NE Region 2017 Fishing opener report New walleye regulation are in effect on on Lake Vermilion allowing more harvest of walleye, with the protected slot limit moved from 18-26 inches to 20-26 inches. The lake is sitting on a strong 2012 year class of walleye. Recent surveys of lakes in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness points to some excellent walleye lakes for that wilderness opener experience: Gabbro, Agnes and Ogishkemuncie. Ogish also has a healthy lake trout population. Closer to Ely, Ed Shave lake on the Echo Trail has a nice abundance of walleye between 12 and 18 inches. Walleye fishing on the Brainerd area s largest lakes, Gull, Whitefish and North Long are best bets with Pelican Lake showing signs of a comeback. These lakes are also great choices for quality-sized northern pike. Trout fishing in the Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area is a great alternative fishing outing especially for those with smaller crafts or shore fisherman. Catch and release largemouth bass opportunities abound in Crow Wing and Cass Counties. Walleye populations in most Grand Marais area lakes are still dominated by a strong 2012 year class. That means anglers can expect good numbers of 14-18-inch fish in the better walleye lakes. With an early ice-out, walleye fishing may be better than usual in the large, deep lakes in the area, and in the shallower lakes some smallmouth bass activity might be picking up a little earlier than usual. Trout fishing should be good for the first week or so of the season, but lakes will be warming quickly, so that action may not last long. General Predictions for the International Falls area The mild winter and early spring should provide better than average fishing opportunities in the International Falls area this year. Ice-out was expected approximately two weeks ahead of normal on area lakes this year. Walleye and northern pike spawning activity was planned to be completed by the fishing opener and if the warm trend continues, fish should be actively feeding. Although the Rainy River is well-known for great walleye fishing during the early spring season (which closes on April 14th), fishing can be very good there on the opener and you won t have to fight the crowds. All of the border lakes contain populations of large, quality sized northern pike. These big pike can be hard to find during summer months as they feed on cisco in the deep, cool water of these large lakes. During spring the big fish are spawning in shallow bays with aquatic vegetation and can still be found near these locations in the spring before warm summer temperatures send them back to deep water.
Many area lakes saw good production of black crappie, bluegill and smallmouth bass in 2010 and 2012 which will provide alternative angling opportunities if the walleye don t cooperate on opening day. Rainy Lake The best and most consistent walleye-angling success on Rainy Lake usually occurs during the summer months when fish can be found on the mid-lake reefs. Rainy is a large, deep lake that warms up slowly and as a result, early season angling for walleye can be challenging. However, success can be found in shallow bays that warm up quickly (Black Bay for example) and areas with current. The 2016 walleye catch rate of 5.2 per net was slightly below the median for Rainy Lake. Walleye recruitment remains strong with an exceptional year-class produced in 2011. The last decade has produced two strong year-classes and three average year-classes. In addition, the 2015 year-class looks promising. Pelican Lake near Orr is a relatively large (nearly 11,000 acre) lake with a diverse fishery that provides opportunities to catch northern pike, bass (largemouth and smallmouth), walleye, black crappie, and bluegill. Special regulations for northern pike and bass were first implemented in 1998. The northern pike regulation protects all fish from 24 to 36 inches and the bass regulation protects fish from 14 to 20 inches. A fish population assessment completed in 2016 indicates the fish community has responded well to these regulations, with increased size observed for both northern pike and bass. In addition, abundance of black crappie, bluegill, yellow perch, and walleye has generally increased since the regulation was implemented. St. Louis River Estuary The 2012 and 2013 Walleye year classes appear to be very strong, and should be reaching the 15-inch size limit for the estuary this season. With continuing wet conditions and the subsequent flushing of dark water into the estuary, angling success for walleye should be good. As usual, high quality fishing opportunities are available for other desirable species such as Muskellunge, Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass, Black Crappie and Channel Catfish. Angler catch rates for Lake Sturgeon have also been high. Anglers should handle sturgeon carefully and release them back to the water as quickly possible. The Grand Rapids Area provides excellent walleye angling opportunities, and May and June are considered to be prime time on many of our best waters. Anglers looking to catch good numbers of quality walleye, along with some fish for the frying pan should focus on shallow, fertile lakes early in the fishing season. These lakes have stained water that warms up quickly, and are typical favorites for early season anglers. Some lakes to try include Winnibigoshish, Cut Foot Sioux, Island, Split Hand, or Round lakes. Anglers will find that these lakes support
