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.