Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux Fishing Report September 27, 2024

One thing is certain, walleyes are biting when we find them. The caveat, is finding them and the anglers who want to be most consistent, must fish a wider variety of structures and be willing to think about both fall, and summertime fishing patterns at the same time.

Gabriel, Kim and Nathan Milius walleye fishing on Lake Winnie September 24, 2024

According to the calendar, we should be experiencing solid fall walleye fishing patterns. And we almost are, we had a “spurt” of fall weather last week, and walleyes responded well, and in some areas of the lake, so did perch. Now, we’re back into a period of summer-like weather, Surface temperatures are in the 66-to-70-degree range, and there’s been lots of sunshine and calm weather. Daytime anglers may be working harder at producing consistent catches of walleyes, but folks who fish during prime time, twilight periods are having better luck.

On Big Winnie, there are two massive, mid-depth flats, one at the northwest corner, one at the southeast corner. On these flats, walleyes, perch and pike of all sizes can be viewed constantly on the screens of our electronics. Sometimes they bite, sometimes they don’t, but they have been located over the tops of low-lying vegetation for weeks now. According to our family friend Dusty Snyder, the magic water depth is 9 feet deep. “No matter where I go, it seems like the most active fish come out of that depth.”

Walleye, perch, pike and more holding above vegetation on large flat

Working over grass on the flats with jig and minnow presentations is effective but can also be tedious. Allowing the jigs to slip too low into the vegetation causes fouled hooks and reduces efficiency. Some of our guests are reporting more consistent catches by using trolling presentations. Whether they use spinners tipped with live bait, or shallow running crankbaits, they can spend more time fishing, and less time removing moss from their hooks. The best trolling speeds for spinners has been 1.1 to 1.3 MPH, and faster for crankbaits, 1.7 to 2,1 MPH.

 Timing the bite on the flats seems to be important, fishing early in the morning has been less productive than late afternoons and evening. We think it’s possible that many of the “flats fish” are feeding after dark, so folks find them less vulnerable during the morning. Later, they are hungrier and strike more often; you be the judge, give it a try and let us know what you think.

Crews like the Milius family (pictured throughout) who show lots of determination, are having good luck fishing on some of the lakes deeper bars. Key depths on the bars range from 16 to 22 feet of water, and walleyes in the higher range bite better than those in the lower range. Fish have been found in numerous areas such as the Bena Bar, Sugar Bar, Horseshoe, Moxies Hole and others. Moving often and checking out the “spot-on-a-spot” locations like inside corners, points and feeding shelves are a good strategy for locating pods of fish. Many of these fish are migrating from place to place, so don’t be concerned if it takes a few stops to find a group of active fish, just keep searching, and you will find some.

Nathan (L) and Gabriel (R) Milius showing off a nice Winnie Walleye mid-lake double September 24, 2024

Presentations vary, drop shots with night crawlers or large lively minnows is productive. Jigging baits like ripping raps or puppet minnows are working, slip floats with night crawlers have produced fish too. For our guests, jig and minnow presentations are most common, ¼ to 3/8 ounce live bait jigs tipped with golden shiners or large fatheads have been productive. There have been a lot of fish caught using gold jigs, but glow-perch, green-orange and green-chartreuse have also been productive.

Shoreline fishing for Walleyes has its good days, and its bad ones. When the wind blows and the skies are cloudy, walleyes have been active on the breaklines or shallow rocks. Key depths have ranged between 6 and 12 feet, with the shallow end of the spectrum often being best. There are walleyes on all 4 sides of the lake, so selecting the best spots depends entirely on the wind direction and speed. Look for areas where the wind is quartering into the shoreline, proving good opportunities for drift fishing. Avoid the calm shoreline, and avoid areas where the wind blows directly onto the breakline, either will cause difficulty in boat control.

Kim Milius with fat Winnie Walleye from the flats September 24, 2024

There have been some folks trolling the shoreline breaks, but jigging has been far better for most folks. Use 1/8 or ¼ ounce jigs tipped with minnows and use a vertical hop-drop-hop-drop motion to entice strikes.

