October 16, 2026 Sundin: "Observing the Observe-Able on Lake Winnibigoshish"

There have been enough recent reports from Lake Winnibigoshish for you to know that walleyes, when you find them, are biting. Shallow water, now registering 53 to 54 degrees on the thermometer, is loaded with minnows and small perch. Walleyes, along with a smattering of pike and perch are taking advantage of the opportunity. That situation is not only true, but it is also improving.

In my firsthand reports, I’ve offered that for me, wiggle worming has been the first-choice presentation for catching them. As of yesterday, (October 15, 2026) wiggle worming continued to produce better results than jigs and minnows for me and my crew, Steve Johnson and John Benton. That said, we observed other groups of anglers on the lake catching walleyes on jigs and minnows too. And on that trip, I observed something else, 2 fishermen that were apparently doing something else, and catching a lot of fish.

As I watched the duo catch fish, I could see that they were not jigging, and that ruled out some of the commonly cited alternative presentations. I recalled one comment from the Fishing Reports Minnesota Facebook post on 10-13-26. On that day, there was a reader who offered an opinion; “They should have tried river chubs.”

That comment was a response to this post, “Much has been made of the so-called “tough bite” for walleyes on Winnibigoshish. It’s true, I myself have struggled to catch them consistently but I want to remind you that it’s not because the walleyes are not feeding. In fact, it’s the complete opposite of that, they are eating like little pigs. Their instinct to feed heavily before winter is in full swing, water temperatures are ideal and fish are located in most of the classic fall locations.”

Okay, now I’m wondering, are the 2 guys I’m watching using creek chubs? So, as our paths crossed I asked them if they were using Lindy Rigs and they replied yes. I asked if they were trolling with minnows and if so, how large are they? They replied, “Yes. “We’ve got sucker minnows” and a hand gesture indicated that the minnows were in the 5-to-6-inch size range. “It seems like the bigger minnows are working better than smaller ones” the boat’s pilot said.

My inquiry about the size of the fish will impress some but disappoint others. “Are you catching a lot of protected slot fish”, I asked. “Yes, most of them are big ones, but we did get a couple of eaters too”, the coxswain replied.

I rigged up one rod with a Lindy Rig, sorted through my minnow tank to select on of my largest minnows, a golden shiner that was about 5 inches long. John volunteered to try it and the minnow was struck within a minute or two of dropping it into the water. A second offering, another large golden shiner was struck too and if I’d had a larger supply of big minnows, and if we’d been less interested in catching “keepers” we may have spent some time perfecting the rigging presentation.

If catching larger fish for photos is your thing, then bringing along a supply of larger minnows is a good idea. Personally, I like red tails for this presentation, but I know that they aren’t easy to find, and if they, or creek chubs are not available, the sucker minnow option is a good one. Big shiners, like the over-sized goldies or lake shiners are okay too and I wouldn’t hesitate to try them when they’re available.

My final thoughts about yesterday’s trip were that the walleye bite was somewhat more intense than it had been in recent weeks. Using the 1/16-ounce liver bait jigs tipped with either short night crawlers, or crawlers cut to about 5 inches long, we were able to hook most fish without feeding out line. We fished them using the familiar “wiggle-wiggle-wiggle” motion and when struck, held the rod steady for 10 to 15 seconds, setting the hook when the timing felt right.

Comparing notes with some of the other anglers, catching too many protected slot fish seemed to be a common complaint. I don’t know if I just got lucky and found the right school of fish, or if the wiggle worming presentation appealed to smaller fish. Either way, catching eaters was not a big problem for us. In fact most of the fish we caught were like the one you see Steve Johnson (Upper Left) holding here, they are from the 2023-year class, ranging in length from 16 to 17 inches.

Today, my crew will be from a group of grouse hunters who are taking a one-day break from the woods. Staying in the Grand Rapids region, it’s unlikely that we’ll fish drive to Winnie. I’m thinking we’ll stay closer to home and look for a walleye and northern pike combination trip. Pokegama, Trout, the Mississippi River? Who knows? Find out more about that tomorrow morning when I’ll post a rare, Saturday morning report. — Jeff Sundin, The Early Bird Fishing Guide Call-Text 218-245-9858 • Email • Facebook • X • Subscribe Insider Newsletter

October 15, 2026 Sundin: "A Cure For What Ails Us"

Have you noticed a trend in my reporting about what happens on my “days off”? We usually wind up going fishing, but the photos never show anyone holding a walleye, at least not very often. Sunfish, crappies, northern pike, perch … almost every other species except walleyes find themselves in my crosshairs during my so-called “leisure time”. It happened again yesterday when I wound up with an unexpected day off.

For nearly a month, since I fished with the Hommedahls back in mid-September, I’ve been hoping for the chance to revisit a perch fishing spot we landed on back then. The perch, at that time, were both plentiful and large. Because of that, I was enthusiastic about finding an excuse to try that spot one more time before the snow flies. I got that excuse yesterday and took advantage of the opportunity.

Sensing that the Hippie Chick “needed” to get outside, I invited her to join me on a mission to find out if those perch were still hanging around. It wouldn’t be a long day, just a few hours in the afternoon. We could tough out the cold temperatures and grey skies for that long anyway. Sometime around 2:00pm, we managed to load up and get moving toward the lake.

When we arrived, the dock had been removed, the porty potty was gone too and for the most part, cabin and lakeshore homeowners had all their docks pulled out of the water too. There were maybe 1 or 2 other boats on the whole lake, and it appeared as if we’d arrived too late for a good outing. But we put the boat in the lake anyway and discovered water temperatures in the 56-to-57-degree range. We motored to a weedy flat, and found vegetation like coontail and eelgrass was still standing and green.

In 7 to 10 feet of water, we trolled slowly through the patchy weed growth. Using  1/16 ounce live bait jigs tipped with small shiners, we picked up a few small perch, nothing of interest for harvesting though. I kept creeping along, watching the graph and discovered a thicker weed patch. The fish were not visible on my electronics, but I cast toward the patch anyway. Here, we picked up a couple of 10-inch perch and my hopes were lifted. Then we started catching pike, first some small ones, then a fat 27-inch fish. The pike were fun, but the activity killed the perch bite, so we kept moving.

Down the breakline, I located another weed patch and this time I could see fish on my graph. Casting toward the vegetation, perch began striking our lures and for a time, we caught some nice ones. This time, a Loon, way too friendly and way too persistent, decided that fishing under our boat was a good idea. Surprisingly, the activity did not kill the perch bite. However, it did nearly end up badly for the loon. It began chasing my lure toward the boat; luckily, it was not hooked. However, it came so close to being hooked that we had no choice but to get out of that area.

