Jeff Sundin February 26, 2021 " Upping The Odds On Lake of the Woods - Multiplying the Mulitiply-Able"

After reading my report from Lake of the Woods on 2-25, Mike Nolan wrote with a simple, but important question.

Q) “You were 20 miles out from shore, why do you have to go so far to catch fish?”

A) Mike, thank you, this is a great question, and it ties into the morning update I promised yesterday about our Lake of the Woods fishing trip.

First off, Lake of the Woods is over 950,000.00 acres with a total surface area of roughly 1485 miles. So, put in perspective, a 20-mile snowmobile ride is about the equivalent to motoring across one small bay on Cutfoot Sioux or some of the other small lakes I know that you've fished in my region.

On Lake of the Woods, large populations of fish migrate throughout the seasons and may be located deeper or shallower depending on both the best food sources and comfort that they can find at any given time. We could liken it to an enormous pasture that has roaming herds of sheep grazing from one place to another, they stop whenever they find good food and a comfortable place to “hang out”.

Like the giant pasture scenario, schools of fish roam above the soft-bottom mud flats, also seeking good food and comfort. Until the spawning season arrives, fish have little reason to inhabit structure located closer to shore. Food sources during winter are more abundant on the expansive flats and there are many potential locations, not all of them must be 20 miles, or more, away from the shoreline. But there are no limitations on the fish, they can go wherever they like.

Rental operators, guides and avid anglers do their best to follow the largest schools of fish wherever they can find them. Sometimes, finding fish is not the only reason for moving out, some anglers keep moving further out simply to avoid crowded fishing conditions closer to home.

My buddy Nate Altendorf is one of those avid fishermen who spends lots of time on the ice. He has a cabin on Lake of the Woods so for him, experimenting with locations and keeping tabs on his friends is an advantage. So, over the past few days, we fished the best locations that he knew about at the time. On any given day there could be dozens, if not hundreds, of other great places to fish. For all I know, we might have driven past some of them on our way to Nate’s pre-scouted territory.

I think that instinct is the asset that most of the better guides and rental operators on Lake of the Woods possess. They get a general idea about where to start by keeping tabs on the weather, the time of season and word of mouth reports. After that, they explore promising territory by checking water depths, systematically ruling out places where they don't find fish. When they do find schools of fish, they pivot and focus on other nearby areas of similar water depth. For example, on Wednesday, my fishing shelter was over 29 feet of water. On Thursday, we were not very far from the original spot we fished Wednesday. But our shelters were set up in fresh territory. The depth there was 28.6 feet, comparable to the 29-foot spot that I fished on Wednesday. Like I said yesterday, the nearest prominent structure was a nearly mile away.

Structure fishermen like me are often intimidated by the lack of well-defined breaklines, points or sunken reefs. Often, it does not seem like there's any scientific reason for fishing where we stop and set up. But to the fish, there are good reasons for roaming across those soft mud flats and the more I fish with folks who know what they're doing, the more impressed I am with the idea of being able to set up and let the fish come to us.

I've mentioned before that lure selection and presentation are about the only two things an angler can do to be proactive. To attract fishing roaming randomly, experimenting with lures that help call fish in from a distance is huge! The further the distance from which you can get a fish's attention, the better the odds of teasing it over to take a closer look at your bait.

On Thursday, I was aggressively jigging the Glow Streak and watching my Humminbird for fish to appear. Sometimes, aggressive fish, like the sauger you see pictured, just come over and smash it. Other times, the triggering power of more subtle lures will entice a larger percentage of fish to strike. That's why I had a 2nd rod rigged with the 1/8-ounce Glow Spoon pictured above, the soft light shining through the subtle pattern helped convert more of the lookers into biters.

Other than the differences in presentation, the fishing pattern was not much different between the two days. There was a run of active fish in the morning, followed by a slow-down from Noon until about 2:30 PM. For what it’s worth, it appeared that larger fish preferred to bite in the morning. When the action picked up in the afternoons, there were more sauger and smaller walleyes.

Many of my views about fishing are based on personal experience and anecdotal evidence. So, take this observation with a grain of salt, but personally, I’ve never been a proponent of ice fishing during the full moon period. The full will occur on Saturday and I have “a feeling” that entering this period produced something of a slow-down in the action.

On both days, we saw lots of fish on our electronics and while we caught enough to make us happy, I can’t help but think that we could have had awesome fishing, considering the number of fish we saw. Often, the passing of a full moon triggers change from one pattern to another.

It would not surprise me to learn that next week marks the beginning of fish movements back toward shallower water. When that happens, fish, movement across the flats, like the ones we saw on our trip, will intensify. With great ice conditions and a month of fishing season remaining, the opportunity to get in on a great bite on Lake of the Woods could get really good.

For me, dry-dock until next Monday, it’s time to hunker down and do my favorite job of the year, taxes. Beautiful …

— Jeff Sundin 218-245-9858 or EMAIL

Jeff Sundin February 25, 2021 "On Location, Lake of the Woods Report"

Before I arrived at Lake of the Woods, word on the street was that anglers enjoyed good fishing last weekend. By the time we finished fishing on Wednesday, judging by what I saw on the screen of my Humminbird, it could have been fantastic. There were a lot of lookers, compared to takers though, so in the end, my personal Cub Reporter, Staff #003-IHBFBB rating was “good enough”.

There was always good reason to be optimistic, in fact from 8:00 AM until Noon, there were fish showing up on my graph every few minutes. It just took a lot of coaxing to get them to strike, I’ll bet I saw 20 fish before I iced my first walleye.

The good news is that many of the fish that did strike, were nice ones. The ratio of “keepers” to little fish had improved dramatically since our last trip a few weeks ago. Some of the walleyes were just over the protected slot size, several were in the 15-to-17-inch range and there were still a healthy number of 10 inchers, just not as many as before. Saugers ran nice too, 13 to 14 inches was an average fish, there were a couple that pushed 15 inches on the tape.

I’d seen numerous reports that anglers were driving roughly 20 miles out from shore to find good fishing. I’m not sure how far out we were exactly, but it was a long snowmobile ride. My buddy Nate Altendorf estimated that we probably were out about that far too. I can let you judge for yourself, here’s a link that will reveal to you the exact spot we were fishing, if you’re interested.

