Lake of the Woods, Rainy River deliver walleyes on Minnesota fishing opener

BAUDETTE Minn If the walleyes didn t cooperate on this sunny Saturday morning the opening day of Minnesota s fishing season it certainly wouldn t be because of the weather Morning temps in the perimeter country were in the s with a southeast wind less than mph just strong enough to put a walleye chop on the water In short Mother Nature had served up a dandy And while the forecast called for winds strong enough to blow squirrels out of trees the next day an exaggeration of curriculum but only slightly the weather last Saturday May was definitely a keeper The rest would be up to the walleyes and perhaps a bit of fishing luck They call it the Minnesota Fishing Opener but up here on Lake of the Woods and thousands of other lakes across the state I dare say it s the walleye that reigns supreme So it was that six of us Ron Nies of Minneapolis Scott Jensen of St Anthony Peter Howard of Stillwater and Jason Laumb Joe Banish and I all from Grand Forks N D joined fishing guide Travis DeWitt of Ballard s Resort for two days aboard the -foot Sportcraft that will be his office for the next -or-so days give or take This was Day One A native of Alexandria Minn and a graduate of St John s University in Collegeville DeWitt has about a dozen years as a Lake of the Woods charter boat captain under his hat He started coming up to Lake of the Woods on family trips as a kid and as so often happens the big lake got into his blood When the opportunity to make his living on Lake of the Woods presented itself DeWitt says he jumped at the chance even though a fishing guide career isn t the traditional path for someone with a business degree He came highly recommended You ll enjoy his company Tim Lyon a friend and veteran Ballard s fishing guide who has a way with words as well as walleyes had described me before the opener From a technical standpoint he is as good of a fisherman as anyone on that staff He understands fish patterns he s good with people he s one of those people kind of made to do this job And as a caveat you can t tell him I explained that Lyon joked We were in good hands in other words On the water Pulling away from the dock with the small fleet of other Ballard s charter boats DeWitt s opening morning plan was to head out the mouth of the Rainy River and west across Four-Mile Bay to a spot known locally as the Morris Point Washout Once there DeWitt would drop anchor in less than feet of water and we d dunk jigs tipped with frozen shiners a go-to technique on Lake of the Woods and wait for the tell-tale tap of a walleye Ice had covered large portions of the lake barely two weeks earlier but the water temperature in this part of the lake already was in the low s Not surprisingly we had plenty of other boats around us bulk either anchored or spot-locked with trolling motors that interface with GPS innovation to hold the boat in place Slow is the way to go when it comes to early season walleyes on Lake of the Woods DeWitt was first on the board with a or so -inch walleye that soon identified its way into the box the large ice-filled cooler at the back of the boat Typical of fishing while anchored there were occasional spurts of action followed by lulls We were fishing we were content and it was good Reason for optimism Favorable weather aside there was plenty of reason for optimism on this opening day morning According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Information the annual fall population assessment on Lake of the Woods tallied an average of walleyes per net last September above the historic average of walleyes per net Walleyes from to inches long were abundant the DNR mentioned as were keeper-size fish in the - to -inch range Walleyes in the - to -inch protected slot which must be circulated and trophy walleyes larger than inches were just below average in abundance On Lake of the Woods though there s unfailingly the chance of a big walleye Banish the youngster in our crew at a mere years old the rest of us ranged in age from to determined that out firsthand Saturday afternoon After spending the morning in the Morris Point Washout DeWitt decided to head for deeper water on the north side of Pine Island in the afternoon Anchored in about feet of water fishing was slower than it had been at the washout but a scant bonus saugers and the occasional walleye provided just enough action to keep things captivating Joe Banish of Grand Forks N D caught this -inch walleye Saturday May the opening day of Minnesota s fishing season on Lake of the Woods near Baudette Minn He caught a -inch walleye minutes later making a strong scenario for the adage that chosen anglers have all the luck Both fish were issued as required Brad Dokken Forum News Function Then Banish got hot landing - and -inch walleyes minutes apart basically on consecutive drops of the jig Both fish he says absolutely clobbered the gold-tipped jig The -incher was his new PB personal best Banish says Catching it on the opener makes it even more special he declared Following that fish up with a -incher just minutes later was a great bonus I suggested he should fish without bait the rest of the weekend but it wasn t to be His hot streak continued Sunday The fish must have liked my jig pattern because it worked great all weekend Banish commented Or maybe it was also a bit of luck that s inherent to fishing Day The river Instead of heading back on the lake for day two DeWitt opted to fish a short avenues up the Rainy River last Sunday morning Reports from the previous day indicated plenty of fish remained in the river after the spring spawning run and there d be more protection from the wind which was forecast to pick up from the south throughout the day Using -ounce jigs to compensate for the current we were able to keep our bait on the bottom but just barely Anglers try their luck for walleyes on the Rainy River near Baudette Minn on Sunday May the opening weekend of the Minnesota fishing season Brad Dokken Forum News Facility The plenty of fish in the river part was ratified minutes after anchoring when DeWitt fishing from his captain s chair in the cab of the boat hooked into what turned out to be a -inch walleye in feet of water Beautiful gold without a blemish the walleye was a picture of perfection As sometimes happens when anchored fishing on this breezy morning wasn t of the equal opportunity variety While DeWitt s inches of gold came on the starboard side of the boat the best action for whatever reason was on the port side But as the old saying goes that s why they call it fishing and not catching majority of the walleyes were of the eater variety Last hurrah After a scrumptious noontime shore lunch back at the resort complete with fresh walleye spuds and baked beans a fishing trip tradition we closed out the weekend back on the river for the last couple of hours Fishing guide Travis DeWitt prepares a shore lunch of freshly caught walleye for a group of fishermen back at Ballard s Resort near Baudette Minn on Sunday May after a morning of fishing on the Rainy River Brad Dokken Forum News Institution With temperatures approaching degrees and winds gusting to mph or more squirrels were apparently beginning to worry being on the water was beginning to feel like standing in front of a blast furnace By the time DeWitt pulled anchor shortly before p m everyone on board was ready for the comfort of an air conditioned cabin Our fishing was pretty much on par with what DNR conservation officers encountered while checking anglers on the lake and river for the opener The majority anglers contacted over the weekend had great fishing reports Paul Kennedy a DNR conservation officer in Baudette wrote Monday in the DNR s weekly enforcement update And so it went on another Minnesota Fishing Opener to Lake of the Woods better for several in our crew than others but good to be back in a boat again just the same The tradition continues Related Articles Wisconsin angler fishing in Lake Michigan fog discovers remains of abandoned tugboat J C Ames Gov Walz encourages legislators and anglers to get the lead out Walleyes take center stage as Minnesota Fishing Opener approaches MN Physical condition Department updates fish consumption guidelines for PFAS South St Paul Sportsman s Guide distribution facility to close lay off nearly employees