Fishing the shoreline breaks, you’ll encounter scattered, nomadic schools of Jumbo Perch and some of them are running good size, 10 to 12 inches. It seems that every patch of vegetation, shallow rock, or depression has the potential to be productive. If you like perch, and want to harvest some, then don’t let any opportunity go to waste. They appear to be on the move constantly, and do not linger in any given area very long.

The best way to find them is probably to troll spinners or smaller crawfish pattern crankbaits. Once located, jig and minnow presentations will be more efficient. Hold your boat stationary, cast and retrieve, or jig vertically using small, 1/16 or 1/8 ounce jigs tipped with fatheads.

Crappies have teased us a few times, but folks have had trouble catching them consistently. It seems that every time we get a period of cold weather, some of the fish move away from the cabbage patches and into open water. When we can see them, they strike, most folks say. The trouble is that when the weather warms up, they move back into vegetation where they are more difficult to locate. They’ll eventually move into open water, but not before the shallow vegetation becomes uninhabitable, likely after we receive a hard frost. There is a good resource for folks who love fall crappie fishing, much of the formation of it occurred here, in Cutfoot Sioux. Learn more by reading the article “Following Out Fall Crappies”.

If you’re determined to locate crappies, use the early morning and late afternoon to search. That’s when they’re most active along the breaklines. Trolling spinners, jigging with soft plastic action tails, or beetle spins and small crankbaits are all good search lures.

Northern Pike fishing has been good, especially along the north shore. Trolling, casting or fishing with live minnows are all productive presentations. Key depths vary depending on where you’ve located healthy, green vegetation. Most consistent depths have ranged between 8 and 10 feet of water, but check both shallower and deeper too. If you have side imaging electronics, use it to see the patches of vegetation and fish all of them.

One group that fished for pike early this week reported great action for fish in the protected slot. There are numerous fish in the 23-to-25-inch range, with a smattering of larger, 27 to 28 fish showing up in the mix. Right now, smaller fish, below the protect slot are few and far between along the north side of the lake. To catch more eater size, 20-to-21-inch size fish, a better choice would be the west side of the lake, there are many more small pike along the 10 to 12 foot breakline between Sugar and Mallard Points.

We’ve really appreciated you taking the time to check out our fishing reports. We’ve done our best to keep them up-to-date and accurate. Looking at the weather, it doesn’t seem like it should be, but for us, the fishing season is winding down. For us, the hunting is winding up and soon, our cabins will host more grouse hunters than anglers. Fishing reports will be less frequent now, but we’re probably going to post an occasional update about any significant, new developments, check them out when you have time.

September 19, 2024 Lake Winnie, Cutfoot Sioux Fall Fishing Report: NOT!

It’s on the verge of changing, but until now, “FALL” is the furthest thing from describing the walleye fishing conditions on Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux. Summer like water temperatures, strong algae blooms and warm southerly breezes are persistent this week. Walleye locations, also summer like, have been weedy flats, shoreline rocks and in some areas, mid-lake bars and humps. The weather dictates where, when and how to fish each type of structure.

Bowen Lodge guests enjoying “Fall” fishing weather on Lake Winnie

Surface temperatures remain warm but are again on the decline. Still rising early this week, they crossed above 70 degrees on Tuesday. By late Wednesday afternoon, cloudy conditions and windy conditions drove them back down, into the 68-to-69-degree range. Thunder is clapping this morning, and it’s raining now, so further declines in water temperatures are expected soon.

Until that happens, walleyes remain susceptible to summer trolling patterns. On weedy flats, baitfish and small gamefish are plentiful. Walleyes, perch and northern pike are there feeding heavily and trolling spinners is the most effective presentation for catching them. Timing your fishing trip appears to be important, some of our guests and friends report better catches during the late afternoon and early evening. Fish on the flats have been sluggish in the mornings, maybe because they fed heavily overnight and are gorged? If you see fish on your electronics, like the one pictured here, and they won’t bite, don’t get frustrated. It’s a good idea to make note of the area and return later in the day, that strategy has worked well for some guests this week.

On Lake Winnie, many walleyes are scattered across shallow flats

Some folks prefer searching for walleyes on mid-lake structures. If the breeze is light, and conditions are bright, this may be a better option. The only problem is that you’ll have to do some searching, walleyes are not everywhere. Smaller, isolated humps and bars don’t appear to be holding many fish. Larger bars, especially ones that connect to the shoreline, are more likely to hold fish. Key areas on the main bars, like inside corners, tapering points and feeding ledges hold more fish than long, straight stretches of breakline.