The depth we fished was 28 feet according to my graph and there was no prominent structure located nearby. Just like I mentioned a few weeks ago, it amazes me how anybody can plop down in the middle of nowhere, drill a single hole and expect to catch fish, but that’s what happened to me yesterday. It’s a simple waiting game, the only scientific part of the process is figuring out how to get the fish to strike.

Last time we were here, larger lures that produced more noise and flash worked best. On that trip, I caught a more fish using Glow Streaks and jigging them aggressively. Even smaller fish like the one you see pictured here, crashed the larger, more aggressive hybrid lure. Likewise, the largest size spoons worked best as well, the 1/4-ounce gold Quiver Spoon was productive.

Yesterday, smaller, and less aggressive was key. When I scaled down from the 1/4-ounce size Quiver Spoon to the 1/8-ounce size, fish struck better. For me, the pink/glow color, pictured above, worked fine, so I didn’t experiment with other colors. But on past trips, the blu/glow and plain gold colors have also treated me well.

I was being cute before about our fishing location. We like to get out and away from the crowds, and that’s why we take snow machines instead of driving on plowed roads. But I can honestly say that there were a lot of other people cleaning fish at the lodge last night and most of them did not need snowmobiles and portables to catch their fish. Most of them were rental shelter guests who are shuttled to and from the ice shacks by resort staff. They all reported being happy with their catches, which appeared to be of similar sizes to the fish we caught.

The ice conditions on Lake of the Woods remain fabulous, in fact the folks at Zippel Bay Resort said that the most recent cold snap produced nearly a foot of new ice. There’s close to 30 inches I’d say, and it is crystal clear; on Wednesday, it was also hard as a rock, showing no signs of deterioration. There isn’t much snow cover, but I’d suggest having and extension on your auger as a precaution.

Oh one last thing, most folks at the cleaning shack agreed, the morning run was decent yesterday. But it was followed by a long, quiet spell from about 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM when the fish began running again and after 4:00, the action was good.

We’re headed back out on the lake now, so I’ll cut the report short. But if there’s anything substantially different happening, I’ll drop in a few last minute notes in the morning. — Jeff Sundin 218-245-9858 or EMAIL

Wired2Fish February 24, 2021 "The Case for Catch and Release in Crappie Fishing"

"Kevin Rogers has caught more crappie than he can even remember after decades of chasing these popular panfish all over the country. He's fished just about everywhere you can for crappie and seen all the advances over the years in fishing for crappie come and go.

But with the advent of real time sonar like Garmin Livescope, Rogers believes we all need to be good stewards of crappie populations and hopes that the catch and release mentality that has been so popular with bass fishing, also becomes a mainstay thought in crappie fishing.

While he keeps crappie to eat, he's long been a proponent of letting the biggest crappie go to replenish year classes on his favorite fisheries. While massive reservoirs won't see much affect their crappie fishing, today's angler is much more ..." View Video and Learn More About >> The Case for Catch and Release in Crappie Fishing

Ely Area, Arrowhead Outdoors Fishing Report February 24, 2021

Northern Pike anglers continue to report a very steady pike bite happening on many area lakes. Lively suckers fished under a tip up has been very consistent for many anglers. Key areas to find pike has been river mouths and large weedbeds in 4 to 10 feet of water.

Lake trout fishing improved as anglers returned to the area and were able to move around and find fish. Key this week was to find fresh spots and unpressured trout. Bucktails and tube jigs in 1/2 oz to 3/4 oz was the most popular sizes and baits in pink, blue and red/white. Anglers found the most active trout in 30-45 feet of water and main lake points, sunken islands and large flats.

Eelpout continue to show up in people’s daily catches as they become more and more active with their spawn approaching. Anglers targeting them are having their best luck fishing them after dark. Heavy pout pounders loaded with minnow chunks and pounded on the bottom continues to be the best technique to catch them. Anglers have been mainly catching them around sunken islands in depths ranging from 20-50 feet. Depths seem to change nightly so be sure to check different depths until eelpout are located.

Walleye fishing improved a little this last week with a few anglers reporting success. Deadsticking a minnow was the top producer. Many anglers reported buckshot spoons called fish in but often failed to trigger a bite, while deadsticking often picked up those fish. Key depths ranged from 25-35 feet of water." — Arrowhead Outdoors, 218-365-5358

Lake of the Woods, LOW Tourism February 24, 2021

"A warm up triggered some nice walleyes and saugers on the south end of Lake of the Woods this week. Anglers caught a mix of walleyes and saugers with some pike, perch, eelpout and tullibees being caught in 29 to 33 feet of water.

Using a bait with rattles or vibration to attract fish is helpful. On the deadstick, try a glow hook with a live minnow or even a glow bead above the hook. Set bait 6 inches to a foot off of the bottom. Try gold, glow colors, chartreuse and pink good color choices this week. Electronics are helpful to show suspended fish as well as how fish are reacting to your presentation.

The early morning and late evening bites are still producing some walleyes on the river. The snowmobile trail on the river from Baudette to Wheeler's Point to the NW Angle staked and groomed. Use caution and work through a resort, outfitter or gain info from a bait shop as there is current and areas not fit for travel on the river.

A lot of nice walleyes were caught up at the Northwest Angle this week and there too, anglers picked up a mix of other species. Walleyes in 24 to 30 feet of water. Some resorts are fishing on or adjacent to structure while others have their guests fishing over deep mud. Some anglers catching walleyes with small jigs tipped with a plastic that mimics bugs and worms in mud. Plain hook or a glow jig with a live minnow on deadstick. Communicate with your favorite Northwest Angle resort for specifics. Ice fishing on LOW through March.

With the border closure, there are four ways to travel to the NW Angle without crossing the border. 1. NW Angle Guest Ice Road from south shore up to the Angle. 2. Snowmobile trails across the lake. 3. Lake of the Woods Passenger Service (bombardier). 4. Lake Country Air flying service." — Lake of the Woods Tourism, (800) 382-FISH

Lake of the Woods, Border View Lodge February 24, 2021

"We continue to be across the lake beyond the 20-mile mark. 35 feet of water and mud bottom has been the trend although we are thinking of making some adjustments to find a different bottom. The weather this week may make the decision as it currently shows strong wind and possible rain on Tuesday with 39 degrees.

Captain Scott says a color hook on a dead stick works great with it being a foot off the bottom. Then, using a Slab Rap with the UV colors and a minnow head is good for working the water column.

