By Jared Saufferer
This past week consisted of perfect weather, and a big mayfly hatch on Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux. Fish were able to gorge themselves with all of the food necessary to keep growing at an above average rate. Walleyes were being caught with a variety of presentations throughout the week, and bass fishing is on fire.
Spinners with a fathead, leech, or nightcrawler seemed to attract more action being trolled at 1.3 to 1.8mph. It seemed that the faster the presentation the more active the fish became. Slip bobbers, jigging raps, jig and minnow, and lindy rigs all produced a handful of fish as well.
Walleyes were able to be caught anywhere from 14 to 26 feet of water depending on the structure that was holding them. Shallower fish in the 14-18 feet seemed to be caught on rocks and gravel along the north shore. Meanwhile, the deeper fish were being found in 22-26 feet on tops and the sides of humps and bars in the main lake. A large variety of sizes of walleyes were caught in both of these areas with great numbers of slot fish mixed in with eaters and small walleyes.
Many guests had great success with largemouth bass this week. The main location to focus on is pencil reeds and bullrushes out from the shoreline. Texas rigged plastics and spinner baits on heavier line and rods were able to muscle these fish out of the thick cover. The largemouth fishing on Winnie and Cutfoot is a very underutilized resource for the two lakes, and can create a ton of action for everyone, especially if the walleyes are uncooperative.
The perch fishing is starting to roll into action as they are beginning to school up in the mud, weeds, and rock piles. Once perch are found there tends to be an abundance of them in that area. Northern pike tend to be not far behind and always ready to eat.
As we move forward this summer, the walleyes and perch should start to become more concentrated around main lake humps and bars, along with weed lines. Don’t be afraid to try new presentations, or even chase a new species to broaden your fishing horizon.
