Lake Whitewood is a large, extremely shallow body of water. The maximum depth of the lake is only about 6 feet, but the large area makes it a large overall body of water. Though Whitewood receives minimal attention during summer, it is an extremely popular body of water for ice anglers. Yellow perch are a very popular species, though very nice walleye are present as well. Northern pike as well as black crappie also are present as bonus fish.
Fishing Information
Location
Whitewood’s expansive, shallow basin makes the lake a structure angler’s nightmare. There is a railroad grade that divides the main lake from a small bay, but aside from this there is little structure for anglers to key on. The lake can be categorized as having dirty water, but if you can find clearer water you are often going to find fish present.
During early and late ice, inside the rail road grade fishing the small bay can often produce some very good fishing. The most consistent area all through the season is the main basin. Fish will roam the basin in schools and occasional schools will also roam the break lines as well.
Presentation
Location is much less of a factor on Whitewood, which makes presentation very critical. There is no structure to hold fish in an area, so it is the angler’s job to keep fish around them. Calling fish in and keeping them in the area is critical for success.
The lake is famous for it’s “dead stick bite”. Chris Seylar is an excellent dead stick angler and deploys a strategy that excels on basin style lakes such as Whitewood. If the weather allows, Chris will fish outside and spread as many rods around him as possible. Anglers are allowed to use four rods for ice fishing in South Dakota, so a group of two or three anglers can really cover an area.
He begins by establishing his jigging location. This is going to be the center of his spread. For jigging presentations, he uses loud rattle spoons, rattling lipless lures or flashy flutter spoons. The role of these lures is to draw fish in from a distance.
While a few fish may come on the jigging presentations, the dead sticks are what will be the most effective. These deadstick presentations feature three elements: bobbers, tip downs and tip ups.
The bobber rods will be the closest to the anglers. Underneath the bobbers, plain hooks or colorful tear drop style jigs are top options. Struggling minnows will draw attention from nearby fish and also coax the more neutral and passive fish into biting.
The tip downs are placed slightly farther away. Much like their cousin, the tip up, tip downs will wave a flag when a fish bites. This allows you to keep an eye on these rods, even if they are further away.
The final piece to the puzzle, the tip ups, are for the large walleye and pike that will follow the schools of perch. A chub or shiner will help draw attention and act as a larger profile bait for the larger predatory fish.
If you are forced to be in a shack due to the weather, the same type of system can be deployed, it just would be on a smaller scale.
Surrounding Area Information
Nearby Towns: Lake Preston, Arlington, De Smet
Nearby Lakes: Lake Thompson, Lake Henry, Lake Poinsett, 81 Ponds, Lake Sinai
Area Bait Shops: The Bait Box (Lake Preston), Handi-Mart (Arlington), Cowboy Country Store (De Smet)
Area Lodging: The Bait Box (Lake Preston), De Smet Super Delux Inn (De Smet), Arlington Inn (Arlington), Pheasant Motel (Arlington)
Area Restaurants: Lake Preston Café (Lake Preston), New Horizon Lounge (Lake Preston), 14/81 Grille (Arlington), Oxbow Restaurant (De Smet), Dugout Louge (De Smet), Dairy Queen (De Smet), Subway (De Smet)
Follow Us for More!
Stay up to date with what bites we are chasing by following Lip Ripper Fishing on Facebook!