The forecast is showing a warm up. We have had about 3 weeks of overnight lows in the -20 or colder so being above zero is feeling warm. We are hoping for more stable weather to keep the barometer in check. We are sitting with enough ice and snow to get us all the way through March if the weather decides to hold.

COVID-19 update: We continue to follow Minnesota Department of Health guidelines to do our part in preventing the spread. We are providing disposable tableware for our cabin guests to use during their stays with us. Our fish houses, outhouses, and transportation are sanitized daily. We don’t have any idea when we will be able to return to normal but we sure hope it’s soon. Until then, we will continue to be diligent in our efforts to keep our staff and guests safe and healthy." — 1-800-776-3474 Border View Lodge

Jeff Sundin February 23, 2021 "Moving the Move-Able"

Mother Nature did a little more yesterday than hint at the notion that spring is just around the corner. Air temperatures in the 40s gave anglers a nudge in the direction of removing ice fishing shelters from area lakes.

The deadline for removing ice shelters in northern Minnesota is still a few weeks away, March 15th, 2021 for lakes north of the east-west Hwy 200, Hwy 34 boundary.  But some folks have learned that it’s a lot easier to move their fishing shelters before the first meltdown and subsequent re-freeze. So, there has been a steady southbound stream of pickups towing larger ice fishing shelters back home over the past few days.

Anglers who fish south of the east-west Hwy 200, Hwy 34 boundary must remove their fishing shelters from the ice by midnight next Sunday February 28th, 2021. The deadline for shelter removal coincides not only with the end of the walleye fishing season on Minnesota’s inland lakes, but also with the expiration date of our current Minnesota fishing licenses.

This year, those of us who buy combination fishing licenses will need to make sure that our spouses accompany us when we buy them. Yes, that’s right, the State of Minnesota’s new licensing regulation requires both the angler and the spouse to appear in person for over-the-counter fishing license purchases. Folks who prefer to buy fishing licenses online can continue to do so but will need to provide both driver license and social security numbers for the angler and the spouse. For more information about the new licensing regulation, follow this link.

For me, ice fishing is back on the schedule again and I can hardly wait. I’ll be joining friends on Lake of the Woods tomorrow for what has become an annual, late winter walleye fishing trip. Typically, we find walleyes in the early stages of migrating back toward shoreline flats, hopefully our timing will be good.

I'll be looking forward to having some fresh, firsthand fishing updates for folks before the upcoming weekend. — Jeff Sundin 218-245-9858 or EMAIL

News Release February 23, 2021: DNR Seeks Public Input on Grand Rapids MN Fisheries Plan

"Anglers and others interested in management of fisheries resources in the Grand Rapids area are invited to comment on fisheries management plans for selected lakes in Itasca County through Wednesday, March 31.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources uses fisheries management plans to identify specific management activities planned for designated lakes over the next five to 20 years. The plans include background information such as water chemistry characteristics, water temperature information, species presence, stocking, regulations, and historic catch rates from previous fisheries surveys.

The plans can also identify biological and social factors that may limit a fishery’s potential, and seek to address these limiting factors by prescribing science-based management tools when biologically, fiscally, and socially appropriate.

Comments and suggestions from the public are important for planning and evaluating the success of activities laid out in management plans.

Fisheries information is being updated for the following lakes: Bass (near Effie), Big Too Much, Burns, Dock, Five Island, Guile, Gunderson, Long,, O'Reily chain, Snaptail, Thistledew, Trout management evaluation is being reviewed for the following lakes: Larson, Moonshine.

Walleye stocking evaluation is being reviewed for the following lakes: Little Turtle, Maple.

People can contact the DNR’s Grand Rapids area fisheries office by calling 218-328-8835, or emailing grandrapids.fisheries@state.mn.us to receive an electronic copy of any of the draft plans. Comments and suggestions for managing other lakes and streams in the Grand Rapids work area are welcome at any time, and will be considered when those plans are due for review."

Wired2Fish February 2021 "Mercury Marine Introduces the All-New V12 600hp Verado Engine"

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News Release February 23, 2021: DNR Seeks Public Input on Finland MN Area Fisheries Plan

"DNR seeks comments on Finland area fisheries management plans
Anglers and others interested in management of fisheries resources in the Finland area are invited to comment on fisheries management plans for selected lakes in Lake County through Wednesday, March 31.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources uses fisheries management plans to identify specific management activities planned for designated lakes over the next five to 20 years. The plans include background information such as water chemistry characteristics, water temperature information, species presence, and historic catch rates from previous fisheries surveys.

Comments and suggestions from the public are important for planning and evaluating the success of activities laid out in management plans. The list of plans currently being reviewed includes Dragon, Greenwood, Johnson and Wilson lakes. Area staff are also seeking comments for the first formal fisheries management plan drafted for Highland Lake.

People can contact the DNR’s Finland area fisheries office by calling 218-353-8855, or emailing finland.fisheries@state.mn.us to receive an electronic copy of any of the draft plans.

Comments and suggestions for managing other lakes and streams in the Finland work area are welcome at any time, and will be considered when those plans are due for review."

Jeff Sundin February 22, 2021 "Springing the Spring-Able"

For me, this weekend quietly ushered in the first signs of spring. At Grand Rapids, MN, visitors to the Ray's Marine in-store boat show were small in number, but high in interest. For the most part, folks that walked in the door were what I'd describe as boat buyers, not boat shoppers. The same thing was true of folks shopping to upgrade their current rigs, trolling motors and electronics were a hot topic of conversation too.

You're probably going to hear some rumors about backlogs, delays and shortages of boats, outboards and marine electronics; they are true. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t still buy a boat, dealers still do have some inventory and shipments of boats that they ordered last fall are being manufactured and will continue to arrive. That said, folks wishing to order a new model that isn’t already in inventory could be faced with significant delays.

My suggestion to anyone who is leaning toward making a purchase this spring would be to get into the store now and find out what your options will be. The longer you wait, the lower your odds of finding what you want.

Chatter about ice fishing was low, most folks I visited with sat out the recent period of bitter cold weather just like me. But now that the weather is warming up, they are getting the itch again. In fact, we’ve got a trip to Lake of the Woods this week and there were stories about some folks headed for Upper Red Lake, Winnie and Lake Bemidji.

