The 2023 fishing opener has come and gone and some folks had good success while others struggled a bit.
If you were on Upper Red Lake it was like bumper boats, but it seemed like everyone was catching fish on jigs and minnows in 6-8 feet. On Lake Bemidji again it was kind of hit-and-miss for many but some fish were being caught in the river between Lake Irving and Lake Bemidji and others were pitching jigs along shoreline areas in 6-8 feet and doing well.
A friend of mine, Steve Ficocello, and his two brothers-in-law, David Gorder and Jordan Lunski, did quite well on Lake Bemidji including a 25.5-inch walleye they released. The Cass Lake Chain was kicking out some fish, especially in the river. A few walleyes were being caught on Lake Plantagenet but overall the bite there was pretty slow.
As for myself, I was out with a couple of folks on Big Lake where I open every year and it was pretty slow but we had lots of action on pike so that was lots of fun. Reports I’ve garnered on Lake Winnie was that the bite was pretty slow there also. The good news is the walleye bite will only get better as the water continues to warm.
The crappie fishing has been excellent on area lakes and they should continue to be in those shallow bays and shallow emerging reeds for the next week to 10 days so get out and enjoy the easy fishing. Once they move out onto the main parts of the lakes they can be more difficult to find. You could have not asked for nicer weather on opening weekend.
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Please remember to practice selective harvesting, by doing so we will continue to have great fishing for years to come.
Dick Beardsley is the owner and operator of Dick Beardsley Fishing Guide Service in Bemidji. He can be reached at (218) 556-7172 and dick@dickbeardsley.com. For more information, visit www.dickbeardsleyfishingguide.com.
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