October 8, 2024 "Let's Clear Something Up; Lake Winnibigoshish!"
A week ago, I would have guessed that both water temperatures, and water clarity in Lake Winnibigoshish would have remained favorable to anglers for at least another week. Mother Nature though, had other plans and dished out a brutally forceful and cold west wind on Sunday. On Tuesday, in the aftermath of that cold front, surface water temperatures had fallen from 64 degree down to just 56 degrees. My Secchi disk reading on Winnie’s west side Tuesday was now 13 feet, a 6-foot increase in water clarity in only 4 short days.
Walleyes that had previously inhabited shoreline breaks in relatively shallow water fled the scene and turned up deeper, in 19 to 24 feet of water. We found them on both shoreline related breaklines, and on some of the largest mid-lake bars. Their attitude was generally positive, and when we could see them, they usually struck. Boat shyness, an issue we haven’t faced for a while now, reared its ugly head though, and almost every spot we fished turned out to be a “one pass wonder”. The typical scenario was for us to stop at a spot, catch 1 or 2 fish almost immediately, and then watch the screen go blank. Once the fish knew we were on top of them, they wandered away in favor of better privacy.
The first lucky break for me was that the tiny packs of fish were widespread along the edges of the bars. For a time, every single stop we made produced a fish or two. So, slowly but surely as we leap-frogged along the edges of the bars, the livewell filled up. That plan held up for us until about 1:30 or so when the northwest wind increased in speed, and my boat control suffered. Drifting was too fast, and backtrolling was too wet and I was forced back toward the western shoreline.
My second lucky break of the day came in the form of a single school of fish, maybe a dozen or so, that were holding on a 12-foot-deep point. Those fish struck on the first drift, and some of them struck again on the second drift. After fishing that spot, we’d amassed a total of 16 walleyes, 2 short of my crew’s 3 man limit, but impressive under the circumstances.
Along the way, we boated another 10 or 12 fish that were in the protected slot, many of them just barely. Impressive too was the average size of the “keepers” that were caught. Because of the strong 2018- and 2019-year classes of walleyes, fish ranging in size from 17 to 19 inches are relatively plentiful. I’d say that there are about as many fish measuring just over the 18-inch threshold as there are measuring just under it. So, I suggest making sure that every fish you catch gets put on the ruler.
Presentation was simple, ¼ ounce live bait jigs tipped with assorted minnows from the Fred’s Bait “River Mix”. There are some golden shiners, some rainbows, a few larger size fatheads and other assorted minnows in the mix. They all seemed to work, but I was not too confident about the larger size golden shiners, the fish seemed to prefer smaller minnows than those yesterday. The only time we used lighter, 1/8 ounce jig heads was when we fished one small patch of weeds in 13 feet of water. There, the ¼ ounce size was too heavy, and our hooks were fouled too quickly for effective fishing. In that weed patch, there were some pike, and a handful of perch, but no walleyes.
Another interesting change on Tuesday was the widespread disappearance of weeds in certain wind-blown areas. Sunday’s strong west winds blew a lot of them off of the flats completely, we could see some of them still drifting around in the water. Because many of the weeds are gone, baitfish are liable not to return, and locating fish in the shallows will probably be more hit and miss now than before.
I was really happy that our day ended well, especially because I was fishing with some of my oldest and most valued friends. That said, I feel like a lot of our success was attributable to luck. The only reason I started checking out the mid-lake bars was because my little voice was nagging me. If I’d have ignored that, and had stuck with areas where the fish were located a few days ago, it would have been a struggle; I think.
Today, I’ll find out how reliable, if at all, the pattern is. I’ll be back out there, this time with calm seas and sunny skies on the heels of a frosty dawn. If anything, the water will be even cooler and clearer today. I’ll let you know how it works out tomorrow morning. OH, and speaking about tomorrow morning(s), there will be about 9 more of them; that’s how many workdays I have left on my calendar. After that, I’m going to take a little time off to go hunting. 
