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First trip to Kabetogama

bfisherman11
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bfisherman11 Enthusiast

bfisherman11

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I am staying at Grandview in a couple weeks. I have a lake map and I am looking it over now. I have Walleye fished up at Lac Seul, Leech Lk and a few other places.

Any pointers? I am accustom to a slot from my years of fishing Lac Seul. I have a decal with their slot on it I always used. The slot is not exactly the same but the decal might be ok..... Should I make a measuring board or something?

Anyhow, not looking for a guys honey hole, just where to start and what I should know.

I have my own boat (16' Big Fisherman w/40HP Force).

How about shore lunch spots? Is it hard to find a spot to pull up to? I don't want to trespass.

Thanks in advance!

Bill

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Walleye Guy Mentor

Walleye Guy

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Buy a fish measuring device. Hog trough or others. The last time I was checked on Kab, the ranger made me produce my fish measuring device (which he approved of) and then measure the fish we had in the livewell. He made comments about the problems with ruler "stickers" and tape measure interpretations. Having a good measuring device is cheap insurance from getting a ticket. Don't forget thet fish tend to relax in your livewell and get slightly longer from the intial measurement. We had a 16.5 "grow" to 16 7/8 and were reminded by the ranger not to keep fish that initially measured close to the slot.

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bfisherman11 Enthusiast

bfisherman11

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OK, I picked up a Hog Trough.

Anyone know about doing shore lunch? Are there places to pull in?

Thanks,

Bill

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Xplorer Veteran

Xplorer

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There are many places on the lakes to do a shorelunch. Any open campsites can be used until 2pm (I believe), and there are alot of islands that have spots where folks have made rock firerings. I believe that there are also a couple of day use sites on Kab that have fire rings and a picnic table.

Just be mindful that with the high water and continued rains, there is alot of wet wood. We had a much tougher time than usual finding decent wood for fires on our trip the past week.

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bfisherman11 Enthusiast

bfisherman11

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Cool, Thank You. Sounds great. Really looking forward to exploring this lake.

Bill

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Satchmo Rising Star

Satchmo

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bfisherman,

Just got back from 10 days on Kab. We found fish in a large variety of different situation, which made for a lot of travel. I caught a fair amount of eyes in 12 to 15 ft along shorelines when there was wind and cloud cover, but the deeper sand shelves in 20 to 25 ft were more consistent. The reefs are starting to pick up and with some stable, warmer weather, they will only get better. Dont be afraid to go off and find a quiet spot to yourself on those reefs. We got a few fish dragging leadcore in the middle of the day too, but it is early for that too. The mayflies are starting in earnest, and if the temps stay cool, they can drag on for weeks. You will probably not have as much variable weather as we experienced when you go, but the fish can do a lot of transitioning in two weeks. I would pray for warm stable weather before you go.

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bfisherman11 Enthusiast

bfisherman11

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Satchmo, Thanks. We leave Saturday morning and should arrive that evening. Really looking forward to fishing this trip. I am taking my dad and brother. The three of us have not fished together in probably 25 years. Hard to believe we let so much time pass. Anyhow, no matter what this trip will be a fond memory. Hopefully a few fish are caught along the way.

When I fished Lac Seul we always found eyes trolling shore lines. I kinda hope that bite remains but I have a lake map and not knowing any usual honey holes I have picked out a couple island and reef formations I want to try. Its all about learning the lake when you do your first trip.

Bill

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Lostbay Collaborator

Lostbay

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I would agree w satchmo...I was fishing last week and did well on the reefs. There are many to choose from in the middle of the lake. Center reef is always popular this time of year, but some of the smaller and quieter reefs can be much better. Usually this time of year I just go on and off the reefs w a live bait rig in 25-32 fow, but last week the bite was much better in 20-25fow. I imagine if they haven't already, the fish will go deeper soon. The mayfly were out but it didn't seem to affect the fishing too much. We just tried to move real slow and many of the bites were very light. As I noticed several times this year there is a strong year class of 18-19" eyes in the lake! After that it was a lot of 22" fish and a decent number of 14-15" fish. Good to see some real small fish show up too for the future, 11-12" fish.

As has been stated by others, kab can be tricky for first-timers. I recommend starting w the community spots (there aren't many on Kab, but they are easy to find) and going from there. The best part though is a handful of boats on a well-known spot on Kab is a lot! A vast majority of spots you will have all to yourself or 1 other boat.

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  • 3 weeks later...
bfisherman11 Enthusiast

bfisherman11

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It was slow at the start of the week (7/19). The temperature was near 90 the first couple days. I caught a sauger in 30' of water near one island and then my nephew caught one about the same size on the west end but in 12'. All week the bite was tough. The only thing cooperating was the small northers and small mouth bass.

On Friday (our last day) we had much better luck. It had cooled down some so I think that was related to the improvement. I caught a 28" northern on a wind swept point and then a good smallie that was about 18-3/4" and just shy of 4#. That evening my brother caught and released a 23" walleye. Funny, he caught that in about 10' of water.

This trip we stayed on the west side and learned the western part of Kab at least to the point of familiarity. Next year, I am thinking if we go again in July we might stay nearer to the Ash river so we can investigate the east side.

Does that sound like a good idea?

Thanks for the help and YES we had a good time.

Bill

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Igor Drackenwolf Collaborator

Igor Drackenwolf

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When I was a little kid we camped a few times at Woodenfrog Campground. I remember it being really pretty there. I also have vague memories of fishing there with my dad. I couldn't tell you if our trips were successful, but I remember catching a Northern that he told me was 8 lbs. I think I remember us catching a few Walters too.

I've driven past there the past several years on my way up to Lac Suel, and every time, I get a wave of nostalgia, and an itch to make a trip up there with my kids and my dad.

Any tips for fishing out of the North West side of the lake?

As an aside, are deadheads marked with buoys on Kab?

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Igor Drackenwolf Collaborator

Igor Drackenwolf

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No, but some rocks are

Hey, thanks for that awesome response.

Are there unmarked rock hazards?

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h8go4s Rising Star

h8go4s

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"Hey, thanks for that awesome response.

Are there unmarked rock hazards?"

Yes, there are. I don't know what the criteria are for marking rocks, but it seems the ones that are more offshore where they could be in traffic patterns are marked. Rocks close to shorelines commonly aren't marked. Don't assume it's safe until you learn the area. And there's always the chance that a hazard marker can come unmoored from the hazard. eek

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  • 3 weeks later...
bfisherman11 Enthusiast

bfisherman11

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As far as rock hazards I was trolling between the Sister islands and came upon some rocks I did not expect. Lucky it was my bow mount trolling motor so I saw them immediately and simply swung wide. However, I think this lake can surprise even an experienced boater like I consider myself so you have to be aware.

Really though, I did not find it that bad. As said above the stuff in the channels are marked from what I saw.

Bill

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