Lake Pokegama Fishing Reports

[iceman16]

asme here coming up for the weekend to my girlfriends cabin i think tioga beach area if i remember right.

iceman

[bmc]

It sounds like some of the deeper, clear lakes are having an awesome shallow water bite after dark. I know guys who have been casting shallow raps up in 3-5 of water after dark and doing really well. Otherwise I would use a jig/minnow combo and target the weedline 15-20'.

Brian

[hookset26]

Brain,

Thank you for the help. I appreciate it. Enjoy your weekend!

[bmc]

Don't forget about the crappies and gills, they should be shallow right now on Pokeg....right up in the junk!

Brian

[iceman16]

last weekend we did well on the shallow humps with a lighted bobber.

iceman

[mitch]

Hi, I'm going to be heading up to Pokegama next week to research water quality on some lakes in the area. I'll be staying in a cabin on the Wendigo arm of Lake Pokegama. I'm hoping to get some fishing done after work in the evenings.

How is the fishing right now? Any tips on places to start? I don't really care what species I catch.

I would probably need to rent a boat from the resort, or if someone had an empty seat in their boat and wanted some company that would be cool too.

Thanks for any help.

Mitch

[Seabass77]

My brother was just up there, when it was windy, the eyes were biting. Otherwise, mostly smallies. Most fish came on spinners.

[Deet]

Mitch,

If you like bass fishing, there are some excellent areas in the Wendigo arm. Just look for typical bass spots - edge of the lillies, beaver lodges, any good cover, really, and in the shallow bays. There are big smallies in there, too. If you go looking for walleyes, you'll probably catch smallies at the same time.

"Easy" way to catch walleyes will be to troll raps on the weed edge and just into the weeds at sunset until as late as you want. After dark, you can move in shallow (6 - 10') and use a shallow rapala like the original rap.

[boxcar]

what colors do walleyes prefer? Does anyone tried riggers when waters get to warm

Box car

[Jim Almquist]

what colors do walleyes prefer? Does anyone tried riggers when waters get to warm

Box car

I have always jig/rig the lake but if I was to pull plugs they would be a perch/shiner/smelt pattern. I have been using a plug made by Storm that is a great smelt pattern and it is part of the Madflash series that I think would work great. I have both the shallow and the deep diver and the deep will hit 25'+ with 65# PowerPro at 2.4 mph. Might not need riggers running at that depth. I have been using them on Lake Superior and they are my go to lure this year.

[Colter]

Anybody been out there yet?, I have not had a chance yet, but plan on hitting it hard soon. I would think with water temps near 70 the bite should have been pretty good.

[BenO]

I was out there twice within the last week and the bite seems to be picking up. We caught a good number of fish both nights with the salmo stings working the best. No big fish yet but hopefully that will change.

[Colter]

Good to hear, I have a full slate around the July Full moon, but will get out much sooner then that.

[Colter]

Still fishing during daylight hours and finding a numer of fish in 20-30 feet. We have been pulling spinners with crawlers. The panfishing has been great.

Anybody else getting out there?

[BenO]

Was out there three times this last week fishing was pretty good. Went out for most of the day today and did very well boating around 25 to 30 walleys. Has been the best day fishing ive had out there yet. Biggest being a 26 and lots of fish in the 19-21 range. Lindy rig and a crawler seemed to be the best for us.

[LunkerLTD]

Where have the big fish disappeared too? I have also caught a good number of fish this past week but the biggest has been 22"

It seems like a month ago mostly big fish where being caught.

Ugh! I got home from Poke last night and was backing the boat into the garage then I heard a loud rubbing noise and found that my wheel bearing has blown up. Now I get to spend today trying to fix it instead of fishing.

[Seabass77]

I was also out this past week and found lots of fish active. Most fish were in the 14 - 18" range. Also got into the crappies at dusk and put a few limits together. Pokegama is a fun lake.

[Seabass77]

Out of curiosity, what boat are you in Ben O. ? We were fishing out of a black pro v with yamaha.

[BenO]

I was in my buddies White, red, and black starcraft with the 60 mercury tiller. We were out there wednesday only caught a few fish then we were out there friday and caught around 10 with the biggest being a 28 inch pig. Friday caught alot of average ones only two fish that were over 23 inches but its safe to say those fish have alot to eat out there every walleye you catch looks like it has a football in its belly.

