WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
January 24, 2008

Mother nature has hit us right between the eyes this week with a cold snap that will not leave, but as all of us know it will pass and it looks to have passed us finally. This was one of the coldest snaps that has hit the Northland in some time, but it was well needed as those lakes were in tough shape. The cold snap has driven the Colter family to head South. I will be near the ice, but it won't be fishing as my wife and I will be bringing the kids, now 3 and 5, to the US National Ice skating Championships in St. Paul. So, I guess if I can't go fishing, at least I'll be sitting next to the ice, which I will have to say will do.

The one thing that I will add to the cold snap is the fact that I have got a number of projects done around the house and those cold nights have brought forward those thoughts of sitting in that open water catching Walleyes, even when it is hotter than hot, sure sounds darn good to me right now.

The 20-40 below days and nights over the last week have slowed the fishing fever down for most anglers including myself, but the one positive it has had is the firming of that slushy ice that so many of the area lakes are experiencing. I have not been traveling on many of the lakes myself, but many of the anglers that I have spoke with are now reporting much better ice conditons, but pockets of slush are still popping up from lake to lake.

Winnie still has some slushy areas, but far less then what we had a week or so ago. Ice depths are now ranging from 15-20 inches pending where you measure and what part of the lake you're fishing. If you're heading over West towards Raven or North to Stoney, we have found some of the worst slush in that area, please use caution as we did come across a decent sized crack as well.

The Winnie Walleyes again this week have settled into their typical late January mode, with the bite or active bite happening mostly around that primetime part of the day, which is when the sun hits the treeline to the West and slows shortly after dark.

The Perch are continually showing life in many of the 26-32 foot holes located throughout the basin of Winnie. If one continues to move and hole hop, the action can and should remain steady. Most of the Perch are coming in at 8-11 inches, with an occasional Perch above the 11-inch mark. If you're willing to sort through the smaller fish, one can put together a nice bucket of fish. One key that has put better numbers on the ice for us as of late is using a smaller frostee jigging spoon tipped with two or three wax worms. It seems the Perch are feeding heavily on those Winter bugs or larvaes in those deep waters and the wax worms tend to immitate those bugs or larvae in which they are filling their bellies on.

The Crappies in the area seem the most sought after fish for most as those Crappie seem to again be more active throughout the day than even the Perch. If you're in search of a good Crappie lake, take a look on the MN DNR website and search the Itasca county lakes DNR reports on the lakes and find one that holds a gill netting report with numbers in the 7-10 range and sizes ranging from 7 inches and up. Most of these lakes will have a very good populations of Crappies. Once you find that lake, check out the map of it and find the deepest hole, this will be a great starting spot, keep moving until you find the honey hole. Keep a close eye on the Vexilar for marks 5-10 foot off the bottom, these will typically be those Crappies.

Most of the good Crappie lakes in the area have been untouched over the last years and the Crappies have gained numbres and size. In my book they make for some of the best meals. So, with the open water season just around the corner and hopefully the coldest weather of the year behind us, no better time then now to get out and get those rods bending.

Be safe and see you on the water,

Sean Colter
member of NMGL
seancolter@seancolter.com