Walleyes Catchable, Pike Plentiful and Panfish Prowling! Fishing Report July 19, 2024

Walleyes are catchable, pike are plentiful and panfish are prowling! That’s the theme of this week’s report from Bowen Lodge.

Surface water temperatures had already risen into the high 70s, then a “cool front” moved through early this week. There were moderate declines in both surface temperatures, and in the algae blooms that helped darken the water last week. As of Thursday, surface temperatures on the big lake were about 75 degrees, Cutfoot Sioux waters were slightly warmer, 76 to 77 degrees depending on the spots. Calm, sunny weather helped start a new algae bloom that could be seen developing during the afternoon Thursday.

Walleye anglers continue to find, and catch walleyes on mid lake structures like bars, humps and hard-bottom areas of the flats. Over is the intense mayfly hatch that occurred a couple of weeks ago. In fact, it’s hard to find much evidence of any sort of insect hatches going on the big lake now.

Moving from spot-to-spot on Thursday, one group of anglers reported seeing almost nothing in the way of bait balls, or pods of insect larvae on the mid-lake humps they fished yesterday. They said, “We still found scattered packs of walleyes, and we’re not sure what they were feeding on, if anything. We managed to catch a fish or two from most of the spots, but the fish didn’t respond well on repeat drifts over the same spots. We did best by moving a lot, drifting the spot once, and then moving on to another location.”

Key presentations vary, but folks are catching fish with leeches more than any other bait right now. Suspended under slip-floats, attached to jig heads, or served up with Lindy Rigs are all effective methods for presenting leeches today. One of our better area anglers reported using a #4 split-shot attached about 5 feet up the line from a tiny, #6 pink colored hook. “I spot lock the boat and cast the live leech toward the bar and let it sink to the bottom. I don’t move it very fast, I let the leech swim on its own and do as much of the work as possible. Turn the handle 1 crank at a time, wait for a pickup and if nothing happens, turn the handle another time. It’s amazing how often I pick up nice walleyes using this method.” She reported.

Fishing tip: When you’re using leeches, make sure that they are both lively and large enough to swim against the weight of your hooks. If they are allowed to swim on the bottom, snagging on clusters of zebra mussels will be a problem. The lighter the weight of your hook, and the livelier the leech is, the better results you will achieve.

Some folks are also catching fish using night crawlers too, but they don’t seem to be as reliable right now. Jigs and minnows are also working for some, but again, not to the same extent that leeches have produced fish over these mid-lake structures.

With all the attention being paid to mid-lake structure, very few folks are scanning shallow water, but there are walleyes to be found in the shallows. So far, the action is spotty, centered around areas with the best vegetation and lowest visibility. The back bays, flowages and areas adjacent to incoming water from small streams and rivers are the best areas to look. Mixed patches of cabbage, flat stemmed pondweed and other sparsely gathered plants will be the most productive.

Key depths are 6 to 8 feet, sometimes deeper, wherever there’s adequate cover. Trolling spinners tipped with fatheads or medium size leeches is probably the best presentation. Night crawlers are catching some walleyes, but small perch are plentiful, attacking worms violently and diminishing their effectiveness.

Perch are getting easier to find in the same shallow beds of green vegetation too. If there’s a way to isolate “keepers” from little fish, we don’t know about it yet. Trolling spinners tipped with fatheads; you will catch random 9-to-11-inch fish mixed in with the legions of small ones. Don’t expect limits, but gathering enough keepers for a meal should not be a problem. Troublesome as they are while you’re fishing, the abundance of small perch in the 4-to-7-inch range is impressive. The outlook of perch fishing appears promising, we just have to wait for them to grow up a little bit.

Northern pike anglers are having fun these days too. You can find pike in most areas of the big lake and all around the Cutfoot chain of lakes as well. For most folks, pike are typically a by-catch of their walleye and panfish presentations. Large pike require a little extra volume of food though, so if you’re interested in catching them, scaling up the size of your presentation is a great idea.

Large, safety pin style bucktails are good, so are large plastic paddle tail swimbaits and hard jerkbaits. Medium heavy casting rods spooled with braid are best for larger lures. If you have a supply of musky equipment, bring it along on your trip because pike anglers are reporting sightings now too, especially in Cutfoot.

