Fishing Report - Wayzata Bay (1/24/2012 @ 4:00-5:45)

Got out to Wayzata again today, in the process of frying up some fish now so I'm gonna keep this one a bit shorter.

Got to my spot around 4:30 (This spot is a little further away then the last spot, but still very similar structure), sun was already on it's way down. Quickly drilled about 3 holes all of which were between 17-22'. Marked fish on all three holes but stuck with the 19' hole (Mainly because the ATV was close by, and I usually setup near it to block wind).

About an hour of pulling up nothing but perch (Again though, these perch were really nice sizes. Even bigger than the ones from the last outing. Biggest was probably 9". Still not much of a keeper, but nice to see.)

Then, just like the last time I was out, the instant that sun hit the horizon (Not that it was very visible in the first place, though..) the walleyes moved in. There was a good 10-15 minute period between the perch bite and the walleye bite, but stick through it and you might have some luck. 19 feet of water, on a hump rather then a hole, and using a Northland Tackle Moxie Minnow tipped with minnow heads (All the sponsor-hype about this jigging spoon aside, I've been having some really, really great luck with it. Lift it up 4-5 feet then let it flutter down and you'll usually get at least one fish that's somewhat interested).

The walleyes were both bigger and smaller then last time. Biggest one came in at 18", smallest was 9", with a couple between 9"-12". Didn't keep the smaller guys this time, got enough from the last outing for a meal, so I figured it'd be better for them to go back and grow a bit.

So again, similar things that have provided luck both outings now.

•  20 feet of water (Despite the guy at Wayzata Bait telling me people were finding fish out deeper)
•  Humps / Sunken Islands / Spines seem to be preferred to holes / bowls
•  SUNDOWN. SUNDOWN. SUNDOWN. Can't stress this enough. Again, my window of good fishing was a mere 30-45 minutes long.
• Stick around. Perch can be a good sign.

Lastly, I saw about 8 full sized pickups out there, as well as at least two wheel houses. So I'd say it's a pretty safe bet to drive out there. I was on about 14" of ice myself.

If you've got any questions, comments, or are even just looking to be pointed in the right direction, feel free to leave a comment below, or shoot me an email @ holland.joe@gmail.com.

Tight Lines!