Kab area fishing and outdoors report. July 9, 2019
Well, the 4th of July has come and gone, and it doesn’t seem that long ago we were all praying for summer to get here and now we’ve turned the corner already. The lake was extremely active with all kinds of boaters this past week and finally the heavy smoke coming in from Canada has cleared out. Maybe the long winter has something to do with it, but I can’t believe we are already into the second week of July! It feels like summer is flying by! Enough with the Debbie downer, let’s talk fishing and fun.
Same ol’ thing when it comes to the walleye bite. Water temps are fluctuating up and down in the 70’s and we have multiple weather fronts to deal with. No reason to get too complicated with this and overanalyze so let’s keep it simple. You can also read several guide reports below. Reefs are still producing well but using Lindys and spinners seems to be your best bet. Leeches, crawlers and minnows all working with the aforementioned a little better. Try trolling at different speeds until you find one that works. A run and gun approach is key here checking depths from 15’-30’. Using your sonar, keep working different reefs until you find active fish. If you are marking and they aren’t biting, move on. Come back later as at some point as they will get hungry. You will also want to try weed lines using the same technique. With the significant mayfly hatch presently happening more fish are relating to soft bottom areas and sand flats. Trolling lindys and spinners is also working in these areas. One trick to try that is overlooked considerably is casting Rapala jigging raps or something similiar. Make sure you have braided line as you don’t want any stretch to occur. Work soft bottom areas by casting in a spider web approach around the boat. Aggressively pop your lure back to the boat making sure you are right on the bottom with the drop. In recent trips this has put more fish in the boat than any other approach I have tried. It is extremely effective right now as you are attempting to trigger a bite with reaction rather than letting them think about it. Give it a try and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
Small mouth bass are still in the shallows along weed lines and rock structure. There isn’t a stand out lure to use as smallies are aggressive and will attack just about anything. Northern pike the same but they will begin moving deeper as the water warms. Casting large lures over deeper weed beds has been producing some big fish. You are looking for shallow water adjacent to deeper water as pike will move in and out to stay cool. They are very territorial and won’t roam far from home.
Bingo will start up again this week at the Kab town hall on Thursday at 8 p.m. This is a great time to have some fun and meet people from around the country that come to visit us in God’s country. Don’t be late as tables fill fast.
There is a lot to do in Voyageurs National Park so be sure to check in with any of the visitor centers. They offer numerous tours around the area and can steer you in the right direction for a great adventure!
GUIDE REPORTS
TRAVIS CARLSON
Fishing this week was much like the last couple weeks. Mid lake structure in 18-27′ produced both walleye and some really nice jumbo perch. Was a good week in shallower water as well in depths 8-14′ fishing shorelines and weed edges. Lindy’s with leeches and spinners with crawlers both working well. Travis Carlson
TRENT SNYDER
Another week gone by and in the heat and sunny days the bite is still strong, many big fish being caught as well as good eaters. Lindy with a leech in the shallows as well as jigs with minnow In the deeper waters. Fish are everywhere. Have a great July. Trent
DOMINIC RUIS
This week fishing has been best for me in 8-14′ mud bottom dragging a spinner and a half crawler. Finding these fish has been easy with the mayfly hatch that we have had. Also finding fish on mid lake humps in 20-30′ but have been more inactive during the day. Namakan still has been slow overall but the best bite with the hot temps has been Kettle Falls current.
Dominic Ruis
Wade Watson
Bugs, and more bugs…the fish have no shortage of food source currently as I picture a smorgasbord of options underwater for them to eat. Mayflies are on the water and still hatching, leeches are swimming, minnows are growing, and crayfish are molting. So tip one, be persistent…don’t give up. I’ve been finding one fish here, two at the next spot, one after that, but after a few hours you have a few in the live well and some that you’ve had to put back. I believe the bug patterns in Namakan are slightly behind or maybe just a little different, so this is a great time to visit Namakan. Kabetogama is still producing fish, but I have had to move around a bit and the morning/night bite has been better lately with the sunny, light wind conditions.
I am using three ways to trigger walleyes to bit. Mornings and evenings (or windy days) and low sunlight times, fish the weed lines with 3/8-1/2 weight and spinner rigs. Adjust your speed and for me crawlers have been a little better than leeches but bring both. I’m using orange or darker spinners to match the mayflies and crayfish. I troll these spinners anywhere from 0.7 to 1.7 mph and see how active the fish are. You will find perch, sauger, and walleyes of varied sizes. After that I have been moving to the reefs and fishing slower with a slightly longer leader. Try a plain hook and leech and find rock piles in the 20-27 foot range. I’m going to try a drop shot soon as it’s another way to present the bait in a slow, “in your face” presentation that at times they will go after. Again, I am “marking” way more fishing than I am catching…it’s a little frustrating so keep trying and change things up (colors, blades, baits, etc.)
Finally, I started trolling Shad Raps and Reef Runners out of the edges of these reefs in 30-35 feet of water. I run the crayfish and perch colored lures in 20-25 feet at 1.7-2.3 mph and hold on. This is a great method to cover some area and present something more active to these walleyes. As always, hope to see you on the water, love talking fishing and Kabetogama so if you have questions or comments you can reach me at kabfishing@yahoo.com.
Thanks, Wade Watson “Kab Kid”
