Lake Winnibigoshish • Cutfoot Sioux 2023 Walleye Fishing Season Outlook

Walleye anglers, curious about the progress of the ice breaking up on Lake Winnie may have had a few anxious moments this spring. But, compared to last year’s “ice-out cliff hanger”, this is going to be a walk in the park. Today’s images of Cutfoot and Winnibigoshish compared to those we viewed around the same time in 2022 indicate that we’re 4 to 5 days ahead of where we were last spring. Admittedly, this still constitutes a later than typical ice-out, but at least we have a little bit of wiggle room to work with.

Bowens Flats Lake Winnibigoshish May 1, 2023

One of this week’s top news items is whether the MN DNR will set up gear for the walleye egg take at Little Cutfoot Sioux. As of Monday 5-1-23, the current working plan was to set up and collect eggs to be taken into the Grand Rapids hatchery. For that to happen, Little Cutfoot would have to be ice-free by later today, or Wednesday at the latest. Then oxygen monitoring would determine the start date for walleye trapping. With brisk breezes and choppy water, dissolved oxygen could reach desirable levels in 3 to days. Following that timeline, even the most optimistic schedule would place fisheries staff at the traps sometime next weekend.

During that time, assessing catch rates from some of the other regional egg takes will determine whether Grand Rapids can meet the 2023 quota by receiving eggs from other areas. Area egg take operations that have opened already are off to a strong start. So, early indications are that the Grand Rapids operation at Little Cutfoot would be short and fast if it happens at all.

Either way, the 2023 walleye season is going to happen on schedule, and we’ll be ready!

 This year, we’re anticipating a continuation of the strong angler catch rates we enjoyed in both 2021 and 2022. The 2 back-to-back, “dynamo year classes” of walleyes from 2018 and 2019 will continue to dominate the population. This summer, the size structure of walleyes from both years will be very desirable. Many of the fish from the 2018-year class will range between 16 and 18 inches and by summer’s end, there will be a significant number exceeding 18 inches.

 Walleyes from the 2019-year class, many now ranging from 14 to 15 inches, will also be desirable for folks interested in a family fish fry. This ultra-strong year class will grow throughout the summer too and before fall, will provide anglers with lots of opportunity for both quality and quantity.

 Walleyes from the strong 2013-year class reached maturity in the 2016-2017 seasons and many of them are still swimming in Winnie. Folks interested in catching larger fish for a “photo op” will continue to have a great opportunity to achieve that goal too.

 As always, we’ll be encouraging folks to be selective, targeting fish that are most likely to be males. Female walleyes tend to be larger than their male counterparts of the same age. So, it makes sense to get familiar with the average sizes of each year’s class and when possible, select fish in the smaller range for harvest. We will be in close contact with DNR fisheries staff and will provide frequent updates about growth rates during the season.

As happy as we are about having strong walleye populations in Cutfoot Sioux and Winnie, they may be contributing, at least in part, to an overall decline in populations of Yellow Perch.

 All those hungry walleye mouths to feed could be responsible, in part, for lower-than-average perch numbers in Winnie and Cutfoot. At 3.3 fish per net, the fall survey recorded the lowest number of Yellow Perch in recent history. The decline appears to be in the most recent year classes, affecting fish of the smallest sizes.

As is often the case though, lower numbers of fish have resulted in more anglers catching perch of greater quality size. In 2021, 25% of perch recorded in angler surveys were over 9 inches. Fall fishing produced good numbers of quality fish, often mixed in with walleyes. Over the past winter, we observed firsthand, anglers with good catches of fish in the 10-to-11-inch range, with an occasional 12-inch bonus.

Perch enthusiasts fishing the lake this summer will be well advised to cover lots of water, checking a variety of habitats. Perch, like most fish are highly adaptable and can be found feeding on anything. Crawfish, minnows, insects and young of the year gamefish are all on the menu. Habitat like gravel bars, weed beds and semi-soft, marl are likely feeding territory and could be found both shallow and deep.

Northern Pike, another popular species with anglers, are well suited for Winnibigoshish and connected waters. The protected 22-to-26-inch slot appears to be having a positive impact on size structure. It’s too early to prove statistically, but anglers on the lake do report catching more pike of larger average sizes. The trade-off is that catch rates of smaller pike have declined.