good numbers of keeper size fish, and provide the chance at catching a large fish. Be sure to note that special regulations exist on these waters so consult the fishing regulation book prior to heading out. Angler s looking for fast action for smaller walleye should consider Bowstring, Sand, or Jessie lakes. Cold, clear, deep lakes such as Pokegama, Siseebakwet, and Trout lakes also provide excellent walleye fishing opportunities, but the action typically improves a little later in the season, as water temperatures slowly increase. Northern pike anglers will find many good options in the Grand Rapids area. Anglers looking for fast action and the chance to keep an expanded bag limit should consider Sand Lake. This lake has an abundance of smaller pike, along with a few lunkers, and anglers can possess up to nine pike under 22 inches, while pike 22-36 inches must be immediately released. Anglers should note that the experimental regulation on Bowstring and Round lakes were dropped this year and those lakes are now managed with the statewide 3 fish limit. Large pike can be found in several area lakes including Swan, Trout, and Pokegama. Although these lakes do not have special pike regulations, anglers are encouraged to protect the resource by releasing pike over 24 inches. Balsam, Spider, Coon Sandwick, and North Star are other good lakes for catching a large pike. These lakes have a special regulation requiring the release of pike from 24-36 inches. Anglers looking for a break from walleye or pike fishing will find excellent panfish opportunities throughout the Grand Rapids area. Yellow perch numbers are up in Winnibigoshish, providing quality fishing opportunities. Several area lakes also provide good bluegill and crappie action early in the season. Popular spring panfish locations include Split Hand, Bass, Graves, and Dixon lakes. These lakes are known for big panfish and have a special 5 fish bag limit for bluegill. Split Hand also has a 5 fish bag limit for crappie and produces some very large fish at times. Aitkin Area Open water fishing in the Aitkin Area should get off to a good start. Ice off on area lakes happened in early to mid-april, and spawning runs should be well done by opener. As such, water temperatures should be well into the 50 degree range and offer some excellent conditions for chasing walleye and pike. Slow trolling or drifting with live bait is often one of the best methods to put fish in the boat this time of year. Some lakes in the area with decent walleye populations include Farm Island, Hill, Big Sandy, Minnewawa, Waukenabo, Round (North of Garrison) and Cedar lakes. The very dark water of Big Sandy will be the first to warm in comparison to the clearer waters of Cedar and Farm Island, and will probably make it one the best bets for numbers of walleye early in the season. Other, often forgotten fishing options are the Mississippi River and its larger tributaries (Willow, Sandy, Swan, Rice Rivers) in the area. These waters often don t get the same fishing pressure of the more popular lakes and can provide for some fast action. Although often overlooked, the Mississippi River is known to produce excellent catches of walleye, northern pike, catfish and of course smallmouth bass later in the season. With over 100 miles of river in the Aitkin area, the
Mississippi can be a great place to get away from the crowds. Also, don t forget there are special regulations on a number of area lakes, including Big Sandy and connecting waters, Farm Island, Long (near Glen) and Sissibagama Lakes. Northern pike should also provide plenty of action on most lakes in the area. Remember CPR (Catch/Photo/Release) for those big ones you catch! Once a population suffers from poor size structure, often due to over harvest, it is a long and difficult process to reverse the trend. With recycling of these large fish, the next time you or your kids are out in the same area you ll have another chance at catching a trophy, which may be even bigger the second time around. We also ask anglers to do their part in preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species by remembering to cleandrain-dry each time you leave a lake. But the most important thing we ask is that everyone stay safe and have fun during the upcoming season sober boating and wear your life jackets! Finland area Finland Fisheries Management Area has numerous lakes with good walleye populations and a variety of sizes. However, early season walleye fishing can be challenging. Patches of snow on the ground and the remnants of winter ice on larger/deeper lakes are not unusual for the fishing opener. Typically, the shallower, darker, and riverine lakes in the area provide the best walleye fishing early in the season as walleye spawning is completed earlier in these waters. As water temperature increases in late May/early June the deeper, colder, and clearer lakes become more productive for walleye angling. Northern pike are abundant in many Finland Area lakes and generally provide for good angling action throughout the year. The lakes in the Finland area are relatively small with varying degrees of access, small fishing boats and canoes will get the angler on most lakes while larger trailer-in boats are limited to about 25 lakes with concrete plank or gravel back-down accesses. Parking can be an issue with few accesses having capacity for ten vehicle/trailer combinations. Lakes to consider for opener in the Finland Area include: Crooked, Four Mile, Greenwood, the McDougal Chain of Lakes, Sand, and Windy. Crooked Lake: is 272 acres and has a maximum depth of 18 feet even though most of the lake is less than 15 feet, with the north and south basins being less than 5 feet deep. There is a back-in concrete ramp on the main (east) basin of the lake off of USFS Road # 1887. One resort is located on the main basin that also has an access. The walleye population in Crooked Lake is above average and the size of walleye is usually around average for the area. Zebra mussels were found in the lake in 2014, so boaters should remember to drain all water before leaving the access to prevent the spread of invasive species. Four Mile Lake: is 593 acres and has a maximum depth of 19.5 feet. There is a back-in concrete ramp, with a small dock at the public access on the north end of the lake. The U.S. Forest Service also maintains a four site campground (no fee) at this location with fire grate, picnic table and outhouse. Four Mile Lake has strong natural reproduction and the walleye
numbers are well above average for the lake class. Northern pike, black crappie, and yellow perch are also present. Greenwood Lake: is 1329 acres and has a maximum depth of 7 feet. It is shallow with heavily bog stained water and the many boulders that can make boating hazardous. Access is a concrete ramp on the southwest end of the lake, off of Lake County Road #2. The walleye population in Greenwood Lake is above average for the lake class and anglers report good numbers of fish but the walleyes tend to run small. Northern pike numbers are average for the lake class.