Downriggin’ for Woods walleyes, Pulling cranks on the deep mud flats pays off By Larry Myhre
Reprinted from the Sioux City Journal
There’s no better time than right now to chase walleyes in the Big Traverse Bay area of Lake of the Woods.
That’s what Gary Howey, Hartington, Neb., and I did for a few days last week.
We fished out of Zippel Bay Resort which has been our headquarters site for both open water and ice fishing forays on the big lake.
Zippel Bay is on the south shoreline just a few miles west of the mouth of the Rainy River.
The bay itself hosts spectacular fishing for ice-out northern pike as well as perch and walleyes year around and, we’re told, bullheads.
But the walleye gets our nod and we chose to spend a couple of half days fishing for them with Nick Painovich, who with his wife Deanna own and operate the resort.
Painovich is a downrigging machine, and the back of his 30-foot launch, one of about four he has at the resort, sports six electronic Cannon downriggers.
And, he was anxious to show us a new crankbait which he was testing.
“Lindy will be coming out with a new Shadling crankbait next year,” Nick said. “I’ve been testing them, and they are really good.”
We were soon to find out just how good.
Nick let the boat chug along at about two miles an hour while he set out three lines.
We had not gone very far when a rod popped up, signalling a fish on.
I cranked in a nice, 19-inch walleye and we dropped it into the livewell.
The walleye/sauger limit on Lake of the Woods is six with no more than four walleyes. Any walleye measuring between 19.5 and 28 inches must be released.
The sauger are so thick here you will have no trouble putting together two good “eaters.”
Nick’s game plan for walleyes is pretty simple. He uses a good crankbait (and the new Lindy Shadling is really hot right now) and lets out about 30 feet of line before attaching it to the release at the downrigger ball.
The best flats are at 30 feet right now so he stops the counter at 23 feet, figuring the bait will dive about another five, putting him just above the bottom.
It’s a good system, but if you don’t have downriggers you can troll with snap weights or bottom bouncers. Before long the fish will be a lot shallower and along the shoreline.
In the three years we’ve been fishing out of Zipple Bay, we’ve never had to go more than a few miles from the mouth of the bay to catch fish.
It’s all location, location, location, but if you want to make long runs, fine.
I’m just saying you don’t have to do that here.