By now it was 5:30, we had 15 perch in the livewell, some nice photos on the camera and smiles on our faces. I’d discovered the cure for what was ailing us, my fantasy of finding those perch again was realized and Susan had enjoyed some time outside. By now it was time to call it quit and in all likelihood, that was my only stop at the perch hole for the 2026 season.

Today, and for the next week, I’ll be focused on walleye fishing again, and maybe some crappies if time allows. There will be fresh reports most days, so be sure to check in. — Jeff Sundin, The Early Bird Fishing Guide Call-Text 218-245-9858 • Email • Facebook • X • Subscribe Insider Newsletter

Ely Area, Arrowhead Outdoors Fishing Report October 14, 2026

Walleye Fishing

Cooler temperatures have the water temps back down into the mid 50's now. Walleye anglers have been finding walleye out in 20 to 25 feet of water, over deeper flats or working around the edge of deeper holes. Anglers have mainly been working a jig and minnow in and around these areas. Anglers finding walleyes scattered out in the flats have been trolling with leadcore to get their crankbaits down to the bottom. Orange, perch and purple continue to be hot colors.

Smallmouth Bass

Smallies continue to be found out around sunken islands ranging from 10 to 25 feet of water. Sunken islands that are close to the deepest water in the lake, are often the best ones to fish. Anglers continue to drop shot on top and around the edges of these sunken islands with minnow style baits. Deep diving crankbaits can also be deadly here too.

Northern Pike Fishing

Pike anglers continue to catch really nice pike this last week. Many anglers have been fishing right off their docks with a big sucker, fished under a bobber about 5 feet down. Anglers have also been having some really good luck throwing large spoons, crankbaits, bucktails and paddle tails in 8 to 15 feet of water. Often these anglers are fishing just off weedlines, river mouths and large rocky main lake points.

Stream Trout Fishing

Stream Trout anglers had a great week catching rainbows, splake and brook trout. Shore anglers have been out fishing most boat anglers this last week and all species are being found very close to shore right now. Shore anglers have been having really good luck fishing with small spoons, spinners, jig/twister and night crawler fished under a bobber or floated off the bottom.

Panfish

Crappie and sunfish reports were few and far between this last week. The few reports we did get continue to point to deep water to find active panfish. 15 to 20 feet of water is where anglers found crappies and sunfish mixed together. More often than not they found them over mud flats. Drop shotting a crappie minnow was really effective out here." — Arrowhead Outdoors, 218-365-5358

Lake of the Woods Fishing Report October 14, 2026

"Fall fishing is firing on Lake of the Woods. Water temp is down to 53 degrees, and the walleyes are doing just what you want to see this time of year. Fish are making their way closer to shore, and that's setting up some nice coolers of fish. There's still some excellent fall fishing to be had before the open water season wraps up.

Good numbers of walleyes are being caught on Big Traverse Bay (South Shore). Anglers are jigging with a minnow along the south shore. It's a simple approach, and right now it's hard to beat. The fish are definitely pulling in closer to shore as the water cools, which shortens the run and puts a lot of walleyes within easy reach.

This shoreward move is classic fall behavior, and it's setting up some nice coolers of fish. If you've been waiting for the right time to jig the south shore, it's happening now.

This fall movement also will bode well for early ice fishing. On average, and Mother Nature always determines the date, but day houses along the south shore usually get out around December 10th. Get ready!

The Rainy River gave up some nice walleyes during Saturday's Chili Bowl tournament. The winning team of Jack and Arie Slipy weighed five walleyes for 33.21 pounds, a strong bag that shows just how good the river can be this time of year.

The big run of shiners hasn't started yet. Anglers are hoping more shiners start moving up, as there are already some nice fish in the river.

Sturgeon action has picked up, too, with some nice fish caught this week. As the days keep getting shorter and the water cools, this bite only gets better. It's a great chance to tangle with the biggest freshwater fish most anglers will ever catch.

Walleye action up at the Northwest Angle has been excellent. Jigging with a minnow is pulling in good numbers of fish, the same pattern that's working down on the south shore.

Crappie anglers are reporting some good fall fishing as well. Fall is a go-to time for big crappies, when they school up and feed hard, so it's a great stretch to go chase some slabs.

Muskie fishing remains good too, rounding out the kind of multispecies variety the Angle is known for.

There's still some excellent fall fishing available, so there's time to get in one more open-water trip. And if you don't have ice fishing reservations yet, now is a great time to contact your favorite resort or outfitter and lock in your preferred dates before they fill." — Lake of the Woods Tourism, (800) 382-FISH

Lake Winnie Cutfoot Sioux Fishing Report October 13, 2026

"As a going away present, the walleyes in Lake Winnibigoshish ramped up their activity level this past week offering late season anglers something to remember them by. Shallow water, filled with clouds of tiny, young of year perch attracted good numbers of walleyes, along with a smattering of jumbo perch and some nice sized northern pike. A lingering algae bloom, water temperatures in the mid-to-upper 50s and breezy conditions provided incentive for fish to feed longer, and more intensely than they have in recent weeks.

Reports from anglers and guides who fished on Lake Winnie concluded that there are still a lot of walleyes from the 2018-year class. Predominated by fish in the protected 18-to-23-inch slot, the class of ’18 gave folks plenty of opportunity for great catch and release photos. Less dominate, but present in reasonable numbers are the walleyes from the 2023-year class. These fish, now in the 16-to-17-inch range provided “keepers” for the folks seeking fish to eat.

It’s been rare for fish to bite all day long, so anglers have had to move, search, and be creative to capitalize on the bounty. But for those who put in their time, walleyes found somewhere, and at some time of the day rewarded them for their efforts. Key depths have ranged from ..." Read >> Bowen Lodge Lake Winnie Fishing Report October 13, 2026

Wired2Fish October 13, 2026 "Fall Crappie 101: It’s Nothing Like Fishing the Other Seasons"

"Tyson Seirer represents a troubling trend in the fishing world. He is an avid outdoorsman, hunting pheasants and quail, and training bird dogs. But he doesn’t fish.

“I live just a mile from Waconda Lake (in north-central Kansas) and we’re there almost every weekend in the summer,” he told Wired2Fish. “It’s just that we don’t have a fishing pole in our hands.”

Seirer has bought a fishing license only once in the past 10 years. He cites many reasons. But it all boils down to one major reason: a lack of time. “I fall into that 35- to 45-year-old age range where families are busy,” he said. “We have two young children and they’re involved in all kinds of activities. There’s so much more to do now than when we were kids.” Seirer admits his family could make time for fishing if they ..." Read Full Story >> Fall Crappie 101: It’s Nothing Like Fishing the Other Seasons

October 12, 2026 Sundin: "A Really Crappie Busman’s Holiday"

With a day off between long strings of scheduled work dates, the only thing that made sense was to go fishing. Why not? The weather was gorgeous, the winds were calm and my grandson Ryder was available, so the plan was set into motion.

