Lake Winnibigoshish Fishing Reports

[Tkuether]

We have spear houses out on the west side. 6 inches.

[ripinlipz]

Im planning a trip to Winnie in mid January. Having never been to this area before, can anyone give me any tips on tackle to bring along. Thanks!!

[marcum12]

Ripn, we have been going ou of High Banks Resort for the last couple years. We use mainly same baits there as LOTW. Rattlin flyers, buckshot spoons, slick jigs all tipped with minnow head or whole minnow and a dead stick with plain red hook and minnow.

[ripinlipz]

What colors seem to work best?

[marcum12]

Winnie has pretty clear water so natural colors seem to work best. Unlike on LOTW where glow seemed better. Shad, perch etc. seem to produce well.

[Radar Randy]

How's it looking on Winnie for ice guys?

[jigglestick]

I have one house out right now, in front of highbanks. they are doing well. eaters and overs. perch are doing pretty good at 12 feet, nice fish. ice is ranging from 12-14 inches. the first two miles of road is plowed with the diesel v-plow.

lets get this party started

[dorskh]

Hey jiggle! Good to finally hear from ya!! How is cross country travel off the roads??

[jigglestick]

cross country travel is good with about 4-6 inches of snow on the ice. I hauled my white house out again with my jeep and set up on 13 inches of ice. even with the cold temps we have had the ice isn't producing as fast as I'd like to see it. I did measure an area north of tamarac point that had a consistant 15 inches, but then closer to shore, found 13 once again. for most people that's enough. personally I don't like pulling my big houses out until there's at least 16, but I have done it on 15. the ice sags around the houses if the rigs are parked to close. I still don't want to bring my one ton diesel out there. that doesn't mean you dont want to, I speak for myself only. the fish have been cooperating with lots of slot fish so far.

[DRH1175]

So wierd how the ice hasn't thickened up with the cold weather much in the last 10 days or so. Seems to be staying the same. We are coming up in the morning. Can we get around safely In our Half Tons and portables. We thought about bringing wheelers but are hoping not too. Are the fish still on the shoreline drops or out on the humps? Last year on the 30th of Jan we caught them on the shoreling breaks.

[jigglestick]

i think you'll be perfectly fine in a half ton, but as always, use your head. watch for danger signs. fresh cracks in the snow, slush pockets often means the ice is cracked somewhere nearby. if you hit slush, back out the way you came in and look for a way around. it could be from where somone fished, but id rather be safe than sorry. just use caution, and if you come back in after dark, use your gps to follow your tracks back.

we have been seeing perch on the shoreline break and walleyes in the same areas. the off shore structure has been producing well, but you might have to try a couple different areas before you land on them. try to find a hump no-one has fished on yet.

good luck and stay dry!

[Radar Randy]

Thanks for the info jigglestick. Heading up next weekend, let ya know how we did. Nice picture of a healthy winnie walleye you posted!

[jloomis]

Any tullie action yet jigglestick? Might be a little early for them but mite be up there in 2 weeks just wanted some action! Thanks....

[MIDNIGHT777]

Does anyone know if the resorts still have restrictions on what vehicles and/or houses they are letting on the lake?

Thanks, matt

[jigglestick]

I don't know what to expect about the tulibee action this year. there was a substantial die-off this summer with the excess heat, so my hopes weren't to high, but I have seen several strays popping up in peoples catch's. these in the 17 - 24 foot of water range and we all know they really like 30 feet of water the best. we have a group going out on friday looking for tulibees, so we can report back after they come in.

as far as restrictions on vehicles, you will have to check with each resort. I pulled my house out with my jeep to the holy land on saturday and sat down on 14 1/2 inches. I felt comfortable with that. what you are comfortable with is up to you.

[jloomis]

Thanks jigglestick! Will be looking forward to your report

[Radar Randy]

Did not make it there yet but my buddy Ryan P. said its been alright. I have a friend heading there this weekend, COLD. He's gonna head out of Dennys. The bites been good over there he said. I hope to get up there soon, Winni has always produced for me. GOOD LUCK... I appreciate any reports.

[tcbrookston]

We spent the weekend on the ice with Saturday being very slow. Once we moved around a bit on Sunday, we got into over 100 perch and a nice batch on northers with a few eyes mixed in.

We broke a cable on the wheel down and as always, High Banks made sure we still stayed mobil. With so many thing that can go wrong out there, it sure is nice to know that if you need help, it's only a phone call away.