Most folks would take declines in small pike as positive news, and DNR fisheries staff agree. “That was the point of instituting the 22–26-inch protected slot”, said retired DNR Large Lake Specialist Gerry Albert. “Obviously, pike sizes tend to improve simply by protecting larger ones with a slot limit and keeping more of them in the lake. But there are other less obvious reasons that lower populations can be desirable. Less competition for forage, more space for fish to grow can be helpful too.”

It’s not clear if the protected slot limit is responsible for the change, but we’ve also seen more anglers catching fish within the protected slot sizes but have also noted more fish over 26 inches being caught too. Anecdotally, we see evidence that folks have an excellent chance of catching some “photo op” pike in the 26-to-30-inch range.

Panfish are important to our guests, especially during summer and fall. If you hadn’t already heard, Cutfoot Sioux made the list of lakes to receive protection under the “Quality Sunfish initiative.” The initiative, widely accepted by anglers, is aimed at helping restore larger panfish into systems where heavy harvest pressure has occurred. Also anecdotally, sunfish numbers throughout the Cutfoot system appear to have rebounded. We have noted though that many of them had not achieved larger sizes. Like the pike regulation, it is too soon to assess the impact on the size structure of sunfish. But assuming our lakes follow the trajectory of other lakes that have these protections, the future of sunfish here could well be a happy one. So, for our guests, the 5 sunfish daily limit could be an exciting development, we’ll know more as time goes on, but we’re hopeful.

Crappie populations everywhere in the region had been declining for a few years. Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux were not exempt, catch rates for our guests have been lower than average recently. During 2022, there was an apparent year class of young ‘up-and-comers”. Crappies in the 5-to-7-inch size range were showing up not just in Cutfoot and Winnie, but in dozens of north central Minnesota lakes. We’re hopeful that the next couple of seasons will bring these fish to maturity and we’ll be updating the progress every chance we get.

 Like you, the timing of this year’s ice out had us a little anxious for a while. But it is settled now, and our attention has turned toward getting the cabins, lodge and grounds ready for the fishing opener. We’re looking forward to seeing everybody and we’re grateful for another season.

 We’ll be keeping you posted all season long, so be sure to check in often.

High Speed Transition to Fall Fishing Patterns Cutfoot Sioux - Lake Winnie September 29, 2022

Lake Winnibigoshish Cutfoot Sioux Fishing Report – September 29, 2022 

Any mystery about when the first frost will hit Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux has been solved. The first dive into sub-freezing air temperatures hit on Monday night, then widespread frost occurred in our area overnight Wednesday and into Thursday morning.

Ashley Heig, Lake Winnie Walleye

 Those frosty temperatures sent surface water temperatures on a fast dive into the mid-to-low 50s. On Wednesday, most areas of Lake Winnie registered 57 to 58 degrees. Cutfoot Sioux was more variable, with temperatures ranging between 51 degrees and 60 degrees depending on the water depth.

 The cold water has not affected walleye temperament, by all accounts, walleye activity remains strong. Walleye location, on the other hand, does appear to have undergone some transformation. Anglers who had become “locked in” to fishing territories and patterns that were reliable last week, found few, if any walleyes using them during post cold front, Tuesday, and Wednesday. But as is usually the case during fall, anglers who explored fresh territory, searching for schools of migratory fish were rewarded with awesome catches.

 Overall, the best depth ranges to focus on are the breaks from 6 to 8 feet, the 10-to-12-foot breaks and the 16-to-24-foot ones. Check enough spots in these depth ranges and it is just a matter of time, you will locate a school of walleyes.

 For now, the secret to locating most schools of migratory walleyes depends on locating shoreline structure with high concentrations of baitfish. Small, 1 to 1-1/2-inch-long perch are the primary food source and these have been forced out of the shallowest water, now residing in short, fine grasses that cover the lakes bottom.

 Grasses line Chara and we suspect, but have not confirmed, Stary Stonewort are not thick enough to provide cover for large gamefish, but they do provide ideal hiding spots of small minnows and young of the year gamefish. Areas like these are widespread on the big lake and scanning water depths of 6 to 12 feet will reveal them. On the screen of your graph, they will look like a fine carpet rising from the bottom. Clouds of “bait food” can easily be seen on your electronics hovering over the fine grasses.

