FISHING REPORTS & UPDATES
Latest Kab Outdoors Updates
Lake Kabetogama Fishing Report
Leeches on a jig are still working well for walleye and smallies and we’re starting to bring in plenty of fish on crawlers as well. Yesterday, our guests brought in several full limits of walleyes and a few nice smallmouth. Smallies have been congregating on rock piles and are in large numbers when you get into them. Water temperatures are hanging on to the mid-to low-60s but will start dropping soon as night temperatures get colder.
Pike have been more elusive lately with no specific pattern to report for those that have been caught. They’ve been anywhere from weedbeds to out in the deep flats of the main lake. Big sucker minnows seem to be performing the best and we have a good supply on hand at the Kab Outdoors store. Come in and stock up to get out to find them yourself.
Our leech supply is coming to end soon but is the bait of choice for walleye right now, so stop in and get some while you still can. We’ve had some guests starting to lead line the deep water, but this strategy often results in a high kill rate, so keep that in mind.
Bear Update
WOW! What a great bear season it is turning out to be with our hunters out notching tags left and right. We’ve already had some huge black bears taken this season over the 300lb mark. One hunter, Marc, was determined not to give up and it paid off. With 30+ hours in the stand, he harvested one of the biggest bears of the week after watching hunters come and go with filled tags. We’ve even had wolves trying to get in on all the action (check out the timestamps on the images below at a bear harvest scene).
Winter is Coming
There’s still time to reserve one of our few openings to enjoy fall at the resort, but it’s time to start thinking about winter and the ice fishing to be had on Lake Kabetogama. We have SnoBear rentals available to get you on the ice in comfort! Call and book today! It’s one of the best ways to experience the lake and an easy way to take friends and family out with you that aren’t fond of the freezing cold temps of northern MN.
The Cast & Blast Special
We’re spending our mornings on the lake catching walleye (the usual tactics are still producing - jigging shallow with a leech and little movement) and our afternoons out deep in the woods.
BLACK BEAR HUNTING KAB OUTDOORS
Black bear season opens September 1st and we began baiting on August 13th when the baiting period opened. This year, we’ll put out 20,000 pounds of bait. We don’t do traditional bait sites, instead, we figure out where they are and bring the food to them in 5 gallon buckets at a time.
Hunters bring their own wheelers and we take them out to their sites, but it’s up to them to make their way back to the trail after dark. Every year I tell the guys, “Hope your wife let you bring your balls, you’re gonna need them!” It’s a whole different experience for some people to sit out in the woods at dark let alone expect a bear to approach. The sounds and suspense can be a bit too much for some folks.
For the last 10 years, we’ve had a 100% opportunity for every KAB Outdoors hunter. Everyone gets a shot and they’re almost never over 40 yards. We just can’t make the shot for you, so you and your equipment need to show up well prepared if you’re lucky enough to draw a tag.
SUMMER ON LAKE KABETOGAMA ISN’T OVER YET!
We have plenty of warm days ahead and guests are still enjoying the view from our HEATED pool. We have a few openings at the resort for early September, so give us a call to reserve your spot - they go fast! Come out and enjoy the pristine beauty of the lake and hang out by the pool… or give us a call for details about getting your application in for next year’s bear hunt.
3/2/21
SnoBear yields fishing fun on Kabetogama
"Experienced open water anglers, Todd, and Reed, hailing from central Iowa, told us that neither of them had spent much time ice fishing. They said too that before reading about KAB Outdoors, they hadn’t even known how to pronounce the word Kabetogama. But learning about our SnoBear rental combos, the idea of ice fishing piqued their interest. So, they booked a trip and drove on up to give ice fishing on Kabetogama a try.
During the pre-trip run through, I mentioned that if you can run a riding lawn mower, you’re qualified to run our SnoBear. Okay, so operating the machine is simple, but what about figuring out where to go and fish, they asked?
That is simple too, I already have the key fishing depths highlighted on the Lakemaster Chart that is loaded on our Humminbird Helix 10. Waypoints for the better fishing spots are loaded on the unit too and so are my trails, marks, and other helpful information.
Armed with a little information and a sense of adventure, Todd and Reed headed across the ice and look what they did. As you can see in the photos, folks who don’t have a lot of ice fishing experience can still find and catch fish, even on their first trip to the lake!
There’s no doubt that the comfort and efficiency of the SnoBear makes it shine as a fishing machine. But we learned this winter too that not everybody needs to catch a fish to make renting the SnoBear worthwhile. Some of our guests used it for playing on the ice, sightseeing in the Voyageurs National Park, or traveling to dinner at restaurants on the lake.
We’re thankful that the weather, the ice and the snow conditions combined to make this winter a fabulous one. In fact, it is hard to think of any way that things could have gone much better than they did.
But as the walleye season came to an end this weekend, we began pulling our fleet of rentals off the ice. For us, the time has come to put the ice fishing gear away and begin preparing for the upcoming open water fishing season.
We want to thank everybody who came up for a visit this winter and thanks to all of you who are making inquiries and reservations for next winter. By then, we’ll be chomping at the bit to get back on the ice, but for now, we’ll enjoy a little break in the action.
As the weather warms and we get closer to ice-out, we’ll begin posting fresh reports. In the meantime, thanks again for your support, we’re looking forward to seeing you again! Book your adventure today Contact KAB OUTDOORS or Call 218.875.2281.