WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
December 15, 2005

So as I prepare for the Holidays and those dreams of santa are in the minds of my daughters, I again have the thoughts of old saint Walleye. After dusting off the Winter poles, I had the opportunity to get out fishing with my father-in-law and his neighbor and another trip on Winnie will go down as a successful one. I will say the Walleye action was good, but the eel pout action made for some great times. In fact, the first pout was a huge one, it must have pushed 8-10 pounds. I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable holiday season, and even though we are ice fishing, the thoughts of the water have already hit me. Think Spring!

From the woods to the ice. Oh, how good it feels to have a bend back in that fishng pole. This last week I had the opportunity to get back on the water, and it had seemed like an eternity since my pole had had the ever-so-liked Walleye bend in it.

So where did the fishing take place? Winnie was the early season trip for me. After checking the depth of the ice we headed for a small hump out in the middle of Lake Winnie. The ice depth was pushing 11 inches. It at the time was snowless for the most part, and with all the high winds which came in the late Fall, we would find a number of large pockets of very rough but safe ice. I would recommend being very cautious when heading out, as those rough spot could and will do a number on the tires or snowmobiles.

As for the fishing, it was good. We found nearly three limits of keeper Walleyes with many of them in the 15-to-16 inch range. We did manage to find 4-5 slot fish, which make for some fun action. A key to success on those early Winnie Walleyes is finding the smallest humps or bars. Most of these humps top out at 22-24 foot of water. Finding the top of the hump where the deepest drop exist makes normally for a very good spot nearly all day this time of the year.

As for the presentation, I normally use a Lindy jigging spoon tipped with either a small minnow or minnow head on the first pole, and on the second pole just a frostee jig tipped with a medium chub. The jigging spoon normally draws the fish in close and many of times the bobber and frostee draws the bite. During this presentation, the jigging spoon seems to draw the most attention when its jigged 1-3 foot off the bottom. As for the bobber set-up, it seems that 6-to-12 inches from the bottom is the best strike zone for those not wanting the jigging spoon. So as we continue to gain snow and ice thickness, please remeber to use caution on that ice. The best ice fishing is upon us. If the early season just doesn't fit your schedule, we have many of days ahead of us and those fish have to eat.

Happy Holidays

Sean Colter
member of the NMLOG's
www.seancolter.com