Fishing the Memorial Weekend on Winnibigoshish and Cutfoot Sioux May 25, 2023

With almost 2 weeks of fishing in the history books, our guests and friends have shared lots of stories from the lakes, and some very helpful fishing tips for both Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux. So, going into the Memorial Day holiday weekend, our guests will be armed with the knowledge they’ll need to have a productive fishing trip.

Lake Winnie Walleye Action

Surface water temperatures have warmed up and we’re seeing daytime highs ranging from 56 to 58 degrees on the north side. Folks travelling toward the south end of the lake report cooler temperatures, 52 to 54 degrees is the norm. Extreme back bays, and areas where darker water drains into the lake are warmer, 61 to 63 degrees can be found. The variation from one area to others results in differing opinions about both fish location and presentation.

 Regions of the lake with the coolest water temperatures also feature the clearest water conditions. Walleyes in these regions show a strong preference for feeding during low light periods. Anglers do report catching some fish during the daytime. But in the words of one guest whose here right now, “The evening bite is on fire, when the sun starts touching the treetops, the fish start feeding. We’re fishing in water depths of 16 to 20 feet using ¼ ounce jig heads and minnows.”

Mike Cooley with Lake Winnie Walleye

Warmer water, with darker color translates into a whole new story for folks fishing those regions. One of the better area guides says this, “On Wednesday, we fished in the extreme back regions and found 61.5-degree water. “There were some scattered, but still green cabbage plants, along with some stubby, newly emerging vegetation too. There were walleye, perch and smaller northern pike using feeding there.”

 “We caught a mixed bag of fish by moving slowly along the shallow break, in water depths from 4 to 7 feet of water. The best presentation was pitching a 1/8-ounce jig tipped with minnows.  We cast the jigs away from the boat and retrieved them slowly using a hop-pop-hop-pop motion. Shiners worked, but attracted more pike than walleyes and medium size fatheads attracted more walleye and perch.”

Newly Emerging Vegetation In Warmer Water

The contrasting reports, both from trusted sources, teach a lesson. “Be creative and don’t fall into the trap of believing that there’s only one good fishing area, or one presentation that works. The array of productive fishing habits widens every day, fish are showing up in shallow water, deep water and even on the flats.

 Jig and minnow presentations are common thread that runs through almost all of the best fishing reports. Shiners are now widely available and despite the high cost, are being used by a lot of folks. On the big lake, especially in areas with the clearest water, shiners appear to offer an advantage. In darker water, that advantage is diluted, fatheads, rainbows and “river mix” minnows have all been equally productive. You’re better off bringing a small variety of each, rather than stocking up heavily on any one minnow type.

Lindy Rig Using “Lip Hooked” Minnows

An alternative to fishing with jigs and minnows is the Lindy Rig. If you’re fishing over a school of fish that appear un-interested in your jigs, drop down a Lindy Rig, and fish with larger minnows. A 6-to-7-foot leader with a minnow size hook #4 or #2 if needed for larger minnows, and tip them with larger bait. Unless they are very large, and very lively, avoid using fatheads for this presentation, walleyes respond more favorably to the liveliest shiners or rainbows. Hook the minnows lightly through the upper lip to help preserve their liveliness.

Crappies Begin Showing Up In Shallow Water

Crappies, another popular target during spring, have just begun getting active. Earlier this week, warm, calm weather encouraged them to move shallow in preparation for spawning. The cold front that arrived here on Wednesday dispersed them, but as the weather settles, they should begin moving toward shallow spawning areas again.

Perch fishing hasn’t caught yet on as a feature part of our guest’s fishing plans, but there are some nice ones being caught as they target walleyes. Perch have shown up in both deep and shallow water locations, but if you’re interested in targeting perch specifically, you’d be better off taking your search into the shallow water. Perch will use shallow habitats like bulrush, cabbage and other “woody structures” for spawning. Most of them have finished spawning, still, you’re liable to find them hanging around in areas like these.