Panfish and crappies are gathered around the flats where vegetation is green and lush. Trolling spinners has produced modest catches of both sunfish and crappies. We think it’s a good idea to troll until you contact your target species and then fine tune your presentations from there. Small plastics served on small jigs are best for crappies, cast your lures and let them drop into pockets and gaps. Sunfish prefer some meat on your presentation, add a chunk of cut up night crawler or a small leech to compact jig heads and fish vertically.

As always, panfish anglers who fish during early morning and late evening will find the most active fish. If you’re fishing during midday and catch one or two crappies or sunfish, make note of the area. Try fishing in the same spots later, of early the next morning and you might be surprised by how many fish you find.

Mid-to-late summer is a transitional time, and we’re following the trends. Soon, walleyes will move away from the soft bottom areas where insect hatches drew their attention. They’ll take up residence on the flats, along shoreline breaks and on rocks, wherever minnows and small gamefish gather in large numbers. Follow the updates and we’ll do our best to keep you up to speed.

Lake Winnie Cutfoot Sioux Fishing Report July 9, 2024

Seasonal milestones like rising water temperature, developing vegetation and algae blooms are like a road map that guides anglers through the various fishing patterns that occur on Winnie and Cutfoot every year. One major milestone, Mayflies hatching occurred not long ago and this hatch was a big one. Mayflies hatching by the millions formed clouds in the air, and the water’s surface was completely covered by them.

Image of Mayflies from recent hatch on Lake Winnibigoshish July 2024

 Like heat seeking missiles, fish of all species migrate into areas where the emerging larvae provide a fresh source of protein. The impact of fishing patterns is undeniable and anglers who want to be productive, are forced to make adjustments. For now, fish have more food than they know what to do with, and it has turned them into binge feeders. They make shorter, more intense feeding runs, followed by longer periods of inactivity. The rule for anglers is that they must work harder and smarter, for less.

 Just because walleyes have a lot of choices doesn’t mean that they aren’t feeding. In fact, this is the period when they eat and grow more than any time of the year. Using your instinct, understanding your electronics and being persistent will allow you to find and catch fish on most outings.

Bowen Lodge guest with nice Walleye caught on Lake Winnie July 2024

 A few days back, Reed Ylitalo, one of our preferred fishing guides, was on the lake and reported seeing more clouds of larvae on his electronics. “I found a lot of bait in the water column, but I’m 100% sure if this was an emerging hatch of midge, or another wave of mayflies on its way.” Ylitalo reported. “Many of the fish, walleyes seemed to be dormant, laying close to the sandy bottom. We did find and catch some fish in water depths of 17 to 24 feet using a ¼ ounce jig head tipped with either a leech, or a fathead minnow.” Ylitalo calls the slow, deliberate fishing technique “wiggle-wiggle-drag.”

 Ylitalo found another pattern that day too, walleyes suspended above the flats in 10 to 17 feet of water. Most of the fish were located high in the water column, suspended 5 to 8 feet below the surface. Targeting those fish with slip floats, small jigs and lively leeches produced some more fish for his crew.

 During mid-summer, not all our guests’ demand, or expect walleye fishing to be at its best. For many, panfish, bass and pike provide all the action they want and for them, fishing has been good.

Catching panfish off the dock at Bowen Lodge on Cutfoot Sioux

 Sunfish appear to have completed their spawning period and have taken up residence along the edges of fresh green vegetation. Sunnies love to feed on emerging insect larvae too, so the best fishing spots are found near areas of semi-soft marl where insects hatch.

 It’s easy enough to locate sunfish by trolling spinners, beetle spins, or small action tails along the cabbage. The best spots are usually small though, so once you’ve encountered some fish, stopping the boat and fishing vertically will be more productive. Compact, but heavy, jig heads tipped with cut pieces of night crawler, or small leeches will be good. Fish the lures a few inches above the bottom and keep movement to a minimum, sunfish don’t always like to see a lot of movement in your presentations.

 Bass fishing has become more popular in recent years and as you can see, some of our guests are finding some big ones!

 On both Cutfoot and Winnie, largemouth bass can be found in the bulrushes. Cabbage patches located adjacent to bulrush are also productive, so are pockets in densely matted patches of wild rice. If you have heavy gear, the best presentations are weedless lures that can be tossed into the heaviest cover. Texas rigged plastic worms, jigs and plastics, or “slop-frogs” can all be used to catch bass. Don’t be surprised when you find rock bass, sunfish or pike in the deep cover too.

