We postponed our “opener” one week due to the ice conditions and descended upon the Detroit Lakes area this past weekend.
Efforts to produce walleye on Saturday morning were mostly unproductive, as we caught only one 18-incher. Undeterred, we went to a different lake in search of crappie and had some success. Water temps in the 6-7′ deep bay reached 66 degrees by late afternoon and the fish were feeding. Nothing huge, but some nice 10-12″ eaters made their way into the livewell.
As the sun set, we started pulling cranks in 11 FOW and the walleyes were active. Males (still milking) 15-18″ were pounding Rapala’s new Scatter Minnow. I’d purchased a few of them just to try something new and they were hot. 3 guys in the boat and I’d landed 6 while one other guy had landed 1 (on a Huskey Jerk). I offered my extra Scatter Minnow to the 3rd guy and he hooked a fish while he was letting his line out. After I’d put 8 in the box, I let the other guy use my Scatter Minnow and he promptly landed an 18.
I’m a sucker for tradition, but it can be fun to try something new. It paid off this weekend – I think I’ll be purchasing more of these baits.
