Release the hounds...

[Guest]

In looking forward to next spring's trip to Kab, does anyone have an opinion as to when the bite starts to heat up. Traditionally, my group has always (luckily) arrived prior to the mayfly hatch in mid-late June but what would constitute "too early?" Is Memorial Weekend too soon?
Thx, BAWS

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Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach him to fish and he'll sit in the boat and drink beer.

[Guest]

We hit Kab memorial week last year, and our guide said it depends on weather, etc. He said it's different year to year. We got skunked 4 days solid at first. It didn't help that none of us had ever fished walleye before, much less a reputedly hard lake like Kab. We sucked it up and hired a guide on day 5, and limited out, even with that slot in place, and limited out on Northerns, too. We're goin' up Memorial week. This year I want to try the spillway below the dams at Kettle Falls.

Do I need a Canadian license for the dams?

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RobertC

[Matt D]

I've spent the last three entire summers from early May to mid August living on Kab, fishing mostly evenings, but occassionally morning. By far the best success I've had has been from the opener or shortly after through mid June. Late May/early June, eyes are up shallow. This holds particularly true during low-light times (early, late, and overcast days). The prime conditions are an overcast day with rain threatening, and an all-day wind blowing into a bay with a sharp break up to a shallow early weed flat (no, I won't give away my secret spot!). All I fish with during this time is a pink 1/4 oz Whistler jig tipped with a lively fathead minnow. I repeat, that's all I fish with for the first month! They start to move deeper in mid-June and then get spotty. By then, I'm sick of catching walleyes and shift to smallmouth and pike.

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Best FISHES,
Matt

[guts]

BAWS

Memorial Weekend is usually very good for eyes, wheither the fish spawn late or early, water levels, temps and wind direction have alot to do with your success.

More often than not, the better walleye fishing is on the West end of Kab, and live bait usually minnows is the most consistent choice.

Windblown bays and the windward side of the islands and shallow reefs are most active.
I"ve seen some warmer springs that have sent the fish deeper earlier than usual and if you like fishin leeches, a lindy rig and leech can be a deadly offering.

A good but crowded early bay to fish is Tom Cod, Moose Bay (Kab), Etling, and between Cutover Is. and the Kab. penninsula.

Last year lots of big pike were caught early on, as well as alot of saugers.

Finally in my opinion the best spring fishing if not some of the best fishing of the year could be from the 3rd week of May thru the 2nd week of June, again depending on water temps and water levels.

Lots of luck, Guts <}}}}}><

[guts]

Robert C
To answer your question about fishing the spillway below the Kettle falls dam, be aware of some rules.

I just spoke to a friend of mine who runs the Kettle Falls Hotel, he stated there is a distance requirement that they occasionally enforce regarding how close in to the damm you can legally be. He thought it might be 200yds. He said the info would be in th US or Canadian rulebook..

Secondly, you would need a Canadian license if you fished on the canadian half of the channel and you would also need a remote border crossing permit. If you stay on the US side you are fine, remember the Rainy Lake slot and be cautious if you return through Kab.. The canadians have a different limit and you cannot bring live bait over on their side without a receipt that it was purchased in Canada, and unforunately Kettle Falls Hotel is USA for bait purchases. Hope this helps, Guts