Area fishing report
By Grand Forks Herald Staff
Report on May 16, 2014 at 9:10 a.m.
Lake of the Woods
Good numbers of limits, walleyes in the 19½- to 28-inch protected slot and trophy fish are being caught on bright-colored jigs and minnows in 4 to 13 feet of water in the Rainy River, Four-Mile Bay, Lighthouse Gap and in front of Pine Island to Morris Point. Northern pike continue to be caught on crankbaits, spoons and minnows on the weedbeds in Four-Mile Bay and Zippel Bay. On the Rainy River, walleye action has been very good north of Baudette, Minn., heading toward Lighthouse Gap in areas adjacent to tributaries and bays.
Devils Lake
The ice is off the lake, and the boat ramps are open, reports John Adams of Big John’s Guide Service. Anglers have reported catching walleyes in shallow water and current areas near the bridges using jigs tipped with twister tails or live bait. Look for fishing to get even better as water temperatures rise and fish recover from spawning.
Red River
Catfishing on the Red River in Grand Forks is a go, but it’s a tough go with the lingering cool weather, reports Grand Forks catfish guide Brad Durick. Water levels, at about 24 feet, are pretty good for the experienced boater, Durick said, but water temperatures in the low 50s or less are not giving the catfish much to be excited about in the feeding department. That being said, catfish are hitting in shallow water or in slower water in 2 to 13 feet near the edge of the main channel, Durick said. Catfish also are hanging tight in the timber along the bank. The best bet, Durick said, is to find an area with less current, drop the baits and wait at least 30 minutes. Fresh cut sucker has been the most productive bait option to this point, Durick said.
Upper Red Lake
Limits of walleyes are being caught on the north, east, and south shorelines in 4 to 7 feet of water. A jig and minnow is working best, and with water temperatures in the low 40-degree range, working it slow has been the most productive technique.
Bemidji area
A jig and minnow is producing walleyes on Lake Irving in 5 to 7 feet of water and Lake Plantagenet in 7 to 12 feet. Lake Bemidji still had some ice on opening day, but walleyes were being taken on minnows at the mouth of the river inlet in 7 to 14 feet and on Diamond Bar in 7 to 10 feet. Water temperatures range from 43 degrees to 48 degrees depending on the lake.
Blackduck area
Walleyes are hitting a jig and minnow in 5 to 8 feet of water on Blackduck Lake. Panfish reports have slowed with the cooler weather this week, but once it warms, lakes such as Rabideau, Pimushe, Gilstead and Gull again will produce fish in shallow water.
Cass Lake area
The river mouths and channels on Wolf Lake and Lake Andrusia are giving up walleyes on minnows in 6 to 10 feet of water. You’ll also find walleyes in the Turtle River area of Kitchi Lake or in Allen’s Bay on Cass Lake in 18 to 20 feet; minnows or jigs or live bait fished below slip bobbers have been best. The bays on most lakes are now holding panfish, highlighted by a great crappie and bluegill bite in Dick’s Bay on Cass.
Leech Lake
Bigger walleyes have been active, with enough eating-sized fish in the mix to fill limits. Cedar Point has been good in 10 feet of water, while the shoreline by Joe’s Landing up to Little Hardwoods is giving up fish in slightly shallower water. Pine Point, Goose Island and the Meadows are worth checking for walleyes in 6 to 8 feet. Good-sized perch and plenty of northern pike are being caught with the walleyes.
Lake Winnibigoshish
Walleye reports have been favorable, but the bulk of the catch has been bigger walleyes with some keeping-sized fish in the mix. A jig-and-minnow combination has worked best in 5 to 9 feet of water north of Plughat Point, the Dugout and Eagle’s Nest. The channel at Cutfoot, the Highbanks area, Mallard Point and Raven’s Point toward Third River gave up a few more keepers in 10 feet. Perch and pike also are active and mixed with the walleyes.
Detroit Lakes
Walleyes are deep for this time of year — 14 to 17 feet — and hitting minnows on lakes Sallie, Melissa, Little Detroit, Sour and Little Cormorant. Crappies are moving in and out of the shallows often staging in front of the bays in 12 to 14 feet until the sun comes out. Look to Sallie, Melissa, Sour, Severson Lake, Height of Land Lake, Cormorant Lake and Pelican Lake for panfish.