 Northern pike are where you find them right now and can be found in a wide variety of habitats. On the big lake, locating baitfish in open water is one of the reliable methods. Trolling crankbaits over the flats in water depths of 12 to 16 feet of water will produce pike. Lures like rattle baits, or jointed swimming lures work well for speed trolling.

 Another key location on the big lake is steep breaklines that straddle the flats and deep-water basins. The presentation that works best for mid-summer pike on the steep breaks is using large, lively minnows on Lindy Rigs. Using leaders tied on 5 to 7 feet of 17 to 25 pound fluorocarbon paired with 1/0 live bait hooks and ½ to ¾ ounce sinkers, slowly troll the edges of mid lake bars. Provided they are large, 8 to 12 inches, you can use most minnow varieties. Sucker minnows are easy to keep healthy and work well for pike. Don’t be surprised when the occasional large walleye comes along as well.

 On the Cutfoot chain of lakes, cabbage patches and rocks will produce good pike action too. Trolling the edges of vegetation works fine, but to zero in on larger pike, casting larger lures often works better. Bucktail spinnerbaits, paddle tail swimbaits, wood jerkbaits and large spoons are all good choices.

 Perch fishing has been spotty, but when found, anglers are catching some good size fish. Until now, most perch have been found in vegetation, but with all of the insect hatches going on, should soon be located on mid-lake bars and humps as well. Our best advice about perch is to catch them when they’re encountered rather than targeting them. You’re likely to catch just as many by random encounters. If and when that changes, we’ll let you know.

"High Water Walleyes" On Winnie and Cutfoot June 20, 2024

Six weeks ago, folks were speculating whether low water levels would be a drag on anglers accessing not only Winnie, but many other area lakes too. Since then, frequent rainfalls brought water levels up to normal, or in some regions, even above normal. Then on Tuesday, we received another rainfall, this time a big one! Now we’re looking at high, even flood-stage water levels and walleyes are using all that extra water to their advantage.

 Most anglers know that walleyes like moving water and use terms like “walleye chop” to describe breezy times when conditions are favorable for catching them. The chop on top is what we see, and most folks understand that the whitecaps help diffuse daylight. The assumption is correct, and the lower visibility definitely is an advantage. But there’s more, under the surface, walleyes see, and respond not only to diffused light, but also to current that’s churned up by the whitecaps. A river fish by nature, walleyes have a natural tendency to move into the current, feeding as they swim upstream.

 On Winnie, Cutfoot and connected waters, you’ll find lots of areas where incoming water is producing current. As a bonus, the water flowing in from low-lying areas is darker, and also warmer too. So, fishing in the darker, moving water is an attractive option for walleye anglers who prefer fishing shallow water. The larger flowages like the Mississippi, Third River and Raven’s Flowage are obvious choices, but keep an eye out for any small streams and creeks flowing into the lakes. For a time, they’ll offer attractive feeding opportunities for walleyes.

 Fishing for walleyes on the flats continues to be productive option for some of our guests. Key depths range from 12 to 16 feet of water, and fish are scattered, roaming in small schools. For most folks, drifting or slow trolling and fan casting jigs with minnows is still a mainstay presentation. Some folks have had better success trolling with spinners tipped with either minnows, or ½ night crawlers. “The secret is to keep the spinners away from the boat,” advises one of our long-time guests. “Instead of using bottom bouncers or heavy weights to keep the offering under the boat, we’re using 3/16-ounce bullet sinkers, and letting out a lot of line;” he added.  

 Search baits, like ¼ ounce jigs tipped with large plastic swim baits, jigging Rapalas, or weight forward spinners tipped with night crawlers can also be used to catch walleyes over the flats. The most important factor is remembering that using search baits is it's own presentation, not a substitute for finesse presentations. Knowing that the idea is to trigger impulse strikes from the fish, and not attempting to emulate more subtle jig and minnow presentations. Making long casts and retrieving them using aggressive jigging cadences is the key to getting strikes when using search baits.

 Some folks like to fish mid-lake structure at this time of the season and are finding fish on mid-lake bars and humps. The best ones are larger bars that connect directly to the shoreline. Small, isolated humps further out from shore have yet to attract fish on any large scale. On the bars, jig and minnow combinations are producing both walleye and pike. Lindy Rigging with leeches and crawlers is working too and minnow rigs tipped with creek chubs, redtails or other larger minnows have produced action for some as well.

