Every fall, walleyes, perch, and pike make a push toward the shoreline, feeding both aggressively and often. So far, any full-scale migrations toward the shoreline have yet to begin. However, the annual fall trend toward feeding more aggressively and more often definitely has.
Clouds of baitfish on the fish finder are common on Lake Winnie in recent weeks
In part, the migrations are triggered by water temperature, and as surface temperatures are still holding in the 63-to-66-degree range, there’s been little incentive for gamefish to make a move. Food sources, another driving force in the fish’s urge to relocate, are literally everywhere right now, this also holds fish in place. That cloud you see in the photo of our fish finder shows a large school of small, minnow size perch. It appears that there was a massive hatch of perch this spring, and these, combined with other minnows and small gamefish are keeping the walleyes fat, happy and at times, harder to catch.
Despite those short-term obstacles, walleyes are feeding and if you’re in the right spot, at the right time, you will find both good numbers and high-quality fish. The strong year classes of both 2018 and 2019 are well represented. Anglers are showing up with good catches of fish in the 16 to 17-1/2 range. Measure carefully, there are quite a few 2018-year class walleyes now crossing the 18-inch mark and entering the protected slot.
Some key locations are more summer-like than usual, mid-lake bars, steep shoreline breaks, and windswept flats are all holding fish. Vegetation growing in shallow water holds fish too, and when located, should be checked out. On mid-lake structures, water depths of 14 to 20 feet are the most productive. Shoreline breaks in the 12-to-16-foot range are good, and on the flats, 6 to 9 feet have been best when there’s a good drifting wind, when the weather is calm, fish spread out and move deeper. Look for the fish on flats in 10 to 14 feet when conditions are calm.
Ken Seufert shows off a fat Winnie Walleye caught on Live Bait Jig and Fathead minnow
Trolling presentations can still be effective, especially to help you discover the location of fish in shallow water. Cover water using spinners tipped with minnows, vary your depths, watch for vegetation or other structure. As you fine tune your locations, you will discover some fish, it is just a matter of time. Once fish are located, circle back and zero in on the best population of fish, then switch to jigs and live bait.
Jigs and minnows now provide very reliable results and have been productive in all water depths. Ken Seufert, pictured here, fished on mid-lake structure this week, and caught good numbers of walleyes in 15 to 18 feet of water using ¼ ounce size Lindy Live Bait Jigs tipped with fat heads. Anglers fishing shallow water flats are using 1/8-ounce jigs when there’s a breeze. In calmer conditions, we suggest going with 1/6-ounce jigs to help keep your baits above the moss and running cleanly. Night crawlers are producing walleye action too, and wiggle worming, using 1/16-ounce jigs tipped a full night crawler have been effective.
” Sharpshooters”, folks using forward facing sonar to locate fish have been somewhat frustrated lately. That’s because walleyes are less likely to be found in tight schools that can be pinned down. Probably a result of the hyper supply of baitfish, walleyes have been spread out horizontally, gathered in much smaller groups, sometimes even singles or doubles. So, folks that keep moving, either drifting or trolling are encountering more fish, more often.
Walleye singles and doubles and small packs are more common today than finding “schools” of fish
Rumors of folks locating and catching walleyes in deep water are floating around. We’d ask you to be mindful of the ill consequences of catching any fish in deep water. Barotrauma is a killer, making “catch and release” fishing a risky practice and especially dangerous on lakes, like Winnie, where protected slot regulations are in place. If you insist on catching fish in deep water, harvest the fish you plan to eat and then move on, don’t keep catching and killing.
Jumbo Perch were hard to come by throughout the summer, but in recent weeks, the action has much improved. Shallow flats with vegetation have been most productive, but there are some perch located on mid-lake structure too. In the shallows, 6 to 8 feet of water is about right, jigs and minnows will produce plenty of action, spinners continue to be effective as well.
At mid lake, fish over slow tapering edges, or “feeding shelves” located alongside the bars. The best spots will be located close to areas where soft bottoms meet a harder one. Insects, always a draw for perch live in the marl, and hold perch in good numbers. Use ¼ ounce jigs or live bait rigs tipped with lively minnows.
Panfish action is mixed, there are some folks finding and catching, while others come up with few, if any. The crappies seemed to be making a move into open water a couple weeks ago but have retreated into the weeds. Jigs tipped with soft plastics, cast into gaps in the vegetation and retrieved using a drop-swim-drop-swim motion will work. Sunfish are in the grass too but have been less responsive to moving baits. A jig tipped with a small worm or cut piece of night crawler and fished vertically will be more productive.
Northern pike are in the mix, no matter where folks have been fishing. On the bars, they strike the jig and minnow used for walleyes. In the shallows, spinners are catching them too. About the only thing we don’t see, are folks actually targeting pike. That’s curious to us because the population is strong, and the average size of pike is improving steadily. Right now, there are plenty of eating size fish, 21 to 2-1/2-inch fish are easy to come by. Fish over the 26-inch protected slot are easier to find these days too and both are biting.
In the “good old days” of pike fishing on Winnie, the full moon was a pivotal time. Often, the largest pike, muskies too, struck during the full moon periods of August and September. It’s hard to say for sure, but this harvest moon might just be a great time to find out if the “good old days” are happening right now!