We are finally losing ice quickly with most lakes in the area going to be ice free in the next week and it is about time as ice season has been done for most for 2 to 3 weeks! I figured I would highlight the bites coming up on the area lakes for this coming open water season! These 3 lakes are my favorite lakes in Iowa and are truly special fisheries for the area.
Big Spirit Lake
Spring
Spring will present a lot of different bites on Big Spirit. Smallmouth as soon as the ice comes off and then some largemouth once the spawn kicks in. Crappies are grouped up in some spawning locations in the spring making them accessible from shore in a couple places along with bluegills.
Walleye season opens May 1st with Walleye Weekend and that kicks off walleye season and is always a good time and big event. In the spring walleyes are accessible to shore and wader fishermen.
There should be a great perch bite starting mid to late spring and carry into the summer and fall. Muskie and pike fishermen also will start being able to target trophy caliber fish soon after ice out.
Summer
Walleye fishing always remains consistent into early to mid-summer depending on water temperatures and food availability but there is some good numbers of fish right below the slot (17-22 inches) and in the slot which are fun to catch. There is always a chance at a mid 20’s class fish too no matter how you like to fish in the summer.
Largemouth and smallmouth bass fishing will continue to be pretty solid using different tactics throughout the summer months too! Summer is when the perch bite tends to shine its brightest when they start schooling up in the basin more! It looks as though there is several good keeper year classes with several small year classes behind them for the years to come so hopefully people will continue to release the smaller fish for years to come. Also don’t forget the weed line perch bite as a lot of the time they are your bigger perch and you have a chance at a mixed bag of bluegill and crappies to go with it.
Fall
Once fall kicks back in the walleye fishing will ramp back up and be more accessible to shore and wader fishermen again. The largemouth and smallmouth fishing will get good up until ice up with a chance at landing some very quality fish. Perch fishing will be good until late fall as they are loading up for the winter months.
Spirit Lake is one of the best lakes in Iowa as far as walleye, bass, and perch. You also have a good chance at catching a musky, northern, and the silver northern which is just a different coloration to a northern.
East and West Okoboji
These lakes are connected, but fish very differently than the other. West Okoboji gets very deep and has a lot more structure then East Okoboji.
Spring
Spring time is the best time to fish East and West Okoboji because of the boat traffic in the summer. Early spring there is a wide variety of species to target. Largemouth and smallmouth bass have tournaments all open water season starting in the spring where lots of bags to win are 22lbs plus!
Next species to shine are bluegill and crappies. Staging for spawn starts right after ice out and the panfish fishing is off the charts on both lakes. Soon after that the yellow bass start their thing. These lakes make the good out of the bad of having an invasive species but they are fun to catch and taste good believe it or not!
Once May rolls around Spirit, East and West Okoboji have a good walleye population. For musky and northern guys the spring starts a great time of year with a great fishery. If you like to fish a specific way chances are you can on these two lakes! Spring time can also mean the start to catfishing! East and West Okoboji have a good population of channel cats with some really big fish for the area common.
Summer
Summer is an interesting time on the IGL’s because of all the tourist and boating traffic but if you get up early there is still some great fishing to be had. Summer is the time for the bass fishing to shine until water gets really warm. East and West Okoboji is a fantastic bass fishery with a good average weight per fish.
Not far behind is the world class panfishing to be had on these two lakes. Both lakes have very quality bluegills and crappies. Weed lines will be loaded with panfish during the summer. Walleyes early summer can be good with some very nice fish being caught on both lakes. East Okoboji is known more for numbers and West Okoboji more for quality.
Summer is also prime time for catfishing especially on East Okoboji where guys will spend nights drifting the basin looking for 10+ lb channel catfish. Yellow bass will also roam around the weedlines and they are supercharged in the summer which can be a blast especially if you find the schools of 10 to 13 inch fish.
Fall
Fall brings a much needed decline in pleasure boaters for fishermen. With less pleasure boaters comes better fishing! Fall is a great time to get on some crazy multispecies bites. In the fall it is common to catch yellow bass, crappies, bluegills, pumpkinseeds, and largemouth bass all in the same spot which is a blast.
Walleye fishing ramps back up all the way until ice up as they are putting the feedbag on before winter. The bass bite stays consistently good up until ice up also. Musky and northern fishing pick back up and can scratch that big fish itch with some trophy potential possible.
The IGL’s is a very special multispecies fishery and while I only highlighted these 3 lakes there is a lot of lakes in the area that are very quality fisheries that are not named! NW Iowa is a very underrated fishery for several different species! Good luck to everyone this open water season!
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