Opener

[Murph!]

The 2011 opener is finally in sight. Water temps are in the mid to low 40's, believe me it is cold as I found out putting the dock and lift in yesterday. Weather should be good for the week end with temps in the middle 60's and sunshine, long range forecast. Temps in 60's all week so water should warm some. Fish should be in typical opener locations, wind blown shore lines and points. Jigs and shiners again will be the presentation that should put some fish in the boat. With cold water downsize and use the lightest jig that will maintain bottom contact. 1/8 oz. should do unless we have some strong wind.

The opener will bring a lot of anglers to Leech. Be patient at the boat ramps and on the water. Some helpful tips are: anchoring on popular fishing locations is a no no on the opener. Drift with the flow and every one should be happy. The fish will be in shallow water so it is a good practice to idle back to make a drift. Shallow fish will not tolerate a lot of boat traffic so try to go out around the armada to start another drift. Be courteous and everyone have a great opener.

A reminder, the DNR will be checking boats at the ramps. You may not transport fish or bait in your live wells. Bait must be put in a container in your vehicle. Also remove your plug and empty water from live well. They are serious in stopping invasive species.

[nielsensflyinlodge]

Murph
How many boats on pine and stony lol.

[Murph!]

Saturday was a cold, windy, rainy day but the lousy weather did not discourage the hundreds of anglers who fished Leech. Fish were in predictable areas that were wind swept. Yes Don, Pine Point was like a Walmart parking lot. Bumper to bumper boats with 25 mph winds made for an exciting experience. With that said, the fish were also there in numbers. Several limits were caught in the Pine Point area with fish on the point and down both sides north and south of the point. Most fish were in 8 feet of water, shiner minnows with Lindy type rigs or jigs were the ticket.

Sunday morning brought sun and the wind died down a bit. We fished a few areas and caught fish on most. My Grandson Jake caught the biggest of the day a nice 22.5 inch fish. He caught another slot fish and I noticed that he had hooked the minnow behind the dorsal fin and was dragging the minnow backwards. I questioned his technique and he replied "I want the minnow to swim to the walleyes". Well it worked, it looked different than the other thousand jigs that infested the area. Family went home after our traditional fish fry, beautiful day and another opener in the books. I went out sunday night, the full moon rose around 7:15 pm and I caught a limit of slot fish, the biggest a beautiful 25 inch fish, with a 24.5 and two just over 18 inches. I called it a day, a beautiful sight, full moon and a vivid sun set. Life is good.

[petey]

We only fished on Saturday but did very well. Our eaters were caught when we were with the crowds at Pine Point. Fish were steady and the weather made for a fun adventure. However, moving away from the crowd made a big difference! Don't be afraid to trust your instincts, find windswept spots that aren't getting the pressure of 100 boats, the fish are there too. We were alone for hours with 20+ walleyes 20"-26" for the two of us. One walleye got hit by something very big that took out line and eventually let go, leaving the fish caught pretty sliced up. The fish never stopped, we just had to get to bed. A very fun opener!

[jwelch]

My 3 year old and I, Made it up to the cabin this opener weekend. We didn't make it out in the boat but did alright off the dock. My 3 year old caught his first walleye and it was a very nice 25", I couldn't believe it. We sitting out there and I looked over at his pole and it was bent over and I told him you got a fish on! So I had to help him hold the pole a little and adjust his drag but for the most part he did it all by himself. Got it in and ran up to the cabin to get a picture (I just wish I could got him to hold it) and got it back into the lake. Then he followed that with a 17" bass and a smaller nothern. It was fun to see him do so well and get so excited. Besides his nice walleye, I managed to get a couple of other slot fish and one eater. They where all caught a jig and a shiner.

Jeremy

[murness]

We will be pulling in to Trader's in just under 48 hours, can not wait. It's looking like the rain gear will be used frequently over the weekend, maybe dryer during the following week though.