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The ice was mostly out for the Minnesota Walleye opener and fishing was
good for folks who fished on Lake Winnie where the larger females were the
main attraction this weekend. I opened up on a smaller lake, but friends
of mine told me stories of boating lots of large fish on both Winnibigosh
and Cutfoot. We finally made it over there on Monday where our experience
was similar. We caught mostly fish in the protected slot ranging in size
from 17 to 20 inches. Not many really big ones (for us) and not
many really little ones either. There were some anglers who found schools
of smaller fish that were still in "spawning mode" and it was really easy
to tell when you caught a male Walleye (if you know what I mean) by
their behavior upon entering the boat.
As predicted, once you find the males, there is a lot of action because
they're feeding fairly heavily, but at the same time, they refuse to leave
the shallow gravel areas where the instinct to spawn is still strong. In
other words, once you find them you have them pinned down.
We've had a bit of a rocky opener in terms of weather. But
the fish are here and fairly cooperative. Many of the early season anglers
we expect to see this time of year are not here yet. It was almost spooky
to land the boat at Plug Hat Point on Lake Winnie this past Monday and
find that there were no rigs parked at the landing.
I know that it's been cold outside but Holy Mackerel, the fish are
cooperating and this is Minnesota. I think it's time to shake out the
cobwebs and head out to the lake.
The weather is moving a step in the right direction now with temps
predicted to be nearly back to "normal" over the next couple of days. I
expect that the weekend will be busier with pent up demand from folks who
usually make it up for the opener. I'll add an update tomorrow morning
after we experience what is predicted to be our first warm sunny day of
the 2008 fishing season. Please check back tomorrow.
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