Waubay is a large, deep body of water. Waubay is one of the deepest lakes in the area and offers excellent walleye, yellow perch and smallmouth bass fishing. White bass and northern pike are also popular targets of anglers. The clear water can set up an excellent low light bite that can be one of the most exciting hour of fishing an angler has all season.
Fishing Information
Ice
Location
Waubay Lake, much like Bitter Lake, is one the largest, deepest lakes in the Webster area. Waubay features a more pronounced deep basin than Bitter, but there is plenty of shallow structure as well.
Waubay features main lake humps, shallow and deep road beds, shallow and deep submerged timber, shallow weed lines, bays, reefs and of course rock piles and shorelines.
Waubay fishes a lot like Bitter, so a similar attack plan is critical. Waubay features several pieces of main lake structure such as humps, points and flats that can produce some excellent fishing in the mornings and evenings. The key to success here is finding pieces of structure adjacent to deep water. Setting up on points, bottlenecks or turns helps you concentrate fish and maximize your chances.
Deeper timber can also produce fish as well. Look for sprawling branches and fish on the outskirts of the thickest timber. Working on top of branches and fishing branches at multiple depths helps contact the active fish. Fish multiple trees and stay mobile as you keep contacting fish.
Presentation
Presentation really depends on what time you’re fishing. When you’re fishing the period around sunrise and sunset the action is often fast and furious when you are on fish. Because of this, you want aggressive baits you can fish quickly. During this period, it will not be an issue to get fish to bite.
Flutter spoons or rip jigs like Jigging Raps, Tillys, Shiver Minnows or even Rippin Raps are all excellent options. I favor a Mack’s Lure Hum Dinger flutter spoon as the single hook allows me to unhook fish quickly, saving even more time. When the bite is aggressive, it is often for a short window. You usually have between 15-30 minutes before it ends. Don’t waste time baiting spoons or trying to use dead sticks. Once you have a pile of fish on the screen, drop down about 5 feet above the fish. Give a few violent rips and see if any come up. Many times they race up and smash you. If they still haven’t bit, aggressively work the bait down to their noses.
When the bite is on, it is some of the most fun you will have all season long. However, on the perfect day this is only for 1 hour each day. Often times the furious bite is an even shorter window. When they aren’t popping, you need to work a little harder to make them bite.
Small spoons and jigs are the key to coaxing fish into biting. Orange, green and blue are all great colors for the spoons and gold and pink are top options for tungsten jigs. A plain jig and minnow can also produce some excellent fishing as well. There’s something to be said about not overthinking things too much.
Spring/Fall
The Grenville Grade draws significant interest by anglers during the spring and fall. Casting jigs and plastics or crankbaits can all produce fish. Fishing around other shallow timber areas or weeds can also produce fish as well.
Large jerkbaits like the #12 Rapala Husky Jerks are a perfect option in these situations. The baits resemble the large forage in the system at this time and are appealing to large walleyes looking for a big meal.
For plastics, 4 inch BFishN Authentix Moxi Ringtails are are excellent option. You can fish them slowly and still get maximum vibration and attraction and give a large profile meal as well.
Summer
Fishing in the summer on Waubay offers multiple options. The first option is a shallow weed line bite. Mason Propst pulls Mack’s Lure Smile Blades with night crawlers along the edges of weed beds in 5-8ft of water. This often isn’t a numbers bite, but the quality of fish is often very good.
A deeper bite also presents itself for more numbers. Fishing deep submerged roads or reefs in the more “main lake” area often can produce both numbers and quality of fish. Some anglers pull crankbaits, but others do well pulling the same bottom bouncers and Smile Blades.
Dropping slipbobbers and leeches next to and among deeper timber is also an excellent option for larger fish. It’s not a numbers bite, but the fish are often going to very nice. Dropping rip jigs and other similar baits in between trees can also produce fish as well.
Surrounding Area Information
Nearby Towns: Waubay, Webster, Roslyn
Nearby Lakes: Bitter Lake, Enemy Swim Lake, Antelope Lake, Pickerel Lake, Lake Opitz, Horseshoe Lake
Area Bait Shops: Sportsman’s Cove (Webster), Grenville Sports Mart (Grenville), Fisherman’s Village (Waubay), HR One Stop (Waubay), Lake County Sports (Waubay)
Area Lodging: Circle Pines Hotel (Waubay), Stonefire Motel/Lodge (Webster), The Galley Hotel (Webster), Boomers Outback Motel (Webster), Day County Inn (Webster), Blue Wing Lodge (Webster), Pickerel Lake Lodge (Pickerel Lake), Bitter Lake Lodge Campground (Bitter Lake)
Area Restaurants: Pereboom Café (Webster), Diner on Main (Webster), Subway (Webster), The Galley Bar and Grille (Webster), A&W All American Food (Webster), New Frontier Steakhouse (Webster), Pizza Hut (Webster)
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