BIG KANDIYOHI LAKE
Kandiyohi County
Big Kandiyohi Lake south of Willmar is generating some buzz when it comes to the success early-season walleye anglers are having there. It's a top option for opening day due to the lake's characteristics. Big Kandiyohi is shallow, so it warms up quickly, the water is murky, which is always a benefit to anglers, and there are a lot of walleyes swimming in the lake.

With little structure to key on, anglers must, once again, cover water. Trolling crankbaits and spinners in the 10- to 15-foot range will eventually locate a school of fish. Then it's time to start casting to the spot or grab a slip-bobber rig, drop anchor and work that pod of concentrated walleyes.

Big Kandiyohi is popular on opener, so if you find some fish don't get high anxiety when some boats slide up to the spot to take advantage of your good fortune. There should be plenty of walleyes to go around.

For more information, call J's Bait at (320) 222-2248.

WAVERLY LAKE
Wright County
On Waverly Lake on the opener, the weedline is key. The lake is not quite 500 acres in size but there is a nice concentration of walleyes there, which makes it a favorite on the opener. The weedline is just beginning to take shape with some old Eurasian milfoil matted to the bottom and some newly emerging growth working its way through. Anglers will find much of the better walleye fishing in 10 to 14 feet of water.

Walleyes can be anywhere on this edge so it's a matter of slowly pulling a live-bait rig with a minnow or leech right on the outside of the vegetation where you don't get hung up. That's a relative statement because whenever you're fishing near vegetation you're going to occasionally get stuck in some. The trick here is to stay close enough to keep your bait in the zone, but far enough out so you aren't constantly hung up. It doesn't take long to find the right depth and master this presentation.

For more information, call All Season Sports at (763) 972-3112.

CANNON LAKE
Rice County
Cannon Lake just west of Faribault is over 1,500 acres, but for some reason there are just a few spots on the lake that tend to concentrate anglers on the opener. These hotspots are sunken islands in the north part of the lake that consist of some rubble and sand. Anglers out on the opener tend to hover over these locations and jig or slowly drag live-bait rigs over the top and around the edges. The problem here is that all that boat traffic tends to shut these spots down by midmorning.

When a spot goes cold in a lake as productive as Cannon, that doesn't mean the fish have quit biting. They more likely moved. This is a good time to tie on a shallow-running crankbait and start trolling slowly along in the 8- to 10-foot range. That's not hard to do on Cannon because that's how deep most of the lake is.

For more information, call Nagel's Bait at (507) 334-8341.

WHITE BEAR LAKE
Washington County
White Bear Lake has some deeper water and the clarity is good. So why does this lake tend to be a good option on the opener?

It could be because there are high numbers of walleyes in the lake and they tend to favor weedlines in the early spring. White Bear has a well-defined weedline meandering around a rock/rubble/sand bottom. If the ice goes out early and the water has warmed sufficiently, you can't beat a live-bait rig in 18 feet of water on any muck/sand transition line where there is some newly emerging vegetation.