The big fish are out there

By Bill Bartusek, Jr.

Dry, windy weather continues to dominate the outdoor scene as June begins. Despite this cool dry weather, anglers continue to have good success.

The bass opener was a good one and the muskie opener this weekend should be no different. The fish have been active as fishermen targeting other species have accidentally caught muskies. Joe Bartusek recently landed a 50-inch muskie on Lake Minnetonka while fishing a bass tournament. So I expect anglers to do well for this opener.

Big fish have dominated the scene the past few weeks too. During a bass tournament last week Bartusek also caught a bass weighing 5.8 pounds to garner the big bass for the tournament. While practicing for the event he also boated a 7-pounder.

Billy Bartusek landed a bass weighing more than five pounds while fishing a bass contest on Lake Marion recently. He and Bob Hennen won the contest too.

Walleye fishing has also picked up all over the state. Lake Mille Lacs and Leech Lake have both been producing some nice stringers. Though many of the fish have been huge, plenty of slot fish are showing up. That means anglers can take a few home.

Fishing at the cabin has been getting better every week too. Over Memorial Day weekend the fishing was just great as the water started to warm up. Panfish and bass are in the shallows and they are biting. While fishing for walleye, Brenda hooked a monster too! After quite an exciting battle she was able to bring the giant to the boat. The walleye was almost 31 inches long and weighed just shy of 11 pounds. I won't hear the end of this one for some time. By the way if you're wondering what I was doing, I was netting all the big fish! Ho Hum!