Buck Hollow Sporting Goods - click or touch to visit their website Midwest Habitat Company

Okoboji- Pike & Panfish, etc from anchored boat????

Sligh1

Administrator
Staff member
Guys, not the fishing pro here by a LONG LONG stretch but when at Okoboji - gonna have nephews & my 3 year old out. We want to find some sort of situation (not sure on depth & do I find a drop off and how deep???) where the kids can throw out worms for pan fish.
I wanted to throw out my heavier duty stuff with a liter, hook and big chub with a bobber - would that work for pike here you think? Used to do that in MI and worked well but that was 10-15 years ago and hardly remember what we did.
Could catch some bass & other stuff too, it's all good. Basically, want some good action with small and big stuff that could be a possibility with an anchored boat with some rascals on board.
We do this once a year so just wanna have some variety & fun. Doesn't need to be the killer tactic to win a fishing tournament, just catch some fish which in other areas we've always managed to figure out.

How would I go about this? What depth or situation? Would big chubs hooked in back work? Put em a few feet off bottom or what? Also, when is best time? for pike I've seen em bite in middle of day but I'd imagine late afternoon evening best or is AM better? don't know squat about northern Iowa fishing so any help appreciated!!! Entertaining the youngsters but I do take it serious enough I really do want to real in some nice fish. Any help appreciated!!! Skip
***Anyone familiar with okoboji area? WHERE DO I BUY LIVE BAIT LIKE THIS?????
 
When are you going? As for bait definitely hit up Kabeles Trading post. Run by some great people who are outdoorsman/women. They can also point you in the right direction to where fish are active. I would venture to guess if you can find some pan fish you will find some predator fish also. One other thing to keep in mind is pleasure boaters. Not sure if they are as prominent on Spirit as they are on Boji or not.
 
Sounds like you got the right idea to me. Slip bobbers with the rig you suggested is the route I would go if you're anchored with the youngsters going for pan fish. I've never really used big chubs even up in Minnesota or Canada fishing but I don't know anything about fishing Okoboji. I would get minnows, leeches and worms and see what they're biting on. We always try to find a small local bait shop to buy bait at and usually they'll be able to give you an idea of what they are biting on and when the best time is. Good luck!
 
If you're staying around West Okoboji, Oh Schucks bait shop on the south end of the lake along Highway 86 is a full service bait shop, as is Stan's along 71 in north Milford. Both will also have some general advice on where the bite might be.

West is a great lake for bluegills, and we've often kept kids entertained for hours hauling them in. There will be plenty of little ones, but the lake also has some real slab gills. I have several waypoints of where we usually have luck, but in general, Emerson Bay, Miller's Bay and Hayward's Bay would be the places I'd target for panfish on West. Pocahontas point out from the house that looks like a Culver's restaurant is a good bet most days. Diamond jigs or pilkies tipped with wax worms or belgian worms will usually do the trick. For pike, wherever you find good numbers of bluegill, you'll also find pike. I like to pull shallow running crankbaits along the weed lines and you'll likely catch a few.

Oh, and one final tip. If it's a reasonably nice day, plan on being out there early and done by 10-11 am. Otherwise you'll get bulldozed by all the pleasure boaters and jet skiers :D Good luck.

NWBuck
 
Last edited:
An easy way to fish panfish with kids (without a lot of tangles) is to drift over the spot...maybe a nice weed edge/hump/drop off.

Have their line rigged up with a little tube jig or twister tail. Crappies/bluegills and bass will all hit this setup in most cases. They just set the hook and reel, often with the help of dad of course.

Sometimes bait is not even necessary. Saves time, and they have a blast.

(some wind required)
 
I think you've got it figured out.

But please, please, please put new line on your snoopy pole. You'd hate to lose the big one because of faulty equipment.
 
I think you've got it figured out.

But please, please, please put new line on your snoopy pole. You'd hate to lose the big one because of faulty equipment.

Come on, I find that remark degrading & don't appreciate that kind of humor and low blow..., I have upgraded long ago to the Ronco Pocket Fisherman.... http://www.popeilfamilystore.com/ppf.html
Supposedly, a buddy of mine just pulled in a 14 foot Bull Shark off the East coast with one of these so I don't think we have equipment issues.
 
When I northern fish, I use a chub hooked thru the mouth (they tend to live longer than thru the back) under a slip bobber in submerged weed beds or just outside of them. I usually have better luck with northern in the evening - last 3 hours of the day. Mornings isn't a waste though. I had one day a few years back where I caught 3 fish 30" or better before 10 AM. Nothing compared to Saskguy, but I was pretty proud of myself.
 
While anything that Ron Popeil endorses is high quality, you should probably pick up a box of banjo minnows to give you the edge.
 
TRUE FISH STORY.... Caught some on the boat last night. Tonight after I finished some work I ran to do the dock before dark as I wanted to actually keep a few fish (let 90% go) for one meal. Caught some & left the poles on the dock while I ran to the side to start cleaning fish. Just had some bobbers out with some leaches & minnows. Checking back after a sec.... Hmmmm, one bobber is under, better run. Ran out, ooops, no pole! Completely gone and some distance into the lake. Look out into the lake - like a movie script, a huge bass starts lunging out of the water as my bobber comes up and down way the heck out there. Came a good foot out of the water multiple times. Finally, considering he pulled out my really nice rod & reel instead of the Walmart special, I thought, well- away we go.... Swam out and finally able to chase down my bobber and catch it, pulled the fish up, held him up for a nice glance (ok, we're legit talking about a 2-3 lbs fish, I ain't saying it was some 7 pounder or something), let him go and then pulled on the other side and recovered the rod. Had 2 fun nights with tons of catch & release and sure didn't think I'd be the one at the end of my line at the bottom of the lake. Came out looking like swamp thing, cleaned up the rest of the meal to be and should have a dandy fish fry for a few people later. I earned this dinner.
 
Please tell me there will be a YouTube link coming soon!

X2. Although that IS a funny story, a vid would be gold in this case! :D The only thing missing from this scene is Skip diving into the water holding a knife in his teeth, Tarzan style! :D
 
TRUE FISH STORY.... Caught some on the boat last night. Tonight after I finished some work I ran to do the dock before dark as I wanted to actually keep a few fish (let 90% go) for one meal. Caught some & left the poles on the dock while I ran to the side to start cleaning fish. Just had some bobbers out with some leaches & minnows. Checking back after a sec.... Hmmmm, one bobber is under, better run. Ran out, ooops, no pole! Completely gone and some distance into the lake. Look out into the lake - like a movie script, a huge bass starts lunging out of the water as my bobber comes up and down way the heck out there. Came a good foot out of the water multiple times. Finally, considering he pulled out my really nice rod & reel instead of the Walmart special, I thought, well- away we go.... Swam out and finally able to chase down my bobber and catch it, pulled the fish up, held him up for a nice glance (ok, we're legit talking about a 2-3 lbs fish, I ain't saying it was some 7 pounder or something), let him go and then pulled on the other side and recovered the rod. Had 2 fun nights with tons of catch & release and sure didn't think I'd be the one at the end of my line at the bottom of the lake. Came out looking like swamp thing, cleaned up the rest of the meal to be and should have a dandy fish fry for a few people later. I earned this dinner.

I can't help but not think of the scene from Jaws when the shark is pulling around the buoy, and the crew on the boat is following him....:D "We are going to need a bigger boat"
 
Top Bottom