 Anglers who have fished these areas know too, that an easy way to locate the hairy habitat is with their fishing lures. A jig and minnow fished on or near the bottom will snag them frequently, sometimes too often. Jig and minnow combinations, the most popular fall presentation on both Cutfoot and Winnie, can be frustrating to use over these fine grasses.

Fine grasses can foul your lures, switch to lightweight 1/16 ounce jigs and pop-wiggle-pop over the tops.

One of our favorite local guides suggests avoiding “heavy” jig heads and replacing them with lighter ones. “A 1/16-ounce jig head, tipped with a large fathead, rainbow of lake shiner, and fished with a pop-wiggle-pop motion will swim up and over the tips of the grass. You won’t feel the bottom, but they will get you there, even on windy days. You can control your depth by controlling your boat speed, this is the key.” He tells us. Ideally, speeds of .6 to .8 MPH would be best, but even speeds up to 1.0 MPH will work.

Spinners tipped with minnows and crankbaits are producing some fish too, but these faster moving presentations have taken the back seat in terms of effectiveness. That said, spinners trolled behind lightweight bullet sinkers, 1/8-to-3/16-ounce sizes, will keep you out of the grass too. Just don’t expect the spinners to keep pace with the jigging presentations.

 The migratory trigger, falling water temperatures, extended not only to walleye but crappies, sunfish, and perch as well. Folks who have been chomping at the bit to get in on some of Cutfoot’s fall crappie fishing or jumbo perch on Lake Winnie are now reporting an uptick in the action. The sudden onset of cold temperatures usually shakes up the ecosystem at first and forces a short-term slowdown in panfish activity. But after the lakes settle in, panfish begin forming tighter schools that inhabit a wider array of open water territories.

Crappies in the early stages of fall migrations are using steep breaklines with immediate access to deep water. Best are the ones located near shore and feature inside corners, like the one you see here, especially ones that occur near weedy flats will be the first productive spots. Later, crappies will move further and further out, forming larger schools over the lake’s main basin.

Steep “inside turns” in the breakline are key crappie locations during early fall.

 Don’t arrive with elevated expectations about finding huge schools of fish. Crappie populations are at a low ebb in both Cutfoot and Little Cutfoot and anglers have struggled over most of the summer. Still, there are some fish out there, so you’ll likely find a few for a meal.

 Folks are beginning to realize the adverse impact of targeting crappies in deep water. If you love fishing crappies in deep, open water during fall, please bear in mind that most fish caught in water depths over 25 feet are not releasable. Fish caught deeper, 30 feet plus for example, will almost certainly parish. Catch a few fish that are destined for the frying pan, and then move on to another, shallower water species for your “catch and release” fishing.

 Jumbo perch are active now, especially on the big lake, but have not been found in larger schools. Targeting perch does not seem to improve the odds of catching more of them. The best catches are still made by walleye anglers using jig and minnow combinations and drifting through small packs of perch encountered along the way. Size structure is good though, so a dozen perch mixed in with your walleye catch is a real bonus.

Northern pike, especially larger ones have moved away from the shoreline and into open water. Tullibee will begin staging along the shoreline soon and that will bring in more, larger pike. In the meantime, target the better size pike by fishing steep breaklines on the lake’s largest bars. Live minnows fished on Lindy Rigs or suspended below slip floats will be reliable. So will trolling larger crankbaits along the outer edges of the steep breaks.

Transitions between seasons is not unique to the fish. As September ends, we await the arrival of guests who will focus on hunting, not fishing. The mixture of fishing and hunting interests makes fall an interesting time, it’s a hectic one too. But we’re still here and we’ll stay on top of the transition into fall, and let you know whenever there are significant changes in patterns or presentations. Enjoy your time outdoors and good luck.

Fall Fishing Patterns Taking Hold On Winnibigoshish, Cutfoot Sioux September 15, 2022

Turning the corner into fall has been a slower than average process this season. But despite the summer’s stubborn desire to not relinquish control, the waters of Winnie and Cutfoot have begun transitioning into early fall patterns.

Paul Kautza with Fat Lake Winnie Northern Pike

Surface water temperatures, caused by a period of calm and sunny weather, took a short detour back into the 71-to-72-degree range early this week. But once the breeze picked up and the skies turned grey, surface readings in the 66-to-68-degree range have become the norm.

