Lake Winnibigoshish Fishing Reports

[tip_upclyma]

I have fished Winnie the past 8 weekends.....and the bite has really really slowed down IMO.

All of my perch chasing buddies are headed to Leech because I guess the perch are really going off there.

I took my house to LOW for the late season Waldos...and HAMMERED them!

Good Luck, and regardless, it should be a great weekend to fish!

[wmn luv me walleye fearme]

Thanks for the info. Thought we might use LOW as a back up in case winnie gets hit with a bunch of rain this week. (not getting up there until late thursday and I know the south side of Winnie decently well, and have no clue where I am going on LOW) I've only been out on LOW twice and that was before I had a wheel house just getting taken out by one of the resorts.

[thatoneguy]

I have the exact opposite scouting report from clyma - I've KILLED jumbos on Winnie the past two weeks, but I spent all day on Friday punching holes on Leech and had little to show for it. Nobody anywhere in the area I was did any better. If they're biting on Leech, I hope I find out where since that's where I live!

[HIGHBANKS]

March 9, 2010 - WOW - amazing weather!! Mild temps have compressed the snow cover causing the roads to be wet. Off road travel is feasible with 4-wheel drive trucks and is actually much dryer off road than it is on road. May want to pack a shovel - just in case!! Also remember the sunscreen!! Groups that have been using more aggressive tactics and moving around have been bringing in perch. 28-30' of water has been the best depth. Come out and get in the great late season perch action!!

[STINKEYE]

We had a group of eight guys and spread out over the area fishing this past weekend. Perch were on the bite just about every where we tried. Some of the group fished out on Winnie (not me) and got their limits pretty easily in a few hours. Lots of sorting but pretty decent size after the sort. 20 fow seemed the best. Brother and I tried Big Ball Club for the first time, can't believe the numbers of perch we ran into out there but whole bunch of sorting on that lake, in the end decent sized fish for the limit and most of them turned out to be wormy :-( 23 to about 40 feet o water, bigger fish seemed to be deeper. Little cut foot was a bust when we tried Saturday, Big Cut produced pretty consistent all weekend. Tried to find some sunnies on other area lakes but didn't get into anything elsewhere. Found a good lake up north for pretty decent sized perch but will keep that one quiet. Pimushe and Kitchi were a bust, our little honey holes have been raped so I guess it's on to new waters! Travel by truck was getting pretty easy by Sunday, ice was great with most holes down to the power head without an extension. good luck, can't wait to get back out there next year.

[thatoneguy]

I got my limit of 20 10-11.5" perch last Sunday on Winnie, fishing in about 32 FOW. Picked up 5 nice walleyes throughout the afternoon that of course got tossed back to be caught by me this summer

[thatoneguy]

Hey Highbanks folks - what has this warm weather and rain done to the shoreline ice? Will I be able to get out on the lake one last time this weekend?!

[HIGHBANKS]

March 11, 2010 - Landing is still holding in there!! Mild temps have compressed the snow cover causing the roads to be wet. Off road travel is feasible with 4-wheel drive trucks and is actually much dryer off road than it is on road. We have 28-30" of ice. Groups that have been using more aggressive tactics and moving around have been bringing in perch. 22-28' of water has been the best depth. Come out and get in on the great late season perch action!!

[Flakeoutdoorsguy]

Four of us are heading up for the jumbo perch bite this weekend. We have been heading up for three years now this same time of year. It seams this weekend is going to be a bad weekend for fishing with the rain! Any suggestions would be great! We are going out of High banks. Any helpful hints to make this trip worth the money would be great. Thanks!

[cribbageboy]

Can't speak much for the East side of the lake, but spent three days on the west side this past weekend, and 5 of us pulled our limit every day. The trick was to keep moving. Wouldn't spend more than 30 minutes in any one spot. The biggest perch came out of 12 to 20 feet of water. I don't know what you guys will have for vehicles, but the west side is undrivable by anything other than a full size truck. LOTS of standing water. I would imagine the east side would be about the same.

[HIGHBANKS]

Shoreline is in tact and we are going strong on the north end of the lake!! Give us a call for up-to-the minute reports. Daily reports will continue to be posted on our website, www.highbanks.com and FM. Ice thickness is 28-30", the roads are wet but off road travel is feasible.

[croixeyes]

Thx highbanks!!!! see you in the am..

[HIGHBANKS]

March 13, 2010 - Landing is still in tact!! Most of the snow cover is gone. Off road travel is feasible with 4-wheel drive trucks and is actually much dryer off road than it is on road. We have 28-30" of ice. Pack the ice cleats. Lots of Groups have been fishing on the old river channel in shallow 15-20' of water. Come out and get in on the great late season perch action!!

