Good lake for Walleye Opener

[Seabass77]

Just curious what everyones favorite lakes are for walleye opener? Resorts to stay at? Etc.

[GullGuide]

Sooooooo many lakes......soooooo little time
Where to begin?
I really do not have a favorite lake for opener, they all can be great in one way or the other. Instead of saying which one is my favorite, here is a list of the lakes I have fished on opener-
Gull
Whitefish
Leech
Hubert
Mississippi River
Bemidji
Pantanganet
Edwards
Bear
Green
Andrew
Nest
Florida
Solomon
Long
Andrusia
Irvine
Norway
Games
Ottertail
Rush
Lillian
Portage
Eagle
Willmar
Cass
Mille Lacs(never again )
and the list goes on.....
I guess I like to try different lakes and not try to concentrate on just one, in fact I might hit 2 or 3 during the day.
Good Luck
>"////=<

[Guest]

Devils Lake North Dakota.

Our season NEVER closes.

------------------
Kevin Neve's Devils Lake Guide Service
fishingminnesota.com/kevin-neve-guiding/
e-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 701-473-5411 or 701-351-4989
Minnewaukan ND

[DUCKJ]

GULL GUIDE, IM SUPRISED YOU FORGOT ROUND.

[Guest]

I will toss in a vote for Devils Lake North Dakota as well. Apral early May it is hard to beat!

Ice out in late March to early Apral, hit the rivers. My choice is the Red River of the North as well as a few of it's little sisters, big time piggy time!

------------------
"Ed on the Red"
Backwater Guiding Service
[email protected]
fishingminnesota.com/ed-on-the-red/

[GullGuide]

DuckJ,
I try to avoid Round if at all possible. The channel getting in from Gull is a pain unless you like chewed up props And the accesses are just a tad too shallow for me. I love the lake, especially in the fall, just before and up to ice-up and first ice. But, not worth the headache with the channel when I can catch walleye in the big lake(Gull).
>"////=<

[duckbuster]

GULLGUIDE: What about beatiful Lake Vermillion up in GODS country? What a great walleye fishery. Niles Bay, Big Bay,Pike Bay just to name a few of my favorite and most productive spots.

[GullGuide]

Hey duckbuster!!
Have not had the privilage of fishing the Big V, always wanted to though.
I'll get my chance this year, since L.E.T.S. will be opening up there on June 1. Can't wait!!
>"////=<

[doubleUcubed]

Hey Gull, thanks for leaving my favorite lake off the list!! Just kidding man! Pretty tough lake to beat on any opener!!

[guideman]

I have fished them all, at one time or another. ...you have to be really old to be able to say that!

Lake Vermilion is by far the best lake I have ever fished on opening day. Big walleyes can be hard to find, but a limit of 14" to 18" fish, is automatic.

Vermilion also has excellent nothern &
bass fishing on opening weekend. We get
the early bass season up here, and it can be, fantastic!

Some of the more popular spots can get a bit crowded, but overall, very few crowds and plenty of water to fish.

------------------
Ace guide service.
Beautiful Lake Vermilion.
[email protected]
www.aceguideservice.com
(218) 753-2612

[The Chemist]

Rice in Eden Valley has always produced well for me. We fish late, staying out after everyone else has left. Makes the trolling easier. Also the end of the dock is really good both in the spring and in the fall.

[Guest]

Hey guideman, I've fished Norwegian Bay up there in the NW corner of "Big Red" and had a lot of success when most of the rest of that end of the lake STINKS, whats your thought?

[guideman]

Hi Bigclean,
The west end can be tough at times, it
has alot of "spots" ...but many of them are very seasonal.

I fish the east end more than the west
but the main reason is that is were I live.
The guides that I know, do very well on the west side, it just takes a while to to get to know it.

Black bay, Norwiegian, Wakeumup narrows
and Wolf bay, all have a good, early season bite. The mouth of the Partridge
river and the north side of Wakeumup bay are also good places to try.

------------------
Ace guide service.
Beautiful Lake Vermilion.
[email protected]
www.aceguideservice.com
(218) 753-2612

[Guest]

Lake??? Rainy RIVER!!!! By the opener everyone has lake fever and you will have the river all alone. Well except for all the 30" plus walleyes that are really snappin' at the time.

------------------
International Angling Adventures
www.rainylakefishing.com
Call (877)246-7762
Guide Service and Adventures
Rainy Lake

[Guest]

Where is Jesse opening this year?

