Lake Winnibigoshish Cutfoot Sioux Fishing Report September 9, 2022

It happens every fishing season, the summer peak arrives, water temperatures hit their peak on Lake Winnie and when they do, so does the fishing action. Trolling patterns and fast-moving jigging presentations produce plenty of action, often for more than one species of fish at a time. It’s a fun time, but it doesn’t last forever.

Joyce Damon with hefty Lake Winnie Walleye September 7, 2022

 Last week, in fact, for several weeks, prior to the Labor Day Holiday, Lake Winnie was in that summer peak period. Our guests, along with other friends and visitors to the lake enjoyed some of the fastest walleye fishing action that Winnibigoshish has churned out in years. Walleyes from the oft mentioned 2019-year class led the way, but there were plenty of fish from the 2018-year class and even a healthy smattering of larger, 2013-year class fish in the mix too.

 Labor Day Weekend arrived and with it, a moderate downturn in surface water temperatures. By Tuesday (9-6) morning, folks on the lake were reporting 66-to-67-degree readings in the morning, which later bounced back to 69 to 70 degrees by late afternoon. The cool down wasn’t all that dramatic, but one notable change, a decline in algae bloom occurred during the cool front and it has affected anglers’ productivity this week.

Joyce Damon family fishing party September 7, 2022 (front to back; Mark, Bri, Kelly & Joyce)

 On Wednesday, a particularly warm, calm, and sunny day, fishing action on the big lake was “spotty”. Joyce Damon, one of our annual early fall guests was on the lake fishing with her family and local guide Jeff Sundin when she asked; is it because of the calm water and sunshine that the fish aren’t biting?

 “They are still “biting”, Sundin replied. “Whenever we find some and I can see them on the graph, somebody catches one. When you think about it, some spots have been better than others today, but almost every place we’ve stopped has produced something. So, it’s not that they won’t bite, it’s just that fish aren’t stacked up in any single location, so we have to hunt them down. Without weather circumstances that encourage fish to go on the prowl and begin feeding on their own, we just need to cover more ground, check more spots, and work smarter, and harder, for less.”

 That story is interesting because it denotes a departure from the trends we’ve experienced during late summer. In recent weeks, calm and sunny days may have “slowed down” fishing action, but even during the most challenging times, walleyes have been active enough to keep most folks happy. So, why does a sunny and calm day make the fishing slower now than it did before?

 The difference, we think, can be linked, among other things, to the increasing water clarity. As the water cools and algae blooms die off, shallow water fishing spots will be more heavily dependent on “ideal weather” to produce great action.

 The news is not all that bad though, although cooler water temperatures will make fishing tougher over the short term, they will also trigger fall migrations. Soon to begin, Walleyes, perch, and pike too, will begin moving away from summer haunts, across the lake’s mid-depth flats and begin inhabiting steeper structures. Watch for new “schools” of fish to show up on corners and points adjacent to mid-lake bars. The Bena Bar, Horseshoe, Sugar, and Center to name a few, will be good places to look. So will deeper, steeper structures that connect direct to shallow, shoreline flats.

 Don’t fall into the trap of believing that the pattern that occurs on one day will automatically work on the day afterward. Your daily routine should include checking some deep water, some mid-depth territory, and some shallow water spots too.

 Presentations are beginning to change too. Trolling spinners tipped with minnows, the mainstay presentation for the past several weeks still works. Jig and minnow combinations though, are becoming increasingly popular, especially on breezy days. “Any day we can get a good drift going, I’m fishing with jigs at least part of the time”, Reed Ylitalo says.

 Panfish anglers look forward to fall just as much as walleye anglers do. Crappies have been slow to turn up this summer, but some of our guests are finding small schools of them in isolated spots. Cabbage, coontail and other vegetation holds most crappies right now. Begin watching inside corners adjacent to these areas, the ones with steep breaklines that occur close to the shoreline, these are reliable early fall transitional locations.

 Crappies move along the edges, and open pockets in the vegetation on short-lived feeding runs during early morning and late evening. Starting your fishing trip early enough to catch the feeding run is a good idea too. Until fish begin showing up in open water territory, casting small jigs tipped with plastic action tails will be your best bet.