Walleyes can still be found in a wide range of habitat that include both classic summer spots as well as the areas known for producing good fall fishing action. Large, mid lake bars like the Bena Bar, Center Bar, Sugar Bar and Horseshoe continue to hold good numbers of fish. At the same time, walleye populations are building along shoreline breaks, in average water depths ranging between 6 and 10 feet.

Ashley & Jens Heig with nice “Winnie Walleye Double” 9-14-2022

One notable departure from recent reports has been the disintegration of the gravel bar, rock hump pattern that was occurring on the lake’s mid-depth flats. For a time, walleye, pike, and perch shared many of these hard patches of real estate. At this point, fish migrating across the 12- to 16-foot-deep flats may temporarily appear at some of the same spots, but they typically won’t remain on them very long. The disappearance of fish in these areas is one reason we believe that fall migrations have begun.

As fish locations are changing, so are the preferred presentations. Trolling, particularly using spinners tipped with fatheads continues to provide our guests with reliable walleye action. But so do jig and minnow presentations and over the past few days, they are gaining in both reliability and popularity. On Wednesday, our resident fishing guide, Jared Saufferer, and his crew fished jig and minnow throughout their entire fishing trip with good results. They did the same thing on Tuesday, but in a different area and had equally good, if not better results.

As good as jigging can be, catching a mixed bag of fish is important to some of our guests and for them, trolling with spinners will continue to be a better choice over the short term. Northern pike, many of them nice size, are roaming the shallow weed edges again and the spinners are a more effective way of landing these fish. The heavier tackle and line weights used in making them give anglers a better chance of not getting snipped off by the scissor-like teeth of the pike. “They’ll bite the jigs, but you’re gonna get snipped off a lot”, one of the local fishing guides reported.

Perch, many of them very good size, are mixed in with walleye and pike too and they are being caught using spinners too. Again, folks using jig and minnow presentations are catching perch too, but lacking large schools of fish to work on, are likely to be doing so less efficiently than many of the “trollers” who cover water more quickly.

There are anglers using other popular presentations such as crankbaits, jigging raps and lindy rigs too, and all these presentations are producing at least some fish. So, if you’ve been bored with the tried-and-true jigging and trolling techniques, this is a good time to experiment with presentations that you’ve heard of, but maybe not yet mastered.

Panfish anglers turn to both Cutfoot and Little Cutfoot Sioux for what has historically been very reliable fall fishing. So far, sunfish have been holding up their end of the bargain, but crappies have been few and far between. It’s likely that most crappies are still using summer habitat. Cabbage, coontail and flat stemmed pondweed are all plants that provide cover for baitfish and excellent ambush points for crappies. Until we receive a hard frost, those plants will continue to be more attractive to crappies than the open water spots are.

Did you read the crappie report dated September 12, 2022, on the FishRapper this week? If not, it might be worth your time to check it out because crappies, holding tight to their summer habitats appears to be an area wide trend, not just one that affects Cutfoot and/or Winnie.

We’ve all been really spoiled by the good walleye fishing on Winnie this season, last year too for that matter. But as good as it is, anglers visiting the lake for the first time can have trouble locating the right spot at the right time. Our best advice about fish location is to play the wind. Any shoreline on the lake holds fish today, yes, all 4 sides of the lake offer good odds in terms of fish location. But, when there’s a breeze that produces a ‘walleye chop” blowing along the shoreline, the odds go up exponentially.

Don’t fall into the trap of getting hung up on a spot just because you’ve learned that it was “good yesterday”. If the wind direction changes, so will fish location. And as quickly as a stiff breeze will start up a hot bite in the shallows. Calm water will trigger fish to either move deeper, or into heavier cover. Adapting to current conditions is more important than knowing “the spot”. The walleye population remains strong, so be persistent and the lake itself will take of the rest.

While we still have plenty of fishing guests at the resort, our summer is beginning to wind down. We’re looking ahead to the fall when our grouse hunting season becomes intense. Getting ready for our fall grouse guests takes both time and devotion. So, while we’ve still got ca couple of more fishing reports in store for you these next few weeks, we’ll probably wait until there’s a significant change in fishing patterns before we post the next one. In the meantime, enjoy the information we’ve share here and enjoy your time on the lake; the fall only comes around once each year, and it’s here!

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.