OPENER GAME PLAN

[TylerS]

I've searched through the threads and haven't seen this brought up yet, so thought I'd give it a whirl (I apologize if I missed it).

What will be your game plan on opener? Are you going a "tried and true" method, or branching out and experimenting?

Personally, I'll be fishing Ottertail Lake with my wife and grandfather. I cut my teeth on walleyes in this lake, and have been fishing it since I was knee-high to a grasshopper. That said, it still frustrates the heck out of me at times.

Since it'll be cold and rainy, I'll follow suit with my presentation. Simple 4-5 foot leader with a red bead, hook and shiner, trolled as slow as I possibly can along the first breaks in the lake. I'm guessing -- actually, I KNOW -- boats will be completely clogging the inlets to the Ottertail River and Walker, so I'll do my best to steer clear from the cluster****. Plan B will be anchoring and slip bobbering right off the breaks, and Plan C will be something I've never tried before: long-lining Lindy rigs or cranks in shallow water. Apparently this works on OT, but I've never actually tried it myself.

If I can't catch fish those ways...well, it' won't be a surprise

So what's your plan?

[Jim Almquist]

My favorite jig with a shiner.

I will be on Cutfoot/Winne and will troll with the electric with the jig tossed behind the boat. I don't mess with success

When I am in shallow like 5' to 15' I always have to jig. I just go farther behind the boat the shallower I get so I don't spook the fish.

[Andrew Erickson]

ill be fishing harriet at midnight. Probably going to start off throwing cranks and switch to a slipbobber with a leech if thats not working out

[TylerS]

My favorite jig with a shiner.

I will be on Cutfoot/Winne and will troll with the electric with the jig tossed behind the boat. I don't mess with success

When I am in shallow like 5' to 15' I always have to jig. I just go farther behind the boat the shallower I get so I don't spook the fish.

Interesting method. My grandfather loves to do that. I used to scoff at it...until he horribly outfished me. Definitely don't mess with success! Question: do you pop it every once and awhile, or strictly drop and drag? I imagine you respond to what the fish want, but I'm curious what you've witnessed work better. I think grandpa does the drop and drag method. When it works, it works!

[OnAFly]

I'll be out in Ottertail County with jigs and minnows. Tried and true. With the late spring we've had, I'm guessing a lot of fish might still be in the river. So, that may make the walleye fishing difficult.

Might just end up looking for the crappies/sunnies if Plan A goes down the carper.

[Jim Almquist]

I like to pull it forward fairly quick and drop it back slow. About 80% of your bites will come on the drop and some days it will be 100% of the time. I like to move a little faster than a speed you would use for Lindy rigs. I also am back trolling while I am jigging. My jig size is right around 3/16oz.

[OnAFly]

Jim - Where do you find 3/16th oz jigs? I haven't found a reliable source so I have to upsize to 1/4oz sometimes.

[Jim Almquist]

I found a pattern that I loved and went to the people that made the jig and ordered a 1000. At the time they did not have that jig in stock but agreed to make them for me. Will they do that today---who knows. It was JRs in Brooklyn Park. They would stock them in 1/8, 3/16, 1/4, and 3/8. The first coat is white and the second is glow and then my color pattern.

[Jim Uran]

Tossing jigs, trolling jigs, tipped with minnows!! Start shallow and work deeper until I find where they are at!

[reinhard1]

i'll be going shallow after pike and deep near surface for rainbows and hopefully i deep diver will get me a laker. next week on a weekday. good luck to everyone. good luck.

[anchor man]

I'll start casting cranks in shallow before sunrise..then move to jig/minnow shallow out to about 15ft...or deeper if needed. I'll be on the Whitefish chain, so you never know how (or if) the 'eye bite will be out there this time of year.

[james_walleye]

I'll be making my first trip to vermilion for opener. My plan is to work some points and "pinchpoints" near the mouth of a well known bay that has a good spawning run. I'm going to try and avoid the crowd that will gather in the bay. Lindys and jigs will be the weapons in the morning with fatheads, rainbows, and creekchubs all getting their turn. Saturday evening will find us slip corking somewhere.

[dslaughter]

I will be trolling cranks. It worked last week in WI. I will be fishing Knife.

[EsaysFISHON]

jigs n minnows or leeches starting in about 5 ft with the overcast and working the breaks around points on the north side. And I always like to put that little red bead on the line for the jig too!

anyone think the leeches will be "balling up" in central mn cuz of the cold water this year?

[scott b]

They ball up under 50. Hook them back a little behind the sucker and affix the sucker to the jig head. This makes them comfortable enough to "Let Loose". Good luck, and please let me know how you did using this tactic.

[Mike Stark]

jigs n minnows or leeches starting in about 5 ft with the overcast and working the breaks around points on the north side. And I always like to put that little red bead on the line for the jig too!

anyone think the leeches will be "balling up" in central mn cuz of the cold water this year?

I have heard that if the water in your leech bucket is colder than the lake water the leeches will not ball up once they hit the water. I have never tried it but it seems like it would work.

For me, I will be rigging and long lining floating raps.

[lunkerlander]

Interesting theory Mike. Anyone else experimented with this? Sounds reasonable.

[Big Tom]

Projecting Sat and Sun so it'll be off the dock for me at night with leeches or big shiners under lighted bobbers. Most openers this has been more productive than jigging during the day for me.

[auggie78]

Drifting and back trolling jigs with minnows and rigs with leeches.

[jellio]

My plan for opening weekend will be to wait until Monday when the weather isn't so nasty....then I'll be using small jig heads and small minnows probably crappie minnows and moving slow...I'll start trolling spinners in 2-3 weeks.

[Mike Stark]

big shinners on lindy rigs worked today...