On the bars, there are several presentations that will work. Jigs and minnows, dropshot rigs with night crawlers, or leeches, Lindy Rigs with large minnows and slip floats are all producing some fish right now. Choose the presentation you like best, focus on water depths of 16 to 22 feet as you search for fish using your electronics. Don’t expect to find large schools of fish, singles, doubles and small packs are the rule, not the exception.

Strong wind isn’t a lot of fun for traveling on the big lake, but they are a blessing once you arrive at your destination. As the whitecaps, driven by strong south winds have rolled along the eastern shoreline, walleyes have been on the prowl. Key depths range from 10 to 16 feet and vary with the wind conditions. Jig and minnow combinations, for folks like our guest Hank Milius (pictured) have produced good action. He used ¼ ounce Live Bait Jigs tipped with small-medium golden shiners and fished using a steady hop-drop-hop-drop presentation. Walleyes, along with northern pike are roaming the breaklines all along the east side of the lake. Long drifts or trolling passes will work, just be persistent and keep fishing, you will encounter fish in random locations.

Bowen Lodge guest Hank Milius with nice Winnibigoshish Walleye

Fishing on the rocks is popular during fall, and for some, the north shore rocks have been productive. The south wind has kept folks away from the north shore recently, but when the opportunity presents itself, checking the north side will be a good idea.

Perch fishing has been spotty, but when located, there are some very nice size fish in the system. So far, locating weeds in shallow water has been the best pattern going. Trolling with spinners and minnows, follow the shallow breaklines in water depths of 5 to 8 feet until you locate fish.  When you encounter them, switching to jigs and minnows will probably be more efficient for catching fish.

Panfish got fired up for a while during the most recent cold snap. When the water warmed up again, they disappeared from open water territory. It is very likely that you can find sunfish and crappies in vegetation like cabbage, coontail and some pondweed varieties. Trip Tip: Crappies will hit both jigs and spinners, and willingly eat night crawlers. While trolling with spinners and minnows is a good pure play crappie strategy. Tipping your spinner with ½ night crawler will help find sunfish much better than using minnows. Once you locate either species, stop the boat and focus on your target species. Use plastic action tails for crappies, small jigs tipped with cut pieces of night crawlers for sunfish.

Northern pike are on the prowl too, and most folks are catching enough of them while they fish for walleyes. Trolling the shoreline breaks using rattle baits is effective though and is a good way to target larger fish. Focus on weed patches, rocks and steep shoreline breaks.

As you can see, there is a dose of fall weather on the way, and fishing patterns are likely to change. As water temperatures drop, and fish migrations intensify, larger schools of fish should begin building. In the meantime, follow this rule of thumb, there are small groups of fish everywhere, shallow, deep and in the middle. In the words of walleye fishing guide Jeff Sundin, “Be creative, cover water, and just keep fishing. Even when you can’t see it coming, you will eventually encounter a pack of fish in your path. At the end of the day, you will be happy!”

Walleye fishing guide Jeff Sundin with healthy Lake Winnie Walleye

One last thing, be sure to measure your walleyes carefully. There are lots of walleyes from the strong, 2018-year class that have crossed the line into the protected slot. Fish measuring 18.0 to 18.5 inches are plentiful, and not double checking every fish you catch might get you into a jam, and that’s the last thing we want to see happen to you!

Jeff Sundin, Guest Post "If You’re Happy and You Know It, … Stay Right There!" September 10, 2024

Since Labor Day, and the start of my customer’s more intense pursuit of walleyes, I’ve spent several days on Lake Winnie. The past couple of them have been with Scott and Owen Stemple, who were staying at Bowen Lodge. Scott Stemple won a recent Benchmade sweepstakes entry and the prize package included an all expense paid trip to Bowens, and two days of walleye fishing with yours truly, the Early Bird Fishing Guide.

Owen and Scott Stemple, Benchmade Sweepstakes Winners

Having a couple of days to fish with the same crew is nice for me, it allows extra time to experiment with locations and presentations. It allows more time too, for talking with folks around the resort, comparing notes about who’s doing what, and where. On these particular fishing trips, I also had a chance to learn how Winnie’s walleyes reacted to completely opposite weather conditions.