— Jeff Sundin, The Early Bird Fishing Guide Office Cell Call or Text 218-245-9858 or Email
More Recent Fishing Reports
Winnie 10-8 • Ely 10-7 • Winnie 10-6 • Crappies 10-4 • Sundin 10-02 • L.O.W 10-01 • Crappies 9-30 • Lake Winnie 9-27 • Sundin 9-26 • Grand Rapids 9-24 • Bowstring 9-22 • MN DNR Workgroups • Sternberg 7-18 • Legal Bait Transport 6-1 • MN Record Fish • Barotrauma Study 1-25-24 • Fish Consumption • Forward Sonar • Panfish Workgroup • Follow on Facebook
Brainerd MN Area Fishing Report October 7, 2024
"In the Brainerd area it went from feeling like summer was still here to full blown fall in just a couple days. Water temps have dropped drastically hovering around 60-63 degrees. With the strong winds this week fishing was difficult and less than ideal.
Sticking to small lakes was the most productive for the group in my boat this weekend. Looking at the graphs showed tons of bait just outside the weed edge and off the second break. Working 1/4 ounce jigs tipped with either shiners or sucker minnows elicited the majority of the bites.
Working slow and picking through spots while paying close attention to side image outside weed edges produced pike, bass, and walleye. Side image was as important if not more important than live image with the large cold front. Live image is great but when fish are belly to bottom they can be hard, if not impossible, to see on live image. These fish will still show on side scan where I could not locate them live image.
Walleyes found off the second break can be targeted with Lindy rigs but were very boat shy and didn’t let us sit on them for long. The walleyes in the weeds were very difficult to see but are more willing to bite when large swings in the weather occur. If an area produces, stopping and slowing down over the spot will produce a few more bites for fish that cannot be seen on graphs. The walleyes are taking their time eating larger minnows so make sure to give it slightly longer before setting the hook or you can find yourself with half a minnow like we had happen more than a few times.
As the weather cools I will be out searching for big walleyes and begin chasing musky with large suckers. With the warmer year I will be running until ice up and pushing late into the season. Good luck and tight lines this week." — Joe Billiar, Crooked Hat Guide Service
Ely Area, Arrowhead Outdoors Fishing Report October 7, 2024
"Walleye - Heavy winds this last week had many anglers laying low. Anglers that went out fishing found active walleyes in 15-20 feet of water around wind blown points and sunken islands. Small and medium sized suckers were the hot baits. Anglers fished them on a lindy rig or 1/4-3/8oz jig. Gold, blue/white and pink/white were the hot colors this last week. Water temps are now in the mid to high 50's.
Smallmouth - Smallies continue to binge feed on anything they can get in their mouths. Large and medium size suckers have been the best way to avoid catching piles of 2-3lb bass. Lindy rigs and jigs have been the best way to fish large minnows. Sunken islands that top out in 10-15ft of water have been the best areas to find smallies. Not all humps are created equal, so if the bass aren't biting on the hump your fishing, keep moving!
Crappies - Multiple anglers have been reporting that the crappies have started to school up and are sliding down to warmer, stable water temperatures. Anglers should now be focusing their efforts in the 12-16ft of water range. Jig/twister, beetle spins, and the classic crappie minnow and bobber have been catching crappies. Anglers have been finding crappies just off weedbeds and around sunken islands.
Pike - Pike activity has increased again this last week as cooler water temps have arrived. Large suckers, fished under a bobber, large minnow bait and large soft plastic minnow baits have been deadly this last week. Big pike are starting to set up on major points, shallow rocky flats and river mouths as they wait for fall spawning ciscos and whitefish to arrive. Anglers looking for that trophy pike should be focusing their efforts in these areas.
Stream Trout - Clearly, as cooler temps start to cool off the water, stream trout fishing is only going to get better and better. Rainbow trout continue to get the bulk of anglers' attention. Trolling cowbells, with small crankbaits, over deep water continues to be the most effective way for boat anglers to find and catch rainbows. Brook trout have started to show up in angler reports too now. Anglers have been finding them suspended over deep water yet, but as water temps drop, brookies will move up shallow." — Arrowhead Outdoors, 218-365-5358
October 6, 2024 "Lake Winnie Fishing Update"
The hurricane season isn’t over yet, and as long as they keep brewing, the unsettled weather keeps coming to the northland. Lately, the winds either blow at 20 MPH from the south, or 30 MPH from the west. Whenever they’re not doing that, they’re not blowing at all, and the lakes go flat. Take the current forecast for my upcoming trip with Ken Seufert as an example, we’re fishing today, and then again on Tuesday. NOAA, Sunday: “High near 54. Breezy, with a northwest wind of 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph.” Tuesday: “Patchy frost before 8am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 64. Calm wind.”
