Lake Winnibigoshish – Jumbo Perch Fishing Report

By tamarack 0

Fishing shallow is about done until March. The bigger perch are on the move to deeper water. There are still some fish in the Plug Hat Area in 8-12 feet, but there are a lot of small ones to sort through.

It’s time to move to deeper water for Jumbos. Fish the edges of midlake structure in 22 – 30 feet of water.

North Humps, Perch Bar, and the NW end of the river channel in Tamarack Bay are giving up some nice fish.

We have also had some customers picking up fish on and around the Ravens Rocks area south to Sugar Point.

Jig-a-whoppers, Frosties, and other "bug like" jigs tipped with a crappie minnow or the head of a fathead seem to be working best. Gold, Orange, or Red tend to draw more attention. At times, a plain hook with a split shot is all they will touch.

You will need to be very mobile. Pick off the active fish out of a hole and move on. Keep your approach very subtle. Short jigs with a long pause in between will often trigger a bite that you won’t even feel. Keep an eye on your line, or your camera if you have one. If the line moves, set the hook!

We’ll have a lot of people out this weekend and I will try to update as reports come in. In the meantime, keep moving and drilling til you find the active fish.

Good Luck!!

Jeff

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tamarack

0 Comments

  1. Thanks for the report Jeff I spend a lot of time up that way starting Feb. I will stop in an say hi next time I am in the area.

  2. A quick question for you Scott…

    I know you hit Mille Lacs early in the season and then you switch gears and spend the rest of the winter on Winnie. What is it about the bite that prompts you to change locations?

  3. In most years the big fish bite on Mille Lacs becomes very tough around mid January. Over the last 4 years the perch fishing has been tough on Mille Lacs. They are there, and they are big, but they can be very hard to stay after. That is slowly changing, back to the way Mille Lacs used to be. But, it is a slow process.

    Other than last year when we had lots of slush and water on the ice, Winnie is ALWAYS a solid producer. There is no doubt Winnie is the best perch lake in the state if you are after a limit of Jumbo’s to eat. It is for that reason alone that I take clients to Winnie..people like to eat fish. Not to mention the lake has excellent Pike & Walleye fishing and also great Crappie & Bluegill fishing, how can you go wrong.

    Winnie is one of my favorite lakes and I have no problem admitting that

  4. Words of wisdom for those of us planning family outings with kids that may cost several hundreds of dollars for a weekend on the ice.

    Kids lose interest if they are not catching fish

    Wife says “Never again!!!”

    Thanks Scott for the insight!!!

  5. Thanks for the report. Hope to make it over that way in the next couple of weeks. How is lake travel as far as ice thickness and heaves? I’m assuming it is A-OK, but ya never know. Thanks for any info.

  6. The ice is 16 – 18 over most of the lake. Travel is unrestricted for the most part. There is a pressure ridge on the south end of the lake that is passable if you stay on the roads. There is a ridge on the west side of the lake from ravens toward 3rd river and another one running from Tamarack Point towards the gap. You can get around the ridge from Tamarack on either end and there are roads that go around it. Hope this helps.

  8. Jeff, is the bite picking up any? I gave the lake a work over last Sunday looking for active deeper fish. Finding them was not a problem…getting them to cooperate was.

  9. Laura and I were out yesterday and our guests have been on active fish for most of the week. We picked up a limit of nice perch, a couple of Walleyes and a 7 lb ‘pout in 30 -32 feet of water on the South end about a quarter mile out from what used to be Judd’s resort.

    Many people are fishing out near ravens point and catching limits of Jumbos there as well. You need to be careful, as there is a pressure ridge along the west shore. Travel on the lake as of right now is very good with 4WD.

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