Lake Kabetogoma Fishing Report For May 28th
"The weather pattern on Kabetogama this week has been interesting to say the least. First, sunburned to the point of being painful to get dressed, then temperatures plummeting into the mid-30s. Oh and let’s not forget the 180-degree reversal of the wind that blew hard from the southwest on Tuesday, before the 45-degree temperature drop turned it into a nor’easter for Wednesday.
When Kent pushed away from the Dock that morning, it was 42 degrees with a 20 to 25 MPH wind out of the north and snowing sideways. Kent said “My fingertips were still numb a day later. Luckily, my Simms ice gear was the ticket for keeping the rest of my body toasty warm and dry.”
Prior to the temperature crash, Kent and Kolby were both producing limits of fish for their crews. As you might expect though, the turbulent weather didn’t help in terms of keeping the fish on a hot bite. The shallow water action was affected most, Kolby’s favorite early season method of pitching jig and shiner combinations toward the shallows and working them back to the boat was put on pause.
Somehow though, despite the tough conditions, folks were still able to catch some fish. Fish had moved out to the breaklines and the key depth range was 18 to 28 feet, at least that’s where Kent and his crew had the most success. Some of the anglers who actually produced the best catches were the folks who stayed at the resort and spent their time fishing right here, from the dock! In this instance, they were the smart ones.
Honestly, it was a couple of tough days, but it looks like happy days are here again. Kent says that by late evening on Thursday, anglers had begun carrying walleyes into the fish cleaning house again. Memorial Day Weekend appears to offer more stability in terms of weather and that will help make this a productive period on Kabetogama.
Planning for your holiday weekend fishing trip will be fairly easy. Kent, Kolby and most of our guests are still using spottails as the bait of choice. Most folks add them to jig head in the 1-8-to-3-8-ounce size range, depending on how deep they’re fishing. Never forget, shiners, especially the larger ones can also be used on Lindy Rigs to produce excellent results. Sometimes, the slower presentation, combined with the minnows natural attracting power can leave walleyes powerless to say no. They will often take this presentation when more aggressive ones fail.
Lindy Rigs tipped with leeches is an option too, in fact leeches began flowing out of the bait shop last week. We’re waiting for some of the anglers who bought them to return with reports about how they produced fish and we’ll pass the info along to you when we can.
At the store, we have a fantastic selection of walleye jigs to choose from and they are available in both bulk and pre-packaged, with sizes ranging between 1-16 ounce and 3-8 ounce. So no matter where the fish go, you’ll have the right weight to get your bait in front of them.
Walleyes have captured the attention of most everybody, so northern pike are not getting a lot of attention. But as the accompanying photo proves, there are some big ones out there for anyone who wants to take a swing at catching them.
Kent has a passion for catching big pike by casting large, wood jerk baits like the Suicks. We’d encourage anybody who shares Kent’s passion for big pike and who’s interested in learning the ropes to stop by the store for a chat. We will show you the gear and Kent’s favorites lures for catching. By the way, you could really get a jump start by booking a guide trip, there’s no better way to learn the lake than that.
Our MinnKota trolling motor shop has been hopping, in fact strong sales have depleted inventories. But, we do still have a couple of standard, 24 volt Terrovas in stock and there are a couple of Ulterras with 60 inch shafts that were traded in last week. Call to double check the availability, but we currently have both 24- and 36-volt models available.
The warm weather piqued folks’ attention for ice cream last week and sales were brisk. Don’t worry though, ice cream is one item we have plenty of, so stop in for a cone, a chat and maybe to do a little bragging about your catch.
This will be a busy weekend on the roads, so drive cautiously, with an eye on the ditches because both deer and bears will be wandering. We’ll see you when you get here to wish you good luck on the lake!
