panfish perch lakes

[jeffrey dean]

I would like to spend 4 or 5 days fishing for perch or bluegill, any advise on what lakes are good and where to stay.

[Deitz Dittrich]

If it were me, I would head up to the lake Winnie area, and or Blackduck area.. I have stayed at the Drake in Blackduck and always been more than happy with my stay there.

[blackdog1101]

Funny, you're wanting to come up here to fish, and I'm thinking of making a long weekend trip down to Lake Okoboji. The grass is always greener.....

[PerchPounder]

Funny, you're wanting to come up here to fish, and I'm thinking of making a long weekend trip down to Lake Okoboji. The grass is always greener.....

I wouldn't come down to 'boji if I was you. Its way too crowded and the fishing isn't nearly as good as people make it look.

[jeffrey dean]

thanks for the info. perch are good on spirt lake, but depends the day.okoboji is busy during weekends with people. and bite can be slow, that is why I want to head north. thanks again jeff

[NWBuck]

For the distance you're going to travel, I'd consider the Waubay area in SD. You've got a chance for a real mixed bag of panfish on several different area lakes.

[Selmer]

Not to dispute NWBuck , but unfortunately the Waubay area is not what it was 4-5 years ago. The panfish lakes he is referring to have been virtually cleaned of their beautiful big bluegills and crappie. There are still a few there, but numbers are waaayyy down, not to mention perch numbers are down. That is home fishing grounds for me, and I'm not even making a trip up there this winter. Lack of rising water levels in the spring have prevented a good spawn for perch for the last 7 years, and the main populations have been hit hard. I've been trying to get a good report from that area from some friends that ice fish it 3-4 days a week, and the fish just aren't there this year. Good luck wherever you go.

Selmer

[NWBuck]

Didn't mean to give away your local hotspots Selmer...reports from local guys who have been there recently are indicating decent fishing again for those with high quality waypoints Last group had perch limits 3 days of 4 and blizzard conditions prevented them from getting where they wanted on the one day they didn't limit.

[Selmer]

Dangit! You have to realize that I'm still remembering the glory days of when I was in college and the perch limits were 25/day and anything under 12" went back in the hole. Have any of your friends been catching 'gills up in that region? There's really only one good 'gill lake up there, maybe two.

Selmer

[NWBuck]

Never really known anyone from around here to target gills out that way. Mostly perch, walleyes and crappies. Recently heard an excellent crappie report from Roy.

[Selmer]

NW,

There are two lakes up there 5 miles apart that used to be FANTASTIC gill lakes. Dad and I could go up and limit on 8" gills almost at will. We wouldn't often take limits home, lots of catch and release, but they were so much fun to catch. The big gills have been cleaned out pretty hard, and this used to be one of the largest natural lakes in SD before the waters came up in the 1990s. Perch and walleye fishing are still good, but nothing on par with what I was lucky to get in on when I had lots of time and little responsibilities in HS and college. 5 days a week on the water, hard or wet, was not uncommon for us. I still look back on the pics we took and shake my head wondering if it was real...