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Anyone been up to or around Bowstring over the weekend? Curious whether the wind helped to open it up.

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I was at the North Landing on Bowstring Saturday morning around 8:30. There were about a dozen rigs at the landing. The ice was out to the first break line.

I went back to the same landing at about 7:30 PM and it looked like about 80 percent of the lake was off. That North wind really did a job on it.

I didn't check but I would think the South landing is piled up with ice.

I alos went to Jessie and Winnie. Jessie landing had about 2 1/2 feet of ice piled on the landing. Winnie was open aropund the Dam. I went to Tamarack Point and the ice was close to shore. I'm sure the wind did a job on the ice there as well.

By this coming weekend I would venture a guess that these lakes will all be open.

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I saw boats fishing the north side of Bowstring on Saturday. Ice pack had moved south far enough I guess.

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Fish have been very,very shallow,fished saturday and sunday mid day didn't even take a boat ,fished friends dock, I was about 15ft from shore casting out had limit both days, yesterday was in 45 minutes.Males are still full of milk, spawm still going on.

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I am really looking forward to getting on Bowstring this coming week. I have fished it each of the last two late July's and managed to catch a few. But wouldn't rather be jigging???

All my fish have been on spinners/crawlers mid.summer. Should we fish it the same as winni, & leech with fav.jig and shiner? Also I have caught all my eyes in the NW structures and 18ft break. Any help would be appreciated!

Hope to see you out there!

FHK

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I am really looking forward to getting on Bowstring this coming week. I have fished it each of the last two late July's and managed to catch a few. But wouldn't rather be jigging???

All my fish have been on spinners/crawlers mid.summer. Should we fish it the same as winni, & leech with fav.jig and shiner? Also I have caught all my eyes in the NW structures and 18ft break. Any help would be appreciated!

Hope to see you out there!

FHK

Years ago before the deepfinder age everyone thought Bowstring was shaped like a big bowl but there is alot of structure in the lake from bars,weeds and rock piles.There are many area's around the lake to fish. If you have access to a GPS with some kind of lakemaps SD card would give you them if not a good lake map would give you a good idea for area's.I have aways thought of Bowstring as a mini Winni and favored the windy side of the lake as long as it is fishable wind. I have had as good of luck fishing with chub minnows or rainbow chubs,shinners to me are spendy and die easy. There is a high number of smaller northern in the lake to which the DNR has raised the limit to 9 with a slot limit you may keep.
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I'm jealous. Today was tough. Talked to quite a few people who struggled. I personally did not see a fish caught. Probably more to do with post-cold front and the walleyes transitioning than anything.

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Thank you for your insight! I noticed Bowstring was one of the first classic walleye lakes open in that area this spring, I am hoping to hit some hungry shallow water post spawn shiner chasers!

Will be staying on Portage, and will be fishing all of the major walleye lakes for the week.

Regards,

FHK

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Please take some Northerns too. Lake is invested with them. They are good pickled, and you don't have to worry about taking out the y-bone.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Four of us are heading up to Bowstring tomorrow for a week and was wondering how the fishing is? Thank you for any replys!

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Sounds like the mid lake humps are producing w/ a jig/minnow or rigging leeches and crawlers.

Brian

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Not Bowstring but just back from a week + on Sand & did well rigging leeches in 9-17 fow.

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Thanks for the replys...we are doing pretty good on the humps, corkin leeches...(in between the storms and power outages).

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  • 6 months later...
Not good to hear, I was planning on trying it in a couple of weeks. Have to revert to plan B again.
you stay away from my honeyhole!!!!!!! madcrazywinkgrin
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here is the latest info I received from a co-worker that was out on bowstring this past sunday. said maybe 8 houses on the whole lake. still slushy with about 14-16 inches of ice. he did say it was good ice, not honeycombed. when they do go out they go in 2 trucks. when the first truck gets stuck they use the following truck to pull the other one out.

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Speaking of honey holes, I used to have a few lakes I could always seem to go to and have some action but over the years they sure have changed. It's not from me taking fish from these spots as I don't keep many fish. And there never seemed to be much fishing pressure on these lakes either but things sure change over the years. And getting stuck, get pulled out, get stuck, get pulled out, etc. is not fun for me. Plan B sounds better. Even plan C, play cards and have a few brews, sounds better than the stuck thing. There will be better days ahead!!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Any new reports for ice conditions/ drivability or fishing reports sence this last cold snap? Any info helps hoping to come up from the cities in about a week or so.

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  • 4 months later...

My wife and I are headed up to Bowstring on Sat. 6/14 and was wondering if anyone has recent reports they'd like to share?

Thanks, Steve

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I can't help you with Bowstring but I've been on Sand since 6/9 PM. I'm finding fish on the offshore humps & bars just a little deeper than I thought.Anywhere from the weededge,13'-18', out to the 1st break.I have yet to try a jig & minnow but seen a boat last night doing good using it.I've been rigging chubs & leeches,no crawlers or jigs yet.Got just about enough for a meal,most are going back as they need to grow up.Surface temps 66-68 & bring your bug spray.Tight lines!!

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We were out on three different lakes this last week and everything we got was 10 to 12 feet. We did try Bowstring and picked up a few in ten feet. Haven't made it to Sand yet maybe next week when I'm back up. Overall fishing got better each day we went out. Good luck!!