Lucky for me, the northwest wind is easier to deal with than some of the other wind directions. So, I should be able to find a place to hide from the worst of it today, hopefully on the west side of Lake Winnie.
There was a halfway decent mixed bag bite over there last Friday when I fished with the Goettl crew. That day, we launched the boat at Richard’s Townsite, and I was amazed at the boat traffic at the ramp. There were dozens of rigs, the parking lot was full and there were trucks with boat trailers parked along the roadside for another block. Because I was off yesterday for my granddaughter’s birthday party, I can’t say if the traffic was that heavy, but either way, what we experienced on Friday was likely the peak of traffic for this season.
The surface water on Winnie, as of Friday morning, was about 61 degrees, give or take. Because of the strong winds, the water was mixed thoroughly, and the temperatures were uniform every place I stopped and was the same from the beginning to the end of our day. We could see that water clarity has increased somewhat, but with the turbulent conditions, I could not get accurate Secchi disk reading. If conditions allow, I will check that again today and include it in tomorrow’s report.
Walleye was the focus of my trip on Friday, So, I did everything possible to avoid fishing on the southwestern shoreline. For one thing, that’s where the largest crowds were fishing, and I wanted to avoid the traffic. Second, there have been lots of northern pike hitting along that western shoreline, and my Friday crew typically shows little to no interest in catching them. Recently, I’ve been able to catch some walleye, with few other species mixed in by fishing mid-lake structure. To an extent, that plan was working on Friday, albeit not quickly.
We were picking off one fish at a time by using ¼ to 3/8-ounce jig and minnow combos in 16 to 22 feet of water. I never marked any large schools of fish, and the rule of thumb was catching 1 or 2 fish at each stop. Of the fish we caught, the ratio of “slot-fish” to Keepers was about 1 to 1. So, by the time we’d caught a dozen fish, we had 6 in the livewell. If conditions had been comfortable, I would have continued with that plan, but with 3-foot whitecaps, nobody was enthusiastic about staying out there. Moving toward the shoreline became the better choice, even if I had to give up on the pure play for walleyes.
The trip from Moses Bar to the western shoreline was bumpy, but as we got closer, we could see calmer water. We could also see a line of boats, all focusing on the same breakline that we’d be fishing. Presumably, most of the people there were in pursuit of yellow perch, at least those were the reports I’d been getting from friends. But we could see folks landing larger fish too, most of them pike, but with a random walleye in the mix as well. The chatter from some fellow guides was that the perch were coming from 12 feet of water. By the time I arrived, my scope revealed fish in somewhat deeper, 13-1/2 foot water.
The perch bite, from what I could find had ended and the pecking order had switched to larger fish. As expected, northern pike were the dominant predator, but there were some walleyes in the mix. There were enough of them to keep us interested, and that made putting up with the pike more palatable. That said, I burned through a lot of jigs in those few hours, pike bite offs occurred frequently.
When they struck, the walleyes came in at about a 2:1 ratio of protected slot fish to keepers. By the time we’d caught another dozen or so, we’d only built the larder up to 10 keepers. We did bag a few keeper perch, and they were nice ones, but the morning crowds apparently got in on a much better perch bite than we did. Time was in short supply now, and I’d had all the pike I could handle, so I moved east to try on last spot, a slow tapering point in 12 feet of water. On that point, I graphed a small school of fish and Chris picked off a keeper. I made a second pass, and this time Phil picked up another keeper. With 12 walleyes in the livewell, we called it a day.
I know somebody will correct me if I’m wrong, but the vegetation you see pictured here is Starry Stonewort, I believe. A couple of years ago, not far from the same location, there were a lot of fish holding over the tops of the same plants. At that time, I mentioned it to a friend at the DNR. “It seems like the fish really like that vegetation”, I commented. “Well, it is an invasive weed species and because of that, we don’t use the term LIKE IT. However, it does appear that fish do use it, either for cover, or to feed on forage species that use it for cover,” he responded.
Whether or not the plants shown in my photo are Starry Stonewort or not, the fish definitely are “USING IT.” Whenever I see that fuzzy stuff growing along the lake bottom, I can graph fish over the tops of it. On Friday, places along that same shoreline where I could not see that low lying vegetation on my graph, were also void of fish.
