“I like to think the fishing is getting better as a result of the protective slot regulation that was added to the lake along with some other things,” he said. “We did a creel survey the summers of 2006 and 2007 and found the amount of angling pressure might be down a little bit, but catch and harvest rates are really good. Angler catch rates are some of the highest we’ve seen in the last 40 years. And angler harvest rates, even with the protected slot, shows they’re finding enough fish that they can keep.”

Another important factor in Winnie’s comeback was a shoreline restoration project that occurred a few years back.

“Before the shoreline restoration was done, the spawning habitat in the lake was pretty much limited to the north shore,” Kavanaugh said. “Along that south shore and east side it was a desert of shifting sands because of the active erosion. Now that it has been stabilized, particularly on that east side, what we’ve found is there are areas where we’ve added spawning rock, but what’s more impressive I think is in the areas where we stopped the sand from coming into the lake, wave action has exposed some of the natural gravel that is out there. So, as you go along the shore in the spring, there are pockets the size of a dinner table where it’s nice clean gravel. Then you go 10, 15 feet down the shore and there’s another pocket and another one. And these are areas where we didn’t add that spawning rock. So, what the restoration has done is put us in a position where we don’t have all our eggs in one basket on the north shore anymore when it comes to spawning. We get a strong south wind and all the eggs don’t get washed up on shore. That east shore is still intact and eggs are in good shape there.”

For more information, visit lakewinnie.net .

LAKE OF THE WOODS
If there is one lake in Minnesota with a solid year-round walleye bite, it is Lake of the Woods.

“They’ve figured out how to target those huge schools of suspended walleyes,” Johnson said. “They use downriggers and troll.”

Besides Lake Superior, where downriggers are utilized for trolling salmon and lake trout, Lake of the Woods is the only other body of water in Minnesota where this style of fishing is a common occurrence.

“The guides are out every day so they can consistently stay on a pod of walleyes,” said Johnson. “It’s pretty impressive to see those guide boats with a half-dozen lines out on downriggers and two anglers fighting big walleyes at the same time. Unless you’ve tried it, you haven’t lived yet. It is fun.”

For more information about Lake of the Woods, please visit lakeofthewoodsmn.com .

Some anglers become frustrated during dog days and just wait it out until the early fall bite heats up. Others tough it out, hitting bodies of water with high potential and using techniques and tactics that produce bites. There’s a reason why 10 percent of anglers catch 90 percent of the fish.