 One thing I’ve learned this week is that it would be easy, after a few hours of casual fishing, to conclude that the walleyes on Winnibigoshish are not biting. Unless you were to get stubborn, like I sometimes do, and keep covering the water until you find fish. If you did that, then you would figure out that the complete opposite is true; they actually are biting quite well.

What I believe is that there is so much food available, and good fish habitat is so widespread, walleyes are already happy wherever they are. Nature has given them no reason to begin migrating away from summer haunts toward fall feeding areas. The result is that we’re finding small numbers of fish everywhere, but no large schools of them anywhere. So, for me, the trick to success has been to try lots of spots, then when we hit a good one and have a successful drift, or trolling pass, I take the win and move along to another spot. The more spots we try, the better we wind up at the end of the day.

Owen Stemple with nice fat Lake Winnie Northern Pike

Saturday was an ideal day for fishing on Winnie, the skies were grey, there was a chop on the surface and fish were in an active mood. We started fishing on the north shore, trolling spinners along the weedline. The dark sky made the northern pike active; we caught lots of them in various places along the stretch of water between the gap and Stony point. The pike were fun, and there were some walleyes, but they were few and far between, so we moved further west. At every stop, there were a few fish and most of the time, species were mixed. Walleyes, pike and perch co-mingled in the shallows; 6 to 8 feet of water was where we did our best work.

 Also at every stop, we observed something that I think has been true for a month or more on Winnie; the fish were active for the first trolling pass, but rarely were there enough to produce good results on the second trolling pass. I noticed that almost every time I saw a fish on the screen of my graph, somebody caught it. That was true at every stop throughout the day, but like I said, weather conditions were ideal that day. I notice too that whenever we attempted to re-run a stretch of productive territory, sightings on my graph dropped exponentially. I think whatever fish were there bit the first time they saw our lures, so going back for more was usually time wasted.

Scott Stemple with nice Winnie Walleye

 For a time on Saturday, we experimented with jigs and minnows in deeper water. Fishing on mid-lake structure in 16 to 20 feet of water, we did find some walleyes. Like the fish we discovered in shallow water, one pass was all we could get. For me, jigging was rewarding because if offered a change of pace and was more productive for walleyes. For my crew, it lacked the fast pace of catching the mixed bag on the shoreline, so we returned to the weed edges to finish off the day.

 Sunday’s weather conditions were more challenging, and during the morning, Winnie was stingy. There was a strong west wind blowing, and that forced us to drive to Richard’s Townsite to launch the boat. That got us out of the wind, but with clear blue skies and no chop on the water, the activity level was low. Fishing the stretch of water between that landing and the Mississippi River mouth produced some perch, but not much else. There were places that I saw larger marks on my graph, but unlike our experience on Saturday, seeing fish did not mean that we cold catch them.

Scott and Owen Stemple, Benchmade Sweepstakes Winners

 Part of the problem on Sunday was my own fault, I knew that my crew preferred trolling the spinners, so I stuck with it longer than I should have. Around noon, it was clear that if we were going to catch fish, we’d need to try something else. At about that same time, the winds subsided, and travelling around the lake became a lot easier. “I know it’s not your first choice boys, but I think we’re going to have to try the jigs and minnows again,” I said. They agreed, and we headed back to the middle of the lake to try our luck.

Numerous walleyes from Lake Winnie’s 2018 year class have entered the protected slot

Like Saturday, there were fish on the bars, this time in water depths of 18 to 22 feet. They were still scattered, and we still had to follow the one pass and move spots rule, but at least now we were catching some walleyes. We were able to fsih effective using ¼ ounce Live Bait Jigs tipped with small to medium golden shiners. I won’t try to tell you that it was a “hot bite”, but we did manage to have some action and catch a half dozen “keeper” size fish in the 16 to 17 inch range, class of 2019 fish I think.

 There was also a half dozen fish in the protected slot, all from the 2018-year class and all just barely over 18 inches. That’s been happening to me a lot lately, and you can see by the accompanying photo that taking a quick and casual measurement could lead to trouble. I’d recommend taking plenty of time to measure extra carefully and be sure that your fish is legal before dropping it in the cooler.

