Spirit Lake Iowa Fishing Report 06-19-04

I had a chance to hit Spirit Lake for a while Friday afternoon and evening. I spent the afternoon trolling and drifting spinners and leeches in 12 to 18 feet of water, near the old foot bridge (that was about the only place I could find wind less than 30mph!). This technique produced plenty of small walleye, but I never even hit the 14-inch mark on this day. I tried pitching jigs and had the same result. I noticed most of the boats around me were pulling in smaller walleye as well. Maybe the big girls were out in the white caps, but I was happy just to be reeling in fish rather than working!

Later on, I picked up Ryan Hale. We landed some more small eyes pulling spinners and pitching jigs. As the wind let up a bit, we decided to try our luck on some rock piles. Ryan told me that these rock piles tend to hold smallmouth bass on Spirit Lake and I was game for some good fightin’. Although there were no huge fish landed, we did have some incredibly fast action. Just about every cast of a slip bobber or a jig tip with a Berkley Power Minnow produce a smallie, large mouth bass, or a walleye. Here’s Ryan with one of the bass.

And here’s a nice little small mouth taken off the rocks. If anyone wants to get their children out for a day of fishing, hit these Spirit Lake rock piles and rock points. A boober and a leech will produce action for kids and adults. If you’re children are like mine and they like to cast and retrieve rather than watch a bobber, that’s no problem. Tie on a jig and plastics like a Berkley Power Minnow or a K-Grub and the kids are sure to have a blast! If you need a guide for Spirit Lake, contact Ryan Hale at [email protected] or call (712)441-5334.

Finally, as the sun was setting, I snapped a few pics of mother nature wishing us a good night…

Although there were no large fish caught on this day it was a lot of fun. The action was fast all day. Any day on the water is a good day in my book. Happy Father’s Day to all you daddies out there!