When 2024 ended it signaled that it was time to dig out the gear for a new season: winter walleye fishing in Red Wing, Minn. Sure, there are other outdoor options, but nothing says “head to the Red Wing Dam” like a winter warm-up. I was fortunate enough to take advantage of that very thing before this current cold stretch blew in. It seems like since that outing we’ve been held hostage indoors by a cold clipper that won’t pass. Oh, how I long for the days of a harder head that allowed me to endure nasty weather.

My mission for heading to Red Wing for some winter walleyes was actually two-fold. First, my freezer walleye inventory was at absolute zero. The last time I ate a walleye was this past fall when I accidently caught one while musky fishing. Accident or not, the fish fried up in fine fashion.  

Second, my walleye scrap inventory was low. The walleye filleted-out backbones and other parts make for some great trapping bait. If the walleye is a good size eater, it’s enough to bait up one setup.  

Once on the water it felt like I had bumped into a good friend who I hadn’t seen since last April. It’s a cool outdoor option to have until the turkey seasons start and the lakes melt off. Those and other things occupy my time until the next January rolls around.  

The expectations of the first outing of the year outdistanced the reality of the four hours in the boat. The two walleyes that I landed didn’t need to be measured because I am able to spot a 14.75-inch walleye from a mile away. Because the legal limit is 15 inches, that quarter inch is glaring. 

The consolation prize for the afternoon spent in Red Wing was the walleye’s cousin, the sauger. For reference, the sauger is bigger than a perch, which is a part of the family tree, but smaller than a walleye, which is in the same family. What makes a sauger a great consolation prize is that it tastes just as good as a walleye.

The first sauger was caught, and then another, and then another. At times, Red Wing saugers can run small. At any rate, I caught a dozen or so fish but only kept three. That was enough for a fish fry and for trapping scraps. In other words: mission accomplished.

The fish fry: awesome. The trapping: TBD.

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