By Steve Weisman
(photo submitted) 26 ½” walleye, one of 10 over-slot fish, taken during PIGLIFT.
If you haven’t already heard, the walleye bite on Big Spirit Lake has been really good. The bite has been going on since the end of August or so. It’s a crankbait bite with anglers pulling plugs in the basin.
The bite was really on display the weekend of September 7-8 when the annual Pocahontas Iowa Great Lakes Invitational Fishing Tournament (PIGLIFT) was held. This tournament with three-person teams of which one member must be from or have been at one time from Pocahontas County, has been held for the past 31 years. I have had the fun of fishing this tournament for 29 years with two former teachers from Estherville, Bill Elling and John Amick (our Poky connection).
The tournament features a catch and release walleye division held only on Big Spirit and a panfish division (any of the lakes-panfish may be kept) with a team able to win a division on only one day. In that way, more teams have a chance at the top prize. On the walleye division, it is a catch and release tournament. The reason it is held only on Big Spirit Lake is because that is where the weigh-in is held. DNR rules do not allow anglers to trailer their boats with livewells filled from one lake to another. Since the walleye division is catch and release only, only walleyes taken on Big Spirit Lake will be weighed.
The panfish division (crappies, bluegill and perch) is not catch and release, so the fish can be caught on another lake can be transported (no lake water) and brought to the scales in a cooler on on ice. After being weighed, the teams can clean the panfish.
We tried at one time to compete in the walleye division and were blown out of the water by the other PIGLIFT teams. So, we have competed in the panfish division and over the years done much better. These Poky teams flat out know how to catch walleyes this time of year. Over the years, these teams have refined the art of pulling plugs, and wow they do it well! This year success came pulling plugs in the basin on the north side of the lake.
Here are the results from this year. Teams could bring in five walleyes with a minimum length of 14 inches (PIGLIFT rule). Otherwise, all state fishing regulations are followed.
On Saturday, the largest three walleyes taken were 4 lbs/14 oz, 4 lbs/2 oz and 4 lbs. The top two stringers were 5 walleyes at 8 lbs/11 oz and 8 lbs/8 oz.
On Sunday, the largest three walleyes weighed were 5 lbs/14 oz, 5 lbs/4 oz and 4 lbs/14 oz. The top two stringers were 5 walleyes at 12 lbs/14 oz and 10 lbs/2 oz.
For both days, documented numbers include 84 walleyes were weighed ranging between 14-17 inches, an estimated 216 slot fish were caught and immediately released, while 13 walleyes over the slot were caught. That’s pretty darned good fishing, I’d say!
As for the panfish division, teams are allowed to bring in their 10 best panfish (perch, bluegill or crappie-can be a combination of the three). The top team on Saturday brought in 10 crappies that weighed 10 lbs/4 oz. Talk about nice fish! Second place was a combination of crappies and bluegills weighing 6 lbs/10 oz. Our team came in third on Saturday with a 10-bluegill weight of 5 lbs/10 oz. We had nice bluegills, but 8-9 inch bluegills cannot compete with 12-13 inch crappies.
Sunday’s top panfish weight was 5 lbs./9 oz.
As for our team’s results on Sunday, we gave up. Yup, these three 70-year old anglers quit. We fished in the rain from 8 to 10:30, and it finally got to us. We had had enough. We let our fish go and took the 20-minute run from West Okoboji to our dock on the east end of East Okoboji. We were wet, and we decided we would be much better served watching the Vikings play football in the comfort of the living room than fishing in the rain.
Certainly, we will be back. We have made great memories over the years, and really enjoy the comradery with the teams and the Saturday night banquet at McKeen’s Pub and Grill in Spirit Lake. We’ve won some and lost some. However, as with this year’s Sunday rainfall, we do reserve the right to quit if we so choose-lol!
