This week’s fishing report is a little different. We’re going to be discussing multispecies action and also highlighting some fishing opportunities that can be done from shore. Reason being is this Sunday, Father’s Day, South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks is going to be offering free fishing and free park entrance! If you’re looking to hit the water this weekend, this is a perfect opportunity!
In fact, let’s make a game of it and see how many species we can cover!
Lake Sharpe
I had the privilege to participate in Kid’s Fishing Day in Pierre this last weekend. We launched out of Down’s Marina and were fishing along LaFramboise Island. White bass could be found shallow in that 3-7ft of water and they favored the active presentation as slipbobbers were not getting the job done.
Walleye fishing was pretty decent in that 10-12ft range along the same stretches. We had the most success pulling .8″ Mack’s Lure Smile Blades with chartreuse being the best color. A plain hook and minnow also were putting some fish in the boat. You could say we had some good success too!
If you’re looking to fish these white bass from shore you could have some great success casting along the rocky shorelines on the marina and also down the rocky shorelines downstream of the opening.
There are also a few bonus smallmouth bass that can be caught in the same areas as the white bass. Often these smallies are mixed in with the white bass or very close to them.
There are also some walleye to be caught in the stilling basin in that deeper water. Vertical jigging or bottom bouncing slowly in that 18-25ft can produce some decent action as well.
Further down, Hipple Lake has been producing some good fishing as well. The newest state record channel catfish, a monster over 21lbs, came out of Hipple Lake on cut bait.
If you’re looking for fish to keep you entertained awaiting that big bite, the crappies have began to get going on slipbobbers and minnows. There are also some white bass that can be caught as well.
The great thing about the Hipple Lake area is that you can have success fishing out of both the boat or shore. If you’re looking to hit it out of the boat, look for submerged brush piles and other structures. If you’re looking to hit it from shore, the fishing pods on the north side have you right in the middle of the action!
If you’re looking to hit the water to celebrate Father’s Day, Sharpe is a fantastic option. You can hit white bass, crappie, smallmouth bass, and channel catfish from shore. You can also hit any of these species and walleye from the boat as well! Boom five species covered, next area!
Fort Pierre National Grassland
I made my first journey to the grasslands this weekend and let me tell you I was not disappointed!! With so many ponds to try, anglers can pick an area and spend a day covering several ponds and most likely contacting multiple fish!
Many of the ponds are very dirty, but that’s alright! For largemouth bass, fish can be caught in those dirty ponds. You’re going to want to use baits that can draw some major attention in those murky situations so I favor the spinnerbaits and also chatterbaits. Beetlespins and other baits with blades can also produce some fish. Just ask Mason Propst.
If you’re looking for the panfish action, well you’re going to be looking for the cleaner water. The good news is if you can find even that slightly dirty water, dropping a slipbobber next to those submerged weeds can yield some fantastic panfishing.
There can be tons of yellow perch to be caught, but also those nicer bluegill are sitting on those weed edges too. Of course, largemouth bass are often not far behind. They are even taking topwater frogs when provoked. Those same presentations of spinnerbaits and beetlespins can also produce some fish as well. Once again, ask Mason.
When you get into them, the bluegill can be very nice sized. Hannah proved that many times. The key is just keep hitting those ponds until you find the fish you’re looking for. Make a battle plan and keep pond hopping, you’ll contact some fish! In the meantime, that’s three more species for a total now of eight.
Lake Francis Case
The water is beginning to go down and there are still piles of fish to be caught upriver. The area between Crow Creek and the dam has been producing crazy amounts of fish, but catching keepers is the toughest part. The keepers you do catch are right in that 15-16 inch bracket, but if you’re looking to have a blast catching fish it is a good area.
Presentation is going to be pulling those bottom bouncers. Those .8″ Smile Blades continue to be hot and the best colors are chartreuse, silver and pink. Vary your depth and speed until you find what the fish prefer, it shouldn’t take too long to find out!
Further downstream, some nicer fish are being caught closer to town. White bass and smallmouth are mixed in amongst the walleye and some sauger (we’ll count it as a species why not) and those stumpfields and bluffs closer to Kiowa Flats can also yield some nicer fish as well.
With the addition of sauger, that puts us at nine species along the greater river area!
Eastern South Dakota
The bite continues to be on in those eastern South Dakota lakes. Walleyes are still shallow and accessible to many anglers as they continue to chow down and enjoy the high water and warming conditions.
Along with the walleyes, you may run into a stray pike (species 10) and also smallmouth as well. Also, Lake Poinsett kicked out a 20 lb channel catfish that briefly held the record in Cat Rush 2019!
Other lakes to look for fish are 81 Ponds, Brush Lake, Lake Sinai, Lake Thompson, Lake Albert, and further north such as Waubay, Bitter and of course those hidden gem sloughs.
Lake McConaughy
Last week’s report was Big Mac was getting better and better. This week’s report is, yep! Fishing has been on fire down on Mac and Bob Propst with Propst Professional Anglers has been pulling in some serious fish!
Bob has openings for both July and August and let me tell you there can be some dang good fishing that takes place in those months! If you’re looking to go catch some monster walleyes, Big Mac is the place!
Iowa Great Lakes
Chris Seylar has our IGL report! In the spirit of multispecies action, we’ll break it down by species!
Walleyes have been good! The day bite has picked up a lot and guides are catching limits almost every time they go out! Cranks and live bait are both producing fish on Spirit, West and East Okoboji! Other lakes producing fish are Silver, Tuttle, Clear and Five Island.
The bluegill and crappie are also doing good! Think bedding habitat for them once again on Spirit, West and East. The crappie bite has also been pretty good on Clear as well.
The yellow bass are good on East, Clear and Lost Island.
Both largemouth and smallmouth bass have been having some pretty good fishing on Spirit and West.
The catfish have also been pretty good on Lost Island and Five Island.
Well, when you factor in Chris’ report we hit 11 total species. We covered 10 in South Dakota and seven in the IGL’s, so whatever you’re looking to chase this weekend we have you covered!
Cat Rush 2019 Update
We’ve hinted at it, but there have been some dandy catfish caught in the past few weeks. A 19 and 20lber came in back to back days on the Big Sioux River. Another 20lber, big enough to take the record, came on Lake Poinsett a few days later. Currently, the record is a dandy 21lber caught out of Hipple Lake. The catfishing is getting better and better and I encourage anyone looking to celebrate Father’s Day to try and get their name in the record books!
Tournament Update
The South Dakota Elite Walleye Series event that was supposed to take place down at Platte on June 29 has been moved to Chamberlain. Mason Propst and I are excited for the move and hoping to have a strong finish. If you are making plans around Lake Francis Case in this area I do advise you keep this under consideration.
Related Information
We’ve been talking a lot about bottom bouncing these past two weeks. Have you missed either of the articles? No problem, get caught up for our final week below!
Looking to learn more about panfish techniques, check out this awesome video from Chris Seylar!