What I hear about Upper Red Lake is that daytime fishing remains slow, but there is decent action for folks who stay through the crepuscular periods. One ice fisherman that I talked with told me that his group usually leaves the lake before sunset, but on 2 recent trips decided to stay well past sunset, into the darkness. On their last trip, they had 1 walleye in the creel before sunset, but wound up with 8 fish for 3 people by staying after dark.

I’ll have more firsthand info from Lake of the Woods later this week, but the word from up there hasn’t changed much. Most folks are still catching a lot of fish, mostly small ones, but weeding through them to sort out limits of keepers. There has been enough walleye in the 15-to-17-inch range, along with sauger in the 13-to-15-inch range to give most anglers satisfying bags to take home. — Jeff Sundin 218-245-9858 or EMAIL

February 22, 2021 — "Lake Winnie Walleye Size, Why So Small?"

"On Lake Winnie, this email note from Tom Feyder sums up the observations made by several who have fished the lake in recent weeks.

Q) “I have been out ice fishing Winnie several times this winter (after not so much last year with the bad ice conditions) and have had some great fishing, but am concerned with the size of the walleyes. 

I had been told to expect many in the 1-to-2-year age class based on a couple good years of positive conditions for spawning success. But am still surprised that with over 150 walleyes iced that I have zero walleyes caught between 14.5 and 18.5 inches.  Only 4 fish at 18.5” or bigger (one 23 inches that I let go is my biggest).  On top of that unusual condition, I have never caught so many eelpout, so far probably about 30 to 35, and many during the middle of the day when it’s hardly ever happened in the past.

I use an underwater camera which has been very interesting as usual, but also a concern that I have seen hardly any perch, and only seen one or two walleyes during daylight hours that were any bigger than 14-15”.  I have been able to keep a few 13-to-14-inch fish, but there are SO many at less than 10 inches, that it’s become a concern, at least for the next year or 2. I like to fish mid-lake structure at about 20-21 ft depth and use a rattle jig with minnow head plus a dead stick with a chub typically. 

In the past I would have many larger walleyes sighted and caught, watched many perch all day long, struggled with several predatory northerns to spice up mid-day (still very common), and caught just a few eelpout before dark.

Can you explain what might be going on with the mid-size walleye age classes, what the implications for long term walleye health are for Winnie, and if I should be changing my strategy in any way?  As you might have guessed, I am strictly interested in catching and eating walleye.

I look forward to hearing from you, as I am thinking there are many others with these same questions (as proven by the many photos I have seen on social media).  Thanks for your time Jeff!” — Tom Feyder

A) Good morning Tom and thanks for getting in touch. I have spent a lot of time on this subject already and there are numerous articles on my website and on sites that I've contributed host articles too. I will get you some links, as well as provide updates for readers during the upcoming spring season.

Long story short, the fish you are catching now are in fact, fish from the strong 2018 and 2019 seasons. Prior to those two strong year classes, 2013 was the most recent "good one".

Last fall, fish from the 2018-year class began reaching the low end of 'keeper range" crossing the 13-to-14-inch marks. Fish from the 2019-year class started reaching 9 to 11 inches last year and these are the fish being caught by lots of folks this winter, they will reach 13 to 14 inches sometime later this summer and into early fall 2021.

We should begin seeing more fish in the 15-to-17-inch range, 2018 year class, during late summer and fall this year.
The current shortage of fish in the 15-to-19-inch range represents the gap between these small 2018-2019 fish and what's left of the 2013 year class, fish that are now in the 21 to 24 inch size range.

Studies about Burbot are harder to come by, so I can't readily explain whether the population is stronger than usual, or if you've just been lucky, but I will dig into that. In the meantime, it sounds the Eelpout Scampi ought to be on the menu at your house soon!

... and Tom wrote again with some follow up questions.

Q) "Thanks for your explanation Jeff!  Does the absence of mid-size walleyes mean there were bad 2016 and 2017 rear classes then?  And if not, is there a different location or strategy to try where this size fish is more likely to be caught? And why so few perch this year?

A) Your fishing strategy is not the issue, walleye year classes from 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 were very low. Combine poor year classes with high demand for "keeper size" fish and it created a significant gap in fish of desirable size for harvest. For anglers, the next 36 months will present much more opportunity that the past 36 months did. After that, it will depend a lot on weather and angler harvest to determine which future fishing seasons will be good ones and which will not.

Your personal low catch rate of perch probably relates more to your fishing location than it does to the population of perch in the lake. Anecdottaly, there have been more reports of above average perch action than below average. My own firsthand observation is that perch fishing was very, very good last fall. Folks who have written me this winter report good catches, but in some case say that they have made frequent moves before locatiing them. Most of the best action for perch has not been on mid-lake structure, it's been on flats and sparse weed patches located closer to shore. Water depths of 12 to 16 feet have often been reported as the sweet spots.

In checking links to some previous articles that help add insight, I stumbled into this one that's especially interesting because it was published just before news of the strong 2018 year class broke. Read >> Will the Good Old Days Return On Winnie?

I'll keep checking, find more and provide additional links to the articles as I uncover them. — Jeff Sundin 218-245-9858 or EMAIL

Central Minnesota – Mille Lacs, Sherburne, & Wright Counties Ice Update Shane Boeshart February 17, 2021

"The cold set in this weekend for many anglers, and it showed. Not as many people were out and about chasing fish this weekend. There were some, like myself, who did get out and brave this colder weather. The name of the game was moving. Drill, locate, fish, and repeat. Again, the Aqua-Vu camera was the star of the show in locating suspended crappies and bottom hugging bluegills. My clients this weekend went home with a good mess of crappies and gills for dinner!

As the winter progresses, we see fish moving to higher concentrations of oxygen and warmer water. The crappies were suspended at or below the thermocline, a layer of water which the temperature is different on each side, telling me they were looking for the warmer water. It was about 42 degrees Fahrenheit below the thermocline, and lots of fish were loving that temperature gradient. I noted crappies, bluegills, walleye, perch, and suckers all in the area.

We also checked around a channel between the chain of lakes we fished. Plenty of bluegills around in less than 5 foot of water. The oxygen levels were high around this channel as the water flow was bringing in fresh spring fed water from the main lake as well as lots of food. The camera had picked up larva on the screen, which were white, as well as some blood worms on the bottom. I knew the day would be good if we could get them to bite in each spot, and as noted earlier, I turned out to be correct!

