Fishing Report May 2015
May 22-25, 2015 Memorial Day Weekend
We enjoyed a lovely holiday weekend on Woman Lake with clear skies, 70 degree temperatures, and light winds for the most part. We also enjoyed a continuation of the strong walleye bite we have seen since opening weekend. Water temperatures have reached 60 degrees now and the walleyes are moving out to the typical main lake basin structures, especially the larger bars, reefs, and long points. 19-22 feet is still the preferred depth for most active walleyes, however we did catch some as deep as 32 feet. We found the walleyes to be quite active most days, although we did have one morning where we only caught 4 keepers. We had bright sun, no wind, and a big bug hatch that morning which may have had an impact on the bite. The size of the fish has been impressive with most being in the 16-19 inch range with a few 20-24 inchers each day. Needless to day, we have enjoyed a few great walleye dinners and we put back the majority of fish over 20 inches.
May 15-17, 2015
The Woman Lake walleyes have remained in their same location patterns this week, which is really no surprise with the cool weather and constant water temperatures in the low to mid 50s. The bite was very good again this week, but with some bigger fish (20-23 inches) now being more active. The 18-21 foot depths were preferred by the walleyes, but we did find some active fish in the 26-28 foot range as well. Leeches continue to be preferred over minnows as the bait of choice. The shoreline sand breaks and shore related points have been most productive to date, but if the water warms we will start see some movement out to more main basin and off shore bottom structure. The upcoming Memorial Day weekend should offer some excellent fishing based upon the current weather forecast. I am looking forward to a long weekend with active walleyes. The northern pike and crappies should be quite active as well.
May 9-10, 2015 - Minnesota Walleye Opener
Opening Day started quite cold in the upper 30 degree range, and I don't think it reached 50 degrees all day. Water temperatures were 54 degrees in the main basin of Woman Lake and a few degrees warmer in some of the larger bays. We found active male walleyes in multiple locations, but the 18-20 foot depth was their preference everywhere we found them. We caught no big fish (females over 20"), but we also caught no walleyes under 16 inches, which makes for a perfect stringer for the frying pan. It was not exactly a hot bite, but we checked out 9+ locations throughout the day, and ended up with our 3 man limit of 18. We caught all our fish on leeches and did not get a single bite on a minnow. It was a fun day, and made for a great walleye fry Saturday evening. I will put some of our fish photos in the Catch Photos section of the website. Come on up, the fish are biting.
May 1-3, 2015
We have had both warm and cold weather recently, but the lake temperatures are moving up well. The main basin of Woman Lake had surface temperatures in the 53-54 degree range all weekend. We found temperatures as high as 60 degrees in some of the smaller bays, harbors, and channels, which usually means the crappies are active. And yes, the big slab crappies are biting well on both small minnows or small jigs beneath a slip bobber. Find a black bottom bay and fish the shallow fringe up against the dead cattail lined shores and you will find them in the warmest water.
Next weekend is the Walleye Fishing Opener and the lakes look to be in shape for a solid bite, if we get some decent fishable weather. The walleyes will be two weeks past the end of their spawning period and should be found relating to shallower structure nearest to their spawning locations. Shoreline breaks, sand flats, and large shore connected points would be good places to start looking. Over the next couple weeks they will gradually migrate back out toward the main basin structure, but they will go where ever their food is plentiful and easy. I will probably start fishing a shiner minnow, but I will quickly move to leeches or crawlers on a live bait rig, if needed. Trolling crankbaits like an original Rapala along the shoreline sand flats in the evening has also been a proven pattern this time of year. The crappies should also still be active, and it seems the northern pike never stop feeding, so you will have lots of options for the Fishing Opener. Good Luck and see you on the water !