Fishing Report - Lake Winnie and Surrounding Areas
Jumbo Perch
Today’s report is brought to you by ice fishing guide Jeff Johnson. Jeff provides ice fishing guide services on Lake Winnie and surrounding areas.
Jumbo, decent, small, gone. These four words can plague any perch angler throughout the winter months. Schools of perch and the mingling of year classes can sometimes leave anglers feeling lost and confused. Use a camera and you will find that you were around the big ones, they just didn’t choose to be more aggressive than their younger brothers and sisters during the time you were there. Now it is not necessarily like this every time. Jumbo perch anglers who don't like to play the sorting game know there are certain locations where the true jumbos live and operate. For anglers who specifically like to catch larger jumbos, targeting some of these areas might be your best bet. I think of the humps and shallow shoreline flats on Lake Winnie. The humps on Winnie in the evenings routinely kick out large jumbo perch, along with walleyes. Very rarely have I had to sort any of the perch I have caught on evening excursions to the humps.I also think of the large shallow flats on Leech Lake, the backwater areas on the Mississippi River, in and around Lake Winnie, and heading south towards Grand Rapids. Spots like these continue to routinely produce that larger, more robust class of perch. The jumbos that everyone seems to crave. Round Lake near Squaw Lake, Lake Bemidji, Bowstring, and Sand Lake are great as well. Jumbo perch are without a doubt my favorite species of fish to target during the winter months. More often than not, the areas that I listed up above are always my considerations when targeting true jumbo perch.
My winter guide season is wrapped up and deposits are already being taken for next winter. Don’t be afraid to inquire about this spring, summer, and fall as well. If all goes as planned, I will have a Tulibee report up by next week. The new boat has come in as well. Lots do, little time to get it all done. Fishing opener is right around the corner. Check back next week!