 So far, northern pike haven’t been targeted much either but do show up mixed with walleyes. Pike, especially smaller “eater size fish” will strike your jig and minnow presentations. To target larger fish, Lindy Rigging with larger minnows like suckers, creek chub or lake shiner. Slip floats used to suspend minnows is popular too, position your boat near rocky points, or cabbage patches.

 Have you checked the weather forecast? If it comes true, we’re in for a fabulous Memorial Weekend. Sunshine, warm air temperatures and breeze should combine to provide good fishing in a variety of areas, for a variety of fish species. As always, you’re welcome to drop in and launch your boat, or stop by for a chat. If not, then we’ll see you on the water, enjoy your weekend!

Lake Winnie Cutfoot Sioux Walleye Fishing Report May 17, 2023

Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux did not disappoint walleye anglers hoping that the action would be great for the 2023 fishing opener. The weather was fabulous, there was a nice chop on the water and the walleyes were snapping. It’s fair to say that on opening day, there were more folks catching fish, even limits, than those who did not.

Cutfoot Sioux Opening Weekend Walleye

On Sunday, and each day since, the climate has been warm, bright, and calm. The water temperature is now in the 55-to-57-degree range and the water is clear. Walleyes continue to bite, but have been located spread out over the flats, along the shallow sides of steepest breaklines. Most fish are not on the steep edges, but rather on top of the flat areas that lead toward them. Key depths on calm days have ranged from about 15 feet down to 18 feet of water.

 With the fish scattered, anglers are covering more territory between strikes, but are still catching good numbers of fish. Trolling with ¼ to 3/8-ounce jigs tipped with minnows has been the primary presentation. When better schools of fish are encountered, stopping the boat, anchoring and “pitching” jig and minnow combos has been effective too. So have Lindy Rigs tipped with larger, super-lively minnows.

Ashley Heigh with a hefty Lake Winnie Walleye

For our guests, travel times have been short because there are enough fish located along the north shore. We hear reports from friends who say that the west side of the lake was also good on the fishing opener. If the breeze picks up, shallow structures near Ravens Point, Mallard Point and Stony Point should be checked out too. With walleyes barely finished their spawning runs, mid-lake structures have yet to attract many walleyes.

 Shiner minnows are available in our region, but the supplies are still spotty. They have not been mandatory for catching fish though, our guests are catching plenty of fish using fatheads and rainbows as well. Our suggestion would be to have a little bit of everything, rather than loading up on any one type of minnow.

 At this point, walleye has been the primary focus on 98% of the anglers on the lake. Perch, pike and panfish, when caught, are the result of “good luck” encounters as folks pursue walleyes. If the weather stays on its present trajectory, shallow water will warm fast and panfish will st4art getting more attention. We’ll keep you posted about that in the upcoming days and weeks.

 Let’s wrap the report with a note about walleye size structure. Anglers are noticing that quite a few walleyes from the strong 2018-year class have now crossed the line into their protected slot size. For one of the guides fishing the lake on Tuesday, fish in the 18.25-to-18.50-inch range represented about 10% of the total catch. Fish in the keeper range, 15 to 17 inches range made up about 60% of the catch. The remaining 40% were fish ranging from 13.75 inches, down to about 13 inches.

All that means is that with Lake Winnie’s fast growth rates, the summer of 2023 will likely be the one that offer anglers the perfect balance of excellent action, quality size and “keeper” size fish in the ideal size ranges. It should be a great summer at Bowen Lodge!

Lake Winnibigoshish • Cutfoot Sioux 2023 Walleye Fishing Season Outlook

Walleye anglers, curious about the progress of the ice breaking up on Lake Winnie may have had a few anxious moments this spring. But, compared to last year’s “ice-out cliff hanger”, this is going to be a walk in the park. Today’s images of Cutfoot and Winnibigoshish compared to those we viewed around the same time in 2022 indicate that we’re 4 to 5 days ahead of where we were last spring. Admittedly, this still constitutes a later than typical ice-out, but at least we have a little bit of wiggle room to work with.