Depending on the wind today, I may get to check it out again and if so, I’ll get more detailed pictures. Right now, I’m up against the clock and have to run. If you’re headed for the lake today, be careful, and stay on the calm side! — Jeff Sundin, The Early Bird Fishing Guide Office Cell Call or Text 218-245-9858 or Email
October 4, 2024 "The Hippier Fall Crappie Fishing Update"
Cancellations aren’t a lot of fun for me, especially when the happen in the middle of primetime fishing seasons like the one we’re in right now. There are times when they can’t be avoided though, and when they do happen, I try to catch up on chores, fix my broken stuff and the like. Sometimes, when I’m lucky, the Hippie Chick’s schedule has an open space, and we can take time for our own fishing date; that’s what we did yesterday.
She’s been following the fishing reports lately, so when I asked her out for a fishing date, her response was somewhat predictable. “Can we go crappie fishing?” “Sure honey, if that’s what you want to do, we’ll go crappie fishing “, I said. So, when the morning came, we loaded up the boat, and headed for our 2nd favorite “date lake”, not far from home.
At the landing, surface water temperatures had fallen to 61 degrees in shallow water, 62.5 degrees when we crossed the breakline into 8 feet of water. The sky was grey, and there was a light chop on the water, and it seemed like fish on the weed edges should be active. We started trolling spinners, hers tipped with a minnow, and mine tipped with a night crawler to help search for walleyes or maybe sunfish. We kept that up for half an hour, but not much happened in the shallows.
Maybe they’ve moved out of the weeds, I thought. So, I started on our way to one of the lake’s deeper, mid-lake holes, a 21-to-23-foot depression. Along the way to that stop, I started seeing scattered singles, doubles hugging the bottom on the flats. That pattern was fresh in my mind because of a trip with the Reynolds last week to a different lake. (See report September , 2024)
Okay sweetie, I’m gonna add extra weight to your spinner, and we’ll try trolling right here, I explained. “The water is about 17 feet deep, so we’ll cast them out farther than we do in the weeds”, I added. The #4 split shot, placed behind the original 3/16-ounce bullet sinker turned out to be just right. I cast Susan’s spinner into the water, started trolling and then started rigging mine. Before I began fishing, she already had a crappie on her line. By the time I started fishing, she’d caught another one, and it wasn’t long before we had our first “double”. That area was fun because we had plenty of action, but most of those fish were small and I didn’t want to keep fishing there.
Next, I started roaming around on the flat in search of a few larger fish. The action was much slower now, but when I spotted fish, they usually struck. These fish were not monsters, but they were better suited to our needs, ranging in size between 10 and 11 inches, so we stuck with that program for a while.
Zoom in here on the screenshot of our trolling pattern. You see that tflat we fished over lies adjacent to the deeper hole, and that most of the crappies were riding well above the upper edges of the breakline. There were some fish along that breakline too, holding along the edges in about 20 feet of water. It wouldn’t surprise me if soon, most of the fish from the flat join those fish along that deeper water breakline and eventually move out over the center of the hole.
There were times when I considered switching our presentation to jigs and minnows. But we were already having fun, and there wasn’t much incentive for experimentation. We saw and had a quick chat with some friendly guys fishing nearby, and I think that they may have been fishing that way. They didn’t say so, but it appeared to me that they were drifting and using a slower presentation. Whether it was jigs they were using or some alternative presentation, it was working. We could see, even from a distance, that they too were catching plenty of fish. Maybe they’ll drop us a line with an update, and if they do, I’ll let you know.
As you can also see by the screen image of my Humminbird, The cold air temperatures continued downward pressure on the surface water. We started fishing when it was 62.5 degrees, and by noon, it had fallen to 61 degrees. It's likely that the exodus from weeds will continue and that in most lakes, crappies will cintinue moving deeper. So, on a serious note, the situation we encountered is exactly why I try to select shallow water lakes for crappie fishing in the fall. With a maximum depth of about 23 feet, it’s far less likely that barotrauma will be an issue. If we try a lake, and the fish are running small, we don’t risk killing a bunch of them by releasing them after they’ve been damaged.
The subject of barotrauma has gained a lot of traction recently, so I won’t spend a ton of time on it this fall. But I will give you my annual “sales pitch” about fishing for panfish in deep water. If you are forced to do it, for whatever reason, set the number of fish you would like to harvest, catch them, and then move onto something else.