Smaller tungsten baits, like the Lindy Tungsten Bug or Tungsten Toad, were the best producers. We only tipped them with single red spikes for blue gills and small chunk of minnow tail for the crappies. Short hops followed by a motionless stop were what they wanted. You would see and feel them barely pick it up and immediately set the hook. I invested in some new rods this season by Eyeconic Fishing called the John Grosvenor Panfish Series. They are 25 inches in length, made of fiberglass, and are ultralight action. This rod is amazingly sensitive and takes away the need for any spring bobber, which my clients all agreed upon! I will be investing in a couple more for my larger groups!

Panfishing will continue to be good going into March and up to ice out across the state. If you have kids and would like to get out, this would be the time to do it as the lakes will have less traffic once walleye, bass, and pike seasons close at the end of this month. They’ll enjoy the fishing and you’ll enjoy watching them smile!

Blue and Green Lakes (Sherburne County) are producing edible walleyes, but it is still a slow bite. Deadsticks and low light conditions seem to be your best bet on these lakes. Aggressive spoon action paired with minnow head has also been working after dark, but make sure it has a rattle or glow to it so you can lure them in from afar. I suggest looking for an area holding smaller fish and find the nearest drop, or deep area, and work in from there. Move shallower towards the weeds and bait as the sun starts to go down. The walleyes will be roaming that area back and forth increasing the catch rate opportunity.

As always, reach out for any additional information, be safe on the ice, and use the buddy system!
Good Luck!" Shane Boeshart, 641-529-0270

Ely Area, Arrowhead Outdoors Fishing Report February 17, 2021

"Diehard anglers have been few and far between, so this week's fishing report is a little light.

Lake trout fishing was slow overall last week as cold temps kept many anglers at home or limited them to their permanent house. Many anglers reported marking several trout a day, but trout would only give a half hearted chase, if they would chase at all. Smaller buckshot spoons or tingler spoons, tipped with a minnow head or smelt chunk, were top producers. Red and white, blue and white and pink and white were top producing colors. Key depth was 40-50 feet of water.

Eelpout activity has been steadily increasing as we draw closer to their spawn. Eelpout are being caught day and night, around sunken islands in 15-40 feet of water with large spoons or pout pounders, loaded with minnow head or smelt chunks. Pounding the bottom with your jig has been the best technique to call them in.

There have been a few pike anglers reporting a excellent shallow water pike bite with tip ups. These anglers are finding active pike in water as shallow as 4 feet just outside of river mouths. Medium sized sucker minnows have been best." — Arrowhead Outdoors, 218-365-5358

Lake of the Woods, LOW Tourism February 16, 2021

"Despite the cold weather, there have been some good fishing reports on the south end of Lake of the Woods this week. There's been a nice mix of walleye and sauger being caught in 29 to 33 feet of water.

The cold weather made some of the fish less active, so coaxing them was key. Electronics are helpful to show suspended fish as well as how fish are reacting to your presentation. Some bait shops and resorts will rent units for the day.

Using a jigging line in one hole with lures that put out vibration or noise was helpful. That combined with a deadstick in your second hole with either a glow jig or plan hook and a minnow. Keep the jigging line moving to attract fish. Try gold, glow white, glow red, wonderbread and pink. Lures that glow, have a glow stick or make noise are also effective in the stained water.

Morning and evening is still producing some walleyes on the Rainy River. A variety of areas being fished with low flow and cold temps. The snowmobile trail on the river from Baudette to Wheeler's Point to the NW Angle staked and groomed. Use caution and work through a resort, outfitter or gain info from a bait shop as there is current and areas not fit for travel on the river.

With the Canadian border closure, there are four ways to travel to the Northwest Angle without crossing the border. 1. NW Angle Guest Ice Road from south shore up to the Angle. 2. Snowmobile trails across the lake. 3. Lake of the Woods Passenger Service (bombardier). 4. Lake Country Air flying service.

A lot of nice walleyes caught up at the Angle this week with a mix of other species. Walleyes in 24 to 30 feet of water. Some resorts are fishing structure, others fishing deep mud. Jigging with noisy lures 3 to 4 feet off of the bottom is a good way to pull in fish. Plain hook or a glow jig with a live minnow on deadstick. Some days, the jigging line is hot, others the bobbers are going down.

Communicate with your favorite Northwest Angle resort for specifics. Ice fishing on LOW continues through March." — Lake of the Woods Tourism, (800) 382-FISH

Lake of the Woods, Border View Lodge February 16, 2021

"We are within sight of Garden Island as we continue northward. This last week has seen some good fishing with plenty of trophy walleye being caught. Our crew is working hard to keep on top of the holes freezing and the vehicles up and running. We are hitting -55 degrees tonight for Valentine’s Day before we start to see some warmer temperatures, with the low getting above 0 degrees by next weekend.

Captain Mike says glow and gold colors continue to be the best bet but pink and white glow are doing well too. Some anglers are reporting that glow stick inserts and plain hooks are the hot item to have.

COVID-19 update: We continue to follow Minnesota Department of Health guidelines to do our part in preventing the spread. We are providing disposable tableware for our cabin guests to use during their stays with us. Our fish houses, outhouses, and transportation are sanitized daily.

We don’t have any idea when we will be able to return to normal but we sure hope it’s soon. Until then, we will continue to be diligent in our efforts to keep our staff and guests safe and healthy." — 1-800-776-3474 Border View Lodge

Jeff Sundin February 11, 2021 "Noting the Note-Able About Walleye Bag Limit Reduction Bill S.F. 12"

This period of frigid weather has taken a toll on ice fishing traffic on local lakes and I don’t blame folks for hunkering down temporarily. In fact, that’s what I’ve done myself this week, it’s been a good time to catch up on things that needed tending to anyway.

Sifting through emails on Wednesday, I found a note from Vern Wagner, organizer of Anglers for Habitat, a conservation based angling group. The message carried a copy of the organization’s position on the proposal, S.F. 12, which would reduce walleye limits statewide from 6 to 4 fish.

The letter penned by AFH President Lance Ness is offered to MN Senator Carrie Ruud as “testimony” to be considered during hearings about the bill. In its conclusion, Ness writes, “While Anglers for Habitat neither supports nor opposes the legislation, we suggest a lively discussion.” Let’s backup a minute and break down what that discussion would be about.

Within the body of the testimony, AFH appears to be leaning in the direction of slow walking this legislation and asks for proof that the proposal is based on scientific data. Paraphrasing, here are some questions that, in my opinion, do need to be answered.