[Colter]

I would agree the the bite is good, We should see this hold up for awhile yet, hopefully into August, but I would think that we may see a lull in active fish around the week of the July full moon and hopefully take off after that again. Many years this deep water bite is good and then they head to the balls of smelt making them tough to catch consistently, I hope that isn't the case again this year. Stay tuned~

[Colter]

Man too bad on the bearings! As for the big fish, my thought is they find themselves a big school of smelt and hang with them and make a quick move to feed with very little effort. Each year we see a great big fish bite in June and then it tapers off until fall.

Glad to hear your having success! Pokegama is a great body and one never knows what on the line~

[LunkerLTD]

Well tonight, I tried another part of the lake and hooked a 21", 22", and a 26" so they are getting bigger, it seems they tend school in sizes.

Sean, Do you get a few big fish in July and August or do they become nonexistent during the summer? Just wondering if I have a chance at a 30" fish. I caught a 17" fish last night in 42' of water, only 10' down on a crankbait.

[Colter]

We do get some all summer long but the consistency seems to be much less.

[Colter]

Anybody plan on getting out this week and weekend full moon fishing? I'll be out all week, looking forward to it~

Gotta believe with the day bite slowing, the night bite should be good. #12 Salmo Stings or #5 Hornets will be my bait of choice, anybody else?

[BenO]

Going to possibly make it out as early as tonight. May not be the best fishing yet but will be getting better each night. Probabally will try a few other area lakes also this week but focusing on Pokegama in main three nights that the moon is the biggest. Hopefully the hogs will be eating as we only caught one real good fish last full moon out there.

[musky796]

Went out last week two nights. Did a little switch up and I tried this bait that I have had for years and never tied a line to it. I dont even know how it ended up in my box. Its all blue crome colored with a big gnarly lip on it. We slow trolled it over deep weeds and did really well. Nothing over 25-26 in range but everything under. Tons of fun!

[Northlander]

Hey Colter Jason Manning says "Howdy". Can you send me a e-mail please. Im wondering where I should take the wife for a week the 2nd week of August and wondering about Winni, Leech or where.

My e-mail is below. Thanks!!

[Colter]

Northlander,

I sent you an email. You can give me a call if that works. 218-244-2954.

[LunkerLTD]

Last night looked like a Christmas tree lite up around the islands. How did every one do? I do not fish around the islands but I went to my hot spot and I only managed to get a 11" walleye in 1.5 hour so I tried another spot and went deeper and picked up a 21" so I was happy with that and called it a night. Just curious if the bite was slow everywhere last night or if the fish just where not in my usual spot. I had been doing excellent until last night.

[Rick]

The walleye, northern pike angling season has ended for 2019-2020 and many anglers on the ice now will pursue other species.

 

Pan fish will definitely be the species of choice and the Grand Rapids area has numerous opportunities. With countless lakes within 20 miles of the community it’s no wonder fisherman from all over Minnesota come north to sample our fishing. Bluegills, Crappies, and Yellow Perch are the fish that anglers chase for the most part. There are also trout opportunities in many of the lakes as well. Bluegills and crappies are the most sought after and most lakes are good choices to fish.

 

From the smaller bodies of water to the larger lakes such as Pokegama, Cutfoot, Splithand, Bass, and Bowstring, many contain all three species of panfish. Some of the smaller lakes in the area to pay attention to are Little Cutfoot, Little Ball Club, Little Splithand, Jay Gould, Rice, and Little Moose. One of the things to bay attention to, with the early snow that clogged the lakes and made travel tough, there many times can be depleted oxygen that causes species of panfish to rise up in the water column.

 

By using your electronics (Humminbird Heli 7) spotting these schools of fish up high can be the key to success. Without exception, bluegills and crappies feed and look up. So no matter their depth keep your bait slightly above them. Small tungsten jigs tipped with 2-3 euro larvae or wax worm will definitely turn their heads and make them bite. Soft tip rods to maximize the slightest soft bite and 2-4 pound test mono will put all three species on the ice. Stay mobile and drill several holes before getting started.

 

With the warm spring sunlight upon us, being on the ice in Grand Rapids can be all the heat you need.

 

Fishing Report by Tom Neustrom of MN Fishing Connections.