Fishing Report May 2023
May 29, 2023 Memorial Day
We have enjoyed a nice streak of warm, sunny days recently, and I believe the traditional spring walleye bite has arrived on Woman Lake. We are catching a variety of walleye sizes and year classes from 12-25" daily, when we have fishable weather, and we are seeing more walleyes on (or just outside) the weed lines (16-17 feet deep). Our catches reflect large year classes of fish in the 10-12" range, the 17-19" range, and the 22-25" range which is evidence of the strong health of the walleye population on Woman Lake. Surface water temps are near 60 degrees and even warmer on some lake bays. We are still having success fishing minnows for bait, but it I would suggest leeches (or crawlers) will begin to be the bait of choice within the next week or two. All the walleyes we are catching have been on shoreline related structure (points, shoreline breaks, sand flats) but the migration of many walleyes to main lake basin structures (sunken islands, bars, rock piles, and humps) will start to occur over the next couple weeks. The crappie bite is still strong, and we are seeing a big uptick in northern pike activity as well. It is a great time of year to be out fishing, so I hope to see you on the water.
May 21, 2023
The decent weather has continued, but the traditional hot spring walleye bite on Woman Lake is not quite in full swing. We are catching walleyes every day, but not in large quantities. I am seeing more walleyes on my electronics each new day, so I suspect the bite will get going strong in the next week. The shallow water crappie bite is still excellent, and perch are biting everywhere. We are still fishing shiners for the walleyes, and amazingly, have yet to catch a northern pike, which is unusual. By early June we will likely start switching bait from shiners to fishing leeches, and we would expect to find the walleyes slightly deeper by that time. Today we are seeing some fish deeper (outside weed edge), but many are still roaming the shallow sand flats.
May 15, 2023
Beautiful sunshine and light west winds today had the Woman Lake crappies in the black bottom bays, harbors, and channels in a very active pattern. The fish were agressive and abundant in the warm shallows (2-4 ft deep) adjacent to weed cover or timber, and they love small fathead minnows. Surface temperatures in the back bays were in the 60+ degree range. You could have probably done well fishing plastics or feather jigs today, but minnows and a light bobber were my choice. No big ones today, but most all were in the 10-11+ inch size range, perfect eaters. This hot shallow bite usually only lasts a week or sometimes two, and it is highly weather dependant, as well. Once the main lake basin warms up, the crappies will abandon this pattern. Not much tastes better than deep fried crappie filets.
May 14, 2023
Yesterday's MN Walleye Opener on Woman Lake was hit by stong east winds in the morning, but they tapered off a little later in the day. The western half of the lake was mostly unfishable all morning, but the east end was OK except for the cold 49 degree water temps. Needless to say it was not a robust walleye bite, but I predict that will change shortly as the winds shift to the west and temperatures increase. We did catch a very healthy 25" walleye using a shiner minnow on a 19 foot shore related sand flat, and then also caught a nice bag of keeper perch for the frying pan. There is a decent weather forecast in the mix for this coming week, so I expect both the walleyes and the crappies will turn on soon. Please check out the "Catch Photos" section of this website if you wish to see a few photos of what we are catching. Get out on the water for the best freshwater fishing in America.
May 12, 2023
The MN Walleye Opener is tomorrow. We have enjoyed a number of days of 70 degree sunshine this week, but the forecast for the weekend is less rosy. Stronger east winds, a small cold front, and rain are in the forecast, which is less than ideal for fishing, but you never know with weather forecasts. The lake water is still quite cold (ice went out 1 week ago) and the fish are slowly coming around. I tried fishing crappies in black bottom bays this week with limited success, as the fish are only now beginning to come into the warmer bays. I predict crappie fishing will improve very soon. The walleyes are behind schedule, as well, based on the locations where I have been marking schools this week. Minnows are tough to find, so plan on getting to the bait shop early.
May 5, 2023 Friday
Yesterday Woman Lake was about 75% ice covered, but last evening a strong east wind started up and it blew ice all night. When I woke up this morning, Bungey Bay (which was ice free yesterday) was completely full of flowing ice chunks of all sizes. Just now, that wind blew the last of that ice past my cabin and somewhere into the back of Bungey Bay. Not sure where it is all going, either melting or piling up along the western shore. Many hundreds of acres of ice have drifted past my cabin. The main lake is now ice free from my vantage point near the entrance to Bungey Bay. Let the fishing begin !!!
May 4, 2023 Thursday
It is a beautiful sunny 70 degrees day here today on Woman Lake. The ice on Bungey Bay has all moved out, but there is still a large sheet of ice on the main lake, but I suspect it will be gone before Sunday. All the smaller lakes in the area are now wide open. The 2023 fishing season is upon us. Loons are feeding out in front of my cabin and ducks are flying back and forth. I am certain the crappies are already biting somewhere.
May 2, 2023
It was a very long, cold, snowy winter on Woman Lake, but it looks like Spring 2023 is finally coming. I have never seen that much snow up here in my experience, but it is all gone now. We still have lake ice, but I am hopeful that will disappear sometime this coming weekend. I am looking forward to getting back out on the water. The MN Walleye Opener is May 13, and the lake's walleye population is in great shape. Water temperatures for the opener will likely still be quite cold, somewhere in the mid-40 degree range I suspect. The weather forecast calls for 60 degree high air temperatures for the rest of this week, so hopefully that will help move the ice out and start warming the water. Open water fishing is only a few days away.