[croixeyes]

Headed out of Highbanks this morning and out towards Zoomers area.Fished 21-22fow caught fish pretty steady all day kept 35 between the two of us,most 9 to 11s and a couple close to 13inches.Hope the access areas can hold up another week,Id love to get up there for another crack at some perch, what a blast......Good luck out there.........

[HIGHBANKS]

We will be closing our landing this evening to vehicle traffic. ATV traffic is feasible. Come on up and enjoy the weather and great late season jumbo perch action!!

[wmn luv me walleye fearme]

Ending up going out of nodaks on thursday night. We were actually one of the last people to use his access as he shut it down sat night and we came off sunday morning. (basically was calling him once a day to make sure we were still ok and he said we would be fine until sunday morning) His roads were high and dry, everyplace else pretty wet. on friday we fished in a big community spot and did ok. Got 15 above 9 inches between 2 of us. 2nd day we decided to go hit moses on our own and did much better. Ended up with 35 above 9 inches.

[HIGHBANKS]

ATV TRAVEL ONLY!! The extended forecast sounds favorable, overnight temps are dropping below freezing to help sustain the ice!! The lodge will be open through Sunday, March 21st (4:00pm). Stop by and get in on the late season deals!! Beer specials/tackle and clothing discounts!! Perch are trending shallower!! 15' of water!! 9"'ers and bigger!! Late Season Perch bite on Winnie - you can't beat it!!

[lonefisherman]

Am heading up to Winne for the opener this year and I know that the ice has gone off very early this year for up there. Am looking for a little advice on what your thoughts are on where the fish might be this year on opener. No specifics just your thoughts.

[ryan p]

Shallow, 4 to 12 feet, jigs and shiners will work best. Try the Highbanks or Ravens Point and areas around them. Talked to a well know guide on the lake and thinks we should have one of the best openers he has seen in his 33 years guiding.

[gregg52]

i think its going to be good

check the above spots which well have lots of boats on then as well

most spots that the fishing are on and biting all along the north shore

from the gap to 3rd river all those spots ..the dugouts stony mallard

etc etc

plus i'm sure the cutfoot will be good lots of spots

i try to find my own

but sometimes you just hafta go to the commnuity spots (or find a guy name slovene and follow him lol)

and ya jig and shiner

can rig to

[bmc]

If it stays warm, the shiner run might be done by the time opener gets here! They're trapping them already below Winnie Dam, which by the way, is the lowest I've ever seen it! Probably too shallow to fish.

I'd definitely have a good supply of leeches in the boat too!

I'm thinking the better fishing will be on the main lake.

Brian

[Bill Powell]

Nice looking fish was hopeing to see a picture soon sure wish we could go back one more time

[slovene]

If the current weather trend continues, then the shallow bite may be tapering off by the opener, and the first breaks off shore and first humps could be the place to try. It depends on the location of the shiners. If the spawn has ended and they have moved out of the shallower water, generally the vast majority of walleyes will follow them out.

The River Rat in Cohasset already has spottails in their holding tanks. Remember the last two years, it was extremely hard to get them until almost Memorial Day, so I guess I'm making my judgement on that.

Again, this is if the current weather pattern holds. We must all remember that it's only early April, and things could change in a hurry!

[bmc]

Thanks Bill! It sure helped to have a knowledgable guide to point us in the right direction, thanks again!!! Did you guys get pics of the monsters that your crew caught?

We're planning a mid-week Sturgeon trip up there before the end of the month, would you be interested???

Brian

[james_walleye]

I think you guys are right, those fish might be leaving the shallows by opener already.

[Bill Powell]

With the Shiners already running my fishing is done till June all I can do is cry when I watch you guys go. I cant get the pictures from my phone to the computer.

[bmc]

I'll stop in this weekend and look at your pics. Bummer about the sturg fishing, but maybe something will work out for ya'. I heard today that the crappies are starting to go! Gonna give it a try Wed.

Brian

[da-pikeslayer]

What water temp. do the crappies start moveing in to shallow water? Which ones bite first the crappies or the blue gills?

[tomfromblaine]

For the last several years my buddies and I have been going the week after opener and always do well with the walleyes but then they go into party mode, I would like a chance for some peaceful bobber fishing for some crappies or Bluegill. We stay at Eagles Nest Lodge, can anybody point me in the right direction and what bait to use?

Thanks in advance.

Tom

[magnum mike]

We had our annual spring work weekend at our camp to get things ready for the season. We got several projects completed but we now have a new project. Where to fish for the walleye opener? The water is as low as we have ever seen it. Several of the small lakes in the area are so low you may not get a boat off the trailer at the landings. In the attached photo, this is usually where my tires are when I push my 18’ Lund off the trailer.

(the photo would not load but my partner is standing at the landing where my trailer normally stops and is several feet from the water line)