WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
April 20, 2006

Good News! I finally get to bring the new boat home. I will be towing it home tomorrow. It has been waiting for the motor to show up and finally we have the new package in place. I must say it is going to be great fishing out of this package. In fact, the first night I was setting the boat up, I spent more time looking at it and forgot why I was there. I'm impressed and hope all of you enjoy it this upcoming season. On to the fishing! So, as we prepare for the upcoming season, I hope everyone is as excited as I am for the fun-filled trips ahead of us and I look forward to seeing your rods bending again this year!

This last week marked another warm one here in the Northland and with that another successful spawning run for the Walleyes of Winnie. Early in the week I stopped at the Cutfoot Walleye stripping station and boy were the nets filled with what looks to be another great season on Winnie.

While looking at the fish, I think the variety in the sizes of the males Walleye was the biggest shocker. There looks to be a very nice year class at that 12-13 inch range. Yet, I did see a number of males in the slot, which is a sure sign that the slot limit on Winnie is doing a great job.

Throughout the last week with all the warm weather and high winds, a number of anglers are starting to ask questions as far as what the bite might be. Before we get too far in front of ourselves, it should be a typical opener, but if we continue to see warm weather, the Walleye bite should be in full swing and I would start thinking about where you typically find those fish on Memorial Day weekend. Right now, the lakes are about two weeks ahead of schedule, but if we see a cool down between now and then, it will change.

With three weeks to go and all the lakes in the area filled with open water, the Panfish fish present a great opportunity. If heading out to chase those Panfish, start looking on the first 8-10 foot break near the shallow spawning bays. These areas fill up quickly with the ready-to-spawn Panfish. Typically, the warmest part of the day is the time that you will find them in the shallowest water. If you don't get out until later in the day, start shallow but start moving closer to the edge, they will be there.

So with all the great weather and opener three weeks out, just think how hungry those Walleyes are going to be and think how nice those silver Shiners are going to look on those MAXGAP jigs.

Its time to get an open water line wet!

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