In most instances, the fish located in deeper water tend to be smaller too, especially when found in large schools. It seems that fish from the very strong, 2019-year class are banded together and are using the deeper water for either protection, of to capitalize on specialized feeding opportunities.

The 2019-year class, now 12-1/2 to 13-1/2-inch fish, if protected from harvest, will likely provide another great season in 2023. That’s another good reason, in our opinion, to hold off on targeting them until they have a chance to mature. The strong class of 2018 is well represented, and anglers have plenty of opportunity to harvest these fish which are now ranging in size from 15 to 17 inches. In our 2022 Fishing Season Outlook, we noted that Grand Rapids Area Fisheries Supervisor Dave Weitzel, told us that some of these 2018 fish may even reach the protected slot range, 18 to 23 inches, late this fall.

Surface water temperatures are warming, 65 degrees is a common reading on Winnie, 67 degrees can easily be found on Cutfoot. So, while jig and minnow combinations remain productive, anglers are getting more creative with walleye presentations now too. Lindy Rigging with lively leeches or larger size shiner minnows is effective. Slip bobbers, used to suspend a leech or ½ night crawler are also effective and there are a few anglers experimenting with spinners.

In shallow areas and back bays, vegetation is emerging quickly. Patches of eelgrass and cabbage have turned green and are beginning to produce a mixed bag of species. Perch, small pike, and walleye are most plentiful, but there are crappies sprinkled in now as well. Apparently, crappie spawning is either completed already, or possibly permanently disrupted by recent unsettled weather. Either way, the cabbage patch pattern will strengthen in upcoming days.

Last week we wrote, “Panfish anglers, expecting to find fish on shallow water spawning beds have been disappointed so far. But with water temperatures teetering on the verge of ideal range, it could change soon.” The change is occurring and both panfish and bass are showing up in shallow water. Targeting them responsibly is important, scientifically proven, protecting the lake’s largest sunfish will help assure healthy populations in the future.

Northern pike located in shallow water are primarily small right now. Anglers wishing to pursue larger pike should search the edges of steep breaking bars. On Saturday, one of the local guides reported catching numerous pike using Lindy Rigs tipped with larger minnows. “Big shiners, medium sucker minnows or large rainbows will all work. Use a fluorocarbon leader, 14-to-20-pound test, to protect against bite-offs,” he says.

Bowen Lodge Guide, Jared Saufferer

High water and cool temperatures have meant clear water, particularly on the big lake. Sunshine and calm seas combine to make fishing difficult during mid-day. When the forecast calls for sunshine, wake up early and fish the sunrise bite. If you’d rather sleep in, then pursue those fish inhabiting cabbage patches during the day, then move out to the open water walleye spots during the evening. When cloudy, breezy conditions arrive, your daytime opportunities will broaden significantly.