WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
May 17, 2007

Boy, oh Boy did it feel good to get back at it this week and to find those Winnie Walleyes in all sizes bending those rods. It made for some exciting days over the last week. I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable weekend. For those of you planning on coming to Winnie for a trip, get ready to catch some impressive numbers, as we are surely finding good numbers already and the bite is not at top speed.

Another opener in the book and what a weekend it was. We could not have asked for better weather. Well maybe a touch less wind, but overall the weather made for a great 2007 opening weekend. The fishing reports were spotty on Winnie and Cutfoot, along with many other lakes in the area.

The bite across the area is still not at full speed and this week, with the cool nights, it seems the fish have been sleepy many days until late morning. Most of the action for us this week came from the shallow water of Winnie's vast shorelines. From Tamarack bay to the Northshore and even down the West shore, most anglers are finding success.

MAXGAP Jigs and minnows were the ticket for us last week. The 1/16 oz. jigs in the parrot or watermelon colors tipped with a spot-tail shiner worked fairly slow early in the week, seemed to be the best producer, but as the week has moved on we have seen more and more fish starting to like that jig snapped more regularly and with much more action.

With the water temperatures still in the low 50's, look for those fish to be a little less aggressive. But as that water hits the mid-50's to 60, get that jig snapping, as they want it moving fast. In fact, we tried the Salmo Hornets each time out and each day we found more action, but they still don't want it completely. I would expect that the Hornet bite will be in full swing by Memorial weekend with some fish looking like it may work as early as this weekend.

The main depths that we are finding those active fish has ranged from 5-9 feet, but as the day warms up, most of the action is coming in that 5-6 foot of water. Each day as that sun moves towards the middle of the sky, it has triggered the shiners to move into that shallower water, which entices those Walleyes to follow.

As we head into the second week, look for that bite to continue to pick up speed and if your looking for some great fishing, Winnie and Cutfoot have numerous year classes of walleyes in the system and the bite has been fairly good so far. Remember when heading to Winnie or Cutfoot that there is a slot limit of any fish from 17 inches to 26 inches must be immediately released back to the lake. Since there are so many good year classes with one of the year classes being in the 12.5 inches in length, Please practice selective harvest as these are the future of Winnie.

Pictures of the Week:

Dan Berg with one of many of his slot fish

Steve Andrews with one of his many Slot fish

Even I got some big ones!

Good luck on the water,

Sean Colter
member of NMGL
seancolter@seancolter.com