Spring has finally sprung in South Dakota and open water fishing is underway! The brutal winter, heavy rain storms and blizzards are creating some serious challenges for anglers looking to get out across the state, but there are still fish to be caught.
Lake Francis Case
Every year all eyes are on Lake Francis Case when it comes to open water fishing in early spring in South Dakota. This year is no different. Although the winter has delayed the time boats would be on the reservoir, ice is starting to give way and anglers are able to get their boats on the water.
Currently Case is open until a little beyond Crow Creek. Boats are forced to launch in the Big Bend tailrace in Fort Thompson so patience is critical as there is considerable pressure at the ramp.
Anglers who do go out are able to catch some fish, but they certainly need to put in some effort. Minimal current has made fishing difficult, especially when there is minimal wind or changing weather conditions. Anglers slowly dragging or pitching jigs have had the most success. Speeds are as slow as .1-.3 mph or even spot-locking can be effective.
Plain lead colored jigs as well as white or orange have been the best colors. Minnows are outproducing plastics, but white plastics resembling shad or other baitfish can produce some fish as well. Heavier jigs dragging bottom have also seemed to produce better than pitching.
For location it’s necessary to stay moving and scratch out active fish. Fishing 16-21ft has been the most popular depth, but shallower in 12-14ft can also produce some fish. Pitching along the edge of ice sheets with jigs or even using slipbobbers with a minnow can produce some fish as well.
Water clarity is varying dramatically. While some sections are crystal clear, other areas are very muddy. Focusing on the areas of clearer water has proven to be more effective.
Shore anglers can also find some success fishing the tailrace below Big Bend dam. Similar to the boat anglers a jig with a minnow or plastic is recommended. Pitching these jigs and slowly working them back is often the best way to coax biters.
Though fishing has proven to be difficult, the fish caught are often nice sized with very few short fish being caught.
Lake Sharpe
Fishing has become very complicated on Lake Sharpe. This past week the Bad River broke free and filled Sharpe up with mud, logs and other obstacles. This has effectively shut off fishing below where the Bad River feeds in. Though better than it had been, the Bad is still racing into Sharpe and bringing obstructions in with it. The pictures are from today (3/24) as these are the most up to date conditions of the river.
As of Sunday March 24, the road to Polo Grounds launch at Farm Island in Pierre is closed and Hipple Lake still has considerable ice on it. The shorelines have started to go on Hipple, but we are still a long ways away from being ready to fish out of a boat. Down’s Marina in town is also not ready to see action for a fair while yet either.
Anglers looking to fish Sharpe pretty much have two options. The tailrace below Oahe Dam is open and fishable, however it is not ready for a boat to be launched in it yet as the ramps are still blocked by ice. Shore anglers can fish off the access dock in the tailrace, but fishing the rocks is still quite dangerous as a firm layer of solid snow is making maneuvering down to the water difficult or impossible.
Anglers who launch in the Fort Pierre boat launch have been able to have some success by going upstream. The mouth of the stilling basin has produced some nice fish as well as decent numbers of fish, although the stilling basin itself is still ice covered.
Pitching around Marion’s Gardens has produced some fish as well. Fishing around the bridges in town has also been effective. The same tactics of going slow and using heavy jigs with a minnow is going to be the recipe for success.
Eastern South Dakota
Anglers looking to head out in Eastern South Dakota have one common word being used: slush. Slush conditions over east are downright brutal on many area lakes. This has make navigating these lakes and simply being on them not a very fun time at all. It appears for many the ice season has come to a close. Anglers who are looking to go out on the ice are urged to use extreme caution as ice conditions are going to be deteriorating more and more each day.
Anglers looking to open water fish in the eastern part of the state are also scratching their heads. Areas of the Big Sioux River in Southeastern South Dakota are closed to recreation and overall the Big Sioux, as well as other rivers, are dangerously high and quickly moving. The flooding conditions across much of the area have not only made fishing impossible, but have greatly been impacting many individuals in their everyday lives.
My best advice for anglers looking to get out in this area is to look for culverts or other areas of flowing water going into lakes. The runoff and rain has opened small pockets on some area lakes, but these areas as of right now are few and far between.
I wish I could be sharing better news with you all, but frankly Mother Nature has really been unkind to all of us since about January. Spring is here and the warm weather has us all in a better mood, but as of right now our fishing opportunities are limited.
Get out and enjoy the warm weather. Fishing opportunities are increasing by the hour, but for right now please focus on safety and don’t feel like the calendar is forcing you to get out on the water yet.
If you have information or pictures you’d like to share in next week’s fishing report please feel free to shoot me a message or email at nick.harrington.outdoors@gmail.com. I’m hoping the news gets better and better each week! Good fishing!
Good fishing,
Nick
please send more fishing reports! thanks!
Great report
Great report right on the money below Big Bend. Although I think there were a lot of shorts being caught.