 Sunfish, which have been active most of this summer continue to be on the prowl. Like crappies, they continue to inhabit the edges of cabbage, coontail and other plants. Key water depths are 6 to 10 feet for either crappies or sunfish.

 Perch, when they are caught, have been quality size but low in numbers. Folks can usually gather a half dozen fish in the 10-to-12-inch range, but not often many more than that. Falling temperatures could trigger some changes in perch activity, they usually do, so watch for updates on that front as they become available.

Lake Winnibigoshish Cutfoot Sioux Labor Day Weekend 2022 Fishing Report

Heavy lightning, booming thunder and torrential rain graced us with their presence on Sunday evening. The encore to that performance was a day of west winds at 25 plus MPH on Monday. The churning action caused by rolling whitecaps “turned over” the water over much of Winnie, and some of the most exposed areas of Cutfoot Sioux.

Image of Jared Saufferer netting walleye for guide customer

By Tuesday, surface water temperatures had fallen. Our 68-degree reading indicated a full 5 degree drop from the 73-degree readings viewed over the past weekend. As the sunshine returned and moderate winds allowed the lake to begin settling back down, walleyes continued to bite, but in a whole new array of locations.

 The driving principal of fish location on Tuesday was food. Both during and after the turnover, huge pods of baitfish began turning up on deeper, but slow tapering shoreline breaks. At times, anglers spotted numerous small and scattered schools of walleye near the giant bait balls. “The fish seemed to keep moving all of the time”, said local guide Dale Anderson. Anderson was on the lake’s west side on Monday and reported catching fish at random intervals, in water depths anywhere from 10 to 13 feet.

Reed Ylitalo, another guide and close friend was on the west end of the lake too, “I spent most of my time fishing at 13 feet, but at days end, moved shallow and caught fish there as well.” Our own guide, Jared Saufferer avoided bouncing his guests across the lake on Monday but returned on Tuesday and found fish that were still lingering on “the flats” in water depths of 11 to 14 feet.

Around the lake, other anglers and guides also reported catching fish at both Mallard and Stony Points, as well as along the deeper breaklines on the north shore. The east side of Winnie, due to the strong winds were not fished by most of the guests staying here, so reports from those areas are minimal.

Trolling spinners tipped with fatheads is still the most widespread and effective method for catching walleyes. Jig and minnow presentations are working, but at a slower pace, at least for now. As water temperatures fall, jigging will become the mainstay presentation for most anglers. When water temperatures reach down into the low 60’s, we believe.

Northern pike are scattered, but biting. Most of the pike are also being caught by folks trolling for walleye, but we think that targeting them might be a good idea. Numerous reports of pike in the 27-to-33-inch range have come in. The protected slot appears to be having a positive effect too because many fish in the protected, 22-to-26-inch slot are being caught and released as well. For eating, there are reasonably good numbers of fat, 20-to-21-inch fish available also.

Image of Bowen Lodge guests with nice northern pike

Panfish, because of the wind on Monday became the target for some of our guests. Mike Nolan, his daughter Michelle and son-in-law Glen, reporting catching sunfish, rock bass, northern pike, largemouth bass, and a couple of crappies. Trolling spinners tipped with small leeches along the cabbage and coontail patches in both Cutfoot and Little Cutfoot Sioux produced those fish.

Crappies were found in very small, select areas of heavy cover. So far, there have not been any reports of widespread migrations toward any of the most popular fall fishing spots. Again, falling water temperatures will be the friend of anglers searching for crappies. We’ll let you know when that happens.

 Yellow perch are where you find them and when located, are biting. Populations may be below historical averages, but the average size has been desirable. To date, nobody has returned to the docks with large numbers of them. But a dozen perch in the 10-to-12-inch range, caught in conjunction with a routine walleye fishing trip does make for a nice bonus.

The short-term forecast, warming air temperatures, sunshine and calmer seas appear to be setting the stage for a more summer-like Labor Day holiday. Many of you are already likely preparing to make the trip up already. Travel safely and have a good time when you get here. When you’re in the neighborhood, stop by for a chat, we’d love to see you.

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.