Great Fishing Continues

The walleye season has started out strong up at Lake of the Woods.  Good fishing reports are coming in across the lake.  Most anglers are sticking to a tried and true presentation of a jig and minnow.  The hot colors as of recent has been red and white, glow and gold.  Size wise, walleyes in this fishery aren’t super picky.  Thus, you can get away with a heavier jig, 3/8 – 1/2 ounce.  It is nice to have a heavier jig when vertically jigging over the side of the boat as you can really maintain contact with the bottom and better control in a breeze.

Frozen shiners are still a very effective bait on a jig.  They are a natural bait of the walleyes and saugers, emit great scent and have lots of shiny scales that help to attract fish.  Every fish in the lake will fall for a frozen shiner and as long as you keep them fresh, they work well.

Some anglers are starting to catch fish on crawler harnesses.  Basically, using a bottom bouncer (my go to size is 2 oz.), with a two hook harness and a juicy night crawler is hard for a walleye to pass up.  In some cases a single hook spinner if drifting with minnows can also be effective.  Either drift with this rig or troll at about 1.25 mph.  When a walleye hits this rig, you might feel extra weight vs a strong strike.   Keeping the line tight, try and drag them along for a couple of seconds before sweeping rod forward for a good hook set.

Anglers trolling crankbaits are also having some success.  Shad style baits are popular for walleyes and saugers.  Try varying the kind of crankbait being used.  Try different sizes, colors and speeds until you figure out what the walleyes want that day and then duplicate with other anglers in you boat.

The MN DNR  Fisheries department tells us through their fisheries work there is a very strong population of walleyes in the lake in a wide variety of sizes.  This is confirmed by many of our guides and charter captains who are on the water frequently.  It is a great time to fish Lake of the Woods.  Come on up and join in on the fun!  www.LakeoftheWoodsMN.com