Well, it finally happened, an opener without ice. The way the last couple years had been shaping up we’ve come to expect freezing temps and ice on the lake, this year we had a near record ice out date (officially was April 15) which led to above average water temps in late April and into May. Early ice out really allows fish plenty of time to get their spawning done, and helps with live bait, we have been able to get our hands on more shiner minnows this year, the most popular bait for early season walleye fishing. This opener I didn’t clean a single fish that still had eggs inside, while previous years this was a too common occurrence.

Weather leading up to the May 9th walleye opener was some of the best we’ve had in years, with temps hitting regularly into the mid to upper 70’s, with plenty of sunshine and light winds from the south, with minimal amounts of rain. The state of Minnesota was in dire need of rain, with a large portion of the state under a burning ban, and lake levels some of the lowest that we’ve seen for some time, but that all changed come Saturday. Saturday morning started off cool, or should I say cold with a frost advisory for the area, anglers woke up to temps that just squeaked above the freezing point, temps rose to the mid 50’s rather quickly after the morning hours making the first 6 or so hours of the day very pleasant fishing weather. It didn’t last though, unfortunately, the winds from the north-west began to kick up, and waves began to be tipped with white, and the clouds began to darken, and that was about the time the walleye decided they weren’t going to cooperate anymore. The weather hasn’t really let up since, we’re still dealing with high winds and rain, but we needed the rain, the lake level has risen about 6 inches.

Pictured below from L to R: Dan Becker from Cedar Rapids, IA with a hungry 27.5″ – Dennis Osterberg from Belvidere, IL an owner here at the resort, with a nice batch of perch from near Pine Point, and a shot of 20 keeper walleye laying on my cleaning board.

the Featured image up top is a group shot of the Stock, Hitchcock, and Lee families, from Minneapolis, MN a great crew that join us annually for a long weekend of walleye fishing and just plain having fun.

Anglers that made the most of the morning found that Stoney Point, Pine Point and 1st and 2nd Duck Points in Sucker Bay were putting walleye into the boat, and these area’s were very popular, with 65-80 boats in each area for a majority of the bite. Fish were being caught almost exclusively with jigs and spot-tail shiner minnows, while I did hear of some fish being caught with leeches, with water temps into the mid 50’s anglers found walleye scattered all over, from 5-14 feet of water.

Throughout the week fishing remained good, despite winds that would blow your hat right off your head, anglers braved rough water for limits of walleye, Sucker Bay, Pine Point, Stoney Point and the sand flats on the east side of Portage Bay, near Federal Dam were the places to be.

We had a special guest here over opener, too. Dennis Anderson, long time outdoor writer for the Star Tribune was here with a group of his friends, they tend to bounce around to different lakes on opening weekends. Dennis took the time to write 2 articles about Leech Lake and our resort, if you haven’t read them, give them a read. It’s some well deserved publicity for Leech Lake, especially with how good the fishing has been the last few years.

Click here for the article about Big Rock Resort.

Click here for the fishing opener article.

We’re expecting big things this year, and the resort season is looking like one of the best we’ve ever had, but there are still some cabins available, if you’ve thought about Leech Lake and the Walker area but are unsure give us a call, we can get you set up or point you in the right direction.

Thanks for reading

Come see us at Big Rock Resort

www.bigrockresort.com

Ray