It wasn’t a long fishing trip, just a few hours in fact, but we had plenty of time to re-trace my path from the previous day. Except for the calm winds, water conditions were unchanged from Saturday. On the lake, the surface temperature was about 58 degrees, water clarity was moderate, and the crappies were still spread out along the breakline between shoreline flats, and the lake’s deeper, mid-lake basin. We didn’t cover a lot of area, once I managed to locate some active crappies, we’d catch enough of them for a few meals, and of course, the required documentary photos.

For me, and I think Jo and the Hippie Chick too, the fishing was an excuse to get Ryder in the boat and share a few smiles. So, I didn’t go out of my way to unlock any groundbreaking new fishing patterns. So, if you’re here to read about the details, just review yesterday’s report (The Snyder Effect October 11, 2026) about my fishing charter with the Snyders. All the details about fish locations and presentations are identical.

Today, I’m back to work, and my charter for the next couple of days will take me back up to Cutfoot Sioux. Most likely, my crew will want to catch some walleyes, so I checked in with friends who might have been on the lake yesterday. There weren’t many, but according to some of the guys who were out there on Sunday, it was a good day for walleyes. Their good timing, I hope will extend to me and my crew later today, or maybe tomorrow.

Much has been made of the so-called “tough bite” for walleyes on Winnibigoshish. It’s true, I myself have struggled to catch them consistently but I want to remind you that it’s not because the walleyes are not feeding. In fact, it’s the complete opposite of that, they are eating like little pigs. Their instinct to feed heavily before winter is in full swing, water temperatures are ideal and fish are located in most of the classic fall locations.

So, what’s the problem? Timing, that’s the issue, simply timing. If you’re in the right spot at the time when walleyes are feeding, you will catch plenty of fish and their size will be impressive. On my most recent trip to Winnie, Bob and Robert Cooper watched me travel from spot-to-spot looking for a school of fish that were feeding. We had some bites; we hooked but lost a few fish and released a couple of protected “slot-fish” as well. Still, at noon, my livewell was empty.

Travelling further and further away from the boat ramp, I wound up on the large weedy flat near Little Stony Point on the south side of Winnie. There were 8 or 10 boats circling the area, all appearing to be patiently waiting for an opportunity. Trying different angles, at a variety of depths and using a couple of presentations, the “see-but-not-catch” story was emerging again. Then, for reasons known only to the fish, they began biting.

For about 45 minutes, we caught some walleyes, some northern pike and a few semi-nice size perch. Robbie caught and harvested a nice, over the slot walleye, which as you can see was fat from eating the abundant forage over the weeds on the flat. The other anglers around us were catching fish too, and during that short feeding window, everybody appeared to be happy. Then, as fast as it started, it ended. We spent another half hour or more trying to get more fish to strike, but most of them would not. One last pike eventually gave me an excuse to call our trip a success, and we called it a day.

A few days ago, I responded to questions from Rand Olson (Fat, Happy and Lethargic Walleyes October 9, 2026) about the lethargic, over-stuffed walleyes in Winnie. Since that original response, I’ve received an update from Dan Scheremerhorn the MN DNR Large Lake Specialist who oversees fisheries operations on Winnibigoshish. Schermerhorn, “We must have a large crop of perch this year because (during stomach assessments of test netted fish) every walleye and pike that had food in its stomach was absolutely packed with young-of-year perch and we saw relative condition go up for both Walleye and Pike.”

Schermerhorn’s assessment of the abundant forage helps explain part of the reason for fat, lethargic walleyes, but there’s more. Schermerhorn, “We do not have a big Walleye year class coming from the 2024 or 2025, so the Walleye catch is still being carried by the 2023- and 2019-year classes.
Electrofishing and seining indicate that we have some young-of-year walleye for 2026. The sizes of these fish were all over the board though with some being way too small to survive the winter while a few individuals were quite large. Hopefully there are just enough of those larger ones to produce a moderate year class (for the 2026 season).”

For most folks, whether the walleyes are biting or not is now a moot point. Most of the resorts have wrapped up for the year, boat traffic is low and other interests have taken priority. For me though, the season isn’t over. I have trips on the calendar from now until the 22nd, so there will be plenty of reporting available.

If you’re headed to the lake, be sure to stay in touch and by all means, share your reports. Our fellow anglers appreciate it more than you realize, and they don’t need to know your secrets. A few words about water temperature, clarity and vegetation can help steer your friends toward finding their own spots to fish. — Jeff Sundin, The Early Bird Fishing Guide Call-Text 218-245-9858 • Email • Facebook • X • Subscribe Insider Newsletter

October 11, 2026 Sundin: "The Snyder Effect, Alive and Well!"

Just when I was growing weary of the recent daily routine of trying to “force-feed” lethargic walleyes, I was saved by the Snyder Effect! That’s right, Kari (Snyder) Wood, along with husband Scott and their son Sam were my charter yesterday. The Wood family led the way to a good day when they said, “we don’t care what we fish for, let’s just go and have a good time”, and a good time it was.

For sure, we needed to catch some tasty fish because we had scheduled an after-trip shore dinner. I hadn’t taken anyone crappie fishing for a while, and I figured that we could find some of those. So, the allure of combining some good action along with good eating, I drove to a small lake where we’ve caught crappies earlier this fall.

When we arrived, the surface water temperature was 58 degrees. There was a breeze, but the forecast of strong, gusty south winds hadn’t yet materialized. After converting the tackle on all of the fishing rods from walleye lures over to crappie baits, I began motoring along the breaklines.

At our first stop, a shoreline break that dropped from 16 feet, down to about 19 feet of water, I spotted some small schools of fish. We drifted there, and found some small crappies that were active, but not suitable for harvest. So, motoring further out, toward the mid-lake basin, I checked the deeper breakline, from 18 to 20 feet deep. Here, I spotted some more scattered packs of fish. This time, the crappies were what we’d hoped for. By now, the wind was picking up, and we set up our largest drift sock and began making a controlled drift along the drop-off.

Using 1/8-ounce jigs, tipped with a variety of plastic tails, we drifted through the fish swimming and hopping the jigs. For a while, the 1/8-ounce jig heads, tipped with Red-Chartreuse or Yellow Chartreuse Slabalicious tails worked well. We drifted the breakline, giggling and chatting until we were about 2/3 of the way to our harvest goal. Then, the whitecaps intensified, and the small jigs were no longer reaching the fish.

An experiment, rigging a ¼ ounce Live Bait Jig and tipping it with a 1-1/2 inch crappie tube began working. Lowering the heavy jig directly below the boat and holding it about 3 feet above the bottom triggered a few more crappies. Then, another experiment, tipping the Live Bait Jig with a Bobby Garland Baby Shad really worked. The purple-pink tail, on a heavy weight glow-blue live bait jig must have been awful tasty looking because crappies struck them as fast as we could drop them. Before long, we reached our goal and wondered which other fish might be biting.