Park Rapids area
The Crow Wing chain of lakes is giving up a few walleyes in 3 to 5 feet of water on minnows and jigs. The Fish Hook River and Crow Wing River have been producing more walleyes than area lakes. The shallow bays on lakes Belle Taine, Long, Big Mantrap, Island, and Fish Hook are providing a mixed bag of panfish, while anglers on the Straight River with nightcrawlers are catching brown trout.
Area fishing reports
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God, help me be the man that my dog thinks that I am.
God, help me be the man that my dog thinks that I am.
Re: Area fishing reports
Perfect weather, cooperative walleyes greet anglers on Bemidji area lakes
By Paul Nelson, Bemidji Pioneer on May 15, 2014 at 2:44 p.m.
Opening weekend of the 2014 fishing season in the Bemidji area had nearly perfect weather and pretty good fishing for most anglers.
Most of the successful walleye anglers were fishing in a river or close to a river inlet or outlet. Once the river walleyes are done spawning, they may head directly back to the lakes or they may feed their way back to the lake, depending on what feeding opportunities there are in the river.
Larger rivers can offer long stretches of fishable water with plenty of food to hold post spawn walleyes. Rivers tend to be warmer than lakes in the spring, so the fish may not be in a big hurry to get back to the colder water in the lake.
Walleyes spawning in smaller rivers and streams may not have the same feeding opportunities as the walleyes spawning in larger rivers, so they are less likely to stay in the rivers after they spawn.
Many anglers on the opener positioned their boats in high traffic areas or in bottlenecks where the migrating walleyes have to pass through to get back to their home lake.
Once the walleyes return to the lakes, they usually follow one shoreline or the other, depending on what direction they are heading.
The migrating walleyes usually cruise along the shoreline along their migrations routes rather than swimming the shortest route across open water. The walleyes may go past long stretches with very little cover and only a few baitfish, so they keep going.
Large flats and big shoreline-connected structures usually have multiple schools of baitfish living there. The areas with some standing weeds or rocks give the baitfish some cover at a time when cover is sparse in the lakes and tend to concentrate both baitfish and predator species.
The new hatches of minnows are just starting, so virtually all of the minnows in the lakes are at least one year old. Whenever a school of walleyes passes by an area with schools of baitfish or other potential feeding opportunities, some of the walleyes may stop and feed, while others may rest or even continue along to some unknown destination.
Walleyes often stack up at outlets on lakes, waiting until dark to run the shallow water in the rivers between lakes. Other anglers will be waiting on the other end of the river near the inlet on the next lake in the chain.
Anglers can look at a lake map and predict where migrating walleyes are likely to go. Then anglers can look for concentrations of baitfish along the migration routes where walleyes will likely stop and feed. The best areas usually replenish with new fish as some walleyes leave.
Jigs and minnows are usually the presentation of choice for most walleye anglers early in the season. Shiner minnows are in short supply, so anglers often have to take what they can get and deal with small scoops of minnows and high prices.
Many walleye anglers substitute large fatheads, rainbow chubs or small suckers to supplement a couple dozen shiners.
Jigs and plastics also work well for walleyes and should be carried by all anglers in case they run out of live bait. Sometimes plastics can out-fish live bait because it works better in the weeds and is less likely than a minnow to get pulled off the hook.
Plastics also run more truly through the water than minnows, which often spin and won’t run straight unless they are hooked perfectly.
Scented plastics often work better than unscented plastics for walleyes. Color and shape are also important for walleyes. Anglers need to experiment with colors and styles until they find some combination the walleyes will hit.
Upper Red Lake was one of the hottest lakes in the area on the opener and attracted huge numbers of anglers fishing out of boats and from shore. The bite on Upper Red Lake is usually best on the bright sunny days with light winds because of the stained water.
Walleye anglers have been catching walleyes in 5 to 8 feet of water in most lakes. Walleyes will move shallower under low-light conditions and move deeper with bright skies or heavy boat traffic
By Paul Nelson, Bemidji Pioneer on May 15, 2014 at 2:44 p.m.
Opening weekend of the 2014 fishing season in the Bemidji area had nearly perfect weather and pretty good fishing for most anglers.
Most of the successful walleye anglers were fishing in a river or close to a river inlet or outlet. Once the river walleyes are done spawning, they may head directly back to the lakes or they may feed their way back to the lake, depending on what feeding opportunities there are in the river.
