Is this it, for real, have the fall walleye migrations on Lake Winnie begun?
It would certainly seem so, by all accounts, guests are returning to the marina with reports of good walleye fishing on the big lake. When we walk out to the fish cleaning station, we see even more evidence and hear more reports about good catches every evening.
The “Luscious Sisters” showing off nice walleye caught on Lake Winnie.
One true test occurred on Thursday (9-09), after a long stretch of breezy weather, the sun came out and the lake went flat. Most anglers know that flat, sunny conditions typically stop a great walleye bite in its tracks, but this did not happen. In fact, there were lots of folks who actually caught more walleyes during this period of calm, than they did on previous days when conditions were windy.
Boat control, in many cases is likely the main reason for an improvement. On of the local guides fished out of the resort on Thursday and said, “I think it was easy to get strikes on the windy days, but not as easy to get good hook sets. Walleyes need to be given time to fully inhale the lures, and when it’s too windy, boat speed works against us. The anglers are trying to wait for the fish to get the bait, but the fish often lose interest before they finish it off. When it calms down, the crew has more time to work each strike and the hook setting percentage goes way up.”
Boats on Lake Winnie
Ideal speeds for drifting or trolling while fishing with jig and minnow combinations are around .6 to .8 MPH. When anglers can hold within that range, the presentation just feels most comfortable. Not to mention that fish respond better to jigging presentations at these speeds.
Trolling with spinners is a different matter, faster speeds work better. Most folks shoot for 1.0 to 1.3 MPH. Until recently, spinners tipped with minnows is the only presentation anglers really needed. But this week, we’ve seen serious evidence of shifting preferences. Knowing when to switch between the 2 presentations is important. Trolling with spinners is still an effective search tool, but once you’ve located walleyes, slow down your boat and try jigging, you’re liable to do better.
In 6 to 8 feet of water, one of the key depth ranges, a 1/8-ounce jig tipped with large fatheads, golden shiners or “river mix” minnows with do the trick. Fishing deeper requires a little more weight, especially on breezy days. In most cases, deeper fish are holding in depths of 14 to 18 feet, on top of the edges on mid-lake bars. Using a ¼ ounce jig will cover you most of the time, but a handful of 3/8 to ½ ounce jigs would help on windier days or when fish slip out over the steep breaks in water depths of 22 to 26 feet.
Cooling water = decreasing vegetation and reduced algae blooms
Cooler water temperatures, now in the 65-to-66-degree range have triggered a lot of fish movement, but the calendar plays a role too. It’s obvious that days are becoming noticeably shorter and a trip around the lake will reveal that many patches of vegetation have matured. It is now common to see stalks of wild celery floating on the surface and many of least hardy submerged grasses are becoming sparse. Cabbage and coontail patches remain green though and these are fast becoming key fish holding areas, not only for walleyes, but for pike and perch too.
You could be reading this report and wondering where is “the hard news” about fish location? Now, we don’t believe that poses a problem because any angler with a creative mind and an adventurous spirit can find fish on Winnie. There are schools of fish located on all 4 sides of the lake, in the middle and on shoreline connected, main lake bars.
Troll or drift along any stretch of shoreline and you’re going to find fish eventually. When there’s no wind, finding vegetation is critical and is THE KEY to fish location. On breezy days, fish wander away from the heaviest grass, then, locating areas that provide “workable” drifting or trolling patterns is the secret to success.
Luscious Kelly Damon with chunky pike for the fish fry.
Locating multiple schools of fish over a variety of locations is the secret to finding some of Winnie’s most coveted, keeper size fish. Jeff Sundin, local fishing guide has been around the resort this week and says, “For me, moving from spot-to-spot, looking for various pods of fish has helped us catch more walleyes in the 14-to-16-inch range. It can be fun to stay in an area where there’s lots of action. But I believe that fish from individual year classes tend to stick together. If there’s a thousand small fish in an area, I find it more likely to locate “keepers” when I move away and fish more offbeat structures, often ones that hold fewer fish. Sometimes, cherry picking 2 or 3 15-inch walleyes from the 2018-year class is more rewarding than hanging around a school 0f 2019-year class fish that range from 11 to 13 inches.
I wouldn’t want to over-sell the notion that there are places where we only ever catch keepers, but certain areas do provide heightened odds of success and that’s what I’m looking for.”
By the way, we’d be remiss by not calling attention to Sundin’s reason for being here. The annual VA Nurses Club outing is another sure sign that fall is here. The event is a lot of fun, but don’t let the Luscious Sisters’ wacky outfits fool you, these girls (and guys) are here to fish too. And, as you can see by the accompanying images, they’ve had a good time in that regard.
Overshadowed by the walleye action, panfish and perch have been more of a side-pursuit this week. Some folks are catching panfish in both Cutfoot and Little Cutfoot, but it’s early fall and fish remain scattered. It is not unusual to hear that some folks are catching fish in shallow vegetation while others report finding them in open water. Soon, panfish will consume a greater portion of our report, the news will likely intensify over the next week.
Pike remain active and can be found anywhere that green vegetation provides cover. This week, we’ve noticed an uptick in the number of people who are casting for pike. Pike in the 26-to-30-inch range are becoming more plentiful again and are attracting folks with more passion for toothy critters. With an increasing average size, we’re guessing that the trend will continue.
Folks who just want to get some ”eater” size pike are in luck too, there are solid numbers of girthy fish in the 20 to 21 inch range, perfect for many of our favorite pike recipes.
Watch for more updates as the week ahead unfolds.