A hopeful sign, lots of 8 t0 10 inch walleyes might mean a strong 2023 year class coming up

Another observation is that 2023 appears to have been a good year for walleye spawning. This week we’ve caught dozens of walleyes in the 8-to-10-inch size range. If these fish have good survival next winter, we should have something to look forward to after the 2019-year class population declines.

Secchi Disk reading on Lake Winnie 8 feet as of 9-8-2024

One more thing, I’ve added a tool to my arsenal, an official Cub Reporter, Staff Number 003, Secchi Disk. Now, instead of speculating about the water clarity on any given body of water, I can test it myself. Before we ledt the lake on Sunday, we dropped in into Lake Winnie and learned that the current water clarity is at about 8 feet. In future reports, I plan to offer this information regularly, so stay tuned.

 I’m thankful for the Benchmade company’s confidence in allowing me to handle the fishing end of their sweepstakes winners’ trip to Lake Winnie. I’m thankful too for the folks at Bowen Lodge, they’ve given me lots of support over the years, and it too is much appreciated. Finally, I’m thankful that Scott and Owen got in on some decent fishing. After spending two days in the boat with them, I can tell that these guys are like me, working class folks who probably would not have made this trip on their own. It’s gratifying to see somebody win something knowing that it truly is a “special treat” for them. Thanks everybody for a great experience!

August 29, 2024 Lake Winnie-Cutfoot Sioux Turning the Corner into Fall Fishing Patterns

Labor Day Weekend is upon us, and for our guests and friends heading this way, the fishing report is an optimistic one. Surface water temperatures are trending gently downward, the days are getting shorter, and weather patterns are generally favorable for angling. Combined, they have begun triggering seasonal movements of both walleye and perch, encouraging an uptick in shallow water action. Crappie and pike have been prowling the steep breaklines and are more active as well.

Phil Goettl with nice Lake Winnie Walleye August 28, 2024

The most recent heat wave, now passed, created a heavy algae bloom in Cutfoot and Little Cutfoot Sioux. Water clarity in the small lakes is low, we think somewhere in the 3-to-5-foot range. On Lake Winnie, the algae bloom is lighter, but still evident and water clarity out there ranges between 5 and 7 feet. The dingier water, combined with breezy conditions has made it easier for anglers to use traditional trolling and drifting presentations.

 Within the past few days, there have been good reports from friends fishing on Lake Winnie using jig and minnow combinations, and there are still good reports from folks who prefer trolling the shorelines using spinners. Less common, but also being used by some, are shallow running crankbaits trolled across the flats. No matter which of these presentations you prefer, it is realistic to expect a mixed catch of pike, perch, and walleye, most likely in that order.

 Key habitat varies somewhat from spot-to-spot but finding vegetation in water depths of 6 to 10 feet will get you in the ballpark. On breezy days, fish tend to rise above the tops, and out toward the clean edges of submerged grasses. On calmer, brighter days, they have trended toward heavier vegetation, and hold tighter to the plants. Rocks, gravel and isolated patches of vegetation on the flats are holding some fish too. That said, fish on some of the most popular “rock spots” on the flats have been heavily pursued and are less likely to be aggressive.

 Whether you choose to search the grassy breaklines, or check out the gravel patches, you can use the same basic presentations. Spinners, tipped with fatheads and trolled behind a 3/16-ounce bullet sinker will allow you to cover most of the territory. They can be fished in water depths of 6 to 12 feet by controlling the length of line. In shallower water, run them about 25 feet behind the boat, allow extra line as you go deeper. Remember, spinners do not need to be fish on, or even near the bottom. In heavy vegetation, it’s ideal to tickle the tops, and run through the gaps between plants. Keeping your spinner a foot or two over the tops of rocks is ideal too, touching the bottom is not.

 Jig and minnow combinations are producing fish right now too. The best all around size is 1/8 ounce, and when the wind blows, can be bumped up to ¼ ounce. The best all-around choice of bait, if you can find them, is large fatheads. Golden shiners will work, so will rainbows, and so will some of the minnows found in the “river mix” sold in local bait shops. Size is more important than species, an ideal minnow for jigging ranges from 3 to 4 inches in length.