Larger rivers can offer long stretches of fishable water with plenty of food to hold post spawn walleyes. Rivers tend to be warmer than lakes in the spring, so the fish may not be in a big hurry to get back to the colder water in the lake.
Walleyes spawning in smaller rivers and streams may not have the same feeding opportunities as the walleyes spawning in larger rivers, so they are less likely to stay in the rivers after they spawn.
Many anglers on the opener positioned their boats in high traffic areas or in bottlenecks where the migrating walleyes have to pass through to get back to their home lake.
Once the walleyes return to the lakes, they usually follow one shoreline or the other, depending on what direction they are heading.
The migrating walleyes usually cruise along the shoreline along their migrations routes rather than swimming the shortest route across open water. The walleyes may go past long stretches with very little cover and only a few baitfish, so they keep going.
Large flats and big shoreline-connected structures usually have multiple schools of baitfish living there. The areas with some standing weeds or rocks give the baitfish some cover at a time when cover is sparse in the lakes and tend to concentrate both baitfish and predator species.
The new hatches of minnows are just starting, so virtually all of the minnows in the lakes are at least one year old. Whenever a school of walleyes passes by an area with schools of baitfish or other potential feeding opportunities, some of the walleyes may stop and feed, while others may rest or even continue along to some unknown destination.
Walleyes often stack up at outlets on lakes, waiting until dark to run the shallow water in the rivers between lakes. Other anglers will be waiting on the other end of the river near the inlet on the next lake in the chain.
Anglers can look at a lake map and predict where migrating walleyes are likely to go. Then anglers can look for concentrations of baitfish along the migration routes where walleyes will likely stop and feed. The best areas usually replenish with new fish as some walleyes leave.
Jigs and minnows are usually the presentation of choice for most walleye anglers early in the season. Shiner minnows are in short supply, so anglers often have to take what they can get and deal with small scoops of minnows and high prices.
Many walleye anglers substitute large fatheads, rainbow chubs or small suckers to supplement a couple dozen shiners.
Jigs and plastics also work well for walleyes and should be carried by all anglers in case they run out of live bait. Sometimes plastics can out-fish live bait because it works better in the weeds and is less likely than a minnow to get pulled off the hook.
Plastics also run more truly through the water than minnows, which often spin and won’t run straight unless they are hooked perfectly.
Scented plastics often work better than unscented plastics for walleyes. Color and shape are also important for walleyes. Anglers need to experiment with colors and styles until they find some combination the walleyes will hit.
Upper Red Lake was one of the hottest lakes in the area on the opener and attracted huge numbers of anglers fishing out of boats and from shore. The bite on Upper Red Lake is usually best on the bright sunny days with light winds because of the stained water.
Walleye anglers have been catching walleyes in 5 to 8 feet of water in most lakes. Walleyes will move shallower under low-light conditions and move deeper with bright skies or heavy boat traffic
.
God, help me be the man that my dog thinks that I am.
God, help me be the man that my dog thinks that I am.
Re: Area fishing reports
Warmer waters will bring some better fishing
By Glen Schmitt, St Cloud times
5:40 p.m. CDT May 17, 2014
Some anglers experienced stellar walleye action while others struggled. Most blamed the cool water temperatures and late spawn for their lack of success.
Limits of walleyes were the exception rather than the rule in most areas of the state on opening day Another fishing opener is in the books, and anglers reported varying degrees of success.
With the exception of a few storms that rolled through the southern part of the state, weather conditions were almost perfect for fishing last weekend. Although it was cool Saturday morning, wind was minimal and temperatures rose fast, providing an ideal setting for anglers.
There was still ice to deal with in a few locations along the Canadian border, and in other areas of northern Minnesota the ice had just gone out a day or two before the season started. That meant cool water, somewhere in the low to mid 40-degree range.
As for the fishing, some anglers experienced stellar walleye action while others struggled.
Generally, there were more poor walleye reports than good, and most blamed the cool water temperatures and late spawn for their lack of success.
Fishing up north
There wasn’t much of a fishing opener at all in the Arrowhead region. Ice was still quite evident in the Ely area, although a few spots opened enough to allow for some limited fishing opportunities and walleye success.
North of Grand Marais, up the Gunflint Trail, most minimum maintenance roads remained snow covered and impassable, so anglers couldn’t even get to many lakes, according to John Muhich of Buck’s Hardware.
