Fishing Report September 2023

Guide Services notice:    Saturday Oct 7th will be my final day for guiding fishing trips for 2023.

September 27, 2023

The Woman Lake walleyes are active and aggressive feeders now, when the weather is decent.  Water temperatures remain around 65 degrees, but the bite has turned to hot.  We are catching them fishing minnows on live bait rigs, mostly on shore related sand breaks or flats.  Some fish are holding in 16-19 feet of water, while others are hanging out in the 24-26 foot depths.  The fall colors around Woman Lake are beautiful at this time, and I suspect the "peak of color" will be reached within the next week.  As far as I can tell, all the adult loons have left the lake for their wintering habitats along the south Atlantic and Gulf Coast states.

September 16, 2023

Walleye fishing has finally picked up on Woman Lake, and this may be the start of the traditional Fall "hot" walleye bite.  We are catching nice size walleyes (16"-20") on red tail chubs, and the minnows are clearly outfishing other live bait options.  Water temps have cooled to 65 degrees, after a few cold nights, and the weather seems to have now stabilized for a while.  We are catching our walleyes in the 16-19 foot depths, mostly over shore related sand breaks.  Most of the adult loons have now headed south for the winter, leaving the youngsters swimming around wondering where everyone went.  Over the next month or two, the youngsters will figure out they are on their own and try to find their way south, too.

September 11, 2023

The walleye fishing on Woman Lake continues to be challenging, and that has not been helped by the very inconsistent weather.  The traditional Fall walleye bite should begin within the next couple weeks, as the water cools, but right now surface water temps are still holding near 69-70 degrees.  A few days of stable weather would certainly help.  Red tail chubs will soon become the bait of choice for walleyes.  The bass and northern pike bite remains decent.

September 7, 2023

We recently returned from a great fishing/camping trip to Voyageurs National Park on the Minnesota-Canada border, and the fishing was pretty good, as you can see in the Catch Photos section of this website.  VNP is a truly beautiful resource for fishing, hiking, boating, wildlife viewing and camping if you love the outdoors.  Don't miss it if you get the chance to go up there.  Moose, wolves, bears, otters, eagles, loons, towering pines, granite cliffs, northern lights, great fishing and miles and miles of water - what is not to like?  I have now been fishing, camping, and hiking in VNP for 58 years in a row, and I expect to go again next year.