 If you have the technology and prefer to spot and stop when fish are seen, jigs and minnows will be effective too. The popularity of using slip floats and leeches can’t be denied, but they’ve been in use all summer long, and some of the fish seem to be “conditioned” to them. We’ve heard some folks’ express frustration because they see fish but can’t get them to strike. Maybe it’s simply time to offer those fish an alternative presentation?

Jumbo Perch showing up on Lake Winnie August 27, 2024

 Perch, like the ones you see pictured here are becoming more prominent in the daily catch every day. Most of them come as a by-catch during the pursuit of walleyes and are located along the shallower shoreline breaks. To single them out, either move shallower and fish the flatter, sand and gravel patches inside of the main grass lines. Or locate shallow rocks adjacent to shoreline breaks. Key depths for perch in either location have ranged between 4 and 7 feet.

 Trolling the spinner and minnow combinations have produced plenty of perch and can be used to maximize the odds of catching walleyes. Jigs and minnows though, are likely more efficient than spinners in many instances. Perch, especially when located on isolated patches of rock and gravel are likely to stay in that area. Stopping the boat and fan casting 1/8 or 1/6 ounce jigs tipped with medium fatheads might be better.

 The size structure of perch on Winnie is all over the map right now but there are some nice ones. Expect to catch a lot of small, 6-to-9-inch perch, with a respectable smattering of fish in the 10-to-11-inch range. An occasional 12 inch fish may come along as a bonus.

 Crappie fishing took a turn for the better a couple weeks ago, but the action has tapered off since then. There are still anglers catching them in both big and little Cutfoot. The trend for locating them has been to search along steeper shoreline breaks that lay adjacent to larger flats of mixed cabbage and coontail. On Big Cutfoot, that means water depths of 7 to 12 feet of water. On Little Cutfoot, they may be found shallower, key depths there range from 5 to 8 feet where vegetation is present. Alternatively, search breaklines in 12 to 15 feet of water looking for small packs of suspended fish.

 Slow trolling with 1/16- or 1/8-ounce jigs tipped with plastic tails or spinner jigs works well. The 2-inch size twister tails, ripple shads and Keitech paddle tails are popular and productive. Beetle spins, road runners and other spinner jigs work well too, and can be used to cast into pockets and gaps in the cabbage.

 Northern pike are turning up in many of the same spots where folks are catching walleye and perch. The deeper, outer edges of shoreline breaks seem to be best. Key depths for pike range from 9 to 12 feet and they can easily be seen on most of the better sonar units. Trolling spinners produces plenty of pike but may not be best for singling out larger fish. Speed trolling the flats using large crankbaits is working right now. So is fan casting larger jigs or swimbaits with paddle tails. Alternatively, large sucker minnows suspended below big slip floats will produce larger pike as well.

Large school of yearling walleyes on lake Winnie

 WOW! That’s a lot of walleyes showing on the sonar screen! There were a lot of anecdotes about folks catching small, yearling size walleyes on the big lake. Yesterday, we experienced firsthand how many walleyes, presumably from the 2023-year class have survived the summer. The image you see here repeated for a couple of hours on the shallow flat we were fishing. The yearling walleyes were everywhere on the flat, and among them, larger, keeper size fish from the 2019-year class.

Yearling Walleye, Lake Winnie August 29, 2024

 We’re not experts, but it doesn’t take a scientific analysis to at least feel optimistic that Winnie may just have another good year class of fish in the pipeline, we have our fingers crossed.

 For many, the Labor Day Weekend represents the last hurrah before schools open and family life takes over as a priority over vacationing. For others, Labor Day Weekend represents the beginning of a new season, one that features cooler temperatures, fall colors and the emergence of fall fishing patterns. For us, it’s a little of both, sad to see the summer pass, but happy to see the fall arrive. Wherever you are on the path, we hope you’ll stay in touch, we’ll keep you updated as best we can.

Walleyes In Transition: Lake Winnie, Cutfoot Sioux Report August 19, 2024

Transition is routine during late summer and on both Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux, we’re noticing lots of transition right now. Water levels are dropping, and aquatic vegetation is fully developed. Now, there are fish of all species using the shorelines, back bays and shallow flats.