I doubt that I’ll be back at that lake anytime this fall because most of the fish were smaller than my customers will approve of. But I'll be searching for more shallow lakes to try and wherever I do go, I'll be trying not to fish deeper than is absolutely necessary to complete whatever mission I'm on at the time.
For the Hippie Chick and me, the mission doesn't always have to be a big one. Filling the livewell isn’t a goal and neither is catching the maximum number of fish. For us, having a good time IS the goal and yesterday, we’d already done that early in the day. So, with 5 “keeper” fish in our livewell for supper, and the effects of chilly fingers nagging us for our attention, we decided to head for the comforts of home. — Jeff Sundin, The Early Bird Fishing Guide Office Cell Call or Text 218-245-9858 or Email
Wired2Fish October 3, 2024 "Bringing Back the Spinnerbait for Fall Bass"
"The spinnerbait is a lure that many bass anglers first began throwing at a young age as it is versatile, easy to cast, snag-resistant and most importantly, it catches bass.
Some anglers leave the spinnerbait by the wayside as they progress along their fishing journey. But others (Jason Christie, cough, cough) understand its incredible potential and have embraced the spinnerbait.
These anglers realize that each spinnerbait is different, and identifying the strengths of each can help you catch more fish. There are numerous ways a spinnerbait can be customized to the conditions an angler is presented with on the water. Breaking the design elements can help understand what makes each work in a given situation ..." Learn More >> Bringing Back the Spinnerbait for Fall Bass
October 2, 2024 "Falling Into Fall, Happily!"
Fall fell over north central Minnesota overnight Monday, and into Tuesday. Air temperatures were chilly, dropping into the mid-40s, but still not cold enough to produce our first frost. The northwest wind rolled the surface water into whitecaps, forcing water temperatures downward. On the lake we fished, 63 degrees was the day-long reading on my screen. The day before that, on Lake Winnibigoshish, 66 to 67 degrees was still the dominant temperature reading. I imagine that there too, surface readings were likely decreased.
For me, fishing with first time customers Tom and Justin Hirt, the day, chilly conditions included, was a gift. “We do well fishing for panfish, but we’re not really walleye fishermen. Tom said. “We love eating fish, but we’re not just in this for limits of walleyes, we’re here to learn how to fish for, and hopefully, catch some walleyes,” he added.
Now if you’re Jeff Sundin, these words are like handing the gate keeper your key that unlocks the door to the magic kingdom. It’s exactly the sort of fishing charter that I love doing, fishing with folks, inexperienced or not, who are on a mission to move higher on the learning curve.
When we motored out onto the lake, the air was chilly. For the first time this season, my fingers tingled, my hood was pulled up tight over my head and I wished I had a heavier coat to wear. So, we didn’t travel far to make our first stop. A small, free standing weed and gravel bar that tops out at about 8 feet deep. I handed the crew jigging rods rigged with 1/8 live bait jigs and offered advice about my favorite way to put minnows on their hooks. We tossed our lures into the water, and I started on our first drift along the breakline.
Ironically, we started getting bites right away, but the fish acted like they were chilly too. My first 3 or 4 attempts to demonstrate how to set the hook all ended badly, not a single fish stayed on the hook long enough for us to see what they were. My crew was chuckling, I imagine they were thinking to themselves, “if the big-time pro is having trouble catching them, we won’t look too bad.” They were right about that, their techniques didn’t look bad at all, I saw lots of potential. Now I just needed to find some “catch-able” fish to practice on.
The rest of the day would remind you of following your mail carrier on a workday. Go to a stop, get a strike or 2, catch a fish or 2, check the box, and then move to the next spot. Each step along the way, the boys picked up a little new information, and I could see that the process was becoming less mysterious to them. By the end of the day, I had a blast watching them fish for, and catch walleyes, ON PURPOSE.
The fish on that lake, like the ones on many lakes I’ve fished this season were scattered, and the habitats were varied. We caught a few fish on weed edges, some on rocky bars, a couple came from steep breaklines and a couple were hiding on flats. The water depths varied too, but if there was a “best” depth, I guess it was about 13 feet. Fishing at that depth kept us within casting range of the weed edges, and close to rocks at the edges of breakline areas.