Bowens Flats Lake Winnibigoshish May 1, 2023

One of this week’s top news items is whether the MN DNR will set up gear for the walleye egg take at Little Cutfoot Sioux. As of Monday 5-1-23, the current working plan was to set up and collect eggs to be taken into the Grand Rapids hatchery. For that to happen, Little Cutfoot would have to be ice-free by later today, or Wednesday at the latest. Then oxygen monitoring would determine the start date for walleye trapping. With brisk breezes and choppy water, dissolved oxygen could reach desirable levels in 3 to days. Following that timeline, even the most optimistic schedule would place fisheries staff at the traps sometime next weekend.

During that time, assessing catch rates from some of the other regional egg takes will determine whether Grand Rapids can meet the 2023 quota by receiving eggs from other areas. Area egg take operations that have opened already are off to a strong start. So, early indications are that the Grand Rapids operation at Little Cutfoot would be short and fast if it happens at all.

Either way, the 2023 walleye season is going to happen on schedule, and we’ll be ready!

 This year, we’re anticipating a continuation of the strong angler catch rates we enjoyed in both 2021 and 2022. The 2 back-to-back, “dynamo year classes” of walleyes from 2018 and 2019 will continue to dominate the population. This summer, the size structure of walleyes from both years will be very desirable. Many of the fish from the 2018-year class will range between 16 and 18 inches and by summer’s end, there will be a significant number exceeding 18 inches.

 Walleyes from the 2019-year class, many now ranging from 14 to 15 inches, will also be desirable for folks interested in a family fish fry. This ultra-strong year class will grow throughout the summer too and before fall, will provide anglers with lots of opportunity for both quality and quantity.

 Walleyes from the strong 2013-year class reached maturity in the 2016-2017 seasons and many of them are still swimming in Winnie. Folks interested in catching larger fish for a “photo op” will continue to have a great opportunity to achieve that goal too.

 As always, we’ll be encouraging folks to be selective, targeting fish that are most likely to be males. Female walleyes tend to be larger than their male counterparts of the same age. So, it makes sense to get familiar with the average sizes of each year’s class and when possible, select fish in the smaller range for harvest. We will be in close contact with DNR fisheries staff and will provide frequent updates about growth rates during the season.

As happy as we are about having strong walleye populations in Cutfoot Sioux and Winnie, they may be contributing, at least in part, to an overall decline in populations of Yellow Perch.

 All those hungry walleye mouths to feed could be responsible, in part, for lower-than-average perch numbers in Winnie and Cutfoot. At 3.3 fish per net, the fall survey recorded the lowest number of Yellow Perch in recent history. The decline appears to be in the most recent year classes, affecting fish of the smallest sizes.

As is often the case though, lower numbers of fish have resulted in more anglers catching perch of greater quality size. In 2021, 25% of perch recorded in angler surveys were over 9 inches. Fall fishing produced good numbers of quality fish, often mixed in with walleyes. Over the past winter, we observed firsthand, anglers with good catches of fish in the 10-to-11-inch range, with an occasional 12-inch bonus.

Perch enthusiasts fishing the lake this summer will be well advised to cover lots of water, checking a variety of habitats. Perch, like most fish are highly adaptable and can be found feeding on anything. Crawfish, minnows, insects and young of the year gamefish are all on the menu. Habitat like gravel bars, weed beds and semi-soft, marl are likely feeding territory and could be found both shallow and deep.

Northern Pike, another popular species with anglers, are well suited for Winnibigoshish and connected waters. The protected 22-to-26-inch slot appears to be having a positive impact on size structure. It’s too early to prove statistically, but anglers on the lake do report catching more pike of larger average sizes. The trade-off is that catch rates of smaller pike have declined.

Most folks would take declines in small pike as positive news, and DNR fisheries staff agree. “That was the point of instituting the 22–26-inch protected slot”, said retired DNR Large Lake Specialist Gerry Albert. “Obviously, pike sizes tend to improve simply by protecting larger ones with a slot limit and keeping more of them in the lake. But there are other less obvious reasons that lower populations can be desirable. Less competition for forage, more space for fish to grow can be helpful too.”

It’s not clear if the protected slot limit is responsible for the change, but we’ve also seen more anglers catching fish within the protected slot sizes but have also noted more fish over 26 inches being caught too. Anecdotally, we see evidence that folks have an excellent chance of catching some “photo op” pike in the 26-to-30-inch range.

