At Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux, summer has arrived in all its glory!

Surface water temperatures are approaching 75 degrees, insect hatches are going strong and fish are moving into traditional, mid-summer locations.

Walleyes, for many, are primarily a catch, photo, release fishing opportunity right now. This is especially true for folks fishing on Winnie during the daytime.

Mid-lake bars and humps are producing fish; primary depth range is about 26 feet of water. On cloudy, turbulent days fish will move shallower, don’t overlook going right up on top of the structures when conditions are right. On bright, calm days, walleye are suspending out and away from the structures and can be found high in water column. Locating these fish takes some determination, but if you do, they can be caught.

The dominant deep-water fishing presentation is Lindy Rigging live bait like leeches and night crawlers. Jig and minnow presentations will produce some walleye too and as a bonus, you’ll catch pike and perch during your search. If you locate suspended fish, “power corking”, an aggressive presentation that incorporates the use of a slip float, will produce strikes.

Our very own dock hand extraordinaire, Jared Saufferer says; “I’ve used a live bait rig with either a leech or a night crawler slowly dragging them around areas that I’ve already marked fish in. Speeds from .4-.7 have been best for me. Main lake humps and bars seem to be holding the majority of slot fish. We did get some keeper fish in Cutfoot on saddles adjacent to deep water. We caught walleyes anywhere from 9 to 22 inches long in these areas.”

Cabbage beds are holding fish now as well. The vegetation is green and lush, growing to a height of about 5 to 6 feet on the main lake, taller than that in back bays and protected areas.

For eater size walleye, these weeds will soon be the focal point and in some areas, they may already be. But no matter what happens with the walleyes, if you fish these cabbage patches now, you’ll be in for a treat!

Crappies and sunfish are taking up residence in the cabbage and they are becoming very active, especially during low-light periods. In fact, if you fish the period from 8:00 to 9:30 PM, it is highly likely that you’ll find an active school of panfish. We’ve heard good reports from folks fishing in a wide variety of locations, even including out on the big lake.

Trolling spinners over the weed tops is a good way to locate panfish. Once you find them, casting small jigs tipped with action tails may be a more efficient way of catching them. Small safety pin spinners like the beetle spin are also good and provide a great combination of attracting and triggering strikes.

Cover territory; don’t get too locked in on any one particular cabbage patch. If you move from spot to spot, your search will end happily.