West Okoboji ?'s

[RowShow]

Well, the in-laws planned a family gathering at Camp Okoboji, which is on West Okoboji, for Memorial Day weekend. Figured I'd make the best of it and bring a couple rods & reels along. I have a bad feeling I won't have access to a boat, maybe a canoe if I can find one to rent...so does anyone have any advice for shore/dock fishing on that lake??? I've never fished it before. I'm guessing live bait may be the ticket.

Judging by the map of the camp and the DNR map of West Okoboji it looks like I'll be right inbetween Eagle Point and Little Emerson's Bay for the most part.

Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks fellas!

[mechanictim]

I would caution against the canoe idea on West Okoboji. There are a lot of pleasure boaters on the lake on this weekend. Also a lot of drinking and inexperianced boaters with some pretty high performance boats. You might be ok in a canoe till noon but after that the lake gets pretty choppy.

West okoboji is a deep cold lake and there are some good spots to fish from shore but a pair of waders would let you cover a little more ground. If you want some good bass action try some of the canals in the Wahpeton area. If your looking for walleyes try off of any of the points. Most of the muskies in the lake are caught in water deeper than 10' and might be tough to catch from shore.

There are some places that rent boats in the area but they may booked up because of the holiday. If you stop in any of the bait shops in the area they should be able to tell where you can catch some fish from shore. Oh'Shucks on highway 86 north west of Milford is just a couple of minutes from where you are staying.

[RowShow]

Thanks for the reply mechanictim.

I too am a little weary about all of the pleasure boaters out there this weekend. My thoughts with a possible canoe rental was for early morning until about 11:00am or so and stay within 30-40 yards of shore. Then hit it again for the evening bite. The waders are a good idea.

I'd love to get into some bass and walleyes. I'll probably leave my muskie lures at home though... Thanks for the bait shop info, I'll be sure to stop in and check things out.

Have a good one!

[RowShow]

Returned from a nice weekend up on Okoboji. The weather cooperated like I wanted, but we would've benefited from a boat I have a feeling. However, I ended up with a decent outing. Fished from a dock off a point and managed plenty of bass in the 10"-12" range. Mostly off of leeches on a jig head. Then last night, just before dark I landed a 19" and another just short of 16", both off of a leech. Also caught a pair of "eater-size" walleye and then a couple that were only in the 10" range as well. Tried one of the bays and managed 4 nice bluegill and plenty of small ones.

All in all, a relaxing holiday weekend and a great fish!