Opener where?

[Hans]

OK, the season ended on Sunday, and now the walleye have almost 3 months unmolested by fishermen.

As you pack and repack your tackle, reload your reels, tie up a bunch of new rigs and wrap them on those velcro tubes, sharpen hooks, pack and repack your tackle, pore over maps, pack and repack your tackle, and......

.......you are dreaming of hitting that special spot for opener. Describe that spot.

Hans

--
"I long for the dear old lakeshore, where I dreamed my youth away;
for a dreamer lives forever, and a toiler dies in a day.
From the sleepless thoughts endeavor, I would go where the children play;
For a dreamer lives forever, And a thinker dies in a day."

[SD/Will]

Hey Hans South Dakota is the place you want to be so load up the truck and come to the Missouri, "River that is" Walleyes and Northern pike.

Jed(SD/Will)Clampett

[TBO/MN]

Why wait for opener, you have some of the best fisheries in the state open all year around. Some open 'til April 15th. LOTW is fishable on the ice until mid March, and the Rainey is open and fishable until April 15th. The Mississippi is open all year long.
Why limit yourself, get out there and fish those waters, my boat comes out in mid March.

Good Fishin'
TBO/MN

[RANGER]

North East, Pennsylvania, Safe Harbor Marina in Lake Erie. Kneeling and praying, asking the Great One why those six-footers are still breaking over the sea walls!!! LOL

:'(


RANGER


"KEEP YOUR LINES WET, YOUR POWDER DRY and THE BEER COLD"

[gofishmn]

If we start this kind of talk now its going to be a LONG RES-OF-WINTER.But Oh-well I guess it has already started.
I dream of launching the boat on Leech lake at the opener,,,,looking out at the water and makeing my first location decision of the year.(gives me goose bumps)

The next big thriller is when I hook the first spot-tail shinner to new and sharp green jig---------this is too much gotta stop!!

Gofish-Leech lake

[Jersey John]

The 1st Saturday in May I will be in Oswego NY on Lake Ontario in the Eastern Basin. I will be night trolling for eyes with big stickbaits. I found 2 gold/silver husky jerky's at the Harrisburg show that I am waiting to try this year. Still looking for my 10 #er or better. As the clock strikes 12 I will have the lines out and ready for my 1st eye of the year. Can't wait!Good luck to all and be safe! JJ

[Winnie T]

I open on the same area every year. Its a small feeding shelf located right on a migration route for spawning walleyes. The fish stop there coming in to spawn, and when they are migrating back. The shelf is a couple hundred yards long with great inside, and outside turns. This is my sweet spot. I usually share it with my fishing partner, Tommy Mac.
Take care! T

[Tommy Mac]

T,

I'll be glad when all this talk of lower limits, slot limits and ban the spear are over and we are back on the water again. It will be once again, a pleasure to share a few spots with you. How many days now? TM.

[SJW]

Lake Vermilion, Cook MN. I had fished opener on Vermilion every year until 1992. That was the last year I fished opening weekend until this year. This trip is all I think about. I even figured out how to stay an extra day! I can not wait!

SJW

[james_walleye]

Depending on the water levels...either Madison or Elysian near Mankato. Which ever lake it is i will be on the water at midnight casting shallow running shads and big jointed floating raps into shallow (2-5') current areas. I figured this strategy out in 1993 and theres only been 1 year since then that has failed to give me at least 1 eye over 27". Not bad for a couple of southern MN "bullhead infested" lakes.

[Hans]

LAST EDITED ON Feb-23-01 AT 08:51AM (CST)[p]Opener might be kinda tough up there this year. They didn't get a lot of snow, so the ice is thicker than usual, and may be late going out.

Here are coordinates of 9 spots on Vermilion where I caught
walleyes larger than 20" last opener.

47 56.400' 92 37.390'
47 56.448' 92 38.203'
47 56.531' 92 37.184'
47 56.554' 92 38.991'
47 54.671' 92 36.635'
47 54.566' 92 36.659'
47 54.349' 92 35.728'
47 55.409' 92 30.456'
47 56.863' 92 27.669'

I put them all back in the water at those points. Go find
'em!

There's also a Lake Vermilion email reflector. To subscribe send an empty email message to: Vermilion-Subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

Hans

--
"I long for the dear old lakeshore, where I dreamed my youth away;
for a dreamer lives forever, and a toiler dies in a day.
From the sleepless thoughts endeavor, I would go where the children play;
For a dreamer lives forever, And a thinker dies in a day."

[FlyBoy]

Our first real outing will be Rainy River April 11th-14th. Its early, and doesn't count as the opener, but it as close as I get to an opener. After that the real destination will be Lake of the Woods, Whitefish Bay. Looking VERY forward to it all. Thanks Hans.

-John

[Box]

Hi Hans,

I'm going to be on West Rush Lake, just up 35 a bit. We have been going up there for about 5 years now, to my sis$bro-in-laws cabin. We usually get several nice walleyes, several nice pike and about every years so far we have gotten a 36"+ muskie on tiny little jigs! It's always fun.

Plenty of fishing, plenty of drinking beer by the bonfire and plnety of good spots, deep and shallow, to fish.

I am always at a work convention in LA (E3 for any of you gamers out there) and it is nice to only have a 40 minute drive up. My bro and Dad always have the boat up there and ready for when I get in from the airport. My wife picks me up and off we go to the lake!

It's the trip that gets my mind through a week of talking computer games with every kind of geek you can imagine! ha!

Good opener to everyone!
Box
MN

[Hawgeye]

I will start my soft water fishing in Northeastern SD lakes. As soon as ice out, I am going to give them a try. I will hit those lakes until I hear of good crappie fishing in local Minnesota lakes (which doesn't usually occur around here til' after walleye opener). Opener in Minnesota may be either up to Leech or to a couple local little honey holes depending on water temp and ice out periods.

[Tom/MN]

Hey Hans, I'll be near you for opener. We'll open on Birch Lake near Babbitt. Although from the looks of how late this spring might be we could be fishing the mouth of the Stoney River from shore.

[TLY]

A pre-opener warmup will be Middle Mckensie at Spooner for crappie and the real opener 1st weekend in May will be at the place in Stone Lake for fish, food & friendship.

Slip bobbers & leeches and a supply of Louie's fine brats just i in case. A raging campfire & maybe even some suds.

Look for late ice out and spring chores to compete tho.

It's snowing like heck now so Hans' idea is an inspiration.
The tip ups can go away this weekend while we watch it snow and leave out the light stuff for March/April gill/perch frenzies waiting to dig out boat.

We all survived another one.

TLY