Favorite Opening Weekend Lake and Presentation?

Just wondering what lake is your favorite lake for opening day and what presentation do you use?

My favorite lake is Winnie. I have opened on Winnie for the past 12 years. The spring bite on Winnie is awesome, usually opening weekend thru about mid June the Jig and silver shiner works the best. I like to use a chartruese stand-up fireball jigs opener. It seems with the cool water the fish are hungry but not extremely aggressive, so tipping the Northland Stand-up fireball with a shiner allows the minnow to stand -up off the bottom making it an easy target for those hungry eyes. Well lets here it….

Years ago we used to try a new lake every year , but for the last 15 , I have been on Mille Lacs. We always go out at midnight and use slip bobbers with jigs and leeches on a favorite reef. This relaxing way to fish is a nice way to start the weekend. During the day we switch to slip sinker rigs with leeches or minnows and work the sand and gravel. It should be another good year for catching , finding keepers will be the challange.

Dino

Vermilion has been great. We have fished it for the last 20 years or so. Lindy rigs in under 14′ of water w/ leeches or rainbow chubs (some years up there the chubs have brilliant red and yellow colors-they also run big, the eyes love them!). Lots of numbers -20 to 40 fish/day/person around 14″ w/ not many over.

Hey Sean-do you spend time around river and creek mouths on Winnie @ opener? My buddy fishes Cass and other clear water lakes and has a lot of success fishing these areas early in the year.

Ditto on Dinosaurs opening weekend plans.

And I agree it will be a challenge. Looking forward to that again.

Ditto as well. I will again be trying to avoid Big D’s open cooler policy, and will try once again to keep my leeches from being soaked in gas! A little inside humor! Big D, you should post your tournament rules for all to see…Good Humor!

LOL

Tuck

Dave,

Which end of the lake do you fish?

I normally fish shallow flat sand areas, if the water temp is warm enough the shiners are in the shallows and then in come the hungry eyes. Last opener we were boating eyes in three feet of water, you could see the fish, it was awesome. There are a number of great spots on Winnie opening weekend, but my favorite sspot is the gap early in the am then I move to the dishes. Man I can’t beleive opener is right around the corner, man am I ready to put the boat in the water…..

I’ve fished Lake Koronis in Paynesville for the last 8 years. In years when the water is running high and fast under the highway 55 bridge the fishing is great. The methods that have worked for me have been bottom bouncers and spinners, casting plugs and jigs to the wind blown shorelines and slip bobbers over the rocks. Jon

CCoops-we fish the Tower end. My parents had a cabin on the west end of Big Bay-right by Bayview. Now we rent cabins and try to stick around the Mocassin Pt Area. My dad and his buddies used to stay at a cabin off Fectos Pt (going back 30 years). For the most part, fishing is great all over the lake-we just try to stick to the area that we know.

I fish pool 4 on the old miss, don’t like to fight all that traffic on the opening weekend. Usually wait until early June to head up north.

I will be fishing what is called Cannon Lake on the Cannon River Chain on Sat. if not both days as I will be reporting on the Cannon River Chain under Small Streams and Rivers on FTR. I have had good luck in the past on Cannon using bottom bouncers and spinners with a crawler. Longline trolling shad raps has also produced very well. Monday and Tuesday I will be fishing on Mille Lacs with Nate as he will be up there all week prefishing for the Cabelas National Championship which takes place the following weekend. Good luck you guys on your favorite body of water [walleye water that is]. Bill

Hey Tuck I like your idea on DMAN posting his rules here..I think we or he would get lot’s of questions…..

sure hope he remembers to bring along the trophys this year, he never forgets the beer…….

I’ll be on Mille Lacs on the rocks first and up on the sand at first daylight.

I think Dman should have something special as it is the 10th annual Big D’s opener……….

Yeah it will be special alright ! I remember who won the first year…Dman and partner Brent. And for the 10th annual, what would be more fitting.. Dman and my anchor Palmer. I know he is quite a disadvantage but I will overcome that. I have learned something the last 5 years with him in the boat. I will have him busy pounding nails Friday and far away from any coolers or Hunters bar stool.

Big D, anchors are made to be thrown overboard! I wanna see that wrestling match!

“The winner has to do a hand stand in front of Big D’s boat!” Remember that one?!?!? Who won that bet, and what the heck was it??

Tuck