winona area fishing

hey all,

i’m finaly down here at WSU and i’m having a pretty good time. unfortunatly i’m going through fishing withdrawl. i haven’t caught i fish in 1 1/2 weeks , this is a very long dry spell for a guy who’s been used to fishing 5 days a week all summer .

i’m VERY new to the winona area and don’t have much knowledge about the fishing down here. i’m looking for some help on where i could begin my search for spots. i’ve been to lake winona( ) and there wasn’t a lot happening there, i’ve seen the river, i’ve heard airport lake is a good ice fishing spot, but i don’t know where it is.

…and that’s all i know so any help would be much appreciated. i’m kind of stuck to the shore for now, and bicycle is my mode of transportation, but i can be very motivated when it comes to fish .

thanks,
Jake

Jake If you have fished Lake Winona and got skunked your not off to a very good start. Air port lake is a good summer fishing lake as well as winter. It is out in the west end of Winona off Theurer Blvd. There is alot of shore line you can work and it has some real nice bass and Northern. Lake winona has a ton of fish that will eat anything you might want to try the west lake on the north shore I have seen some people pull a few nice ones out these past few weeks along there. Your best bet is the air port the fishing pressure isn’t as bad as Lake Winona. Good luck and don’t keep them all…….

Jake,
There are so many place to fish in winona that you’ll end up fishing more than time in school(lol). Here are my top places in Winona.1.The dam or just down stream from shore will produce walleyes, look for the 2nd wing dam on the WI side. 2. The spill way locate back by prarie Island camp ground. 3. Bass camp just 10 mins from winona. 4. Pool just north of the spill way. 5. The pond just south of winona by the old votech building (not the one in front but south of it). Winona lake beach in the spring time(not just for fishing). Well good luck in school and I will post most of te trips I will take down that way.
Jigger2001

thanks guys, that’s definatly a help .

i fished lake winona on wed. with my fly rod and all i could catch were itty bitty litte sunnies . i’ve heard there are bigger fish in there, so i’m not giving up on it yet.

i took my bike out tonight and found a couple of the “community” holes. i caught some nicer sunnies and bass along the dike road on my fly rod. i don’t think i made it all the way to airport lake, but i found the spillway. fished it a little while and caught 2 little SMB and got bitten off by a toothy critter. there were TONS of shad around, but aparently not many predator fish feeding on them .

anyway, i think i’m going to like this college stuff…..lots of fish, lots of ducks, and a 4:1 girl to guy ratio…. what more does a guy need?!?!

Looks like we’re losing Jake to college life. Good luck with the girls, but remember to keep that stick on the ice.

Jake,
Just rember that spill way in the spring. As the water riase into the parking lot over the rocks. Stand up on the dike early in the morning cast a the lightest jig you can get away with and hold on. I have my personal biggest fish out of that spill way and have seen countless hogs over 10lbders come from that little corner next to te wall. If you get the energy or if when I am down that way I can meet up with ya and go over to the dam in the spring. Excellant fishing there in the spring (April- mid May). The coolest thing about Winona is the boat pressure just isn’t there. It is the sleeper spot of the river . As far as Lake Winona there are big bass northern and yes big walleyes. During the icefishing season you may want to hook up with Brad from West end (he is a good guy). He has all the info on that area that one will need to be on fish. Hey good luck and if you have any questions on The Winona area just give a shout out.
Jigger2001

is there fishable water at the dam all winter long or does it freeze up pretty tight??

By the first of the year, it is froozen pretty well, but; however there is that 2nd wing dam on WI side from the dam that produce fish in 8-10lb range. The key is to get out on the end of it and fish in 12-18 ft. Play it safe dont be the first one out there. Until there is a visible sign that the water is hard or you see others out there. It is still moving water under the ice, but it does get 10+inch for a few weeks during the extreme cold. If it is a warmer winter the water will freeze but south of the wing dam and you can cast out to it from shore. There is a pivot point just above the wing dam that dumps into a privte marine and I have better luck from shore throughing lindy rigs with a short lead to a floater than I have had in a boat from that area.
Good luck
Jigger

Hey Jake,
Their are quite a few options in Winona to get out and fish from shore. Send me a PM sometime and I could show you around.

Chad

Jake,

having been born and raised in Winona I have one suggestion. If you and your bike can make it to the Winona Boat Club sloughs in late Sept/Early Oct the Largemouth, Crappie and Sunfish are usually biting big time. The club is located across the old Wagion Bridge on the north side.

Have fun in Winona,
Chuck

Hey Jake,

I am a Winona-ite. I also work at the University. Come up to the Fitness Center, I am the Director. I can help with some spots a well as getting out sometime. (That goes for all of you in this area. PM me and we will go from there.)Good to have you down here I know you will love it!

Haywood04

Jeff

hey haywood, we should really get together and go fishing sometime. i’m ALWAYS willing to go out fishing with anyone….well, almost anyone . i’m done with classes by noon everyday and have nothing to do on weekends until duck opener. just let me know and i will go.

i took a 4hr bike ride today and did a little more scouting. i went across the bridge and fished all over both sides of the road all the way to the tracks. i was only able to catch 3 small large mouth. there was one little lake that i saw a ton of nicer bass but i couldn’t get them to bite anything i had with me . next time i’ll bring along a better selection of tackle and try to find something they like.

thanks again guys

Hey Jake,

What’s your fish of choice? I’m down the road in La Crosse, WI…We have plenty of places to fish down here. All i have is a flat..but if you’re in the area, let me know….We’ll find some fish…..
~Jeremiah

Same here Jake. I fish mostly pools 7 and 8.

i prefer the fish that bite over the fish that don’t, but other then that i have no fish of choice. walleye, bass, cats, trout, crappie, sunnies….i love em all .

if anyone wants to get out this weekend i got nothing planned. i’m not sure i can pedal all the way to lacross, but i can meet anywhere around winona. just p.m. me, (i love gettting those little blinking envelopes) i’m sure we can work something out.

Hey Jake
I am an alum of St. Mary’s class of 2000 and my wife is a 2002 WSU grad. Anyway, I went fishing right off the river road by the barge filling area. It is just before praire island park and the fish tend to congrgate in there due to the corn spillage. There is a drainage pipe off the right side of the road to praire island and in this area I would catch bass, catfish, bluegill and even a occational walleye. Try there! Also I highly recomend the spillway in the island park. As said before the fish just thrive there in the spring and even in the summer you can get a good fight out of a sheepshead there.

good luck

It really nice to see all the people that are actually from around the area. I am an alumnia of 2001 at SMU. I have tons of frinds from there and WSU, fun town.
Let me know if you need some good ice-fishing spots. I have caught many crappies and largemouth through the ice that almost prevented me from getting to some finals. These spots are no good to me anymore since I rarely get down there to ice-fish.
Careful though, the 25 cents taps and 10 cent wings will get you in trouble.

hey alphid, i’d love some ice fishing spots. i have a feeling winter’s can get really long down here with not much to do .

the offer still stands for this weekend. anybody got some fishing time?

WSU grad 1992 here, Jake, do you have a boat?, If not, there are many good spots from shore in the area, try long stretches of rip rap especially now for smb, East end has a lot, over by peerless chain factory, also, walk the tracks that way to the railroad bridge in homer, pm me for more