Incidentally, Clearwater is a horrible lake for opening. Weather is always bad, fish get lockjaw, bait dies, reels backlash, knots break, favorite holes filled in over winter, launch ramps bad, parking impossible, no on-the-water lunch stops, wet-suiters getting early ski start, wind blows too hard from all directions, fingers too cold to tie knots, snaps won't open, et al.

[IceHawk]

The Horseshoe chain of lakes near richmond. The walleye bite the last few years has been fantastic. The key presentation has been crankbaits mainly shad raps. Just troll the river sections and hang on.

[Xplorer]

I believe that "the jess" is fishing Rainy lake for the governor's opener this year. I will, on the other hand, be on either the St Louis river or may go up and try Kabetogama for the first time,depending on the weather (it was snowing up there last years opener)
Xplorer

[Ely Lake Expert]

Duckbuster, Vermillion is a great lake to be on and great suroundings there. You sound like you know pretty well where to fish to. The thing is have gone there for a few openers and I have caught a seasons worth of 11 and 12 inchers in 2 days. I have lost faith in that lake because there is no size to the walleyes. I usually go to Whiteface or Ely lake, where I live.

Ely lake expert

[Borch]

I haven't decided yet myself. If I fish the more popular lakes(Mille Lacs, Gull, Koronis...) I generally do it at night when the pressure backs off a bit. I may head back out to Big Stone. Last year there was hardly anyone there after the minnesota opener. Fishing was good with no waiting at the access.

[Ely Lake Expert]

Tj, I guess if you want to go out and catch one after another, you are right that it is a great place for opener. Maybe I am just spoiled with the size of the fish on Ely lake (where I live). The average walleye in here is over 2 pounds and I have never caught one under 15 inches. I just go for size not quanity. good luck fishing.

Ely lake expert

[duckbuster]

Borch: I have only fished Big Stone thru the ice, what I remember about the lake is that it seemed shallow ( I think we were in about 14ft of water) and very clear(we could see the fish looking at our jigs right on the bottom). Is it a tough lake to fish in the daylight during the summer? Any recommendations where to fish early season or summer months? Thanks for your knowledge!! GOOD FISHING

[Borch]

Water clarity can vary alot on Big Stone in the Spring. Heavy rains and snow melt usually lead to muddy conditions. Some years it's very clear. Every once in a while a slimy green algae will develop for a week or two and then it will clear up again. Ealy season often means piching small jig and minnow combos(just swim them back with a twitch or two thrown in. The rocks eat jigs for breakfast) or small crankbaits up along rocky shorelines(key on any points or fallen timber you find). This works best with some wind, cloudy conditions or in the early morning/evening. Early in the season I've had better luck on the northern half of the lake, moving south as the water warms up. Mid-day move out a bit deeper and fish the breaks nearer to the channel, flats(hartford beach area) or the christmas trees(see a lake map).

There are also a lot of white bass in the lake with some real lunkers. There is no limit on them in Big Stone. They eat up pretty good and are a lot of fun to catch if the eyes are a bit off.

Don't be afraid to move around looking for active fish. If a spot you visited looks too good not to hold fish come back later in the evening. I think that many fish never leave the shallow but rather lay in the rocks until they get active.

You never know what will turn them on. Two years ago a couple guys won a tourney there when they spotted fish shallow that spooked when they casted near them. They reved up the big motor and ceated their own wave action for about 10 minutes. Within 15 minutes they were pounding them where they stirred everything up. I never would have thought of doing that!

[tjwierz2]

Taking a little crack at size of the walleyes on vermilion huh! :-) I was up last year for opener and we caught over 50 walleyes for the weekend, about half off the dock. The biggest we got was 16". (it was my best opener ever)

However, to catch the bigger ones it appeared you have to fish some areas that aren't "typical" spring locations. I know some of the guys there last year were catching them deeper...say 30'. We didnt have to work extremely hard to catch the numbers...but you do have to put some time in to catch some of the bigger ones.

[duckbuster]

Thanks Borch for the info I appreciate the response. How many weeks before the MN opener can you fish Big Stone and Traverse? Do you fish it much in the winter? If so, how do you do? Thanks Again, GOOD FISHING

[Borch]

I believe it opens April 27th this year. Two weeks before the general Minnesota opener. If you go out opening weekend you won't be alone but it can be very good! I usually fish it spring and early summer. One of these days I'll make it out for the fall bite. I know several guys who do. Piggy city!!! I haven't made it out there ice fishing. I usually hang around home during that time of year as I am usually really busy working on my honey do list

Have a good one!