Panfish are important to our guests, especially during summer and fall. If you hadn’t already heard, Cutfoot Sioux made the list of lakes to receive protection under the “Quality Sunfish initiative.” The initiative, widely accepted by anglers, is aimed at helping restore larger panfish into systems where heavy harvest pressure has occurred. Also anecdotally, sunfish numbers throughout the Cutfoot system appear to have rebounded. We have noted though that many of them had not achieved larger sizes. Like the pike regulation, it is too soon to assess the impact on the size structure of sunfish. But assuming our lakes follow the trajectory of other lakes that have these protections, the future of sunfish here could well be a happy one. So, for our guests, the 5 sunfish daily limit could be an exciting development, we’ll know more as time goes on, but we’re hopeful.

Crappie populations everywhere in the region had been declining for a few years. Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux were not exempt, catch rates for our guests have been lower than average recently. During 2022, there was an apparent year class of young ‘up-and-comers”. Crappies in the 5-to-7-inch size range were showing up not just in Cutfoot and Winnie, but in dozens of north central Minnesota lakes. We’re hopeful that the next couple of seasons will bring these fish to maturity and we’ll be updating the progress every chance we get.

 Like you, the timing of this year’s ice out had us a little anxious for a while. But it is settled now, and our attention has turned toward getting the cabins, lodge and grounds ready for the fishing opener. We’re looking forward to seeing everybody and we’re grateful for another season.

 We’ll be keeping you posted all season long, so be sure to check in often.

High Speed Transition to Fall Fishing Patterns Cutfoot Sioux - Lake Winnie September 29, 2022

Lake Winnibigoshish Cutfoot Sioux Fishing Report – September 29, 2022 

Any mystery about when the first frost will hit Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux has been solved. The first dive into sub-freezing air temperatures hit on Monday night, then widespread frost occurred in our area overnight Wednesday and into Thursday morning.

Ashley Heig, Lake Winnie Walleye

 Those frosty temperatures sent surface water temperatures on a fast dive into the mid-to-low 50s. On Wednesday, most areas of Lake Winnie registered 57 to 58 degrees. Cutfoot Sioux was more variable, with temperatures ranging between 51 degrees and 60 degrees depending on the water depth.

 The cold water has not affected walleye temperament, by all accounts, walleye activity remains strong. Walleye location, on the other hand, does appear to have undergone some transformation. Anglers who had become “locked in” to fishing territories and patterns that were reliable last week, found few, if any walleyes using them during post cold front, Tuesday, and Wednesday. But as is usually the case during fall, anglers who explored fresh territory, searching for schools of migratory fish were rewarded with awesome catches.

 Overall, the best depth ranges to focus on are the breaks from 6 to 8 feet, the 10-to-12-foot breaks and the 16-to-24-foot ones. Check enough spots in these depth ranges and it is just a matter of time, you will locate a school of walleyes.

 For now, the secret to locating most schools of migratory walleyes depends on locating shoreline structure with high concentrations of baitfish. Small, 1 to 1-1/2-inch-long perch are the primary food source and these have been forced out of the shallowest water, now residing in short, fine grasses that cover the lakes bottom.

 Grasses line Chara and we suspect, but have not confirmed, Stary Stonewort are not thick enough to provide cover for large gamefish, but they do provide ideal hiding spots of small minnows and young of the year gamefish. Areas like these are widespread on the big lake and scanning water depths of 6 to 12 feet will reveal them. On the screen of your graph, they will look like a fine carpet rising from the bottom. Clouds of “bait food” can easily be seen on your electronics hovering over the fine grasses.

 Anglers who have fished these areas know too, that an easy way to locate the hairy habitat is with their fishing lures. A jig and minnow fished on or near the bottom will snag them frequently, sometimes too often. Jig and minnow combinations, the most popular fall presentation on both Cutfoot and Winnie, can be frustrating to use over these fine grasses.

Fine grasses can foul your lures, switch to lightweight 1/16 ounce jigs and pop-wiggle-pop over the tops.

