Holidays are important to many Minnesotans. Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and of course, Fishing Opener. This special weekend in May is possibly the year’s most anticipated event for many anglers, as it marks not only the hope for fishing glory on a favorite lake but also a cherished tradition with family, friends, and the outdoors. For legendary fishing guide Jeff Sundin, it’s the beginning of his busy season. During the next few months, Jeff will be hustling from lake to lake, Lund Alaskan in tow, creating unforgettable fishing experiences with clients from all over the country. Like everyone else who is anxious to get on the water, walleyes are occupying Jeff’s thoughts. Decades worth of experience, knowledge, and savviness will be put to task come May 11th, when the hunt for our prized fish will officially commence.
During a rainy spring morning, I saw an opportunity to tap into Jeff’s brain and get a preview of what’s to come on Lake Winnibigoshish. For those that have fished on opening morning, they know the sense of excitement and anticipation, but maybe a feeling of the unknown, doubt, and the overwhelming choice of where to even begin. Fortunately, Jeff was happy to share his wealth of fishing tips to provide a starting point for anglers who are eager to feel that first tug on the end of their line. He also regularly shares his thoughts and fishing reports on the prestigious www.fishrapper.com, which you should certainly study ahead of your next lake outing. In the meantime, here’s a little preview of what’s to come this weekend, and beyond, on Big Winnie.
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Jeff Sundin shows off a prized “eater” walleye from Lake Winnibigoshish in 2023.
Jens Heig: Do you approach fishing opener the same, year after year?
Jeff Sundin: You have to have some process, there's no other way to do it because it’s the fishing opener. I'm just a tourist, the same as everybody else. You can make a few educated guesses about things but until you get out there and see what's really going on, you don't start off with any more information than anybody else has. You just have to get your feet wet, no pun intended.
I'll start at one place and then if that doesn't work, I'm going to go somewhere else, and then if that doesn't work, you get the idea. You can narrow down a few things because of what the weather is like.
Jens: That brings up a great point. In one of your latest posts on fishrapper.com, you stated that “The best anglers I know succeed by responding to what they see and not what they know.” What are the different markers that you're looking for on the lake?
Jeff: If there's a nice 15 mile an hour wind and a chop and no sun, you're probably going to start off shallow. But if it's sunny and calm, you're probably going to start deeper, but it's still just testing the water as you go. Maybe it's breezy and there is a nice chop on the water, those conditions are perfect for some kind of a shallow feeding run. On Winnie, for the first few hours on opening morning, you can get away with being in the crowd but once that first wave is over, it's time to start getting between the packs of boats and looking for your own fish. Don't look where everybody else is because, every time, you're seeing what happened hours ago, not what's happening at that moment.
Jens: More specifically on conditions, we can see that the water is really clear this year. How has the clear water affected the way that you approach Winnie?
Jeff: I don't do it with electronics. I'm still probably the last guy on the lake that doesn't have the forward facing sonar (pan optics), but I get away with it just because I know a lot of spots.
Don't go try to get on top of the fish. Don't try to mark them with your sonar. Pick a spot that is likely to have fish on it. Stop way short of where you think the fish are going to be and do a lot more casting; a lot more precision fishing. Make the assumption that you're stopping for a good reason and make as long of a cast as you can make and try not to get hung up on one little bite. If you make three casts to a spot and you get three bites, don't just sit there for the rest of the day thinking that there's always going to be fish there. Get what you can and keep moving around. It's a more nomadic way of fishing compared to the odd day when everything comes together. The fish can act like they did in the “good old days,” but it takes more perfect conditions for that to happen than it used to.
When the pressure is on, Jeff knows how to deliver!
Jens: Meaning you could sit on the fish a little bit longer?
Jeff: Yeah. Let's say in 1995 you might have been able to work one school of fish on a certain break line for two or three hours before it would fizzle out. Now, you could get a pretty good bite going for a while, but be ready for them to either move on you or just stop altogether. It goes both ways. Once they know you're there, it's extremely hard to keep fooling fish.
Jens: A jig and minnow is what pretty much everybody is using in the spring. But if somebody maybe didn't want to use that, what are different presentations that somebody could experiment with and find some success?