Re-rigging the rods back to walleye gear, we made one drift along a shoreline break in about 10 feet of water. Except for a few small perch, that first drift was unproductive. As I searched for the next spot, the waves got larger, and making a rest stop on shore was becoming a priority. So, we motored back to landing and there, I floated the idea of moving to another small lake where the pike might be active. That idea made a lot of sense, so we loaded up, cleaned up and made a move.

At the next stop, I asked a question; “should we rig up with protective leaders, or should we live dangerously and fish with straight jigs and minnows.” Let’s live dangerously”, Kari replied. Okay, so we tipped the same ¼ ounce Live Bait Jigs with shiners, began drifting the shoreline, and within minutes, got the first jig snipped off by a scissor bill. Soon, the second jig and minnow was cut off and then a third one. Out came the leaders, and re-rigging began.

I tried several lure combinations, and most of them worked. Basically, we used ¼ ounce chartreuse, yellow jig heads tied to 25-pound test fluorocarbon leaders and tipped with plastic tails. The tails, 3-1/2-to-4-inch white, yellow and orange all worked to a degree. The one combo that worked best was a 3-1/2-inch Berkley Ripple Shad, Purple and Pearl, I call it the Vikings color.

The presentation, drifting the breaklines and aggressively jigging the lures using a hop-drop-swim motion worked well. Everybody caught some pike, but many of them were in the protected 22-to-26-inch slot. So, we didn’t harvest a ton of them, but the action was decent, and the fun factor was high. The pike fishing ended around 4, and off we went to our final stop for the shore dinner at the Pokegama Dam. There, the Hippie Chick, along with Ryder, our grandson, joined us for the party.

The Snyder Effect shone in all its glory, 100% happiness! Not a single mention about what could have happened, should have happened or didn’t happen.  Instead, we spent the evening recalling old times, planning for more trips in the future and sharing our mutual gratitude for the experience, the weather, the fish, all of it. I wish everyone could experience it, I consider myself blessed for the times I’ve spent with this family, they truly are all amazing people. Thank You! — Jeff Sundin, The Early Bird Fishing Guide Call-Text 218-245-9858 • Email • Facebook • X • Subscribe Insider Newsletter

News Release October 10, 2026 "Add your voice to the conservation conversation by joining a Minnesota DNR advisory group"

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is recruiting new members to serve on several key advisory groups related to natural resource management.

The DNR has a long and proud tradition of working closely with advisory groups as we manage natural resources across Minnesota. With their diverse membership, advisory group members share a wide range of important perspectives and experiences with DNR.

Because no single group can effectively and credibly address the full scope of DNR’s resource management responsibilities, we rely on several different advisory groups, each of which allows members to focus on particular aspects of our work to help shape thoughtful, balanced, and community informed decisions. We’re currently seeking new members to join ..." Learn More >> Advisory Work Group Positions Available October 8, 2026

October 9, 2026 "Fat and Happy; Winnie's Lethargic Walleyes"

I'm paraphrasing an email message from Rand Olson about baitfish populations in Winnibigoshish and the impact on walleye activity.

Olson, "Jeff, we were at Bowen Lodge on the day that you had clients there and I'm sorry our paths didn't cross. We are just home from our 12-day fall fishing trip on Lake Winnie and I’ve been reading your recent posts about "The Mystery" (of missing walleyes) and wanted to comment on our fishing experience. 

For us, fishing was extremely challenging, maybe my most challenging year ever. While I’m maybe not the foremost authority on walleye fishing, I do still think I can usually catch fish. On this trip, I could never find a (consistent) bite or a pattern. We fished at depths of 4 to 14' feet of water and frequently saw fish, sometimes lots of fish using 1 of my 2 Live scopes. Getting those fish to bite was a significant challenge.

Here is one thought I want to run by you. We fished primarily from the Rock Pile all the way up the shoreline to the Third River; we fished a little bit near Raven’s Point too. While Winnie has never suffered from any less than ample supply of forage fish, this year, baitfish populations seemed to be even heavier than normal. During many of our drifts across the Rock Pile, baitfish clouded the screen of my graph solid, from top-to-bottom. Clouds of baitfish showed up all the way from 14 feet, up to 6 feet. Many times, the bait was so dense that the 2D sonar could not even detect any bottom depth. We could see fish amid these gargantuan bait clouds, but good luck getting them to notice our jigs.

We fished mostly along the North Shores, so, I’m wondering if south winds 6 days out of 7 added to this situation?

I told the guys that this was like trying to catch fish that had just pushed away from a Thanksgiving feast, including 3 desserts and trying to offer them a 4th, they just didn’t seem interested.

What are your thoughts on the number of baitfish on Winnie this year? Every fish we cleaned was chunky and coughing up minnows.

With the big winds we encountered, traveling from Bowen's to the south shore would not have been fun. In retrospect though, I'm wondering if we should have spent more time fishing along shorelines with significantly less minnow clouds? Please comment on your thoughts to the baitfish quantity.

Rand, thank you for the thoughtful comments and detailed recap of your recent trip to Winnibigoshish. Like you, I and my customers have endured the fickle nature of Lake Winnie's fat, and very well-fed walleyes. There have been days when fishing has been awesome, but then there have been difficult days for us too. No 2 days are alike, and no school of fish stays in position very long. So, when we find them biting, we are heros but when we find them, as you say, after they've feasted, we are zeros.

Sorting out what's happening with the Winnie Walleyes is not a simple matter because there are several layers of both biological and weather-related conditions going on at the same time. That said, the cumulative impact on walleye fishing is that the balance of predator vs prey has temporarily shifted.

Recalling the teachings of my friend and mentor, fisheries biologist and outdoor writer, Dick Sternberg, altering the balance between walleyes and baitfish, even a little bit can completely transform the activity in any lake. When there's a surplus of predators, anglers enjoy great fishing. But when the balance shifts, and there's a surplus of baitfish, a "hot bite" ends, and a lake can appear to be a "dead sea".

For the past several years anglers had been spoiled by the large populations of walleyes from 2019 and 2018. There were enough walleyes in the system to shift that predator prey relationship in favor of walleye fishers. Those fish, after 4 to 5 years of heavy fishing pressure have been “thinned out”. At the same time, Lake Winnie hasn’t produced any exceptional new year class of walleyes. While there are a variety of various aged fish present, there are no longer enough of them to consume all the available food supplies.

The excess baitfish have probably come from more than one source. Decreased minnow trapping activity on the lake likely accounts for some increase in the number of shiners in the lake. Lower water levels may be forcing some baitfish away from the shallows and out into open water too. Perch, or other small game fish may also have had a fantastic spawning season, adding more than the typical number of young minnows and baitfish to the system. When you add up all of the possibilities, its easy to imagine why baitfish populations are so strong.