“Even if they got to a lake, everything was covered with ice,” he said. “That’s two years in a row for us, so we’ll have our fishing opener on Memorial Day weekend again this year.”
That’s also likely the case at Rainy Lake where most main lake ice went out this past week, a few days too late for the fishing opener. Some of the bays were broke up enough to allow fishing, but the bite was slow and reports indicated a very quiet opening weekend.
The main portion of Lake of the Woods was covered with ice beyond Pine Island, but the Rainy River, Four Mile Bay and Lighthouse Gap were open and they provided excellent walleye action.
Joe Henry, executive director for Lake of the Woods Tourism, reported a “hot bite” with an abundance of limits, slots and trophy walleyes being caught in 4 to 13 feet of water.
Ice-out was a close call at Upper Red Lake with the last sheet of it melting away three days before the opener. Todd Mortenson of Mort’s Dock on the lake’s south shore believes that kept some “out-of-town” traffic off the lake, but those who spent opening day on Upper Red were rewarded with numbers of walleyes.
“There were some cancellations at resorts because of the uncertainty with the ice, and that’s understandable — especially after last year,” he said. “Fortunately, we could fish anywhere and limits of walleyes were easy on the north, east and south shorelines in shallow water.”
Bemidji area
The key to catching walleyes in the Bemidji area was to work the small, dark-watered lakes that offered some current flow. Although Lake Bemidji is the premier walleye fishery in this area, it still had some ice on it for the opener and didn’t kick out walleyes like it normally does.
Ron Bostic of Taber’s Bait said Lake Bemidji was too cold, around 43 degrees on opening morning, so the best fishing on it will happen in the weeks ahead. Most groups found plenty of walleyes on other lakes.
With the nice weather on opening day, business was good, which is what Bostic needed after losing last year’s opener to ice.
“It was one of our best opening weekends in a few years and the nice weather helped get people out,” he said.
“Everyone caught a few fish and they found the majority of walleyes stacked on lakes with inlets, outlets or some type of moving water.”
Mille Lacs Lake
Reports from Mille Lacs Lake reflected a decent walleye bite for some and poor for others, but not as many anglers as most years. That was likely the result of several factors, including ice concerns and the continuation of the two-fish limit and narrow slot on the treaty-managed lake.
Resort and bait shop owners around Mille Lacs belived angler participation was down from a normal opener, 25 percent to 50 percent, depending on whom you talked with.
The public access in Garrison, for example, wasn’t close to being full on opening morning, but it did fill up later in the day, according to Terry Thurmer of Terry’s Boat Harbor on the west side of the lake.
Thurmer didn’t see a lot of keeping-sized walleyes, although there were plenty of big walleyes biting and he said they looked healthy, an indication that forage is high. Smallmouth bass didn’t bite, but northern pike did, with many reports of pike weighing more than 10 pounds being caught.
“It was a heavy minnow bite for walleyes and it was fairly consistent during the morning hours on the sand and rock points in 12 to 14 feet,” Thurmer said. “The shiners were on the shorelines and the pike were in shallow scooping them up, and that meant some damn good pike fishing.”
Other lakes
On several of the state’s other noted walleye lakes to the north, anglers found mixed results as well. The constants involved colder-than-normal water and shallow walleyes that were either spawning or just finishing up the spawn, and that made for difficult fishing for some groups.
Jack Shriver of Shriver’s Bait in Walker said a lot of anglers struggled on Leech Lake on opening day, but the bite improved Sunday. There seemed to be more big fish caught than keepers in his estimation, and it was tough to put together a limit of eating-sized fish.
Despite the Governor’s Fishing Opener being held near Brainerd, boat traffic seemed down on opening day at Gull Lake. The channels on Gull produced walleyes, but the small lakes in this area provided better walleye action.
On Cass Lake, Allen’s Bay gave up walleyes in 18 to 20 feet, deeper than most openers and again the result of cold water, according to Al Ruzec of Sunset Cove Resort. The river channels between the lakes throughout the Cass Lake Chain also gave up a lot of walleyes in shallow water, and the panfish bite was excellent in most bays, Ruzec said.
The bulk of the walleyes caught on Lake Winnibigoshish came from the channel at Cutfoot Sioux Lake and most of them were too big to keep. The Highbanks area and Raven’s Point up toward Third River gave up better numbers of keepers.
