Ballard's - Lake of the Woods, Minnesota

Soaring numbers and trophy walleyes…

Hello sportsfans…  And welcome to the weekly quest here on Minnesota’s Lake of the Woods.

Let’s get right to it.  I have two phrases I’d like to throw at you.  (1) When it’s good…  It’s good!  (2) Don’t leave fish to find fish!

In a nutshell that’s what this past week has been all about.  The ol’ boys around the morning coffee clutch will tell you the same.  And actually that’s where phrases (1) and (2) came from.

Yesterday was exactly that day…

At 8am I left my post in the office and headed toward the fishing grounds following the pack of wiley Ballard guide boats to the famed fishing grounds.  Little did I know that for the next nine hours I would spend the better part of my day baiting hooks and netting fish.  Which is exactly the way it’s supposed to go when you’re stepping into the “guide” role.

What did I learn on my day spent?  This lake makes me look good. 

How good?  Well…  Just for kicks…  We kept a running tally for our daily catch.  So often you hear the stories but I wanted documentation.  I’m a numbers guy.

Here’s what we came up with.  Six anglers:  (124) walleyes landed,  (24) of those were slot fish ranging from 19.5 to 28 inches,  (2) trophies caught and released that went over the 28 inch mark.

In total it averaged out to a walleye about every 2 to 3 minutes of fishing.  That’s pretty fast action!

With such good hustle our lunch break didn’t come until about 2pm.  Then after a quick bite the afternoon bite really kicked into high gear.

Hot spots?  There’s no secret.  I fished two spots yesterday and both of them were in the flats.  The a.m. honey jar was straight out from the Lighthouse in 32.5 feet of water.  The p.m. windmilling escapade occured over west near Long Point.  Same depth…  Same results…  Great walleye fishing!

It’s still a jig-a-thon.  Anchor up…  Put on your frozen shiner minnow…  Catch fish.

What’s my encore?  Who the heck knows…  Everytime I venture onto this gi-hugic pond I’m always impressed with something.

Get up here.  Set the hook!