The excess supplies of baitfish, as you’ve observed, are more than enough to keep the fish well fed. Any hungry walleye can locate and consume its food in short, but intense spurts. So, when an angler happens to find fish while they’re feeding, the action is fantastic. Locating the same school of fish when they’re not feeding and it’s like pulling teeth to make them bite.

If there’s any bit of advice I can offer, it is to keep moving and searching for active schools of fish. Avoid falling into the trap of seeing fish on your electronics and then stubbornly trying to “make them bite”. The time wasted, I think, on attempting to feed lethargic fish is better spent searching for a more active school of fish.

Another thing that’s been working for me is to use non-traditional presentations. As much as I love jig and minnow fishing, it is simply not producing the best results right now. Wiggle worming, even in the cool 56-to-57-degree water has been productive enough to make it worth the trouble. We aren’t necessarily setting the word on fire, but using the night crawlers, I can amass a respectable catch on most trips.

Slip floats, used to suspend night crawlers, or extra-large minnows is working too. Employed mostly by the “sharpshooters” using forward sonar to locate fish, the locate, stop and drop method continues to produce better results than jig and minnow presentations.

When will the situation change? Whenever the lake’s walleye population increases, and the predator prey balance shifts again. If the lake decides to produce another large year class, or if the DNR decides to increase the number of fish stocked, the fishing will likely become easier again.

One thing is certain, change will occur; nature will provide a population of something that feeds on those clouds of baitfish you’ve observed. For all we know, it already has; maybe some of those huge baitfish balls are small walleyes, growing slowly but surely into another year class that will dominate the lake again. I for one will be very anxious to get my first look at the DNR’s population assessments from this past summer. With luck, they’ll have some good news to share. — Office Call or Text 218-245-9858 or EMAIL or Facebook or X

Ely Area, Arrowhead Outdoors Fishing Report October 7, 2026

"Walleye anglers reported a steady increase in surface water temperatures this last week. Water temperatures returned into the mid-60 degree range and the warming tempertures resulted in a mixture of fishing reports about where to fish, and what were the best baits for catching walleyes.

Warmer water seemed to have cooled off the minnow bite, quite a bit for some. Spinner rigs tipped with either a crawler or a minnow seemed to be the most effective to find bitters. Most anglers fishing this way found walleyes in 20 to 25 feet of water. Often time while working around sunken islands, sharp breaks and river mouths.

If you're looking for a trophy walleye there remains a handful of anglers that continue to report catching big walleyes in water depths of 5 to 12 feet of water while floating a large sucker under a bobber looking for pike.

As water temperatures rose, smallmouth bass activity, just like with the walleye fishing, cooled off some this last week. Best location continues to be out on top of sunken islands in that 8 to 20 feet of water. Right on top is where the most active smallies are being found. Anglers have been having good luck with crankbaits, swimbaits and drop shotting either crawfish or minnow style soft plastics.

Stream trout anglers continue to report really consistent angling this last week. Shore anglers and boat anglers alike have been catching rainbows with a night crawler 5 to 10 under a bobber. Spoons, jigs and twisters and small brightly colored crankbait are also really starting to become really effective for all anglers now too. Shore anglers have also been catching some Splake as Splake start checking out gravel bars to spawn on. Floating a night crawler 1 to 3 feet off the bottom is very effective here.

Northern pike anglers fishing from their docks with large suckers reported catching some quality pike this last week. Anglers fishing from a boat reported finding quality pike around river mouths and large rocky main lake points. As water temperatures drop, minnows will start dropping out of the rivers. Pike, walleyes and smallies all know this and are waiting for them. Ciscos and whitefish will be looking to spawn soon too. Rocky main lake points and river mouths are where they spawn. Again, trophy pike know this and wait for them to show up.

Panfish reports were few and far between this last week. The few reports we heard this last week came from anglers finding them in 12 to 18 feet of water. Anglers catch them fishing a crappie minnow on a drop shot or jigging a jig/twister." — Arrowhead Outdoors, 218-365-5358

Wired2Fish October 7, 2026 "The Pros and Cons of Using Perspective Mode on Forward-Facing Sonar"

"There are so many options these days when deciding what electronics to put on your boat. From numerous brands to different screen sizes to varying technologies, the options can be overwhelming. LIVE sonar is the hot commodity for sure, with now-traditional forward-facing sonar (FFS) views like Garmin LiveScope 2, Humminbird Mega LIVE 2, and Lowrance Active Target 2. But the vertical view of these only tells part of the story: Each also has the capability to run LIVE sonar horizontally now.

Garmin’s Perspective Mode, Humminbird’s Landscape Mode, and Lowrance’s Scout Mode all offer a new angle on LIVE sonar, swapping from a vertical slice of the pie to a horizontal one. While this tech can’t compete with traditional FFS at great distances and depths, it does do certain things better.

To find a source familiar with this tech, I reached out to ..." Read Full Story >> The Pros and Cons of Using Perspective Mode on Forward-Facing Sonar

October 7, 2026 "What Happened to Sundin's Lindy Live Bait Jig?"

October 2026 Paul Plinske wrote: "Jeff, do they still manufacture and sell your Lindy Live Bait Jigs? I’ve looked around for them where I live, and also looked for them this fall up in both Deer River and Grand Rapids but I can’t find them."

Paul, thank you for the question. Unfortunately, no, the Lindy version of my original jig is no longer available. Like many of the larger manufacturers, Lindy is "getting ahead" of proposed bans on the sale and use of certain sizes of lead fishing sinkers and fishing lures.

Lindy has replaced the standard version of the Live Bait Jigs with a different, non-toxic version using Bismuth rather than lead.  Their new offering, called the Lindy B-Max™ Live Bait Jig is widely available in stores, and on the Lurenet website too. I do see these items for sale at some of the Deer River and Grand Rapids area tackle shops.

When the B Max jigs first came out, some of the folks at Lindy offered to provide me with some of them for testing and assessment. Sadly, those lures were never delivered to me, so to date, I have not used them and can’t speak to their effectiveness as a replacement for my original design jigs. Because I don't know whether the B Max version is equal to Lindy's original lead-based version of the Live Bait Jig, I can’t honestly say whether I’d endorse them, or not.

If you try them, I’m sure that FishRapper readers would appreciate your feedback. So, please do provide comments for us if you decide to go that route. — Office Call or Text 218-245-9858 or EMAIL or Facebook or X

Lake of the Woods Fishing Report October 7, 2026

"Fall fishing is in full swing on Lake of the Woods. Water temps have dropped into the mid-50s, and that cooling has the walleyes doing exactly what anglers hope for this time of year. The fall movement is on, fish are pulling in toward shore, and the jig bite is hitting its stride. October is a great month to get your last open-water fishing of the year in.