A sheet of ice also blew into the south shore of Winnie the day before the opener and it prevented people from using resorts and accesses on this end to launch boats. Tyler Croaker of Nodak’s Lodge said the sheet extended a couple miles into the lake.
“We couldn’t get boats in here and we heard about a lot of bigger walleyes in the protected slot being caught,” Croaker said. “Limits were the exception on this opener.”
John Store of Quality Bait and Tackle in Detroit Lakes said opening weekend was average for participation and walleye catching success in his area. Many anglers blamed the cold water and lack of spot-tailed shiners available as bait.
Lakes such as Sallie, Melissa and Little Detroit provided the most consistent walleye bites, with the majority of fish coming out of 14 to 17 feet, deeper than most years. The minimal shiner minnow supply was a sticking point for many anglers as well.
“I had 20 gallons of golden shiners and 12 gallons of spot-tails and they were gone in five hours. Some people think you can’t catch walleyes in May without shiners and I don’t understand that,” Store said. “I had people calling from all over the state looking for shiners and had guys drive from as far away as Bemidji and Alexandria to get them.”
Central fishing
Throughout the central part of the state, crappies seemed to cooperate better than walleyes for anglers on opening day. There also didn’t seem to be as many people taking part in the opener as usual.
Mike Lies of Mike’s Bait and Tackle in Eden Valley thinks the poor weather leading up to opening weekend didn’t allow people to get prepared properly or in a timely manner as most would like.
Instead of taking advantage of the nice weather and fishing, he believes a lot of people used opening day to put in docks, get boats out of storage, and take care of other tasks that should have been done weeks ago.
“The weather has been so poor this spring that I honestly believe people weren’t ready for the fishing opener,” Lies said. “Boat traffic was down and with the cold water, the fish didn’t bite the best.
“The best walleye fishing is coming.”
Lakes such as Koronis and Rice were unusually slow for walleye anglers. The river channels on the Horseshoe Chain produced walleyes, but not as many as past years. Lies did say the panfish bite was good on most lakes in shallow water so many groups concentrated on them after opening morning.
There seems to be better days ahead for walleye fishing in the Annandale area, as well. Kurt Segner of Little Jim’s Sports shop pointed out that northern pike bit on many lakes, but “there wasn’t much for walleyes caught around here” and that panfish also saved the day for most anglers.
“We had a lot of guys forced to switch to panfish because the walleyes didn’t cooperate,” Segner said. “It needs to warm up, we need some consistently warm weather and then the walleyes will start hitting.”
CO reports
Conservation officer reports from opening weekend also indicated a slow start to the walleye season. With a few exceptions, walleyes were difficult to find in the majority of areas.
• Officer Mitch Lawler (Alexandria) said many anglers took to the lakes in his work area, boat traffic was high on numerous lakes, but walleye success was limited.
• Officer Randy Hanzal (Duluth) reported a very busy weekend on area lakes, and beautiful weather. Unfortunately, there weren’t many fish seen in live wells, but everyone was happy to be on the water again after a long winter.
• Officer Randy Posner (Brainerd) said the cold water temperatures made for slow walleye fishing. Even though panfish have started moving into the shallow bays, they also seem reluctant to bite.
• Officer Paul Parthun (Lake George) worked a pleasant walleye opener weather-wise, but most anglers reported a slow opener, saying the fish were there, but they wouldn’t bite.
• Officer Chad Thesing (Albany) didn’t see many walleyes caught in his work area of Central Minnesota. Some public accesses were full on Saturday, with not as many people out on Sunday.
“I saw a few bigger walleyes caught, but nothing too impressive. It was kind of an average opener, fishing-wise,” Thesing said. “Hopefully, it will start to warm up, and when it does the bite should improve fast.”
By Glen Schmitt, St Cloud times
5:40 p.m. CDT May 17, 2014
Some anglers experienced stellar walleye action while others struggled. Most blamed the cool water temperatures and late spawn for their lack of success.
Limits of walleyes were the exception rather than the rule in most areas of the state on opening day Another fishing opener is in the books, and anglers reported varying degrees of success.
With the exception of a few storms that rolled through the southern part of the state, weather conditions were almost perfect for fishing last weekend. Although it was cool Saturday morning, wind was minimal and temperatures rose fast, providing an ideal setting for anglers.
There was still ice to deal with in a few locations along the Canadian border, and in other areas of northern Minnesota the ice had just gone out a day or two before the season started. That meant cool water, somewhere in the low to mid 40-degree range.