Crappie, sunfish and perch action continues to be spotty, but some of our more adventurous guests are finding them.

Sunfish are reported by many to be scattered far and wide, making them difficult to pin down. Once located though, they are active and will bite willingly. As this photo reveals, heavy vegetation is one of the keys to locating them. Searching for bluegills, or any other panfish, can be done using spinners. Rig up a standard single hook spinner with a #2 or #3 Indiana blade behind a 3/16-ounce bullet sinker. Tip it with a ½ cut night crawler and troll in and around vegetation like cabbage and coontail. Slow speeds, .8 to 1.0 MPH are working best right now because water temperatures are cool and fish metabolism is not at it’s peak.

Once located, a more efficient presentation will be compact, but relatively heavy jigs tipped with cut pieces of night crawler, small leeches, waxworms or even with plastic tails. A 1/8-ounce live bait jig looks large for catching sunfish, but it’s not, not only will they grab lures with large hooks, but the larger offering will also help reduce deep hooking. Fish vertically, and hold your lure steady, you’ll catch more sunfish by using the subtle, steady action.

Largemouth bass have been active, and some folks are finding nice fish. Bass will be in a variety of habitats, but bulrushes are one of the best places to look for them. Lily pads, or heavy matted vegetation are good alternatives. Heavy or medium heavy action fishing rods, reels spooled with 20-to-30-pound braided line and weedless lures will get you into, and out of the best bass territory. Try slop-frogs over heavy matted vegetation or in lily pads. In the bulrushes, Texas rigged plastic worms, or other weedless lures will be best. Cast into the bulrushes, fish slowly and allow the fish plenty of time to find and strike your lure. The best presentation for crappies right now is to troll the cabbage beds using spinners tipped with small to medium size chubs. Small packs of active crappies are in the gaps and pockets found along the outer edges of the vegetation. Cabbage beds located near steeper breaklines are for now, the better areas to search for them.

Jumbo Perch are where you find them! Here today, gone tomorrow is the current rule of thumb, so when you locate some, catch them now rather than waiting to come back later. Heavier vegetation mixed with gravel or light rocks are the preferred habitat. As the waters warm, and conditions stabilize, we should see hatches of small crawfish and that will lure perch into more open territory. Typically, early July produces improvements in perch activity and we’ll let you know if and when this pattern begins to emerge.

Lake Winnie Walleye Report June 13, 2024

There’s been a lot of wind lately, most of it blowing in from the west or northwest. While it’s made for generally good fishing conditions, not everybody has the equipment to take advantage of it. Because of that, not everybody has been fishing in their preferred early summer fishing areas. Folks that do get where they want to be, are reporting good success for walleyes. Folks that don’t are reporting mixed results, depending on the water and habitat conditions they encounter.

Surface water temperatures have been slow to rise, but this week they have advanced. It’s common to find temperatures ranging from 63 to 66 degrees in mid-lake areas on Winnie. Backwater areas in the flowages, shallow bays and isolated calm areas of the Cutfoot Sioux chain are warmer. On Wednesday, one group reported 69 degrees in a shallow bay, the warmest we’ve heard of so far this spring.

Water clarity caused problems for anglers earlier this season, but we notice that there is a slight, and welcome stain in the water now. Probably caused in part because of inflow from feeder creeks and flowages that were low, but are now filled, even overflowing in some areas, by recent rainfalls. The darker, faster warming water flowing into the lake has provided just enough “dinginess” to make walleyes move shallower and become more aggressive. When the wind blows, they can be found on shoreline breaks, and on the flats in water depths of 6 to 12 feet and can be caught relatively easily.

On Wednesday, one of the area’s top fishing pros provided this; “I’ve been able to do more drifting, and slow trolling recently. I’ve noticed that the water is darker, not much, but enough to allow me to fish over the top of the small schools I locate. That makes it easier for folks who don’t have the high-end electronics, the fish are staying put once they’re located.”

Walleye locations on calm days vs breezy days

While the water is somewhat more turbid, it is still clear though and on calmer days, walleyes still become flightier, and more difficult to pin down. On calm, or bright days, they move across the flats, into deeper water. Look for them in cuts, or inside corners located along the breaks into deeper water. Key depths range from 18 to 24 feet on the transition between sand, and softer bottom areas. There are also some fish moving off the flats and onto shoreline related, mid-lake structure.

