WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
February 11, 2010

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Anglers from far and near make the trip each year to fish our waters in Minnesota, especially here in the Northland. From Lake of the Woods to Red Lake to Winnie and Leech, we have some of the best fishing in the world and over the next month or two our waters find some of the best ice fishing of the year.

With the ever-changing weather systems, some high pressure or low, the fish continue to eat and anglers willing to be mobile and work for finding fish are having success. With most area lakes holding less then two feet of ice, those Strikemaster augers make for easy work when it comes to allowing an angler to cover some ice and structure.

The Winnie Report:

The talk of Winnie continues to shine on the great fishing it has produced again this season. We have a nice selection of walleye year classes with the strongest year class being the 11-12 inch fish. The open water walleye season should be filled with great numbers again starting in early May. I think the biggest surprise for many is the average size of the perch. Many anglers are finding perch in 28-34 feet of water with the size being 8-10 inches with many each day pushing 11-12 inches. I have even heard some reports of anglers getting perch in the 13-inch range. We are seeing what selective harvest managing efforts will do for the entire lake and this again shows up with our perch.

Anglers chasing the perch are finding the mid-lake basin in that 28-34 feet to be holding the majority of the larger perch. The Northland Buckshot jigging spoons tipped with a minnow head or wax worms have been key. Jigging the presentation 1-3 feet off the bottom will increase anglers' success with an occasional bumping of the bottom. Look for the perch to start migrating towards the shallower spawning areas over the next month and if you have a rock pile or area holding scattered rocks, keep that area in mind while chasing perch from here until ice out.

The Panfish Report:

The Panfish can be some of the finest fishing but most frustrating. From Late January until mid to late February can be some of the most difficult fishing for panfish. The fish with a blink of an eye can eat and then become dormant, which can happen for days. Keeping your presentation small and light will increase your odds in making the non-eaters active. Keep moving if possible to help with the lack of active fish. One might find one active fish per hole. Use your Auger and Vexilar to stay on fish when the activity is slow. Drill 10-15 holes in each area and keep bouncing from hole to hole.

Many of our area lakes are showing signs of inactivity and many of the fish over this last week, crappies, have moved from the shallower 8-12 foot water and relocated in the deeper holes ranging from 20-40 foot. If your crappies have been out of sight in that deep water, one might want to check back as we have seen some movement this week.

Keep in mind the sport and boat show seasons are here with the Duluth Sport show next week and the Ray's Show and Jaycee shows to follow in March. Looking forward to seeing you at the shows to talk fishing and products.

See you out there,

Sean Colter
218-244-2954
www.seancolter.com
www.glensoutdoors.com