As for the fishing, some anglers experienced stellar walleye action while others struggled.
Generally, there were more poor walleye reports than good, and most blamed the cool water temperatures and late spawn for their lack of success.
Fishing up north
There wasn’t much of a fishing opener at all in the Arrowhead region. Ice was still quite evident in the Ely area, although a few spots opened enough to allow for some limited fishing opportunities and walleye success.
North of Grand Marais, up the Gunflint Trail, most minimum maintenance roads remained snow covered and impassable, so anglers couldn’t even get to many lakes, according to John Muhich of Buck’s Hardware.
“Even if they got to a lake, everything was covered with ice,” he said. “That’s two years in a row for us, so we’ll have our fishing opener on Memorial Day weekend again this year.”
That’s also likely the case at Rainy Lake where most main lake ice went out this past week, a few days too late for the fishing opener. Some of the bays were broke up enough to allow fishing, but the bite was slow and reports indicated a very quiet opening weekend.
The main portion of Lake of the Woods was covered with ice beyond Pine Island, but the Rainy River, Four Mile Bay and Lighthouse Gap were open and they provided excellent walleye action.
Joe Henry, executive director for Lake of the Woods Tourism, reported a “hot bite” with an abundance of limits, slots and trophy walleyes being caught in 4 to 13 feet of water.
Ice-out was a close call at Upper Red Lake with the last sheet of it melting away three days before the opener. Todd Mortenson of Mort’s Dock on the lake’s south shore believes that kept some “out-of-town” traffic off the lake, but those who spent opening day on Upper Red were rewarded with numbers of walleyes.
“There were some cancellations at resorts because of the uncertainty with the ice, and that’s understandable — especially after last year,” he said. “Fortunately, we could fish anywhere and limits of walleyes were easy on the north, east and south shorelines in shallow water.”
Bemidji area
The key to catching walleyes in the Bemidji area was to work the small, dark-watered lakes that offered some current flow. Although Lake Bemidji is the premier walleye fishery in this area, it still had some ice on it for the opener and didn’t kick out walleyes like it normally does.
Ron Bostic of Taber’s Bait said Lake Bemidji was too cold, around 43 degrees on opening morning, so the best fishing on it will happen in the weeks ahead. Most groups found plenty of walleyes on other lakes.
With the nice weather on opening day, business was good, which is what Bostic needed after losing last year’s opener to ice.
“It was one of our best opening weekends in a few years and the nice weather helped get people out,” he said.
“Everyone caught a few fish and they found the majority of walleyes stacked on lakes with inlets, outlets or some type of moving water.”
Mille Lacs Lake
Reports from Mille Lacs Lake reflected a decent walleye bite for some and poor for others, but not as many anglers as most years. That was likely the result of several factors, including ice concerns and the continuation of the two-fish limit and narrow slot on the treaty-managed lake.
Resort and bait shop owners around Mille Lacs belived angler participation was down from a normal opener, 25 percent to 50 percent, depending on whom you talked with.
The public access in Garrison, for example, wasn’t close to being full on opening morning, but it did fill up later in the day, according to Terry Thurmer of Terry’s Boat Harbor on the west side of the lake.
Thurmer didn’t see a lot of keeping-sized walleyes, although there were plenty of big walleyes biting and he said they looked healthy, an indication that forage is high. Smallmouth bass didn’t bite, but northern pike did, with many reports of pike weighing more than 10 pounds being caught.
“It was a heavy minnow bite for walleyes and it was fairly consistent during the morning hours on the sand and rock points in 12 to 14 feet,” Thurmer said. “The shiners were on the shorelines and the pike were in shallow scooping them up, and that meant some damn good pike fishing.”
Other lakes
On several of the state’s other noted walleye lakes to the north, anglers found mixed results as well. The constants involved colder-than-normal water and shallow walleyes that were either spawning or just finishing up the spawn, and that made for difficult fishing for some groups.
Jack Shriver of Shriver’s Bait in Walker said a lot of anglers struggled on Leech Lake on opening day, but the bite improved Sunday. There seemed to be more big fish caught than keepers in his estimation, and it was tough to put together a limit of eating-sized fish.
Despite the Governor’s Fishing Opener being held near Brainerd, boat traffic seemed down on opening day at Gull Lake. The channels on Gull produced walleyes, but the small lakes in this area provided better walleye action.