One of our favorite local guides suggests avoiding “heavy” jig heads and replacing them with lighter ones. “A 1/16-ounce jig head, tipped with a large fathead, rainbow of lake shiner, and fished with a pop-wiggle-pop motion will swim up and over the tips of the grass. You won’t feel the bottom, but they will get you there, even on windy days. You can control your depth by controlling your boat speed, this is the key.” He tells us. Ideally, speeds of .6 to .8 MPH would be best, but even speeds up to 1.0 MPH will work.

Spinners tipped with minnows and crankbaits are producing some fish too, but these faster moving presentations have taken the back seat in terms of effectiveness. That said, spinners trolled behind lightweight bullet sinkers, 1/8-to-3/16-ounce sizes, will keep you out of the grass too. Just don’t expect the spinners to keep pace with the jigging presentations.

 The migratory trigger, falling water temperatures, extended not only to walleye but crappies, sunfish, and perch as well. Folks who have been chomping at the bit to get in on some of Cutfoot’s fall crappie fishing or jumbo perch on Lake Winnie are now reporting an uptick in the action. The sudden onset of cold temperatures usually shakes up the ecosystem at first and forces a short-term slowdown in panfish activity. But after the lakes settle in, panfish begin forming tighter schools that inhabit a wider array of open water territories.

Crappies in the early stages of fall migrations are using steep breaklines with immediate access to deep water. Best are the ones located near shore and feature inside corners, like the one you see here, especially ones that occur near weedy flats will be the first productive spots. Later, crappies will move further and further out, forming larger schools over the lake’s main basin.

Steep “inside turns” in the breakline are key crappie locations during early fall.

 Don’t arrive with elevated expectations about finding huge schools of fish. Crappie populations are at a low ebb in both Cutfoot and Little Cutfoot and anglers have struggled over most of the summer. Still, there are some fish out there, so you’ll likely find a few for a meal.

 Folks are beginning to realize the adverse impact of targeting crappies in deep water. If you love fishing crappies in deep, open water during fall, please bear in mind that most fish caught in water depths over 25 feet are not releasable. Fish caught deeper, 30 feet plus for example, will almost certainly parish. Catch a few fish that are destined for the frying pan, and then move on to another, shallower water species for your “catch and release” fishing.

 Jumbo perch are active now, especially on the big lake, but have not been found in larger schools. Targeting perch does not seem to improve the odds of catching more of them. The best catches are still made by walleye anglers using jig and minnow combinations and drifting through small packs of perch encountered along the way. Size structure is good though, so a dozen perch mixed in with your walleye catch is a real bonus.

Northern pike, especially larger ones have moved away from the shoreline and into open water. Tullibee will begin staging along the shoreline soon and that will bring in more, larger pike. In the meantime, target the better size pike by fishing steep breaklines on the lake’s largest bars. Live minnows fished on Lindy Rigs or suspended below slip floats will be reliable. So will trolling larger crankbaits along the outer edges of the steep breaks.

Transitions between seasons is not unique to the fish. As September ends, we await the arrival of guests who will focus on hunting, not fishing. The mixture of fishing and hunting interests makes fall an interesting time, it’s a hectic one too. But we’re still here and we’ll stay on top of the transition into fall, and let you know whenever there are significant changes in patterns or presentations. Enjoy your time outdoors and good luck.

Fall Fishing Patterns Taking Hold On Winnibigoshish, Cutfoot Sioux September 15, 2022

Turning the corner into fall has been a slower than average process this season. But despite the summer’s stubborn desire to not relinquish control, the waters of Winnie and Cutfoot have begun transitioning into early fall patterns.

Paul Kautza with Fat Lake Winnie Northern Pike

Surface water temperatures, caused by a period of calm and sunny weather, took a short detour back into the 71-to-72-degree range early this week. But once the breeze picked up and the skies turned grey, surface readings in the 66-to-68-degree range have become the norm.

Walleyes can still be found in a wide range of habitat that include both classic summer spots as well as the areas known for producing good fall fishing action. Large, mid lake bars like the Bena Bar, Center Bar, Sugar Bar and Horseshoe continue to hold good numbers of fish. At the same time, walleye populations are building along shoreline breaks, in average water depths ranging between 6 and 10 feet.