Points and steeper breaklines that lead directly from shore, and into the deeper main lake basin are always the first to fill up with fish. Popular bars like the Bena Bar, Sugar Bar and Horseshoe are just a few examples. Look at your map and select locations like the one seen here, areas that offer walleyes a travel path between the shallows, and the deep basin. Later, fish will follow insect hatches, and migrate across the softer, marly bottom and begin inhabiting more isolated structures in the middle of the lake.

Along with varied locations comes varied presentations. Some of the more effective fishing presentations for walleyes right now include jig and minnow, trolling spinners, Lindy Rigging with live bait and slip-floats, where to use each depends on where you find fish. Walleyes on the shallow breaklines, and mid-depth flats are responding well to classic jig and minnow presentations.

Trolling spinners have worked best in areas where vegetation is growing, primarily in shallow areas of the flowages and back bays. Typically, spinners are tipped with medium size fatheads, but night crawlers can also be used effectively.

Lindy Rigging with leeches, night crawlers and large minnows has been effective along steep drop offs on “the bars”. Walleyes appear to be showing a preference for night crawlers today, but that can change periodically. It’s best to carry some crawlers and some leeches and switch them up until a preference is discovered. Most associated with targeting large fish, creek chubs or redtails in the 6-to-8-inch size range can be used on Lind Rigs too. At the moment, using minnows will trigger strikes from northern pike too. So, keep this in mind when you’re looking for a larger pike to put on the grill.

Slip-floating works best when walleyes are found on small rock rises, on larger mid-depth flats. The structures provide fish with a place to gather in tighter groups and that helps keep lures in the strike zone. Leeches are the most common bait for bobber fishing, but don’t overlook a night crawler. Using a 1/16-ounce jig, cut the night crawler in half and fish with larger, dark brown nose end; this method can be highly effective for walleyes.

Perch and panfish haven’t been making many headlines around here. When folks find them, perch of quality size are being caught, but they are nomadic and rarely show up twice in the same spots. The best bet for catching some jumbos is to wait for overcast days and fish in vegetation. Small packs of fish move through patches of emerging plants feeding on minnows. Trolling with spinners is a good search tool for locating them. Jigs tipped with medium size fatheads fished vertically is a reliable presentation for zeroing in on them.

Crappies have been illusive too! Apparently, they’ve decided not to spawn this spring, and when found, are located in classic post-spawn habitat like cabbage. The leafy vegetation offers good cover, where the fish can ambush schools of small minnows. Casting small jigs tipped with plastic action tails is reliable, and it’s best to fish either during the early morning, or late evening when the fish are most active.

All things considered; fishing has been good despite the somewhat turbulent conditions. It’s just a matter of time before weather patterns stabilize, and classic early summer patterns take hold. We’ll be watching, and reporting as the season progresses, please stay tuned.

Walleyes, Crappies, Perch and Pike On The Prowl Lake Winnie Report June 2, 2024

Early summer fishing patterns, when compared to most typical seasons, are running a bit behind schedule this year. Water temperatures remain cool, baitfish are moving in and out across the flats into and out of the shallows. Walleyes following their preferred food source, move in and out with them, appearing in a variety of depths, changing locations from one day to the next.

 For some, the nomadic behavior causes problems because the moving schools of fish are more difficult to “pattern”. There are some anglers taking advantage of it though, finding small schools of walleye in a wide range of locations, depth ranges and feeding moods.

 The best way to describe their method might be “stalk. locate and fish”. What that means is that they move along slowly, watching for fish on side-imaging sonar, locate schools of fish and then stopping to zero in on them. For some folks, advanced “forward facing sonar” is then used to pinpoint fish. Folks without the advanced electronics can still catch fish, they just have to make a few extra casts, and move a little bit more to do it.

 “For me, knowing the general territory fish inhabit is good enough,” Jeff Sundin says. I get a handle on the key depth, or structure that the fish are using and then ask my customers to cast in that direction. If anything, knowing the structures fish are using and following my Lakemaster chart to stay in position, is more important than being able to see individual schools of fish on my sonar screen.” The veteran fishing guide adds. “Being determined, following the contours, and casting deliberately toward potential fish holding structure will eventually lead us to new schools of fish.” He concludes.