Big Traverse Bay (South Shore)

The fall walleye movement is really rolling now. Nice walleyes have pushed in to within a couple of miles of shore on the south end, which makes for a shorter run and some excellent fishing. Some really good fish are coming to the boat for anglers who anchor up or spot-lock and vertical jig.

This is classic stained-water fishing, and the traditional colors are doing the job. Gold, gold/pink, and chartreuse have all been working well, and a jig tipped with a minnow has been tough to beat. If you haven't jigged the south shore this fall yet, now's the time.

The Rainy River

More and more walleyes are continuing to move into the river, and the bite is building right along with the fish count. Just like on the big water, anchoring up and jigging has been the go-to technique. As the run keeps strengthening through October, the river only gets better.

Sturgeon fishing is picking up as well. The shorter days and cooler water have these prehistoric giants more active, and this bite will keep improving as the season rolls on. It's a great time to tangle with the biggest freshwater fish most anglers will ever catch.

Northwest Angle

Walleye fishing remains excellent up at the Angle, with good numbers of fish being caught. The muskies and crappies are cooperating too, keeping the multispecies action strong among the islands. It's hard to beat the variety up here in the fall, and the fishing this week is proving it out.

Fall fishing is as good as it gets right now, and October is the month to get your last open-water trip of the year in before the hard-water season arrives. Guides, charters, and resorts around the lake are ready to help you make it happen." — Lake of the Woods Tourism, (800) 382-FISH

October 6, 2026 "Sundin's Mystery of the Missing Walleyes Part 2"

On Monday, I compared notes about walleye fishing with a few of my friends. One of them, implying that fishing for him has been good, offered this; “The fall bite in the area is now showing its true colors! All area lakes seem to be clicking on all cylinders. With stable weather we should have an extended season.” The other, implying that fishing has not been good, offered this; “The water is just too warm, maybe by Labor Day the fall bite will be on.”

Okay, if I wasn’t already frustrated and confused by the fickle nature of Minnesota walleyes, I was after reading those 2 communications. They left me wondering why one friend believes that fishing is good, while the other one believes it isn’t? I’ll bet you wonder too, which one of them is right and which one is wrong?

Well, the answer is that they’re both right, and at the same time, they’re both wrong. On one hand, water temperatures in the mid-to-upper 50s are good for walleye fishing and I believe that’s a fact. I have never experienced bad fishing during fall when water temperatures are in this ideal temperature range. On the other hand, just because water temperatures are favorable for walleye fishing doesn’t mean that walleye fishing, area wide, is “firing on all cylinders” either. The difference between these 2 extremely capable anglers is that one of them is finding fish, and the other one isn’t.

Depending on the day, I am finding myself in both situations, sometimes on the same days. Lately, when I find the walleyes, they bite and we catch good numbers of them. Some days though, I don’t find them and then it feels like I just can’t do anything right. It’s on me, I freely admit it, I try as many spots as I can think of, and offer as many presentations as possible, but some days, my luck runs out. If you’ve read recent reports, you’ll notice the pattern, some days, I get lucky and some days, I don’t.

On Sunday, I asked; “Is it possible that nature could bring a lake’s water temperature into an “ideal range” without the fish responding favorably to the change?”

My answer to that question was this, “The scientific answer to that question may be over my pay grade, temporarily at least. The anecdotal answer though, is yes, I do believe that a sudden change in water temperature can ruin an otherwise good day of fishing. Adding other variables to the equation complicates the matter even more. Barometric pressure, sunshine, wind velocity, baitfish locations … and who knows whatever else the fish are responding to on any given day.”

Okay, we talk a lot about water temperature and by now, you are likely to realize that the velocity of a change in water temperatures temporarily affects fish activity. For example, a couple of days after the sudden plunge from 62 degrees down to 57 degrees killed my walleye fishing. The same spots where we caught good numbers of fish on Tuesday were vacated by Friday.

On that day, I tried every spot I could think of and squeezed in as many stops as possible during my allotted time. I never connected with a good number of fish AND COULD HAVE GONE HOME BELIEVING THAT THE FISH “WERE NOT BITING”. The problem was that somebody else did find them and on that same day, caught a lot of fish. I saw them with my own eyes at the fish cleaning station and there was no denying it, I simply failed to locate the fish.

It happened again on Sunday, but not to me. While we were off celebrating our daughter’s 5-year birthday, some friends were fishing on Winnie and struggling. No matter where they went, fish could not be found and for them, the conclusion, previously mentioned was; “The water is just too warm, maybe by Labor Day the fall bite will be on.” But at the same time, another friend reported finding a school of active walleyes and catching 40 or more of them in just a few hours. The only difference was the location, nothing more, nothing less.

The variables, fish populations and baitfish supplies are responsible for the complicated bite on Winnibigoshish this fall, I think. For several years now, we’ve been spoiled by the strong year classes of fish from both 2018 and 2019. We could find fish more easily because there were simply more of them to find. Now, because the population has been reduced, finding smaller schools of fish takes time, sometimes more time than we have available to work with.

Baitfish populations on the other hand are strong. There are lots of small perch, along with shiner minnows and other small gamefish in the lake. The balance of predators to prey has shifted enough to make feeding easy. Smaller numbers of walleyes combined with larger numbers of baitfish means that fish can go on short, but intense feeding runs. They can pick and choose the best times, and the most favorable weather conditions for feeding. When we find the right spot at the right time, fishing is good, very good.

I’m not sure if this report will be helpful to many, but for those of you who are still fishing, it might. The day will come when cooling water temperatures do become a problem. But for now, location is the key and it’s on us to figure that part out.

The only helpful advice that I can offer right now is that walleyes have stubbornly focused on shallow water. Every instance of really good walleye fishing that’s occurred this past week happened in water depths of 5 to 7 feet of water. Some fish have been found on rocks, especially when its been windy. Other fish have been located over the tops of low-lying weeds like eelgrass. Minnows are holding in the weed stubble, and predators are holding tight and waiting to ambush them.

It may be coincidence, but this week, I’ve had decent success in areas where gulls are feeding on minnows. In most areas, the activity occurs in water depths so shallow that boating into them isn’t possible. Still, some of the baitfish must be located out and away from the shallowest water. Shallow flats, with the presence of larger schools of minnows and feeding gulls appears to be worth noting.

Last week, I had good results using night crawlers, but in the past few days, not so much. Jigs and minnows are producing better results now and the jigs we’re using may surprise you. Fish appear to prefer a simple 1/8 ounce round jig head, unpainted, with a size #1 red hook. For whatever reason, these unpainted jigs are working better than the other shapes and colors we’ve tried. I know that finding these might not be easy, but alternatives, like black, dark green or blue that feature red hooks might be worth trying.