Ashley & Jens Heig with nice “Winnie Walleye Double” 9-14-2022

One notable departure from recent reports has been the disintegration of the gravel bar, rock hump pattern that was occurring on the lake’s mid-depth flats. For a time, walleye, pike, and perch shared many of these hard patches of real estate. At this point, fish migrating across the 12- to 16-foot-deep flats may temporarily appear at some of the same spots, but they typically won’t remain on them very long. The disappearance of fish in these areas is one reason we believe that fall migrations have begun.

As fish locations are changing, so are the preferred presentations. Trolling, particularly using spinners tipped with fatheads continues to provide our guests with reliable walleye action. But so do jig and minnow presentations and over the past few days, they are gaining in both reliability and popularity. On Wednesday, our resident fishing guide, Jared Saufferer, and his crew fished jig and minnow throughout their entire fishing trip with good results. They did the same thing on Tuesday, but in a different area and had equally good, if not better results.

As good as jigging can be, catching a mixed bag of fish is important to some of our guests and for them, trolling with spinners will continue to be a better choice over the short term. Northern pike, many of them nice size, are roaming the shallow weed edges again and the spinners are a more effective way of landing these fish. The heavier tackle and line weights used in making them give anglers a better chance of not getting snipped off by the scissor-like teeth of the pike. “They’ll bite the jigs, but you’re gonna get snipped off a lot”, one of the local fishing guides reported.

Perch, many of them very good size, are mixed in with walleye and pike too and they are being caught using spinners too. Again, folks using jig and minnow presentations are catching perch too, but lacking large schools of fish to work on, are likely to be doing so less efficiently than many of the “trollers” who cover water more quickly.

There are anglers using other popular presentations such as crankbaits, jigging raps and lindy rigs too, and all these presentations are producing at least some fish. So, if you’ve been bored with the tried-and-true jigging and trolling techniques, this is a good time to experiment with presentations that you’ve heard of, but maybe not yet mastered.

Panfish anglers turn to both Cutfoot and Little Cutfoot Sioux for what has historically been very reliable fall fishing. So far, sunfish have been holding up their end of the bargain, but crappies have been few and far between. It’s likely that most crappies are still using summer habitat. Cabbage, coontail and flat stemmed pondweed are all plants that provide cover for baitfish and excellent ambush points for crappies. Until we receive a hard frost, those plants will continue to be more attractive to crappies than the open water spots are.

Did you read the crappie report dated September 12, 2022, on the FishRapper this week? If not, it might be worth your time to check it out because crappies, holding tight to their summer habitats appears to be an area wide trend, not just one that affects Cutfoot and/or Winnie.

We’ve all been really spoiled by the good walleye fishing on Winnie this season, last year too for that matter. But as good as it is, anglers visiting the lake for the first time can have trouble locating the right spot at the right time. Our best advice about fish location is to play the wind. Any shoreline on the lake holds fish today, yes, all 4 sides of the lake offer good odds in terms of fish location. But, when there’s a breeze that produces a ‘walleye chop” blowing along the shoreline, the odds go up exponentially.

Don’t fall into the trap of getting hung up on a spot just because you’ve learned that it was “good yesterday”. If the wind direction changes, so will fish location. And as quickly as a stiff breeze will start up a hot bite in the shallows. Calm water will trigger fish to either move deeper, or into heavier cover. Adapting to current conditions is more important than knowing “the spot”. The walleye population remains strong, so be persistent and the lake itself will take of the rest.

While we still have plenty of fishing guests at the resort, our summer is beginning to wind down. We’re looking ahead to the fall when our grouse hunting season becomes intense. Getting ready for our fall grouse guests takes both time and devotion. So, while we’ve still got ca couple of more fishing reports in store for you these next few weeks, we’ll probably wait until there’s a significant change in fishing patterns before we post the next one. In the meantime, enjoy the information we’ve share here and enjoy your time on the lake; the fall only comes around once each year, and it’s here!