[jloomis]

Any info on tullibee action yet?

[gp13581]

Just got back from spending Saturday night in one of Ryan Peterson's houses. My son caught his first walleye through the ice within 15 minutes of arriving at about 11 Saturday morning. Action was consistent for the first couple of hours. Brought in 3 nice northerns that we released, another walleye that we released and 1 jumbo perch with a bunch of smaller ones. We were in 22' of water. Caught all on buckshot jig with minnow head. Caught the smaller walleye with grubs. We were marking fish throughout the day until about 4:00 then it went dead. Didn't see much the rest of the evening. The wind was howling something fierce. Nasty night but we were snug in the house. Sunday morning, realized we missed one fish due to one line freezing in and had something hit the rattle reel that we had missed. About 9:00 on Sunday, the fish moved back in and we caught a couple more keeper perch and a bunch of smaller ones. We left about noon. All in all, it was a great experience. With the cold front coming in, my expectations were fairly low but we did manage to keep enought fish for a meal. This was my first time with Ryan. He is a super nice guy, made sure we had everything we needed and did a great job escorting us out to the house and back in. If I was heading back up, which I hope to do, I would definitely give Ryan another call. Summer sounds like it would be fun with him too. Overall, great night out with my son - Thanks Ryan for the memory!

[Polar Bear]

Spent saturday and sunday fishing from a rental house owned by Beckers Resort. The perch were biting fairly consistantly on both days. Our party of 3 kept 63 and released 175-200 smaller fish in the 2 days. Caught many 9.5 inchers, a couple 11", and one fat 12.5 incher. As usual, a jigging spoon tipped with either a small minnow or just the head did well. Green jigs and buckshot spoons were also good. Fatheads on a plain yellow hook under a bobber did well on the dead stick. The bite was most consistant around 8 to 9 inches above bottom.

I was surprised that we did not catch any pike and only saw 1 on the camera in two full days of fishing.

Once again, Doug and Nancy at Beckers did a great job making our weekend a success.

[MIDNIGHT777]

Thanks for the report polar bear that is just what i was looking for!!!! It has been more than a little quiet on the winni page this winter. That usually means things are slow??? I am heading up this weekend. Care to give some depths/general areas you fished? I have fished winni for years at this time of the year with varying success.

Thanks, matt

[blue_healer_guy]

PB, good to see a post from you. Looks like the weekend treated you ok. New user name so alls I can say is nlac. Hows kooney?

[Polar Bear]

Matt, as you might know, Beckers and McCardles maintain and plow the Trappers Road access off the west winnie road. They have a donation box on the ice for donations to offset their expenses. The rental house was in just 11 feet of water.

[Polar Bear]

Blue healer guy... Its been a long time! So you changed your name because you're in the witness protection program?

Koony is OK, still flying and working. He's mentioned retirement but I don't think he's serious yet. We have a new boss now who seems to be a real good guy. His fish house is close to mine on Lake Hanska.

Have you been catching anything lately?

[Dock Boy]

Hello Guys, I'm headed to Winnie and McCardles this Thursday for the first time. I'm a winter Lake Trout/Walleye guy and was invited on this trip. We will be fishing Thursday, Friday and Saturday. My question is having never been there what size/color jigging spoons work best? I plan on picking up a few lures before I head there. I plan on jigging one rod and using a bobber and plain hook rig on my second rod. McCardles houses I guess are mainly set up in shallower water for Perch. Any info is appreciated and looking mainly for what size jigging spoons should I get. We are talking about the small treble hook spoons correct. Thanks!!

[Polar Bear]

Dock Boy -

Everybody has their own personal favorites, mine are buckshot rattle spoons (with treble hooks) and Gem-n-eye spoons (with a single hook) tipped with either a small crappie minnow or usually just a minnow head. Use any color you like as long as its green. ;-)

I'm wondering... are you the guy who spends his summers near VNP?

[Dock Boy]

Bear, Thanks for the info. I just need an excuse to go buy more tackle I guess. Yes I live on Kabetogama! My wife and I run a resort here. Looking for a vacation? www.voyageurparklodge.com

[Polar Bear]

Dock Boy, I spend a week every summer camping on the islands of Kab or Namakan. If I ever decide to rent a cabin you will be first on the list. Thanks.

[magicfx4]

How much ice and snow on the lake?? Any cracks that we should worrie about?