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On bowstring today. Windy!!! Found some walleyes. Had the best luck pulling lindys with shiners in 17-21' got a couple with leeches too same depth.

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Just got back yesterday and had a pretty good week. Stayed at Bowstring Shores, super nice owners and cabin was very nice, clean with comfortable beds, great family oriented resort. The fishing wasn't great but we picked up walleyes every day with Friday being our best day with 7. All 7 came along the south shore along a drop off in 19 to 21 FOW with a crawler harness. The rest of the walleyes came on the offshore humps, most on fatheads with a couple on leeches.

Also caught tons of perch with about half of them being keepers and caught one real nice crappie. Tried for 2 hours to catch another crappie in the same area but I guess he was a loner. All in all, a pretty decent week and we'll most likely go back in the future. We like to hit a new lake each year but some day we'll run out of new lakes to try so Bowstring is on our short list of lakes to return to.

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  • 6 months later...

Are there any plow roads out on this lake? I want to head up there later this winter and was wondering if there are any resorts with plowed roads we could access for a fee ...

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • leech~~
      Nothing?  No one got a deer, saw a deer or heard a deer?  Know someone who got a deer or know someone that knows someone who got a deer this year?     I didn't go for one of the first years since I was 14, just no sign up where we hunt to give and effort.  
    • leech~~
      Jeez, John Parker Romo never played in the NFL or with the Vikings and he walks on and saves the day!  I thinking he's a full time employee now!  
    • leech~~
      Losing to a 2-7 team at the half!!  
    • JerkinLips
      41.6°F in Stuntz Bay Thursday morning.  Left my boat in the water to hopefully fish more before the lake freezes.  Caught four 9-11" walleyes in 2½ hours before I gave up due to the strong west wind.  Water level has not gone up more than a couple of inches at the most.  May be a good winter to jack my boathouse out of the water on the deep end.
    • Troy Smutka
      The calendar migrators from the Dakotas have been passing through central MN in trickles the past few weeks, and the recent cooler weather has some Canada ducks starting to show up. We have been harvesting mallards, pintails, gadwalls, wigeon, shovelers, greenwing teal, canvasbacks, redheads, bluebills, and ringnecks in decent numbers.
    • SkunkedAgain
      It doesn't look like the lake level has gone up at all. I was up a week ago and struggled to get my boat in and out of the public landing on the west end of Head O Lakes. I used my paddle to push the boat further out to deeper water. I could hear the hull moving over the sandy/muddy bottom near the launch.
    • JerkinLips
      Pretty tough.  Was catching about 2 walleyes per hour and the biggest was only 13".  Back up Thursday so I hope I have better success.
    • smurfy
      the kid and I always check our stands prior.......i'll go back to check the conditions of said stands before he gets there to see what we need. while i'm at it if i can i shoot at grouse with shells that appear to not have bb,s in them!!!!🙄
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the South Shore...  With unseasonably warm weather, there are still some anglers hitting the water and most have been rewarded.  Limits of walleyes and saugers being caught, and the forecast looking ahead is favorable. The best bite on the south end of LOW has been in 22-28 feet of water. Water temperatures are dropping and as the temps cool further, the bite has been excellent.     Vertical jigging with frozen emerald shiners has been the program for most anglers.  Bring plenty of bait, as you’ll need to sort through some smaller fish and short biters.  Plenty of eater fish to be had, just have to do a bit of sorting.  Anglers are also reporting very good numbers of jumbo perch and occasional pike mixed in with the walleyes.     For those fishing structure, if you slide up on top of a rock pile, don't be surprised to catch a big smallmouth bass, there are plenty around.   This week’s hot colors have been gold, gold/glow white, gold/chartreuse, gold/orange, and gold/glow white/pink.     One tip, a stinger hook on your jig will catch you more fish if you start missing too many fish. On the Rainy River...  Bait dealers are reporting good numbers of shiners in the river this past week.  Interesting, each night is different.  Some areas have the small shiners called pinheads.  Other areas have the larger minnows.     The river is producing some nice walleyes in various spots from Four Mile Bay to Wheeler's Point, to Baudette all the way to Birchdale.  There are 42 miles of navigable Rainy River from the mouth to Birchdale with plenty of public boat ramps along the way.     Walleyes are being caught in various depths, but 15-25 feet of water has been good.   Jigging with live or frozen emerald shiners has been highly effective. Some anglers are also trolling crankbaits to cover more ground and find fish. Both methods are producing solid results. Sturgeon fishing has been strong.  The catch-and-release sturgeon fishing is open into the spring when it changes to the "keep season" on April 24th. Up at the NW Angle...  Fall fishing continues to be excellent. Points, neck-down areas with current, shoreline breaks, and transition zones from rock to mud are all productive locations for walleye right now.   It is traditionally a mixed bag up around the many islands in this part of the lake and this fall is no different.  In addition to walleyes, pike, jumbo perch, and crappies are in the mix.  A jig and minnow has been the most effective presentation. Good muskie fishing is the norm during the fall of the year and area reports have been good.  In addition to casting, trolling shorelines, points and neckdown areas has been effective.  Muskies are often targeting schooling tullibees this time of year. The weather forecast for the next couple of weeks is conducive for fall fishing.  If you don't deer hunt, or if you have harvested your deer, consider some bonus walleye action before the ice forms.  The bite continues to be excellent.    
    • leech~~
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