West Okoboji Lake is a very popular fishing lake and is right up there with Big Spirit Lake for producing a lot of quality fish all season long. This lake covers more than 3,800 acres and it is a very popular lake for fishing and boating. West Okoboji Lake is known for producing trophy fish, including the state record tiger muskie, northern pike and smallmouth bass. It is home to so many more species of fish including walleye, largemouth bass, yellow perch, crappie, bluegill, yellow bass, white bass, catfish and more.
The Water is Very Clear
This lake has very clear water, which can make the fishing somewhat tough out here, especially for first time anglers that aren’t used to fishing clear water lakes. With the water clarity here, fluorocarbon line helps a ton and if you don’t fish with fluorocarbon as your main line, we recommend using it as a leader. Depending on how you are fishing and what species you are targeting, you may be able to get away with 6 to 8 pound line. If you are fishing close to docks and/or heavy weeds, that may not be enough to pull a nice bass or walleye away from the cover, so 10 to 12 pound line might be better. Basically, go with as light of line as you can get away with for however you plan to fish and you’ll get more bites.
This Lake Gets Really Deep
This lake maxes out well over 100 feet deep. With the super clear water and very deep water, plan on fishing some deeper water here unless you plan on fishing the shallower weed lines or boat docks as your main pattern. Otherwise, you can easily be fishing from 15 to 50 feet of water out here depending on the species of fish you are targeting.
It Gets a Lot of Boat Traffic
This lake is heavily developed and it is a beautiful lake, so you will definitely have plenty of other people out on the lake with you if you are fishing in the summer. Even in the spring and fall, you’re going to have boat traffic, so if you are coming here to fish, plan on getting up early so you can get on and off the water before all the pleasure boaters make their way onto the lake.
Fish the Bays
There are so many bays throughout the lake to fish. In the spring and early summer, there are a lot of fish that move into the shallower water in the bays. Even when the water gets warmer, many of the bays still have access to deep water, so you may still catch a lot of fish in the bays from spring through fall, but the depth you are fishing will change throughout the fishing season.
Fish the Docks
This lake has so many docks that it is almost unbelievable. If you take a look at a map, you will see that the lake is very developed with boat docks just about everywhere you look on the lake. Every boat dock is not created equal, however this is definitely a pattern you can fish from spring through fall. In the spring, the boat dock pattern is one of the better patterns to fish on the lake, especially if you’re targeting largemouth bass, smallmouth bass or a variety of panfish. Fish the deeper docks in the summer and fall and you’ll have some success too.
Fish the Drop-offs
There are so many really good drop-offs to fish on this lake and it’s a great pattern to fish from summer through fall whether you are fishing for bass, panfish, walleye, pike or muskie.
Fish the Main Basin
There will be a lot of fish that patrol the main basin in the summer and fall months. Walleye, smallmouth bass, northern pike and muskie are known for roaming the deeper water around the thermocline as they chase baitfish in the summer and fall. You will need to cover some water to find schools of baitfish. Find the baitfish and you can find a lot of game fish in the area as well.
Fish at Night
Because the water is so clear, night fishing can be effective for a variety of fish. For walleye and smallmouth bass, night fishing in the summer can be an effective way to fool some of those big fish that don’t want to take your baits during the day.
Fish the Points
There are a lot of good points throughout the lake. Fish the shallow water cover early in the season then fish the deeper weeds and nice drop-offs from summer through fall. You will catch just about everything off the points on this lake.
Fish the Weeds
This lake has a lot of weeds in it and since the water is so clear, the weed line can grow a lot deeper than many anglers are used to. Instead of fishing a weed line in 5 to 8 feet of water, you may be out in 10 to 16 feet of water during the summer months. Earlier in the season, target the shallower weeds, but as the deeper weed line starts to form, plan on finding a lot of quality fish close to the weed edge.