On Cass Lake, Allen’s Bay gave up walleyes in 18 to 20 feet, deeper than most openers and again the result of cold water, according to Al Ruzec of Sunset Cove Resort. The river channels between the lakes throughout the Cass Lake Chain also gave up a lot of walleyes in shallow water, and the panfish bite was excellent in most bays, Ruzec said.
The bulk of the walleyes caught on Lake Winnibigoshish came from the channel at Cutfoot Sioux Lake and most of them were too big to keep. The Highbanks area and Raven’s Point up toward Third River gave up better numbers of keepers.
A sheet of ice also blew into the south shore of Winnie the day before the opener and it prevented people from using resorts and accesses on this end to launch boats. Tyler Croaker of Nodak’s Lodge said the sheet extended a couple miles into the lake.
“We couldn’t get boats in here and we heard about a lot of bigger walleyes in the protected slot being caught,” Croaker said. “Limits were the exception on this opener.”
John Store of Quality Bait and Tackle in Detroit Lakes said opening weekend was average for participation and walleye catching success in his area. Many anglers blamed the cold water and lack of spot-tailed shiners available as bait.
Lakes such as Sallie, Melissa and Little Detroit provided the most consistent walleye bites, with the majority of fish coming out of 14 to 17 feet, deeper than most years. The minimal shiner minnow supply was a sticking point for many anglers as well.
“I had 20 gallons of golden shiners and 12 gallons of spot-tails and they were gone in five hours. Some people think you can’t catch walleyes in May without shiners and I don’t understand that,” Store said. “I had people calling from all over the state looking for shiners and had guys drive from as far away as Bemidji and Alexandria to get them.”
Central fishing
Throughout the central part of the state, crappies seemed to cooperate better than walleyes for anglers on opening day. There also didn’t seem to be as many people taking part in the opener as usual.
Mike Lies of Mike’s Bait and Tackle in Eden Valley thinks the poor weather leading up to opening weekend didn’t allow people to get prepared properly or in a timely manner as most would like.
Instead of taking advantage of the nice weather and fishing, he believes a lot of people used opening day to put in docks, get boats out of storage, and take care of other tasks that should have been done weeks ago.
“The weather has been so poor this spring that I honestly believe people weren’t ready for the fishing opener,” Lies said. “Boat traffic was down and with the cold water, the fish didn’t bite the best.
“The best walleye fishing is coming.”
Lakes such as Koronis and Rice were unusually slow for walleye anglers. The river channels on the Horseshoe Chain produced walleyes, but not as many as past years. Lies did say the panfish bite was good on most lakes in shallow water so many groups concentrated on them after opening morning.
There seems to be better days ahead for walleye fishing in the Annandale area, as well. Kurt Segner of Little Jim’s Sports shop pointed out that northern pike bit on many lakes, but “there wasn’t much for walleyes caught around here” and that panfish also saved the day for most anglers.
“We had a lot of guys forced to switch to panfish because the walleyes didn’t cooperate,” Segner said. “It needs to warm up, we need some consistently warm weather and then the walleyes will start hitting.”
CO reports
Conservation officer reports from opening weekend also indicated a slow start to the walleye season. With a few exceptions, walleyes were difficult to find in the majority of areas.
• Officer Mitch Lawler (Alexandria) said many anglers took to the lakes in his work area, boat traffic was high on numerous lakes, but walleye success was limited.
• Officer Randy Hanzal (Duluth) reported a very busy weekend on area lakes, and beautiful weather. Unfortunately, there weren’t many fish seen in live wells, but everyone was happy to be on the water again after a long winter.
• Officer Randy Posner (Brainerd) said the cold water temperatures made for slow walleye fishing. Even though panfish have started moving into the shallow bays, they also seem reluctant to bite.
• Officer Paul Parthun (Lake George) worked a pleasant walleye opener weather-wise, but most anglers reported a slow opener, saying the fish were there, but they wouldn’t bite.
• Officer Chad Thesing (Albany) didn’t see many walleyes caught in his work area of Central Minnesota. Some public accesses were full on Saturday, with not as many people out on Sunday.
“I saw a few bigger walleyes caught, but nothing too impressive. It was kind of an average opener, fishing-wise,” Thesing said. “Hopefully, it will start to warm up, and when it does the bite should improve fast.”
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God, help me be the man that my dog thinks that I am.
God, help me be the man that my dog thinks that I am.
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