Stalled water temps have fish in holding pattern.

The unseasonably cold weather has kept surface water temperatures stalled out in the mid 50s for more than a week in most Bemidji area lakes.

The cold water has slowed down feeding activities of fish species that have already spawned, like walleyes, northern pike and perch.

Species of fish that haven’t spawned yet, like crappies, sunfish and bass, also have been delayed while they wait for water temperatures to start rising again.

The peak walleye fishing of the spring usually occurs when water temperatures are between 55 and 65 degrees. This means walleyes have been stuck in a holding pattern right at the point when the best fishing of the spring should be starting.

The cold water temperatures also have slowed down the progress of walleyes dispersing back into the lakes and setting up normal feeding patterns for this point in the season.

The next extended period of warm stable weather should quickly increase feeding activities of walleyes, especially the larger female fish. It should also move the crappies, sunfish and bass into the shallows en masse, where they will feed until they are ready to spawn.

Muskies spawn in a wider temperature range than most species of fish, with most muskies spawning while water temperatures are between 50 and 59 degrees.

There is research suggesting some muskies may actually spawn twice. The first spawn occurs after a portion of the muskie eggs ripen and are then expelled by the female fish. The rest of the muskie eggs ripen within the next week or two and are then expelled by the female muskies during a second spawn.

Fishing in the Bemidji area has been spotty this past week, with excellent fishing on some days and tough fishing on other days. Most of the fishing pressure for walleyes so far this season has been concentrated on shoreline structure.

The best lakes for walleyes early this season have been Leech Lake and Upper Red Lake. Both lakes are about the same size, but they fish very differently.

Upper Red is oval in shape, with very shallow water and no where to hide from the wind. Upper Red is difficult to fish in heavy winds, partly because of the big waves, but also because the stained water gets churned up by the wind and turns about as clear as espresso coffee with extra cream.

Even walleyes with their exceptional eyesight have difficulty feeding in Upper Red Lake during big winds because of the severely limited visibility.

Leech Lake can also have big waves and can get pretty rough in windy conditions, but Leech has many bays and islands and numerous different access points, so anglers are still able to fish Leech Lake in the wind if they play it smart.

Leech Lake has very clear water, so the wind actually improves the walleye bite under most circumstances. If anglers can navigate the waves, the best fishing on Leech Lake is usually in the wind.

The walleye bite has been improving in lakes like Winnibigoshish and Blackduck, which have both started to turn on this week.

The walleye bite has also been slowly improving on Cass Lake and Pike’s Bay, with most of the walleyes back in their home lake after the spawn.

Many anglers have been using jigs and shiner minnows as their bread and butter presentation so far this spring. As water temperatures increase, many anglers will begin to switch to live bait rigs tipped with leeches, nightcrawlers and larger minnows as their preferred presentation for walleyes. Artificial presentations will also work better for walleyes as water temperatures increase.

The big disappointment of the spring has been the poor walleye fishing on Lake Bemidji and Lake Irving. Many anglers who fish Lake Bemidji extensively are starting to get concerned about the health of the walleye population in the popular fishing lake.

If lakes as large as Red Lake and Leech Lake can have problems with overharvesting of their walleye populations, it would not be too big a stretch to think Lake Bemidji could be experiencing a similar fate.

Paul Nelson , The Bemidji Pioneer
Published: 05/29/2009

Mike!~!

Funny this post came up. I was just thinking about Lake Bemidji cause of an article I seen a few years back in Musky Hunter magazine which is my favorite subscription. The article stated that for years and years Bemidji was considered to be a small musky lake meaning that there were no true giant muskies in that lake...............until of course an angler pulled a true giant out of those waters and released it!!!! Biologists have looked over the 2 existing pictures and have all concluded that the fish caught had the potential to rival the current world record musky!!! (Which I think is way smaller than the weight it is claimed to be)

Great report, enjoy to read that report in your area!! Thanks Mike.