Opener GTG???

We had a nice GTG last year for the opener. Met at the Park bu the beach and had a bit of a fish fry and grilled some sausages and burgers… Anyone interested in doing the same thing this year?

If my schedule permits, I’ll be there.

Hope we won’t need an auger to fish opener

This was a good time last year and would be good to make it a tradition.

Pretty sure Jeff and I can make it again.

Eric

I think I’ll make it out there with the kids.

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I think I’ll make it out there with the kids.

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Mark’s starting his pre-fishing for the Wissota Open awfully early. Having the girls along does get him some extra lines, however. Good strategy Mark!

So you figured out my strategy. I’ll have my partner boat out there too so we can get even more lines into the water. Has anyone took boat #1 yet?

man, I wish I knew someone that lived on Wissota for a long time, so I’d have a clue as to where to find some fish for that tourney!!!

>>>> Click Here <<<<

Maybe I should run special pre-tournament scouting trips

Count me in

I was going to ask about a guide trip on 6/19 or 20 before you posted that!

K185’s referring to his secret weapon “in law” who’s a long time L. Wissota resident! Does an in-law relationship qualify him for the family trophy?

How is this fair considering my partner for the Open caught his first walleye EVER last year on the opener!

ET

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I was going to ask about a guide trip on 6/19 or 20 before you posted that!

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Can’t do it on the 20th….I’ll be too busy with putting the final touches on the event.

The 19th is open right now.

I’m glad to see the tradition will live!

Although, I won’t be able to attend.

I’ll be down on the Mighty Miss trying to wrangle up a walleye for a paycheck.

Sully

Sully are you going to be a boater or a co-angler this year?

Kevin, I’ll try & steal all of your secret spots.

Sully is taking the plunge and fishing boater.

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… K185’s referring to his secret weapon “in law” who’s a long time L. Wissota resident! Does an in-law relationship qualify him for the family trophy?…

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yes, I was referring to my brother-in-law, although he only has a few ‘spots’ that he fishes… he’s pretty much a ‘meat hunter’ rather than a ‘trophy hunter’ (Scott, if you read this, no disrespect intended ). I really shouldn’t give him a hard time as he was the one that turned me on to fishing…

for the tourney, I have to decide between fishing with a long-time L. Wissota resident or fishing with my wife ! So… Jason, do ‘in-laws’ qualify as ‘family’ for that tourney????

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So… Jason, do ‘in-laws’ qualify as ‘family’ for that tourney????

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We defined family team as parent/child, grandparent/grandchild, siblings, or spouses. In-laws don’t count…sorry.

From my perspective, the family team category is a way to get some kids involved…maybe they’ve seen some tournaments on the tube, and would like a chance to get involved in one themselves. It’s also an opportunity for wives to go fishing with their hubbies and get a shot at a check.

If you are talking about a gtg at Wissota on 5/3, is there room for one more???? Would like to meet some of the other crazies!!!!!!!!!
Just let me know when and where….

There’s no shortage of room, glad to have you onboard! Last year for lunch we beached our boats at the State park beach and had a fish fry at the closest picnic table!

Eric

Welcome to the site Tom!

See you tonight.

Sully

Thanks Sully…..Sorry about last night, you will be receiving an e-mail about it…You and Dave did a great job…Now about the opener…If you need an extra cooker, I have a portable I can bring to the park…Anything else you need???Let me know…Looking forward to it!!!!!!

Well Well, I see the Cheese Head Leinie crowd is gathering for another opener.

King, I can’t believe you’re trashing your brother inlaw. From what I saw last year, he schooled you during the opener. Not as bad as that Mud Duck he had in his boat (9 walleyes in 1 drift), but he gave you a pretty good lashing.

I will definately be on Wissota, but will probably opt for a beef stick, pickeled egg, and a bloody at the Mallard for lunch, then a Fish fry at the Indian Head Saturday evening. If you can hang with a bunch of Mud Ducks, stop by.

Hi there SwitchBack (or should it be ‘Brokeback’??? )…

Every time I go to Wissota and fish with Scott, he schools me… nothing new there… not only did he out-catch me by a huge margin last opener, he also got a couple new poles and a new prop

A stop at the Mallard is a must-do… I’ll stay away from the pickled eggs, though . If I do end up getting to Wissota for opener, I may crash the WBL-boys fish fry on Saturday night… I’m still up in the air as to whether I fish the Croix on opener or make the drive to Chippewa…

We are Minnesota friendly on Wissota. Heck, I hope so..I haven’t given up my Minnesotan card.