 Structures most likely to hold fish right now are shoreline breaks in the 16-to-24-foot depth range. Often, walleyes during the daytime, are positioned along these breaklines. When conditions turn favorable for feeding, they begin moving across the mid-depth flats, heading for the shallower shoreline breaks adjacent to the shallow sand flats where minnows and small baitfish are plentiful. Key depths during the feeding spurts range between 4 and 8 feet of water.

 Jig and minnow combinations continue to be favored by most anglers on the big lake. There are some folks using slip bobbers and leeches, and a few more using live bait rigs and larger minnows, or night crawlers. Suring the evening, and just after dark, trolling the flats using crankbaits will produce not only walleyes, but some larger size northern pike too.  Tailor your lure weights to the depths you’re fishing, 1/8 ounce jigs are more common than anything and work well in shallow water, 6 to 12 feet. On the deeper breaklines, ¼ ounce jigs are better and at times, 1/16-ounce sizes should be used in extreme shallow water, 3 to 6 feet, for example.

 Crappie anglers, accustomed to finding fish in shallow water during late spring, are reporting mixed results. In certain, select areas, crappies have been found in patches of bulrush in water depths of 3 to 3 feet. There are more fish being found deeper though, located in patches of cabbage in water depths of 6 to 10 feet of water. The cabbage plants are often used as transition areas both before, and again, after spawning. Right now, we think they are still in a “pre-spawn”, but knowing for sure can be hard to pin down.

 Jig and minnow, jigs and plastics, and bobbers with live minnows are the most common presentations. Some crappie anglers troll the cabbage patches with spinners, or spin jigs too and this presentation can be effective, especially for locating small schools of fish. Troll at speeds of .9 to 1.3 MPH until fish are encountered, then stop and fancast the vegetation using jigs tipped with plastic tails.

 Perch anglers report finding low numbers of high-quality fish on the big lake. When you find them, they are nice, 11 to 12 perch are common: that’s the good news. The bad news is that finding them takes effort, populations are low, and key habitats vary wildly. Shallow vegetation in 3 to 5 feet of water is one key area, so are shallow patches of mixed gravel and light rock. Another key area to check is the deep, sand to mud transition along shoreline breaks.

 Marl, a semi soft mix of sand, clay and mud is where insect hatches occur and the bugs, especially bloodworms, are highly attractive to perch. Marl can be found anywhere, but on Lake Winnie, can be found easily in water depths of 24 to 30 feet along the shoreline breaks and even out on mid-lake bars and humps. There are reports of folks finding perch in these areas and catching them using live bait rigs with short, 2-to-4-foot leaders tipped with live minnows. The best minnows for this presentation are rainbows, larger fatheads and some of the “river-mix” varieties.

 Northern pike have been caught in good numbers ever since the fishing season opened in mid-May. This week though, there’s been an uptick in the number of larger pike being caught. Chunky fish in the 26 to 30 inch range have been reported daily, and occasionally, fish over 30 inches strike as well. Most of the pike have been caught are bonus fish that come along during the pursuit of walleyes. Pike striking on jig and minnow combinations is not breaking news. So, if you want to catch a few for dinner, you will probably get plenty of them while you fish for walleyes on your jigs and minnows.

 Catching larger pike may not be that simple, they like bigger meals than that. To target larger pike, try casting large spoons like Red Eye Wigglers, or big Daredevils. Jumbo size spinnerbaits are good too and so are crankbaits like magnum Rapalas. Fishing vegetation like cabbage is one good location, but rocks are another, sometimes overlooked pattern. Live bait rigs, tipped with larger, 6-to-10-inch size sucker minnows is a good presentation for deeper rocks, and along steep breaklines on mid-lake bars.

 Sunfish will become important soon, but so far haven’t appeared on the radar screens of our guests. As water temperatures warm, they’ll be getting more active, and a larger part of our daily conversations, we’ll ley you know when that happens.

 As we roll into summer, expectations for walleyes transitioning into summer feeding patterns are heightened. As a parting thought, we think this is a good time to start experimenting with alternative presentations. Even though jig and minnow presentations are still reliable, leeches, night crawlers and artificial lures will begin working better soon. Carrying a few of everything, rather than a lot of any one thing, is an idea that makes sense right now.