No transition is ever 100% and for sure, there are still walleyes located on mid-lake structure. Remember though, anglers have been targeting walleyes on bars and humps for about two months now, many of the active fish have been caught, and a lot of “harvestable” fish have been harvested. Add to that, insect hatches have run their course and forage on the smaller structures and some of the predators have moved toward other habitat. Fish that do remain on small, isolated “mud-humps” have been heavily pursued, and are more finicky, so catching them requires better timing.

Fish on the larger bars may be more difficult to pin down, but the “bar-fish” have more feeding choices and are more likely to remain on these structures. All the most familiar bars, Bena, Horseshoe, Center, Sugar and others, hold fish. Covering water and being at the right spot when fish are feeding is essential. Trolling presentations are likely more efficient now than the more targeted “sharpshooting” presentations that were effective earlier this summer.

Spinners tipped with live bait top the list of most popular trolling presentations. Anglers focus on the upper edges of the structure’s breaklines, and on isolated patches of rock and gravel on top of the flats. Key water depths along the breaks are 14 to 18 feet, and on top, range from 12 to 16 feet deep depending on the specific location. Bullet, or egg sinkers in the 3/16, or ¼ ounce sizes will be fine for the shallower 12-to-14 depth end of the spectrum. Fish located deeper than about 14 feet should be targeted using heavier weights.

The most common spinners on Winnie and Cutfoot are single hook, single blade versions. A single 2/0 Aberdeen hook, combined with a hammered gold #3 Indiana blade is widely used by the better fishing guides. Tipping the spinner with fathead minnows accounts for most walleyes caught be these guides. Experiment though and customize the prestation to suit your fishing style. Two hook crawler harnesses can be effective, so can using leeches on your single hook spinner versions.

Trolling speeds in the .9 to 1.3 MPH range are best. Even in clear water, where walleyes have earned the reputation as being flighty and boat shy, some walleyes can be caught using a simple “flat line”, trolling directly behind the boat presentation. On calm days, especially when it’s sunny, planer boards can be used to push the spinners out and away from the boat. If it sounds too complex for you, relax, an inexpensive planer board like the yellow bird is very easy to use. Start with one, and when you feel confident in the system, add more of them to suit the needs of your fishing crew.

Trolling spinners is also very effective along the shoreline. Cabbage, coontail and other patches of vegetation hold walleyes, and often offer a mixed bag of other fish species too. Most popular areas on both Cutfoot Sioux and Winnie will be in water depths of 7 to 10 feet of water. Bullet weights in the 1/8- or 3/16-ounce sizes are most common.

Crappies have shown up recently, and anglers trolling spinners tipped with fathead minnows report catching them. Some of the better anglers tell us that once they find crappies by trolling, they have stopped their boats, and fished with small, 1/16 to 1/8 ounce jigs tipped with 2-3 inch plastic action tails. Casting toward gaps and pockets in the vegetation, allow your jig to fall a little bit, then retrieve using a fall-swim-fall-swim approach. Crappies love to strike a bait as it falls, so maintain a tight line and be alert for a light twitch, or pop that’s the alert of a fish strike.

Sunfish, less likely to strike minnows, can be located using spinners too, by substituting medium size leeches for the fatheads. Everything else about the trolling presentation remains the same.  Again, a school of fish located by trolling may be caught more effectively by stopping and fishing vertically.

Perch are showing up more frequently these days too, but not in large numbers. During periods of cloudy, breezy weather conditions, they will be most active and can be targeted using jigs and minnows. When it’s calm, especially on sunny days, trolling for random perch strikes is more effective. So far, vegetation is the preferred habitat. Key depths range between 4 and 8 feet of water.

Northern pike have been active recently, and there are some fat and chunky fish being caught. Most folks report catching pike while trolling for walleyes. There are some folks catching pike using large sucker minnows suspended below big bobbers. This is a great approach for catching larger size fish on calm, sunny days. When the skies are dark, and the winds are blowing, trolling the shorelines using spoons, crankbaits or swim baits will provide better action. Large Redeye Wigglers are great trolling spoons, large rattling crankbaits are fun, and so are 6 inch swimbaits like the YUM Money Minnow on a large jig head.