The finicky nature of the strikes was an ongoing problem. There was only one spot where the fish acted like they were hungry. Every other spot featured picky, half-hearted strikes and lots of times it was harder than usual to tell what kind of fish was hitting. In a way, this was a good problem for us because it illustrated the importance of being patient when preparing for the hookset. Once my crew learned how to catch fish under these circumstances, they will have an easy time catching fish when there’s an average bite going on.
My only regret is that we only had one day to work with, and that I couldn’t have more time to share tips about other presentations and fishing styles. Maybe one day, they’ll give me another chance to do that. In the meantime, I’ll just be happy for the day, it was gratifying to see how far they came in such a short time.
The day before, Monday, I fished on Lake Winnie and it may turn out to be the last summer-like day of the season. It began with a warm southeast wind and ended with a wild and wooly west wind as the cold front began bearing down on the lake. For most of the morning, the southeast winds allowed us to fish effectively. But once that west wind started, life became complicated, finding fish-able water was difficult. For that reason, I’m not sure that the fishing report will remain accurate very long so take it with a grain of salt.
Surface temperatures on Monday morning ranged between 66 and 67 degrees. Water clarity was still low, the Secchi disk reading was 7 feet, the same as it was last week.
Trolling spinners tipped with minnows on the weed flats at Little Stony provided decent, but not fast action for us. The key depths were 8 to 10 feet of water, over the tops of low lying weeds. I’d say we got a strike every 5 minutes or so, sometimes they resulted in a keeper walleye, sometimes keeper perch, and occasionally keeper pike. LOTS of times, the strikes resulted in catching small, 6- to 8-inch-long perch; I’m sorry but if you want to catch the “good ones”, you’ll have to put up with the tiny ones too.
You’ll also have to “put up with” catching walleyes in the protected slot; many of them, just barely over the 18-inch threshold. I’d say that 1/3 of the total are fish over 18 inches, 1/3 of them are yearling walleyes, about 10 inches long, and the remaining 1/3 of them are “keepers”. Our total harvest that day was 10 walleye, 13 perch and 4 pike; not bad for a 2 person crew.
While we were trolling spinners, Reed Ylitalo was on the lake too and his crew were fishing with jigs and minnows. The area they were fishing on the shoreline break further down the west shoreline, and it was productive too. We texted occasionally and I got the impression that they were catching more perch, more pike, and more slot-fish than we were. I’m not sure how their total catch turned out, but I’m sure it was pretty good as well.
Getting an accurate post cold front report from Lake Winnie will take me a couple of days. I had a health-related cancellation for today and tomorrow and have chosen to use this time for taking care of my own concerns. My work schedule is not over yet, and I’ll be back on the water for another dozen charters, beginning this Friday. So, I’ll let you what’s happening out there as soon as I can. — Jeff Sundin, The Early Bird Fishing Guide Office Cell Call or Text 218-245-9858 or Email
Ely Area, Arrowhead Outdoors Fishing Report October 2, 2024
"Walleye - Some good news on the walleye front has been coming in this last week. Walleyes are starting to hit big minnows and slowly transitioning to traditional fall locations like sharp breaks and deeper water. These walleyes have been hitting large minnows fished on a jig or lindy rig in 15 to 20 feet of water. That being said, reports continue to come in of nice walleyes being caught over shallow rocks, 5 to 10 feet of water, with paddle tails and scattered walleyes being caught trolling crankbaits over 25 to 30 foot deep flats.
Smallmouth - Smallmouth bite remained on fire this last week. Water temps still have the smallies scattered for the most part, but pockets of fat, aggressive smallies are starting to group up on sunken islands. Shallow sunken islands that top out in 12 to 15 feet have been the best ones to find groups of active smallies. Large minnows and large paddle tails slow rolled over these humps have been deadly
Panfish - Anglers have been reporting that some good crappie bites have been happening in many Ely area lakes. Crappies are slowly starting to school up. Anglers are still finding crappies in and around weedbeds on area lakes. Anglers should not overlook trees laying in the water and standing timber in some area lakes. Jig/twister, beetle spins and crappie minnows fished under a bobber.
Pike - Pike fishing has remained on the slow side this last week, but that doesn't mean trophy pike were not caught this last week. Pike anglers have been focusing on mouths of shallow bays, rocky points and river mouths to find big pike. Large suckers fished under a bobber accounted for the majority of 40 plus inch pike caught this last week. Large spoons, spinnerbaits and crankbaits were also effective.
