The east side of the lake is where the best bulrush beds are found, especially around Tamarack Point and the area around Bowen's Flats. The Narrows between Cutfoot Sioux and Winnie are also good. On the west side, the walleyes are up in the area of the Third River Flowage.

Additional information can be found at www.lakewinnie.net or by calling the Deer River Chamber of Commerce at 1-888-701-2226.

NORTH LONG LAKE
North Long Lake in Crow Wing County is blessed with lush bulrush beds in each of its three large bays that could be treated like three separate lakes. Brainerd-area fishing guide Dan Eigen has thoroughly fished most of the lakes in this lake-rich region of our state and said when he thinks of bulrush walleyes, he thinks of North Long.

Eigen fishes the bulrushes in June and the fall, but he rarely takes clients into them. Fishing the reeds is more difficult for inexperienced anglers, he said, because you need precise casting abilities and retrieving skills to prevent getting hung up.

One of the biggest challenges with North Long bulrushes is narrowing down the best locations. Try the bulrushes adjacent to deeper water first, especially those with current such as in Merrifield Bay.

For more information, go to www.explorebrainerdlakes.com or call the Brainerd Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce at 1-800-450-2838.

GULL LAKE
I first discovered the phenomenon of bulrush walleyes on Gull Lake 15 years ago in a rather embarrassing way. I was fishing at night and became disoriented going back to the launch. I flipped on a spotlight to get my bearings, only to find I was in the middle of a large bulrush bed. I instinctively shot the light down to the water to see how shallow it was and was met with a sea of shiny eyes looking at me. I was on in 5 feet of water, and that shoreline, as I later discovered, had been beaten by the wind all day.

Ever since this accidental discovery, I have fished Grassy Point along Gull's north shore as much as I can in June. The best bite tends to occur right after the sun slips below the horizon by using minnow-shaped crankbaits cast into the pockets of the reeds.

Several points on the southern end near Wilson Bay and Steamboat Bay turn on when the water temperature rises. Gull has a large population of fish under 17 inches because of high fishing pressure, said Tim Brastrup, the DNR's Brainerd-area fisheries manager. "More catch-and-release will help that situation, but the lake still has a lot of big walleyes," he said.

For more information, go to www.explorebrainerdlakes.com or call the Brainerd Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce at 1-800-450-2838.

ROUND LAKE
Round Lake in Crow Wing County is clearer than Gull and stays relatively cool into June.

Similar to North Long, this lake features a very expansive zone under 5 feet of water that quickly drops into the 25-foot-plus basin of the lake. Bulrush beds are usually adjacent to deep water and usually hold walleyes later into the summer. Walleyes cruise the bulrushes in the early season. Then they stay near by, moving in during lowlight periods or after a steady wind has blown into a bulrush-rich shoreline. Anywhere where the bulrushes are close to the basin of the lake is a good place to begin on Round, though the 14-foot hole on the western side of the lake just might be the ideal location.

For more information, go to www.explorebrainerdlakes.com or call the Brainerd Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce at 1-800-450-2838.

FISH HOOK LAKE
Doug Kingsley, DNR fisheries supervisor for the Park Rapids area, said Hubbard County's Fish Hook Lake has some very good bulrush beds on the northern shore and southwest corner, and is probably one of the better fisheries in the area for bulrush walleyes.