were to fish Kabetogama

[gremlin]

Does anyone know where to fish walleyes in early June on Kabetogama Lake. I'll be up there from June 9-16 & have never fished the lake before. I do have a topo map from the Minn. Bookstore. Also any techniques you may pass along would be appreciated.

[Xplorer]

Gremlin,
Although far from being a Kab veteran, I will give you the areas that I have had some success in and hopefully others can help out. I usually camp/fish Namakan, but ventur into Kab. The areas that I fish are in the east end of the lake. Try the south and east side of Wolf island, about 14' with lindy rigs. Also in the same general area is "bald rock" which can be jigged or rigged. That time of year rigging/jigging points and around islands with either minnows or leeches can be great. Another technique that worked was working a spinner/bouncer rig along the developing weedlines in Lost Bay. One thing to remember, there is a slot limit on all these waters and they enforce it. Watched 4 guys get pinched last memorial day, the DNR was checking every boat at Ash River landing. Check all regs, and remember you must leave any eye's "in the whole", in other words gutted but not filleted, when transporting them. These 4 guys got 3 bags of walleye fillets confiscated. You will want to be careful as there are rocks and shallow reefs, check with whereever you are staying for caution areas.
Lastly, have fun and enjoy!! It is a beautiful area and I always try to get up for 3-4 long weekends each year. That time of year you can also get in to some fun shallow smallmouth action and there are some huge northerns in there as well. Last memorial day weekend I caught a 39" and my wife caught a 37" while walleye fishing!! There's an even bigger one out there with a blue/white #9 shad rap of mine still in its jaw! Have a great time, Xplorer

[Tommy Mac]

LAST EDITED ON Feb-05-01 AT 09:08AM (CST)[p]Hi gremlin,
I have fished it a few times. But it was a long time ago. I landed at the Wooden Frog landing/campsite. When I fished the lake, the bite was hot, and I did not have to spend a lot of time looking for fish. I spent all of my time fishing the West end of the lake. Fish the West side of Bittersweet Island. There is a nice flat that runs off the island and I concentrated on it's primary drop off. Other area's where I have done well are the Grassy's, School Teacher's Island and up to the NW in Tom Cods Bay, but that is ussually better earlier in the spring.

There is a good bait shop North of Cook called Cold Springs Bait. They give a good count and have fresh information. The slot on Kap last year was a 13 to 17 keeper slot. The only resort that I know of is Kecs Cove. They are on the west end of the lake right in front of Bittersweet Island. I primarily fished with a lindy rig tipped with a leech or crawler and green jigs tipped with minnows. Hope it helps. Good Luck. TM

[T. Ryan]

This lake is a lot of fun - bring a camera with. If it's windy Wooden Frog can be hard to get out of because you are in the bigest part of the lake. The Ash River landing has places close buy that produce fish and is more protected. I just started to fish the lake the past couple of seasons and have been able to find them but what was good one day may not produce the next. We found two limits of fish ( in the slot ) next to a island that had a 30' hole right next to it, within 20' of the island, electronics are a must to find them. The mouth of the Ash river is good early season and it's right next to the landing. It's easy to get turned around with all the islands to bring a GPS.
We have got them on Jigs or Lindy's they both work great.

Good luck,

T.R.

[GREG]

GREMLIN--THERE ARE LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF SPOTS TO CATCH 'EYES
ON KABETOGAMA. IN MID JUNE YOU WOULD PROBABLY DO WELL TO JIG
OR RIG IN 15-30FT DEPTHS AROUND THE MID-LAKE ISLANDS BETWEEN
SUGARBUSH ISLAND AND WOLF ISLAND. THE WALLEYES SHOULD BE SET UP
IN THEIR EARLY SUMMER HAUNTS BY THEN. THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS
WITH THE NEW SLOT LIMIT HAS PRODUCED GOOD NUMBERS OF 18" TO 22"
FISH THAT WE'VE RELEASED ON OUR ANNUAL OPENING WEEKEND TRIPS.
LAST MAY AND JUNE I ALSO CAUGHT A LOT OF FISH IN THE 12" TO 13"
RANGE. THESE SHOULD BE UP IN THE "SLOT" THIS SUMMER AND PROVIDE
PLENTY OF ACTION AS WELL AS GOOD EATIN'!!!!

A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS-WIND IS GOOD!! DON'T BE AFRAID TO SIT IN SOME WAVES, BUT BE CAREFUL OUT THERE. A NW OR SE WIND CAN GET
REALLY ROLLING DOWN THIS LAKE. IN THE EVENING CHECK OUT THE SHALLOWER WATER. THE FISH CAN MOVE IN TO 5FT. IF THERE IS SOME
BREEZE INTO A GOOD SPOT. GOOD LUCK AND LET US KNOW HOW YOU DO!!

GREG