The big first question asks whether this is a social issue, or a biological one and queries whether Minnesota already has lakes in which shortages of walleye populations exist or are projected?

That’s a good question, I’m glad they asked it, because everything I hear from DNR fisheries folks is that our walleye lakes are in great shape. Still, the MN DNR plans to support the bill, why, what are they worried about?

The AFH letter goes on to ask whether an angler who frequently “gets skunked” when walleye fishing now, will eventually enjoy catching some keepers under the new plan?

Well, would they? From everything I’ve heard, most of the walleye get caught by anglers on the upper end of the skills meter. Most anglers who fish Minnesota lakes rarely, if ever, bag their limit of walleye. In fact, last time I was told, the average catch per angler is less than 2 fish per day. So, unless you’re willing to drop the limit below 2 fish, odds are that average anglers will never notice any improvement.

The AFH paper speculates too about whether management on a lake-by-lake basis isn’t a better plan. They comment that they’d prefer a system where lake biologists give us accurate information first, then we decide what to do about it; man, what a great idea!

When I first wrote about the introduction of S.F. 12 back on January 7, 2021, it appeared that support for the bag limit reduction was widespread. But a conversation about the bill with a friend triggered his memory of a U of M research poll conducted in 2017/2018. It didn’t take much digging to locate the accompanying graph which reveals angler sentiment at the time.

The graph reveals a wider split than we’ve been led to believe and while the percentages are not precisely broken down, it’s evident that slightly more folks strongly agreed (brown color bar) with keeping the current 6 fish bag limit. It's clear that anglers represented by the green color bar that the majority agree with keeping the current bag limit. DNR Fisheries staff cautioned me about anglers in the yellow bar, many of them could be neutral to the idea simply because they seldom catch many walleyes anyway. Anglers who disagree, blue color bar, obviously also favors keeping the current 6 fish bag limit.

In honor of Lance Ness' request to engage in "lively discussion", I'll throw my 2 cents worth in right now. I do not not favor the walleye bag limit reduction; I think it sends the wrong message and I don't believe it will help anybody save any fish in any lake.

I'll expand on my position in the coming days and weeks, but in the meantime, allow me to say that you can reduce my limit all you want. I have access to fish, time to pursue them and the ability to catch them. But there are folks in Minnesota who travel long distances and have limited time to fish. If all it takes to make them happy is to offer pie in the sky, a simple promise of harvesting 6 walleyes if they can find them on their vacation, then I think we should bend over backwards to get them as close to meeting their goals as humanly possible.

Based on what I learned during my time on the Walleye Advisory Committee, I'll be surprised if scientific evidence exists. But if it does, let's see it, because when somebody comes up with science that supports the notion that a walleye limit of 4 fish will improve Minnesota's walleye population, I'll support it.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome, drop me a line and let's keep the dialogue going. — Jeff Sundin 218-245-9858 or EMAIL

Wired2Fish February 10, 2021 "Wired2fish to Launch Global CTV Fishing Channel"

"Navio Networks, Inc., a Los Angeles based corporation, announced in partnership with Wired2fish, the launch of the most diverse 24/7 global fishing channel on free ad-supported connected television (CTV) platforms and apps. The linear channel, titled Wired2fishTV, is slated to go live in February 2021. Navio Networks, a licensing, programming and advertising company, builds live linear premium channels for distribution on CTV.

Wired2fishTV has a planned launch on fast-growing KlowdTV, along with other free ad-supported CTV platforms and apps during Q1.

Wired2fishTV is excited to serve the 60 million plus anglers in the US market with video programming produced and provided by the top names in ..." Learn More >> Wired2fish to Launch Global CTV Fishing Channel

Lake of the Woods, LOW Tourism February 9, 2021

"It was a good week of fishing on the south end of Lake of the Woods. Cold weather is welcomed as the fish houses are warm and the cold temperatures help reinforce ice thickness! Remember, ice fishing is open through March.

A nice variety of walleyes and saugers being caught in 29 to 33 feet. Use a jigging line in one hole and a dead stick with a live minnow in the other. Keep the jigging line moving to attract fish. Try gold, glow white, glow red and pink. Lures that glow or with a glow stick effective in the stained water.

Fish range in size. A typical day will usually include small fish, eaters, some slots (19.5 to 28 inches to be released) and even a big walleye over 28 inches on occasion. The limit of walleyes and saugers on LOW is a combined limit of 6 fish, with up to 4 of them 6 being walleyes. Walleyes 19.5 to 28 inches must be released. One walleye over 28 inches allowed in possession.

Anglers also catching jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, tullibees and every once in a while, a crappie or sturgeon.

Electronics are helpful to show suspended fish as well as how fish are reacting to your presentation. Some bait shops and resorts will rent units for the day.

Morning and evening bite is still the best on The Rainy River. The snowmobile trail on the river from Baudette to Wheeler's Point to the NW Angle staked and groomed. Use caution and work through a resort, outfitter or gain info from a bait shop as there is current and areas not fit for travel on the river.

With the border closure, there are four ways to travel to the Northwest Angle without crossing the border. 1. NW Angle Guest Ice Road from south shore up to the Angle. 2. Snowmobile trails across the lake. 3. Lake of the Woods Passenger Service (bombardier). 4. Lake Country Air flying service.

A good week of walleye fishing mixed with perch, eelpout, pike and tullibees. Walleyes are following their typical pattern, sliding off of structure into that 26 to 30 feet of water. As a rule, it’s best to fish structure during morning and evening and deep mud or rocks during the daytime. Ripping Raps or jigging spoons with a rattle tipped with a piece of minnow head or tail working well. Plain hook or a glow jig with a live minnow on dead stick. Communicate with your favorite Northwest Angle resort for specifics." — Lake of the Woods Tourism, (800) 382-FISH

Lake of the Woods, Border View Lodge February 9, 2021

"We continue to head north and are currently at approximately the 15-mile mark past Pine Island on to Big Traverse Bay in 32-35 feet of water. Fishing continues to be steady despite the temperature swings we’ve had this week. It was snowing and blowing the last couple of days so our crew is out there doing cleanup today. We are still sorting through a mix of big and little fish with lots of slot fish being released.

Captain Mike says glow and gold colors continue to be the best bet but pink and white glow are doing well too. Some anglers are reporting that glow stick inserts and plain hooks are the hot item to have.