Stream Trout - Rainbow trout remain a popular trout to target for trout anglers. Night crawlers fished 5 to 10 feet deep under a bobber remain very effective. Small spoons, spinners and jig/twisters have also been effective on rainbows. Anglers fishing from a boat have been having good luck trolling small crankbaits over deep water and along standing timber.
Lake Trout - Season is closed inside and outside the BWCA." — Arrowhead Outdoors, 218-365-5358
Lake of the Woods, LOW Tourism October 1, 2024
"Walleye and sauger fishing is very good on the south end of Lake of the Woods. Routine reports of anglers catching good numbers of fish are common. So, if you want to catch some numbers, the bite is on. Anglers are finding fish ranging from 24 to 31 feet deep across the south shore of Lake of the Woods. Some really nice perch and an occasional pike are being caught mixed in with the walleyes and saugers.
Best areas to fish range from right in front of the Lighthouse Gap (where the Rainy River enters Lake of the Woods) and westward to spots near the Morris Point area, Zippel Bay area, and all the way over to Long Point, these areas of the lake are all producing fish right now. There aren't fish everywhere but there are various schools spread out across the entire south shore of the basin.
Jigging with frozen, or live emerald shiners is the ticket. Locate fish on your sonar, anchor up and give it 30 minutes. If not to your liking, relocate different fish and repeat. Normally things will work out nicely over the course of the day. Successful jig colors in the stained waters of LOW are gold, glow white, glow red, chartreuse, orange, and pink. Gold combined with any one of these colors is often a good choice. Drifting spinners with night crawlers or trolling crankbaits is still working for anglers as well.
For the anglers targeting smallmouth bass, there is a good bite on both the lake and Rainy River. The river also continues to produce some nice walleyes. There are some schools of shiners moning up and down the river and consequently, some nice walleyes in the river too. Nobody is reporting that the heavy run has begun yet, but the bite is respectable for sure. The river, being relatively small, provides a great option for anglers with small boats. With a variety of boat ramps from the mouth of the river all the way to up the river to Birchdale, there are many options to choose from.
Sturgeon fishing continues to pick up as water temps cool. The sturgeon is catch and release from October 1, 2024 into the month of April, 2025 when you can keep one again.
Up at the Northwest Angle, walleye fishing remains strong on both sides of the border. Walleyes are using a variety of areas from mud flats to various areas with structure and neck down areas with some current.
It's fall, which means a mixed bag of fish is common in these parts. Walleyes, saugers, jumbo perch, crappies, pike, smallmouth bass and muskies are all being caught. As water temps cool and the days get shorter, the bite will get even better!" — Lake of the Woods Tourism, (800) 382-FISH
Wired2Fish September 20, 2024 "How to Identify Size and Species of Fish on FFS"
"Though I have been using it longer, I’ve become completely infatuated with forward-facing sonar over the last year and a half. My love for this new technology started during my senior year of college, and since then I’ve dedicated countless days to learning and understanding everything these units can tell you. This has been no easy task, however I’ve slowly started to piece together all the little intricacies associated with forward-facing sonar.
Throughout this journey I’ve learned a few different ways to identify the size and species of fish displayed by forward-facing sonar. This includes paying attention to the sonar return, as well as the fish’s behavior and positioning. These three things can tell you a lot about what’s happening underneath the water, however it still requires an ample amount of fishing time to become proficient with this technology.
One of the first things I figured out while using forward-facing sonar is ..." Learn More >> How to Identify Size and Species of Fish on FFS
You Are Invited To Become A Duly Deputized Fishrapper Cub Reporter
If you've been waiting for a gold engraved invitation to participate in the daily reports, then stop waiting and consider this your own personal invitation.
Helping your fellow fishermen and women stay abreast of fishing conditions in your area is good for everybody and it's easier than you think! You don't have to write a book, you don't have to share your secret fishing spots and you don't even have to mention your lake. But even a few words about general trends, seasonal patterns and local weather conditions can really help.
Be like me, become a duly deputized "Cub Reporter", it's good for fishing! Contact Us or if you prefer to be "social", Fishing Reports Minnesota, the Facebook counterpart to this page is open to the public, so you can post your own fishing update or just share a photo of a nice catch.