Jeff: Partly because of the lack of, and expense of minnows, and partly because of having to be on the prowl and searching all the time, I use way more plastic than I used to. I still like a jig and a minnow and when I can get close enough to the fish, that’s the way I still do it. I think they prefer that. But when I'm searching, I go with a heavier, ¼ ounce jig and a four-inch Ripple Shad, and fling it as far as I can cast it. Don't think of it as a replacement for a minnow, think of it as its own separate presentation. However you fished with a jig and the minnow before, don't assume that that's how you fish the plastic, that's where you can make the biggest mistake.
You're going to throw the plastics a lot farther, you're going to jig them a lot more aggressively. You're going to miss more fish on them, but that's because it's a big piece of plastic and you can't wait around. With a jig and a minnow, you could pause, make sure the fish has got it in its mouth, and take your time before you set the hook. With plastic, the fish is going to figure out that it's fully baloney. You don't have a lot of time. That's just one of the pitfalls of doing it that way, but it works. You can keep your lure out away from the boat and you can cover a lot of water, faster, with a heavier jig. On any given day, from the opener until maybe mid June or so, no matter what we're doing with the jig and minnow, there's always one or two people in my boat that are using the plastics at the same time.
The spottail shiner, Minnesota’s most iconic and sought-after baitfish. Lake Winnibigoshish shiners are known for their ideal size and heartiness, making them a staple for many anglers in the Northland; when they can get them.
Jens: Do you think that shiners are essential on opening weekend?
Jeff: No, but I think they're nice if you can get them and they're not too expensive. I will still get them, but I buy maybe a third of the shiners that I used to. The rest goes in order of what's available. If you can get a big enough fathead, you can use a fathead instead of a shiner, any time. It’s as good a minnow as you can get; I really like those. Golden shiners are ok. I like them fine, but they don't stay on the hook too great for me. So I don't go out of my way to get goldies. Rainbows are ok, they come off the hook a little on the easy side, too, but I'll use them. I'll buy the river mix sometimes, but you have to do a lot of sorting.
Jens: That's good, because getting consistent live bait has been a challenge over the past few years. It may be a mental thing more than anything. Some get a little worried by not being able to get the bait that they prefer, or believe that they need.
Jeff: To a certain extent, we caused that problem. When shiners were easy to get and they were $6 a pint, we used them any time we wanted to get them. And so, guys made a big deal out of having shiners because they could get a lot of shiners. There are certain people in Minnesota right now, even if they want them, they can't find them any place. Every year there are a few more places that go off limits, the weather has to be just right when the trappers get going. We're getting into this pattern now where there are always plenty of them after you don't need them anymore.
I still like them, but anything that you've seen me write about fishing with live bait in the last 10 years, I've never said you have to have shiners. There might have been one instance where I said it made a difference on this lake, on this day, or whatever. But nope, I don't worry too much about that.
Don't forget about nightcrawlers! Even if it's opening day, don't forget about wiggle-worming 101. If you had only one bait, nightcrawlers are number one. Everything will eat them. I don't want to call it magic, but they really work well.
Jens: Do you have any takeaways from last season? What about any goals for 2024?
Jeff: I'm really interested to see if I can make it another summer without having to go with pan optics. Like, if there's a moment in time where the fish have got used to that and there is no big advantage. Where you're just fine doing what you were doing before, or if I'm going to finally get pushed over the edge and just have no choice. No matter how good it looked when someone had pan optics hanging over the side of the boat, by the end of the year, I figured out that it wasn't an absolute necessity.
Male walleyes await their turn to fertilize eggs at the DNR’s Cutfoot Sioux Spawning Station in 2024.
What I learned last year specifically about Winnie: this is the year where we're going to see a lot of slot fish. We're going to see that a lot of those 2018 fish have already moved into the protective slot. The days of catching 80 and sorting through for the biggest ones, we might have enjoyed that already. You have to be a little better about picking your spot and a little better about getting to bite and all that kind of stuff. And be really good with the ruler.
Jens: Pinch that tail. Last thing I want to know is if you have a ritual. Do you have your lucky t-shirt, or special rod or any superstitions that you practice as the season starts?
Jeff: People used to bring stogies because that was the good luck thing, but I quit smoking about four months ago. That was my only ritual, like the baseball player who doesn't shave until the World Series is over. Now I have to find out if I can catch a fish without a stogie.
Jens: I have a feeling you'll be just fine.
Jeff: Well, we're definitely going to find out.