How sad it is

[Bigfatber]

Growing up back in the sixties ,Big Winni was always a fantastic fishery .
It had always been a GREAT fishery before that ,and all the way up to a few years back , then boom .for many reasons , it has become a Dead Sea.. oh ya , once in awhile a few fish can still be had , but gone are “the good old days” the resorts up there have to be feeling the pinch , such a shame . For as many fish that were once harvested out of this lake ,what a difference it is today .. I used to enjoy this lake ,but not anymore.

[duckstacker]

Ummm it is still a great walleye lake. It’s changed a lot the past few years but the lake is still loaded with fish. Not always going to catch them in the same places you grew up fishing.

[Bigfatber]

Duckstacker, it does not produce like it use to . This lake in the past would put out a extreme amount of fish from the opener thru ice up . It was fantastic. I do agree that with the clearer water that the spots have changed were the fish seem to get caught these days. The annual harvest in pounds had to be a very large amount back then , subsidized by annual stocking . There was a lot of pressure , and this lake just kept putting out limits after limits of fish , to a very large amount of fishermen. For the last few years the total harvest has to be a big difference from days of old. So with that , the lake should be just loaded with fish , if that was the case why does the dnr not have a higher bag limit of at least 6 fish ? Nope , it’s not the same.

[Stickboy]

Have a cabin on Winnie and this year has been a challenge to say the least. Hardly any trailers in the parking lots and few folks on the water. I check out the tournament results and you saw how they are struggling to come in with six fish. The worst results I saw for one of the days in July averaged 2 fish per boat. Many without a fish…. I know there is a lot a small perch in the lake, so the walleyes are not suicidal like on Mille Lacs but haven’t seen it this tight lipped.

[Kato]

I believe the bag limit on Wini is 6 eyes. Has been for years……..

[rogersno1]

Wasnt that where squarehook took place…..all that illegal netting and selling of walleyes took place ?

[SuperStar]

There’s a reason why local guides don’t bring clients to Winni for walleye fishing last few years.

[steelhead30]

I try to avoid the big 6 lakes. Not a fan of the slots. So many good walleye lakes out there.

However, I did read an article about the massive perch explosion in winni this week. Interesting. …

[slovene]

Where was that article? Would like to read it myself. Challenging year, but have still caught fish. Now that the water has finally warmed, seeing a better day bite. My thoughts are not a lack of fish, but an abundance of bait, perch included. My lures don’t look as appealing when the fish are already full!! Every single fish I have cleaned is loaded with fall like belly fat. They are eating something!! Don’t give up on her just yet..thinking once the bait grows too large, there is a huge bite coming on the horizon. And, yes, as stated earlier, have had to change tactics and put on the headlamp more than I used to, but it’s putting fish in the boat.

Me veseli, dober dan!

[steelhead30]

Outdoor news that just came…..

[IxRIcEMan]

Being a Mille lacs fisherman for the last 27 years I agree with all sides of this conversation. Large populations of perch can dominate the walleyes key forage, without mentioning the fly hatches throughout the season. If there really is an abundance of large perch or a large population of perch on the lake I would like to look into maybe pursuing that in attempt to see what year classes are most abundant.

Walleye fishing is tough. It always has been. Always will be. pressure pressure pressure.

How has the perch bite been this year? Any size ? Large populations of similar sizes?

Thanks.

Ice fishing is heaven on Earth!!!

[FFBFishing]

IxRIcEMan wrote:
Being a Mille lacs fisherman for the last 27 years I agree with all sides of this conversation. Large populations of perch can dominate the walleyes key forage, without mentioning the fly hatches throughout the season. If there really is an abundance of large perch or a large population of perch on the lake I would like to look into maybe pursuing that in attempt to see what year classes are most abundant.

Walleye fishing is tough. It always has been. Always will be. pressure pressure pressure.

How has the perch bite been this year? Any size ? Large populations of similar sizes?

Thanks.

Just got back Sat. from 8 days on Winnie, you can catch all the perch you want but you will have trouble finding any size to eat.
Note: Winnie was classified as infected waters (Zebra Mussels)
now they can’t take and transport minnows from the lake. that just added more forage for the Walleye to eat.

as stated earlier, we also had to change tactics to catch enough walleye for a fish fry. deeper water or after dark. but you can catch walleyes, it just takes a little more work and time.

"A bad day fishing is still better than a good day at work"
Go figure I own my own company and it still rings true.

[bearplott]

steelhead30 wrote:
I try to avoid the big 6 lakes. Not a fan of the slots. So many good walleye lakes out there.

However, I did read an article about the massive perch explosion in winni this week. Interesting. …

Can anybody post this article? Would love to read it.

[Author]

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