West Lake Okoboji
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West Lake Okoboji Fishing Reports
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Reports from all past years within a 60-day time frame
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Wacky Rigs
Structure
Docks
Forage
Bluegill
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Drop Shot
Structure
Rock Pile
Forage
Bluegill
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Ned Rigs
Structure
Points
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Winter
Technique
Blade Baits
Structure
Rock Pile
Forage
Perch
The fish were sitting pretty deep in their wintering holes. Was throwing my blade bait out and pulling it through the rock. Fish weren't very active seeing as it was a cloudy day 25-degree day in November. I found that working the blade bait slower was my best presentation to get bit.
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Winter
Technique
Soft Swimbaits (Sm/Md)
Structure
Submerged Vegetation
Forage
Minnows
Water Temperature
49°
Had a great small mouth bit on west. Was throwing around a keitech on a Outkast chicken head. Was catching them all on rock to grass transitions / suspended above the grass. They were pretty grouped up. Creeping that swimbait around was necessary.
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Finesse Hair Jigs
Structure
Baitfish
Forage
Bluegill
Got on a little bit of a fuzz ball bite recently. The biggest thing that I took away from this outing was trying to get this hair jig as far away from the boat as you possibly could throw it. A lot of anglers talk about the hair jig being a bait that you can sight fish with which is a very good tool to use for that but don't get into the mindset that you need to see them to catch them. They blend into the bottom very well, don't be afraid to cast over a flat that you can see across and not see any right away. Another thing that I was trying to do was stay off my trolling motor while trying to be efficient and quiet.
Jakob Schultz
Bronze Ambassador
10/24/23
Species
MuskieSeason
Summer
Technique
Inline Spinners
Structure
Ledges
Forage
Bluegill
Water Temperature
72°
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Hard Jerkbaits
Structure
Baitfish
Forage
Bluegill
The water was about 53 degrees with a little breeze and no clouds in the sky. Added up for a perfect jerk bait bite. I'd look for some schools of smallies and toss this in there.
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Drop Shot
Structure
Docks
Forage
Bluegill
Was catching them in a very unique way. Was targeting largemouth and smallmouth around the docks. It was very weird because the docks are in like 4-6 feet of water and the clarity of the water is well over that so you can see everything to the bottom but you never really see the fish. You can sight fish a couple of them if you're stealthy enough but isn't the best way to target them. It was super windy in the MLF format tournament and there were probably 1-2 footers where we were fishing but if you tied on a 3/8 oz weight you could maintain contact to the bottom and just shake you're slack. They wouldn't bite it the best but if you would just hover the flatworm right above their face they would eventually eat. Not a ton of quality but a lot of quantity. The other main thing was to keep that leader length long of the initial drop of your dropshot.