Since my last report, my calendar filled up a little bit more so now, I have even more days of reporting ahead of me. I’m on duty every day for the next week, so be sure to check up on the progress reports. If you’re out on the lake, be sure to swing by and say hello, it’s always nice to greet fellow anglers on the water. — Jeff Sundin, The Early Bird Fishing Guide Call-Text 218-245-9858 • Email • Facebook • X • Subscribe Insider Newsletter

Wired2Fish October 5, 2026 "Why Some People Stop Fishing, And Ways to Reverse the Trend"

"Tyson Seirer represents a troubling trend in the fishing world. He is an avid outdoorsman, hunting pheasants and quail, and training bird dogs. But he doesn’t fish.

“I live just a mile from Waconda Lake (in north-central Kansas) and we’re there almost every weekend in the summer,” he told Wired2Fish. “It’s just that we don’t have a fishing pole in our hands.”

Seirer has bought a fishing license only once in the past 10 years. He cites many reasons. But it all boils down to one major reason: a lack of time. “I fall into that 35- to 45-year-old age range where families are busy,” he said. “We have two young children and they’re involved in all kinds of activities. There’s so much more to do now than when we were kids.” Seirer admits his family could make time for fishing if they ..." Read Full Story >> Why Some People Stop Fishing, And Ways to Reverse the Trend

October 4, 2026 "The Mystery of the Missing Walleyes"

Water temperature and its impact on fishing is a tricky topic. On one hand, the surface temperature is a simple number, and based on this alone, one would imagine that we “should” be able to determine fish activity. On the other hand, how the lake arrives at a given water temperature has a lot to do with fish activity too.

Is it possible that nature could bring a lake’s water temperature into an “ideal range” without the fish responding favorably to the change?

The scientific answer to that question may be over my pay grade, temporarily at least. The anecdotal answer though, is yes, I do believe that a sudden change in water temperature can ruin an otherwise good day of fishing.

Adding other variables to the equation complicates the matter even more. Barometric pressure, sunshine, wind velocity, baitfish locations … and who knows whatever else the fish are responding to on any given day.

My day of fishing on Lake Winnie yesterday offered examples of things I still don’t know. Despite fishing conditions that should have been ideal, fish, in the areas I explored, did not respond favorably. Cloudy skies, a stiff south wind and surface water in the 57-to-58-degree range did not help either I, or my charter Ken Seufert catch fish. While we did catch some, it was far from the level we’d experienced in the past, and nothing at all like the fishing my customers enjoyed just last week.

There may well be areas of the lake including some of the spots we caught fish last week, where fish were active. But the gusty south winds made vast areas of the north, northwest and east sides of the lake virtually unmanageable. So, my judgement about fish activity is limited to the areas where we could fish safely. In those areas, south, southwest and a small portion of the southeast shorelines, small pods of fish were scattered, and acting finicky.

There was one blessing, despite the cooler water, an algae bloom persists and visibility is relatively low. I struggled to see bottom in water depths of 6 to 8 feet, and that dingy water allowed us to boat at least some of the fish from shallow water. For us, 5 to 6 feet was the deepest water where we caught any walleyes. Perch, and a couple of pike were located slightly deeper, but not much over 7 to 8 feet deep.

Jigs, 1/8-ounce unpainted round heads with red hooks seemed to be the preferred color. We tipped them with golden shiners and fished them using a hop-drop-hop-drop motion. Tentative strikes required long waiting times to set the hook. I experienced several pickups by fish that quickly dropped the baits before I could attempt catching them. The wiggle worming that worked well last week did not produce fish yesterday. Small perch picking the crawlers apart was the best I could do using them.

Targeting the shallow water, we drifted along the shoreline breaks in 5 to 6 feet of water. We kept fishing, finding a few small schools of fish and caught the ones we could before the fish dispersed. Yesterday, harvesting the “legal ones” and releasing the protected ones was a definite deterrent to gather a large larder. Our bag was light, but as always, there were some highlights and overall, our experience was still a good one.

Watching gulls working, over the shallow water flats provided evidence of why walleye, perch and pike were located nearby. Intense periods of feeding on minnows and small gamefish occurred at irregular intervals. As it happened, one of those feeding frenzies happened as I was retrieving my truck at days end. Whatever they were eating made them oblivious to me and my phone camera. If you like, you can view the short video I put up here. Gulls In Shallow Water Feeding Frenzy

Okay, I know this isn’t the most optimistic report, but it is what it is. At least now the suspense is over, we’ve had our first frost, a big temperature drop has occurred and soon, there will be a recovery. It’s never fun to be here when a major shift in water conditions occurs, but in the end, this will be beneficial. Hopefully folks planning to fish in the region during the coming weeks will enjoy better conditions and a more bountiful harvest.

For me, 9 more trips are scheduled, and potentially, a few more will be added. So, more reports will follow, and I’ll do my best to steer you in the right direction. — Jeff Sundin, The Early Bird Fishing Guide Call-Text 218-245-9858 • Email • Facebook • X • Subscribe Insider Newsletter

October 2, 2026 "Lucky Day on Lake Winnie!"

Looking in the mirror this past Wednesday morning, I had an interesting conversation with myself, it went something like this.

Conversations like this, between me and “mirror me” happen more often than you’d think, and this one couldn’t have been more accurate, or more common. All summer long, the subject of walleye fishing Lake Winnie has been recurring. All summer long, there have been times when walleyes showed up, were actively feeding, and dazzled my fishing customers. But then there have been other times when walleyes appeared to be nothing, but illusions printed on the screen of my sonar gear.

I haven’t been the only one frustrated by the fickle walleyes in Winnie. Most folks have had their own struggles to produce consistent results on the big lake. One thing I learned on Tuesday though is that there are walleyes in there, and when they want to bite, the action can be awesome. There are a lot more walleyes in the lake than we’ve realized, and there are fish from a variety of year classes. Many of them are of better-quality sizes than folks have suspected too.

Another thing I learned, I think, is that we are still observing fish that respond better to summer fishing presentations than they do fall methods. Night crawlers, fished on 1/16-ounce live bait jigs provided 90% of our catch on Tuesday. Yes, there were some fish caught using 1/8-ounce jigs tipped with shiners too, but wiggle worming produced a lot more strikes. The fish struck the worms more aggressively too, making this the best day of walleye fishing I’d experienced in the past couple of months.

Part of the reason, perhaps the main reason why we did so well on Tuesday was the weather. Grey, skies, occasional drizzle, and south winds that churned up whitecaps turned the walleyes on. Conditions were ideal, they were exactly what I’ve prayed for all summer long. In the shallow water, 5 to 6 feet deep, the waves produced strong current that combined with lower visibility, made it easy for us to use traditional tactics. Drift sock in the water, floating along the breakline and wiggle worming produced consistently for most of the day.

