Due to the length of Babe's amazing and unique meeting, we will re-cap his event in a three part series.

Babe shared his amazing fishing insights by telling them through his life experiences. It was truly a wonderful, passionate and personal conversation that captivated us all. The amazing journey of his life story was one we could all relate to and reminded us all of our past. A wonderful era, when the little things like a stream and fishing helped us forget the hard times, and gave us something to look forward to every day.

Part Three, Fishing Tips and interesting facts

“You can’t catch what you haven’t found. They don’t leave the lake. Most of the time they are doing things you don’t expect. You have to find out what they are doing the day you are fishing.”

Back in the day the word was walleyes don’t suspend, they are bottom fish. Or real men don’t fish Walleye with bobbers.
How close minded we were. Babe, was determined to find ways to fish them.
  • Fish are shallow, deep or somewhere in between. Always start shallow work your way deeper.
  • Aggressive fish move up shallow to feed.
  • They care about how much food there is and what opportunity they have.
  • When you find fish are they stationary or moving? You need to figure it out and if you do, you will catch more fish.

Mayflies
Traditionally we are all told you can't catch fish during a Mayfly hatch. Not necessarily the case.
  • Look and find where they are hatching.
  • Watch for unusual sonar activity. Babe experienced Graph readings that showed bottom at 28 and Walleyes at 32. Walleyes were routing up the larva out of the mud bottom and the silt line was causing a false bottom.The walleyes were stacked in there gorging on the mayflies.
  • He found another spot with the same sonar readings and it was packed with walleyes.
  • There was no structure, they will stage around food not necessarily structure. Larva hatches create such amazing food and feeding patterns.

Northerns
  • Fish digest slower in cold water, so the pattern is to eat and then move into shallow warm water to digest.
  • They will feed in deeper water and swallow big bait fish such as Tullibee, Whitefish, or other small Pike.
  • They eat them whole and then head to shallow warm bays to digest.
  • So if they are eating big bait, then they will eventually leave a big poo.
  • Look for Northern poop in the shallows. It looks like peanut butter. When you find it expect big fish to come back later.

In fall they will eat the biggest bait they can. They eat them head first in their mouth .
  • Fish with 10 to 12 inch creek chubs, the bait can’t be too big.
  • Sometime at the middle of winter the food will be at its lowest point of the season.Fish have to fatten when the opportunity presents itself.

How far will fish swim?
  • A Walleye was tracked in lower lake Pepin that traveled 32 days up to the dam to in Red Wing to spawn. It stayed for five days in the same hole before spawning. It completed at 1:30 pm and traveled 32 miles downstream by 6:00 am the next morning.
  •  Fish don’t always spawn if conditions are bad they will re-absorb their eggs. When they absorb, the big females don’t usually bite well. When you hear about good or poor fish classes egg absorption is a big why.
  • Has caught 1000’s of walleyes sight fishing, there are times you can do it. After spawn you can find them resting in clear lakes and target them.
  • The sensitivity of their eyes allows fish to see UV’s.
  • There is nothing that we understand about fish senses that we can explain. They have the ability to move around and find their way back to their favorite spots.
  • They will always seek out the best way to grow fatten and make it through the lean times. Always, survival instincts.
  • At the end of wing dams the swirling eddies will create holes that fish like to hang in.

Babe's Quips and Quotes:
  • Lie like a couple of rags.
  • Some fellas can fall into a damn sewer and come out smelling like a rose.
  • You said when the wind blows from the east, the fish don’t bite. Apparently he didn’t find wind from the east.
  • Human beings have the ability to pass along facts based on total bull.
  • Remember Joe, in order to raise chickens you need at least two roosters, because you never know when one of them is going to sneak off fishing.
  • Fun is a bite of anything

Babe shared reflections on his first family outing for sunfish. He can remember everything that day so clearly. Those memories of family together in the outdoors become the most intimate and most cherished memories of your life. Take the time to create and cherish your moments.

He closed with a very passionate speech on Ticks and Lyme’s Disease. Babe has compiled the most thorough detail on this subject. You should definitely check out his website to learn about this horrible disease, It is an epidemic and Babe's website is the best resource on the subject.

For more information go to:
Babe Winkelman Productions
Winkelman.com

End of the Babe series, hope you enjoyed. Have a great summer and we will see all next September!

Russell Nelson
Board Member of TCWU