The temperature is currently -17 degrees and the forecast is saying clear to partly cloudy skies with high temps in the single digits below zero and overnight lows in the -20 range.

COVID-19 update: We continue to follow Minnesota Department of Health guidelines to do our part in preventing the spread. We are providing disposable tableware for our cabin guests to use during their stays with us. Our fish houses, outhouses, and transportation are sanitized daily. We don’t have any idea when we will be able to return to normal but we sure hope it’s soon. Until then, we will continue to be diligent in our efforts to keep our staff and guests safe and healthy." — 1-800-776-3474 Border View Lodge

Jeff Sundin February 4, 2021 "Short But Sweet Fishing Trip To Lake of the Woods"

A lot depends on the weather when you plan a trip to Lake of the Woods. Sometimes, making adjustments to a plan is the only wise thing to do and I'm grateful that I have wise friends who know that.

It appeared, according to the Tuesday weather forecast, that our planned snowmobile trip to Flag Island Resort would possibly put us smack dab in the heart of this cold front predicted for later today. Falling temperatures, strong winds and possible white out conditions are nothing to play around with up there. So, in the interest of safety, we decided to shorten the excursion, opting instead to spend one good day fishing on the south end of the lake before heading home to avoid the big winds.

Making a comparison between the fishing on this trip and our last one is not completely fair because we fished a different area of the lake, 10 miles or more further west than before. That said, the patterns, depths and presentations were nearly the same as last time. And the fishing, in my opinion, was better than it was on our previous trip. It was a day of catching, releasing and sorting fish, but in the end, we all had enough fish for a meal at home.

If you ask me, the idea of snowmobiling a few miles out from shore, drilling a few holes over the mud and expecting fish to swim over and find us seems farfetched. But on that lake, that’s what they do and on Wednesday, that’s what happened. We went to one spot, plopped down our tents and started fishing; the fish, at random intervals, found us.

The secret, according to my buddy Nate Altendorf is to get away from crowds and as evidenced by yesterday’s performance, his theory is a good one. Separated by 3 or 4 miles from any other fishing party, we literally were fishing in the middle of nowhere. We were not located on structure either, we were 30 feet above a flat mud bottom.

I know that if you depend on driving a truck out there, this fishing style is seldom viable, but illustrates why we prefer using snow machines. The ability to move around freely gives us an enormous advantage, I imagine that on certain days, it’s the only reason we catch fish.

By now, you’ve heard the same reports I have; that the bite is mostly small fish. It is true, there are tons of little fish in that lake right now and they do make up the lion’s share of the action. Occasionally though, sauger in the 13-to-14-inch range and walleye in the 14 to 17 inch range do show up. And any time you’re fishing Lake of the Woods, there’s a chance that you’ll be hooked up with a monster.

Another Altendorf theory that I definitely buy into is using large, flashy baits and keeping them moving all of the time. When you think about it, giving the fish something that they can see, hear or feel is the only way to attract from one area of the flat to another.

Making it easier for fish to find us was the goal and large ¼ ounce Lindy Quiver Spoons and the large size Glow Streak (pictured right) were the only baits we used. Theoretically, that should also reduce chances of catching smaller fish, but even the smallest fish were eating the largest lures yesterday. In fact, some of the fish that strike are scarcely as big as the bait, so I don’t shy away from them.

By the way, tullibee like the one you see here, showed up at random intervals yesterday too. I did not bring any home for the smoker, but I could have easily gathered a batch.

I love smoked tullibee, so that’s how I prepare mine, but one friend uses them for pickling, and they are quite good that way too. If you’re interested, these are both excellent recipes for pickling fish and smoking fish.

We had the next couple of days planned around the Flag Island trip. But now that I’m home and don’t have anything planned, I think I’ll make a quick run over the Deer River and check out the news from Winnie and some of the surrounding lakes, so watch for reports about that tomorrow.

I know that the weather forecast isn’t always correct, but if you plan to fish this weekend, assume that it will be and make sure you’ve made some precautions. Keep your gas and propane tanks filled up and stuff some extra food into the cupboards of your wheelhouse. You just never know when you might wind up spending an extra overnight on the ice. — Jeff Sundin 218-245-9858 or EMAIL

Fish ED Video 2021 "Catching Deep Freeze, Mid-Winter Walleyes"

Most walleye anglers do their best to get in on the early ice season. There's no doubt that on many inland waters, the first wave of early ice action is as good as it gets. But don't give up on "deep-freeze walleyes", they're still providing some great action for persistent anglers.

Just because it turns cold, doesn't mean that walleyes turn off. Often times, sub-zero temperatures also happen to coincide with extended periods of stability and stable weather is what fish love. Stable weather patterns are the key to a consistent bite. This is equally true for ice anglers looking to target walleye during the “DEEP FREEZE” months of January and February.

Follow Jon Thelen as he explains a few adjustments you can make to catch more walleye during a cold snap. View Video to Learn More >> Mid-Winter Deep Freeze Walleye

Central Minnesota – Mille Lacs, Sherburne, & Wright Counties Ice Update Shane Boeshart February 3, 2021

"Bluegills were shallow this week.  I was in Sherburn County this week and found them in less than six foot of water below the ice.  I happened upon them when I was looking for the edge of a drop off.  The Aqua-Vu helped me spot one holding tight to the bottom muck of the lake. As I observed its motions, I noticed it was ruffling up the bottom and eating small mollusks, which were everywhere!

I proceeded to tie on a Coach Dog (gray and black) colored Lindy Tungsten Bug and a brown plastic with the tail pinched off flush with the bottom of the hook.  Down the hole it went and began pounding the muddy silt to make a stir.  The bluegill proceeded to move in and chase the bait.  I raised it up about a foot and it shot up and took it. A nice 8 incher to put on the ice.  I drilled a series of 10 more holes around the area and kept fishing.  I caught about 30 nice gills and took 10 home for dinner within the hour and a half I was out there.

If you’re fishing for bluegills around the tri-county area in a fertile style eutrophic lake, look for the areas holding bug larvae and mollusks.  It appears that they have turned on their feeding habits towards those creatures packed in the muck.  Most of the fish I have been catching lately are beginning to show egg formation, so I know they’re getting hungrier!  From now onto the end of March, panfishing is about to get hot and heavy!
Walleyes
Blue and Green Lakes (Sherburne County) are producing walleyes here and there, but not as they have been in the past few years.  These two lakes have had a healthy hatch of baitfish, so anglers have been finding walleyes with lots of minnows/small panfish in their bellies upon cleaning.  The report is that dead sticks are the way to get the fish topside.  An occasional fish being caught on a spoon with a chunk of minnow during the evening hours has also been reported. 

