I Left saint cloud at 4:00am had breakfast and was on the lake by 7:15. Went out from highbanks with a very good safe road system. I wanted to get out to a hump that had been good in the past but travel is awful for full size vehicles. The slush is hard see due to recent snowfall. Saw many spots where people went through the slush, breaking through 5 inchess of ice. Saw 2 shrowds laying next to the holes. It is not only the slush that is a factor. The warm speel we had created a 1 inch thick layer of ice on top of 10 inches of snow. So when you go off road you’ll eventually break the crust and sit and spin out. I saw at least 10 vehicles in this situation. And those were only the ones I could see. I was not able to get to the spots I wanted but settled to an unoccupied area. I found fish from 26 to 34 feet but found the few active fish deeper than 32 feet. I tried many presentations varying from halis to jigginraps. And found jiggin spoons with heads to be the lure that triggered hits. It was very inportant to keep a fresh head on. I did a lot of hole hopping and a frozen minnow head was no good I had to keep the bait bucket next to me at all times. I found it quite interesting that the active fish were crazy. They would run after the bait to 15 feet of the bottom. It was also very important to make them chase it. I was on fish constantly all day and would run into an active one every 20 min or so and I found no time better than the next.
Fish quality was excellent. Many year classes were evident unlike last year. I had 7 fish over 12 inches and the rest were in the 10 to 12 range. It took me 2 hours and 100 holes to find the quality fish. Other areas I encoutered consisted of 8 to 10 inch fish and were just as active as the good fish I found later. I really had to work for these fish, and the pleasant weather allowed me to do so. In the end I brought home a limit out of 7 hrs fishing. 
To sum this up. If you’re planning a trip to winnie:
1) bring another means of transportation(atv/sled) or be prepared to walk alot.
2)be ready to punch holes if you want a few nice fish.
3)keep moving; they won’t come to you.
4)keep fresh heads on
5)keep your distance; the perch in concentrated areas have had jigs in their faces constantly and with limited travel, few venture far from the road. Those who do will be rewarded.
Matt