Hard to believe the Walleye fishing opener and the second weekend of the season are already shrinking memories in our rearview mirror. The ever-short summer season here in the beautiful Leech Lake area doesn’t slow down for anyone, I always joke if you close your eyes for only a second it’s July, ala Rip Van Winkle, a two-month nap wouldn’t hurt my feelings, I promise I won’t sleep 20 years! haha
Walleye fishing remains a unique situation, from my perspective here on the main body of the lake it’s really been feast or famine, the daytime bite has been challenging, and with high blue skies and calm, extremely clear waters it has been a chore to get any consistency out of the Walleye bite. On the other hand, anglers that are willing to stay out into the night or at least later into the evening have been rewarded with excellent action, Walleye have been gladly feeding on spot-tail shiners flung from boats connected to jigs and slip bobbers, similarly to the way I find myself elbow deep into a bag of shredded cheese found at the bottom of my refrigerator at midnight.
Pictured below from L to R: The Dietel party from Lester Prairie, MN – Natalie Girard from Wakonda, SD, and Scot Bowman and Chad Frank from New Hope and Shakopee, MN
When the wind has decided to blow Walleye fishing has been best, even during the day, we have been dealing with an unusual amount of calm winds already this year. Wind-blow points and shallow rocky and boulder-filled areas have been best, areas around Stony, and Little Stony in 6-8 feet of water have been holding fish, I’ve even had reports of fish hanging around some mid-lake structure already, with water temps steadily rising I’m not surprised to hear Walleye heading into late spring/early summer patterns, be ready to swap over to lindy rigs with Leeches and Night Crawlers soon.
Perch fishing remains a bright spot on Leech Lake, anglers have been rewarded with hefty stringers of Jumbo Perch the last couple of weekends many of them over 12 inches and shaped like footballs, grab some small minnows and head up into Sucker Bay, it’s definitely worth the hike. Crappies and Bluegills have been a little hit or miss lately, the fish we have been seeing are still loaded with eggs, I’m hopeful they start biting better soon and that the warm water doesn’t push them through spawning too fast, that has been exactly the case the last couple of springs.
Memorial weekend is fast approaching, and we look forward to seeing everyone, come grab an ice cream cone or a beer, we have our filet knives sharp and ready!
Featured image up top is of Natalie Girard, from Wakonda, SD – rumor has it she loves her face plastered all over the internet!
Thanks for reading
Come see us at Big Rock Resort
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Ray@bigrockresort.com
Ray
Hey, Ray – your fishing report is spot on. We stayed with friends on Agency Bay and had a hard time finding walleye. We nailed the perch though. We swing by Big Rock but missed seeing you. We’ll stay again sometime in the future. Have a great summer.
Good article Ray. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the report Ray!