Waubay area!

[Alagnak]

Could a kind sportsman hook me up with an update on the Waubay/ and surrounding area lakes?

Hows the ice?

How's the fishin?

Any pike hot spots?

I'm just trying to decide where to go for a few days. Have about 5 places in mind!

Thanks for any info.

Alagnak

[engfish]

Give me two of your choices and I'll let you know if I've heard anything. (If one of them is the same place I'm headed this weekend, the fish aren't biting there!)

I was on Waubay the last weekend of February and the ice was in great shape. The perch bite was very light (had to use bugs and light lines) but the walleyes were fairly active.

My local contacts tell me that the "northern lakes" should have good ice for at least another week or so. The extended forecast for this week has low temps during the evenings, so ATV travel isn't going to be an issue on lakes like Bitter, Waubay, Red Iron, or Buffalo. Swan's access on the north side has been snowed in most of the winter, but that may have changed in the last few weeks.

[Alagnak]

I didn't really have any specific lakes in mind yet. When I go out there I usually fish a half dozen in 3-4 days. I'm more of a pike guy myself. I'll probably fish some crappies a night or two on Pickeral, maybe some walleyes on Waubay, Roy? But PIKE is what i'll be after during the day. My biggest have been out of Waubay and connected water but i heard Red Iron had some nice water-wolves as well. I've never mounted a fish in my life, but take some pictures. I'm not into keeping much (that's probably why panfish'n doesn't do it for me) but do like pulling in the gators. I'll have the truck, 4 wheeler, and even waders ready for any weather thrown my way. Are you saying 4 wheeler only right now?

Thanks alot for the reply, I appreciate it and any other advice and/or opinions you may have for me.

Take it easy!

[engfish]

Well, if it's gators you're after...nobody in SD will begrudge you a few gators. Most of the guys I fish with over there don't even regard that as a fish. Go to the bait shop in Waubay and ask about Blue Dog. The Dog has got big fish in it, and with four tip ups you can cover a lot of ground. Use those big SD chubs and anything chartreuse under the water. They'll be in cruising the shallow water getting ready for the spawn. Bitter on the north end is a favorite spot with the locals. There's a bait shop and gas station right near that part of the lake, too. They'll let you know if they've been catching fish. Enemy Swim is another lake that has big northerns and big walleyes. I'd also give Buffalo a try. The west bay is always a local favorite, and you can catch everything. There are some good weedlines that should be a good place to start.

If you're looking for a "southern" possibility, Albert has a reputation for early season monsters. (South on 81 from Watertown) It doesn't get much ice fishing pressure because it's not a great perch or walleye lake.

[Alagnak]

Thanks a bunch for the info. Yeah, like you said, not too many guys really target them out there and 95% of the time that's all we fish. But then again i'm originally a cheese-head and we're known for watching tip-ups for days (and the beer drinking that goes along with it). We will be targeting only lakes near Waubay and staying in Webster so in the 4-6 days I'm there (depending on the fishing and weather) I'm sure we'll hook into a couple water-wolves with that much time watching flags. Again- I appreciate the help!

Thanks- Alagnak

[jigginjerk]

I was out to the area last weekend and did great on pickerel in the AM for crappies 1-1.5lbers and fished waubay in afternoon for perch. Picked up a 14lb northern on sunday AM fishing crappies, what a blast. We drove all over with no problems. But that was a week ago so it mite be pretty wet now. Good Luck, Give Roy & Penny a call at Grenville Sports Mart and they will help you out.

[walleye69]

Alagnak,

3 of us fished the northwest part of Bitter on Sat the 18th and had some pretty good pike action along the edge of a shallow weed bed in 3-5 fow. Caught and released around 25 slough sharks from 2-13lbs with alot of them in the 5-8lb range. Nothing huge, but I'd have to say the bigger females are going to go on the prowl there any day now. All of our fish were caught on smelt. Hope this helps.

[Alagnak]

YES this helps. I really appreciate the info from all you guys! I fish smelt alot too with great results later and later in the year. I'll give Bitter a shot I'm sure in the time I'm out there.

Thanks again and keep it coming!

[engfish]

When are you headed out to SD? I'm leaving on Thursday and will fish for as long as I have decent ice and the weather holds. Oh yeah, and as long as my in-laws will let me stay, too. I'll drop you a note sometime next week when I get back. Unfortunately for you, I won't be spending my time looking for gators. We'll be fishing walleyes and perch. I like the fact that SD is overlooked by most Minnesotans. I've been a convert for about 23 years. Good luck!

[Alagnak]

I'll be headed out on thursday as well. Probably about noon and staying at the Day Inn. I have a grey 04 f-150 with black topper and brush guard so if you see me stop and say hi. Or i'll buy you a beer. I think I'll stay until at least monday. I'll be fishing other species as well but gators during the day.

Later

[sloughshark]

OOHHHH the time is near hey fellas, bangin some overweight sloughsharks is in my future. Thinkin of either Rush or Minnewasta this saturday for some pike action, im ready to fight the gators!!

[engfish]

Are you staying in Webster or in Watertown? I've got some buddies heading over from Minnesota this weekend for their maiden voyage, so there's a little pressure to produce, but they're planning to stay in Webster. There's a good chance we'll meet up, and we will definitely have a brew or two.

[Alagnak]

Yep- We'll be in Webster too for base camp. At the Days Inn. I think there's a lounge right there at the hotel.

[BigTen]

Walleyes69,

I have a couple questions for you about bitter. We always hit it a couple times late ice for gators and this weekend happens to be one of the times. Could you email me? [email protected]

Thanks.

[percherman]

How was the ice on the east end of Waubay last weekend? I heard there was a big crack somewhere. Was the bite any good? It was terrible at Helwigs, I spoke to alot of people with same results, NO Fish in the area.

[engfish]

Just wanted to let you know that we didn't spend much time in Webster other than to get some gas, donuts, and coffee at the Casey's a couple of times. Between running my buddies around on Waubay and a couple of other spots and taking my son, nephew, and father-in-law fishing twice, it was more business than pleasure at times. The good news: we got into some nice walleyes and I caught three gators--a 35" and a pair of 34" fish. We had another one on the tip up last night that was just as big. Last night was the first night I slept more than five hours, so we spent a lot of time on the ice. The weather is taking a toll on some of the smaller lakes, and the only thing that's going to be around this weekend will be the larger lakes.

So, how was your weekend?

My "reporters" in the area tell me there was someone fishing on the south end of Bitter near the island, but they couldn't tell if it was a Minnesota rig.

[Alagnak]

Yeah, I wasn't in town too much either. I know the gas stations were closed when I went out in the morning and closed when I got back to the hotel.

Largest pike we got was 40 1/2 in (only 16 lbs) skinny male, I got a 38" with an 18 in girth that was probably just as heavy. One on Bitter, one on Waubay. I had a lot more action on Bitter for pike and walleye both. Largest walleye of the w/e was 6 lbs but we caught a lot of 2-4 lb fish! Great tip-up fishing on most days with only a couple blocks of time that were slow. We didn't jig at all really. A little bit here and there just to try it. A couple of crappies. Largest on came on a tip-up (15 incher!). Overall a great time fishing with great ice everywhere we were. Two other guys I know stayed out there during the week and said th ice really went crappy. We timed it out just perfect I think for the last ice outing. I came home, slept one night and left the next morning for the best panfish action I had all year in NW Wisconsin and then hit two streams for steelhead too! Great spring break!

Alagnak