It’s the perfect platform to bring piece and union across the border. Look at the name of the lake.

“Wis-sota”

I’m jealous I’m missing out this year.

Sully

King,
Fish the Croix! Fish the Croix! Please fish the Croix! Besides, I heard if you come over to Wissota, you’ll have to fish with the infamous pole dropper.

I’ll be in the camo Lund with the net in the water. Looking forward to seeing everyone again.

I think we are going to have a problem arising in the very near future. The water temp in Wissota is so cold with this late spring, only a few walleyes have started to spawn. Water is 38 degrees average and the season opener is coming up soon. Walleyes will be in full spawn during the opener. I sure hope people realize that these fish are in the process and when caught, should be released to do their job for the future of the fishing in Lake Wissota and not keep them as freezer material. I’m not going to keep any fish until the water temp reaches 55 degrees and the walleyes are done, then they are fair game. The warm up should happen within the next couple of weeks. Just another problem of this late coming spring. Also saw where someone in Chippewa had cleaned some walleyes down by the powerhouse and took the fillets out and left the rest of an illegal catch laying on shore. That is disgusting and the type of thing that ruins the fishing for everyone else.

Not to start an argument but isnt the 14-18″ slot and the three fish limit supposed to protect the key spawners and keeping only 1 over 18″ allow’s for more bigger fish? They are protected pretty well already, pretty soon the DNR will make us buy a tag to keep a fish filet …..

You’ve got it Bill!

A typical Wissota keeper at 13.5″ is most likely to be a male….the population statistics from 1996-2006 demonstrate that. Keeping 3 small males in May does no more harm to the population than keeping them in June, July, or August…in the same way, when someone steaks out a 24″ female in July, they are not impacting the population any more than steaking that fish out earlier in the open water season or in January. And yes, there are people that fish the lake regularly (and I am NOT one of them) who have no trouble putting a 23-24″ fish on the BBQ grill. Yum.

In my boat, the rule is that all 20″ or larger fish go back…no exceptions. I have no trouble with a client taking home a limit of unders, or a limit that includes one 18-19″ fish. The trouble my boat had last year was finding enough 13-13.75 inch fish to keep….to many high-end slotters, which is a nice problem to have.

I look at this late spring as an opportunity….not an opportunity to exploit the lake, but rather an opportunity to participate in a part of the walleyes’ season that most inland fisherman almost always miss….the spawn and post-spawn periods.

As long as we all obey the laws, and use the tip line when we see someone fishing outside of the laws, everything will be just fine. Icarus, I hope you gave CO Gullickson a call when you found those carcasses.

On the average year I may agree with you but this year is going to be an exception and I’ve seen that thinking completely ruin the fishing in Wissota 40+ years ago and it’s taken 30 years to bring it back to where it is now. I’ve lived it have you?? Sorry guys but I get pretty protective of a lifetime (65years) on this lake and understand her history very well. I’ve watched “fisherman” destroy Wissota and other lakes in the area in just a few years and have enjoyed the past few seasons on Wissota, that we’ve fought so hard to a recovery. I’ve seen days when I could fish for a week and never see another boat on Wissota and at the very same time saw the fishing destroyed. Now we see a 1000+ boats a week and must be careful. I’ve also talked recently with several “fisherman” that are looking forward to “murdering” the big spawners on the river this year during this unusual spring, and they can do it. Rules are in place but there are those who don’t follow rules. Open your eyes and you’ll see the signs. Who’s checking by the way??? I’ve never in the past 25 years been checked for a license and have taken part in 2 creel surveys to be axact. This is not a fishery like Lake of the Woods, Mille Lacs or Winnebago. I’ve also listened to “fisherman” bi__h for 40 years because there were no walleyes to catch out here. Now we have them again, thanks to Joe, lets keep them. Don’t turn a blind eye, it will get you. I’ve watched it happen here before and it can happen even easier now.

Welcome to IDA Icarus, I would get together with the DNR tell them all you know, you might be able to convince them to make a presence on opening weekend on Wissota, usually if people feel they are being watched it is enough of a deterrence for even the boldest of violaters…