Pokegama Fishing Reports (Pine City)

[Vlasin]

Is there a night bite on Poke/Cross?

Only have been on the lake in early AM till dusk and always leave before it get too dark.

Thank

[H0LE HOPPER]

From my expierience on pokie havent had much luck on the night bite but you can still ice a few morning bite is way better. But i heard people that have fished on cross and say they have done well? good luck to ya!

[SpecialK]

Just a quick heads up to guys heading out and need bait. Make sure you stop in and talk to Red there. Good guy and has all of your pannie / walleye jig selection covered. Very knowlegeable guy about the lakes and helpful.

Was good chatting with you yesterday Red!

Kyle

[Vlasin]

From my expierience on pokie havent had much luck on the night bite but you can still ice a few morning bite is way better. But i heard people that have fished on cross and say they have done well? good luck to ya!

Thanks! Headed up on the 26th...for some Slabs if i'm lucky

[fishuhalik]

mornings best, mid day can be tough evenings pretty good, nights dead on pokie

[FishinFools]

Hey Red,

ATV's on Pokegama this week (after Sunday's warm sunshine)?

thx!

[FishSystem]

I haven't fished it for a couple years, but yeah...was always dead at night. Until the night I dreaded going home, so I moved and drilled atleast half dozen holes, then started getting a few from each hole, and got the limit. At night, they were DIRECTLY under the ice. I mean like 2-3 feet down if that! stay quiet and use large attractive glow spoons. Worked for me last 2 nights I fished it. Some good slabs too.

[FishingFL]

Was out on Pokegama this afternoon and there were ATVs out in full force.

[Tubitz]

was out yesterday and found 7 to 8 inches of rock solid ice everywhere we checked. Kind of nice not getting pounded with snow on early ice conditions for once.

[Ray Esboldt]

Actually 15 or 20 years ago when I started fishing Pokegama, there was a good night bite. Not phenomonal, but decent. There were also very few sunfish, so the day bite was tough on sunny days. Ever since eurasian milfoil came to the lake, the panfish are far more numerous (and smaller), and the day bite can be pretty darn good. Largemouth bass have seemed to replace the once numerous white bass. I don't know if there is a direct correlation or not. They don't really inhabit the same haunts.

Funny how a lake changes (mostly for the good) based on seemingly one plant. However, I am not excited to see what happens when the zebra mussel shows up. That likely will not be a change for the good.

[fishuhalik]

i forgot there were white bass in there. never got one but i usually only fish around 15fow. are there still enough to target or are they more of an accidental catch now?

[Ray Esboldt]

There are still a few, but I don't think I caught any this past year. I think my brother caught one during the walleye opener. I am not really sure what caused their decline. 10 years ago, you could find fairly sizeable schools chasing minnows and catch them on Rat-L-Traps and topwaters.

The sturgeon and catfish populations are on the rise, or at least it seems that way. I have seen several sturgeon jump that looked like small whales breaching.

[fishuhalik]

interesting...i wonder if they'll ever open a cpr season on the sturg out there or cross. they sure are a ball!

[Reds_Bait]

HEY GUYS !

WERE LOOKING AT A SOLID 8 TO 9 INCHES OF ICE WITH WHEELER TRAFFIC $ SOME LIGHT DUTY TRUCKS OUT THERE , SOME GUYS HAVE STARTED PULLING PERMANTS OUT, THERE IS A PRETTY CONSISTANT PANFISH BITE WITH A FEW EATER WALLEYES MIXED IN, BEST BET CATCHING THOSE IS WITH YOUR PANFISH SETUP !!! GOOD LUCK OUT THERE. ITS BEEN GETTING PLENTY COLD UP HERE AT TO TO MAKE ICE WITH NO SNOW COVER.

[Fisherman45]

We stopped at Reds bait on 12-30 he gave us a few tips on where to find the fish and his last words were most walleye are being caught on crappie setups. I was able to get one on my sunfish setup with a waxie.

Ice was 10"+

Thanks Red.

[Fisherman45]

Whats the ice like up there on Pokegama? Looking to try out tomorrow morning.

[lispeej]

where does the whitebass come from? snake river?

[hamms-scooter]

Caught some nice crappies yesterday. If you guys are coming to these local lakes or just passing through stop in at Red's Bait in Rock Creek. I picked up a jason mitchell 17" sight fish rod from him and I really like the quality of the Elite Series Rods. Red has a large selection of Rods,lures and Jigs as well as bait. I go out of my way to go to a quality shop like that.

[budboy]

Hows the ice?

[hamms-scooter]

10 to 12 inches

[budboy]

Thanks going there tom

[FishinFools]

+1

[Thomas]

11" of ice. Couple of cars driving on ice, no trucks. weather was great, fishing not so much.

[sunriseduckblind]

Hit Pokegama for my first time last week was very impressed with the ice conditions there for how unseasonably warm it's been measured around 11" of clear ice.There was one half ton out on the lake and ATV's GALORE. I was actually really surprised more people weren't driving there vehicles out??? went out of the private launch on the east side of the lake. There were TONS of people out there! fished from noon to 7:30 p.m. near the south side of the island and then closer to the access later on. for a group of three: caught three nice crappies, a few small sunnies, and about a dozen 4" white bass and baby perch. It was fun to be out again and catching fish on a gorgeous day! as far as the bite went we didn't catch anything after the sun set.

[lispeej]

Hit Pokegama for my first time last week was very impressed with the ice conditions there for how unseasonably warm it's been measured around 11" of clear ice.There was one half ton out on the lake and ATV's GALORE. I was actually really surprised more people weren't driving there vehicles out??? went out of the private launch on the east side of the lake. There were TONS of people out there! fished from noon to 7:30 p.m. near the south side of the island and then closer to the access later on. for a group of three: caught three nice crappies, a few small sunnies, and about a dozen 4" white bass and baby perch. It was fun to be out again and catching fish on a gorgeous day! as far as the bite went we didn't catch anything after the sun set.

Hello there. I'm in search of small white bass for the fishtank. It's for the kids. What are you using for bait? And if you don't mind sharing...what area of the lake were you catch these off of?

Thanks.

[TRZ II]

i was out sat. The lake was PACKED, hundreds of guys. I marked 2 fish in 3 hrs. and I won't be back. If the lake isn't fished out soon it will be with that many people out there. Too bad.

[sunriseduckblind]

bright colored teardrop and wax worms was our bait of choice and we were fishing in with the group of like 15 other guys more west and a little south of the island they were in schools so we'd pick up a few here and there. I think If you want to legally keep fish for an aquarium your kids have to catch them?? don't quote me on that though.

[lispeej]

bright colored teardrop and wax worms was our bait of choice and we were fishing in with the group of like 15 other guys more west and a little south of the island they were in schools so we'd pick up a few here and there. I think If you want to legally keep fish for an aquarium your kids have to catch them?? don't quote me on that though.

yes. my kids will be with me, and we will only keep the ones they catch alive.

The ones I catch are going to the fryer. thanks for the response.

[reinhard1]

here is the law from page 10 of the regs.

anglers 16 or under may transport legally caught largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, rock bass, black crappie, white crappie, bluegill, pumpkinseed, green sunfish, orangespotted sunfish, and black, yellow, and brown bullhead. no more than four of each species may be transported at any one time, and any individual fish can be no longer than 10 inches. at no time may water from infested waters be transported. Pokegama has invasive species so other water must be used [spring water from the store]. good luck.

[Big Jeff]

Is there any snow on the lake? I don't want to drive my truck on the ice so I was going to bring my sled up. Is there enough for some traction?