Recently, we’ve waited for cooler water temperatures to help kick in seasonal migrations. But with warm overnight temperatures and summerlike conditions during the daytime, surface temperatures have been locked in at 61 to 62 degrees. It’s been clear that walleyes are in “the feeding mood” and at times, traditional fall fishing patterns appeared to be right around the corner. But then, just when we expect improvement, summer conditions send us back into the doldrums.

I’ve been optimistic though because even on the wrong days, we do still catch some fish and that has been an improvement. On Monday, fishing with Nathan and Hank Milius, conditions were not ideal. The air was calm, the skies were semi-clear, and the water’s surface was smooth. Despite the poor fishing conditions, we still managed a respectable catch, harvesting 10 keepers and releasing another half dozen or so large, protected slot walleyes. At the time, I mentioned to my crew that if we were catching any fish on that day, the indication was that ideal fishing conditions would produce much better results.

As it happened, that calm day with Hank and Nathan on Monday actually set the stage for our good performance on Tuesday. Why? Because it was the calm conditions and sluggish walleye attitudes that forced me to get creative. My experiment with wiggle worming as an alternative to jigging with minnows might not have happened otherwise. When we discovered that walleyes showed a preference for the night crawlers, our productivity really improved. So, the knowledge I gained on that trip set the stage for an early boost in our action on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Fishing with Larry, Tim and Mike, we began our day with all three of my crew using jig and minnow combinations. I would provide the test for whether wiggle worming was still the preferred presentation, or not.  It was, in fact, the first walleye of the morning was caught on my night crawler, so was the second one and the third one too.  By now, I was hearing the voices of my crew saying, “I’ll try one of those, so will I, and hand me one too.” Now, with all of us fishing wiggle worm combos, the walleye bites were aggressive and the action was steady.

Okay, the pattern isn’t going to last forever, but while summer-like conditions persist, wiggle worming should be considered as a prime option.

Cooler weather is coming, this morning (Friday 4:45 AM) here in Grand Rapids, I have 40 degrees on the air temperature thermometer. Over at Bena Minnesota, it is 36 degrees at the moment. When I arrive at the lake today, I expect to see water temperatures in the upper 50s. The cooler water will encourage more fish migrations, but the best movements will likely still occur when the wind, clouds and waves combine to encourage feeding movements. I’m skeptical whether we can expect the same level of action we enjoyed this Tuesday, but when get similar weather conditions, it should be good.

Hopefully, you understand that I’m not patting myself on the back or taking credit for my crew’s great fishing trip. I do realize that we got lucky. The wind was blowing, the sky was cloudy and the fish were on the prowl. That said, a little knowledge and extra preparation definitely do help set the stage for lucky days like that one to occur. That’s why I write these reports, so my experiences can offer you that boost, a little extra pre-trip planning to help put you in the right spot at the right time.

We’ll see where the next few days lead us. Both today and Saturday will be spent walleye fishing with a new crew. After that, I’ll have trips scheduled for most days until mid-October and there will be plenty of reports coming. I’m looking at the weather, and if it stays warm, I might open up a few extra dates. If you’ve been thinking about one last fishing trip before winter sets in, consider whether October 19th through 23rd appeal to you, if so, we can chat about the potential to make it happen. — Jeff Sundin, The Early Bird Fishing Guide Call-Text 218-245-9858 • Email • Facebook • X • Subscribe Insider Newsletter

Lake of the Woods Fishing Report October 1, 2026

"The fall transition is well underway on Lake of the Woods. Water temps are still hovering around that 60-degree mark, and the walleyes are starting to shift toward their fall locations closer to shore. Plenty of fish are still out in the basin, though, so there's more than one game to play right now. Here's a look at the three areas this week.

Big Traverse Bay (South Shore)

The walleyes are on the move. As fall settles in, more and more fish are sliding toward their fall haunts nearer shore, even as good numbers hang back in the basin. That mix of locations is classic for this time of year.

The big change this week is the jig bite. More anglers have gone back to jigging with a minnow, and they're having good success doing it. That said, spinners and crawlers and trolling crankbaits are both still producing, so there's no wrong answer. It really comes down to how you like to fish and where you find them.

Don't sleep on the smallmouth bass, either. Anglers are catching some nice ones, including at least one over six pounds this week. Lake of the Woods and the Rainy River have a tremendous smallmouth population that flies under the radar, mostly because everyone up here is chasing walleyes. If you want to tangle with a true trophy smallie, this is a great place to do it.

Rainy River

Things are heating up on the river. Balls of emerald shiners have started showing up, and some anglers are already reporting good catches of walleyes as fish key in on that bait. This is the very start of the fall run, and the activity will only increase as we move into October. If the famous Rainy River fall walleye run is on your list, now's the time to start watching it closely.

The sturgeon are cooperating, too. There's been some good activity this week, with a few fish topping 60 inches reported. Sturgeon fishing tends to get better and better as the days shorten and the water cools, so this bite is just getting rolling as well.

Northwest Angle

Up at the Angle, anglers are still reporting big numbers of walleyes, and the traditional fall spots are really producing. Alongside the walleyes, jumbo perch, smallmouth bass, and pike are all doing well, making it a great stretch for a mixed bag.

Fall is also prime time for crappies, when they gather into big schools, and that's exactly what's happening. Some nice slabs are coming to the boat. Muskie anglers are getting in on the action too, with some nice fish reported. Fall is flat-out a good time to go fishing, and the Angle is showing why.

Before you go, here's a quick reminder on the regulations: the combined walleye and sauger limit is 6 fish total, with up to 4 being walleyes. All walleyes between 19.5 and 28.0 inches must be released immediately. Anglers are allowed to posess one walleye over 28.0 inches. A 2026 Minnesota fishing license is required.

Guides and charters across Lake of the Woods and the Rainy River are still available, usually through October. It's a great chance to get that last open-water trip in before the hard-water season begins in December. Come enjoy some of the best fishing of the year while it's here." — Lake of the Woods Tourism, (800) 382-FISH

You Are Invited To Become A Duly Deputized Fishrapper Cub Reporter Too!

If you've been waiting for a gold engraved invitation to participate in the daily reports, then stop waiting and consider this your own personal invitation.

Helping your fellow fishermen and women stay abreast of fishing conditions in your area is good for everybody and it's easier than you think! You don't have to write a book, you don't have to share your secret fishing spots and you don't even have to mention your lake. You see, with just a few words about general trends, seasonal patterns or local weather conditions you can help steer your fellow anglers to more gratifying fishing experiences. So, be like Dan and Sean, and become a duly deputized "Cub Reporter", it's good for fishing and that's good for everybody!

Use the Contact Us page, or if you prefer to be "social", use our community page on facebook Fishing Reports Minnesota, that is the Facebook counterpart to this page and it is open to the public, so you can post your own fishing update or just share a photo of a nice catch.