Look for the low light conditions as a prime-time opportunity for getting a couple walleyes. Study your area on the map and work it until you find active fish.  I suggest looking for an area holding smaller fish and find the nearest drop, or deep area, and work in from there.  As dusk approaches, move shallower towards the weeds and bait. The walleyes will be roaming that area back and forth increasing the chance of catching a couple.

As always, reach out for any additional information, be safe on the ice, and use the buddy system!" Shane Boeshart, 641-529-0270

Ely Area, Arrowhead Outdoors Fishing Report February 3, 2021

"Lake trout fishing picked up late last week and continued to improve throughout the weekend. Anglers reported catching lakers in 20-40 feet of water with blue and white bucktail jigs tipped with a minnow or gulp minnow as the most successful technique. Dead bait laid on the bottom, accounted for almost half of the lakers caught over the weekend, so be sure to set out tip ups!

Stream trout fishing was a little slow, but steady for anglers. Anglers focused their time early and late in the day, as they are finding trout are most active during those times. Small panfish jigs tipped with soft plastics produced the most consistent bite, but spoons tipped with wax worms also accounted for their far share of trout caught also.

Panfishing was very slow last weekend. Anglers are struggling to find active crappies during the day and had very limited luck catching them after dark. Anglers targeting sunfish reported better luck, but also said it was slow overall. These anglers caught sunnies along weedlines in 10-15 feet of water with small jigs tipped with wax worms.

Eelpout have begun popping up in anglers fishing reports. Anglers have been finding them deep in 30-50 feet of water right now and the bite largely remains after dark. Anglers have been using heavy glowing eelpout jigs, loaded up with smelt or sucker minnow chunks and pounded on the bottom.

Walleye anglers have remained few and far between, and the painfully slow bite is likely to blame. Anglers have been struggling to find one or to walleyes a night on their favorite spots. Deep mud in 23-28 feet of water has been just about the only place producing fish. Deadsticking a minnow about a foot off the bottom has been the only technique worth noting." — Arrowhead Outdoors, 218-365-5358

Lake of the Woods, LOW Tourism February 2, 2021

"There's been a nice mix of walleyes and saugers being caught on the south end of Lake of the Woods in water depths of 29 to 33 feet. Most anglers catching various sizes of fish, sorting through a lot of small fish to get the keepers.

Keeper walleyes running on average in that 14 to 17 inch range with saugers in the 12 to 15 inch range. Lots of slot fish (19.5 to 28 inches) being caught, photographed and quickly returned to the water to reproduce and fight another day. Some big walleyes over 28 inches are also being caught.

The limit of walleyes and saugers on Lake of the Woods is a combined limit of 6 fish, with up to 4 of the 6 being walleyes. Walleyes 19.5 to 28 inches must be released and anglers are allowed one fish over 28 inches in possession.

Creating some noise by jigging lures with a rattle or vibration has been effective. Use a deadstick, a jig or plain hook with a live minnow under a bobber just off of the bottom, for your second line. Electronics are helpful to show suspended fish as well as how fish are reacting to your presentation. Some bait shops and resorts will rent units for the day. Popular lure colors glow red, gold and pink UV firetiger.

Morning and evening bite is still the best time to catch walleyes on the Rainy River. The snowmobile trail on the river from Baudette to Wheeler's Point to the Northwest Angle is staked and groomed. Use caution and work through a resort, outfitter or gain info from a bait shop as there is current and areas not fit for travel on the river.

With the border closure, there are three ways to travel to the Northwest Angle without crossing the border. Use the Northwest Angle Guest Ice Road from the south shore up to the Angle. Snowmobile across the lake using marked snowmobile trails or use Lake of the Woods Passenger Service (bombardier).

Nice walleyes and saugers being caught up at the Angle with perch, eelpout, pike and tullibees mixed in. As the season progresses, walleyes are following their typical pattern, sliding off of structure into that 26 to 30 feet of water.

Ripping Raps or jigging spoons with a rattle tipped with a piece of minnow head or tail working well. Plain hook or a glow jig with a live minnow on deadstick. Communicate with your favorite NW Angle resort for specifics." — Lake of the Woods Tourism, (800) 382-FISH

Lake of the Woods, Border View Lodge February 2, 2021

"We are out past the 15-mile mark from Pine Island on to Big Traverse Bay. Fishing continues to be excellent, though there may be a few down days with the wild swings in temperature. We continue to catch a mix of little ones and big ones. Take home fish are 14-18” for Walleye and the normal 12” and up for Sauger. Great to see the younger generations catch the big ones, creating great memories!

As usual, use glow red and gold colors while having a lively minnow on a plain hook on one rig and something active jigging with noise through the bottom 6-8 feet of the water column is a best tactic. Clam, glow Rattlin’ Blade Spoon are working well. Electronics are definitely helping to show large suspended fish and schools of Tullibee cruising through.

This week we warm up a bit before dipping back down into the negatives with some wind come weekend. Minor snow accumulation with a slight chance for more throughout the week.

Covid update; We intend to be operating at full speed this winter and have been planning as many disinfecting processes as possible to avoid major impacts to our normal service.

We will also be using paper and plastic products for plates and utensils in the cabins, normal pots and pans will be in cabin for cooking and serving. We are constantly reviewing our process and policies to ensure we are acting safely for all involved. We will be disinfecting and sanitize transportation, fish houses and bathrooms on the ice." — 1-800-776-3474 Border View Lodge

Lindy Fishing Tackle "Find Subtle, All Day Fishing Spots"

"It's obvious that knowing where fish will be during prime-time feeding runs is one key to success. Less obvious, but equally important is knowing where to be set up when fish are not in the midst of a major feeding period.

Subtle changes in bottom content located, near, but not on prime feeding reefs can often produce bonus daytime fish.

This week, Jeff Sundin shares his thoughts about locating subtle areas that walleyes use as travel corridors while they pass between prime time feeding, and daytime resting locations.

Join Jeff as he describes how to >> Find Subtle, All Day Walleye Fishing Spots