Pokegama Lake — Weeds Still Green, Panfish Slid Out to the Break

The pontoons are going home. That’s how you know it’s late October on Pokegama. The landing turns into a parade of boats getting pulled out for the winter, the docks are gone, and the lawn chairs have gone back to the garage. If you still have your boat in the water, you’ve basically got the lake to yourself. Congrats. Also, check your trailer lights, because nobody else is around to tell you.

Guide Jeff Sundin fished it on Wednesday, Oct. 21, and posted the conditions on Fishrapper the next morning. Here’s what was worth writing down.

The water

• Surface temps: from 52 up to 55.7 degrees, depending on the spot.
• Clarity: better than before. He could see the lake floor in 7 to 8 feet.
• Shallow weeds: still green, and holding schools of minnows plus small gamefish.

Who’s where

• Pike and perch: in the weeds, eating those minnows.
• Crappies: off the weeds and onto steep breaks next to deep water, around 21 feet.
• Sunfish: same kind of break, a little shallower, around 17 feet.
• Walleyes: no update. They weren’t the target, so we’ve got nothing on them, and we’re not going to guess.

Simple version: if you want toothy fish or perch, fish the green weeds. If you want panfish for the pan, head out to where the lake floor drops off fast and go down 17 to 21 feet. Bring a heater for your hands. Looking at a screen at 21 feet with numb fingers is its own kind of character building.

Plan ahead

Most resorts around Grand Rapids, Deer River, and Bemidji are already closed, and most of the rest close after this weekend. Sundin also says Fred’s Bait in Deer River closes after Saturday, Oct. 24. If your plan was to grab minnows on the way up, get them early or bring your own.

This was also his last guided trip of the season, and he called it a high note: good weather, friends in the boat, fish that wanted to eat. Not a bad way to close the open-water season, honestly.

Fine print

This is one guide’s notes from one day on Pokegama. He didn’t give fish counts or sizes in this post, and we didn’t add any. Temps and depths are what he wrote down for Oct. 21, and things change fast this time of year.

Sources

• Sundin, “Roller Coaster Riding; The Fun Part,” Oct. 22, 2026, Fishrapper October 2026 reports page (Jeff Sundin, The Early Bird Fishing Guide)