Well another night on Pokegama and finally some big bites after dark. This has been the norm from years past, the bigger fish seem to show up late in August through ice up and last night proved to be what I hope is the start of the big fish parade for 2003. I had the opportunity to fish with a couple of the local hockey rink rats this night and it was there first time trolling cranks. Cory stated it best when he pulled in this 28 incher, wow I can’t beleive there are fish this big in the lake.
So starting right at dark, we hit one of many small humps that top out at or near 10 feet. It seems that the smaller cabbage-filled humps that transition into moss weeds on the outside edge are the most productive, This held true again last night. As the night progressed we seen more 18-20 inch fish then those 15-17 inchers, which made for a good bite. The wind decided to blow this first cold-front of the year in on us around 10 PM and we had to make a minor change, which helped somewhat. With the strong winds blowing from the SE, I decided to get out of the wind but fish the edge of an island that was wind blown most of the day. There was a small underwater point sticking off the island with 30-40 feet of water on both sides and the fish were stacked at the edge, making for a small strike area, but with each pass it seemed we got bite or missed one or two.
The night ended somewhat early, as the cool temps and high winds made for some uncomfortable boys. Well as the temps start to make that fall-downward slide, I look for the big eyes more and more each night. If you haven’t hit Pokegama before and your as crazy about night fishing as some of us are, give it a shot.
For the last two seasons your August night bite reports have got me tuned up for my fall runs up to Mille Lacs. From following your reports I’m seeing the Poke bite is about as consistent as the Mille Lacs bite… only a month sooner. Keep telling us about the bite buddy. We’re all ears!