Fishing Report 6/24/2019

We have another multispecies report for this week! Let’s get to it!

Lake Oahe

The fishing has really began to pick up on the big lake and it has become the place to be! Anglers are catching fish all up and down the reservoir. Good reports are coming out of Polluck, Mobridge, Whitlock, Suttons and further down along Spring and Cow Creek as well.

The key has been to keep working points until you can contact fish. There are days they can be tough to make bite, but those fish are generally good quality. Good depths to search are in that 12-20ft range.

Good baits to try are bottom bouncers and Smile blades. While fish are favoring crawlers below the dam, on Oahe they are still preferring minnows.

I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in the first ever Catapalooza this past weekend. We took a crew of anglers, many of whom had never caught a catfish or in some cases even a fish before, out of Cow Creek. We went up and found some shallow, warm water and the catfish action was on!

Crawlers and plain hooks on either a crappie rig or slipbobbers was the key presentation. When I say shallow water I am talking less than 5ft. The action produced channel catfish, bullhead, freshwater drum and some goldeye as well.

We then took the fish back to Oahe Downstream Recreation Area where we cleaned and cooked them up! Huge thanks to everyone who made this event possible, it was a ton of fun and I can’t wait to do it again next year!

Oahe Dam Tailrace

While we were at Oahe Downstream, I witnessed piles upon piles of pelicans in the slack water on the sides of the dam outside the main current. On a hunch, I was thinking there was going to be plenty of bait and in turn walleyes there!

Well I was 50% correct. There was plenty of bait. I mean plenty!!! I don’t want to exaggerate, but there were gabillions of herring! They were so thick we couldn’t stop from snagging them in the back inadvertently, sometimes it was cast upon cast it would happen.

Unfortunately, the walleye did not make an appearance for us. While there is plenty of forage and we had our location I would say pretty well picked out, it just wasn’t met to be.

If you’re around the campground at Oahe Downstream, fishing those warm backwaters can produce some excellent catfishing! Catfish over 10lbs have been being caught from in the shallow, warmer waters out of the main current.

Lake Sharpe

Lake Sharpe has been a little tougher. The flows out of Oahe dam are strong to put it nicely. There are fish being caught along the rocks below the bridges on the Fort Pierre side, but anglers need to factor in that strong flows do impact presentation. With my “super sock” (78 inches) out and just in reverse I was going 1.9-2.2mph. We were then pushing 3.0 mph as we worked downriver. Though this may look fast you still need to put it in gear and give power on your own, if you just let the current float you, your blades won’t be turning like they should be. It is also worth noting the water temperature was still in the low to mid 50s, very cool for late June!

The area inside LaFramboise Island is still producing some walleye, but the weeds have become thicker and thicker. Bottom bouncing has become tougher. While the fish are there, its tough to present to them. Once again, water temperatures are still in that 55-57 degree range, not exactly swimming weather! (Though we saw some brave souls on tubes. Kids are so tough!)

The white bass (yes this is a multispecies report if you recall) are still there and if you can get crankbaits above the fish you can have a good time! The white bass and smallmouth continue to be intermixed and dandys of both can be caught! The Phantom Lures Banshee in Foil Perch color was the top producer for white bass, while the smallmouth favored the Rapala Shallow Shad Rap!

Lake Francis Case

It may be late June, but don’t rule out Francis Case yet. Fishing can be, and still is, quite good on Francis Case. Break out those bigger blades to draw more flash and attention to your bait.

It’s also worth noting the fishing below Big Bend tailrace is quite good as well. While the fish aren’t giants, plenty of fish are there for the catching! Hit the tailrace as the sun begins to set and you should have a good time!

Eastern South Dakota

Fishing continues to be good on the eastern side of the state. Waubay Lake in particular has been producing some excellent fishing along the weed edges fishing with bottom bouncers and crawlers. There are plenty of fish to be caught as well as some bonus smallmouth too!

Lake Poinsett, Lake Albert, 81 Ponds and other Arlington area lakes have also been producing well! The white bass are plenty thick in many of these lakes too, keeping you entertained in between walleye.

Walleye Warrior Report

New this week we’re adding the Walleye Warrior report!! Walleye Warrior is an organization all about getting out and having fun fishing! Along with the fun loving group, a year-long competition exists for both the largest walleye and also, for anglers looking to enter the category, total pounds of walleye submitted all year. There also is a perch category as well, very popular during ice season!

Competitors receive their board so they can submit photos of fish on the board to enter. Simple as that. The board also works great for knowing your keepers on the river too!

Tristan Blachford, son of Mike and Alyssa reeled in a dandy 26 incher this week! Congratulations Tristan! The Rosas family also had a very successful trip to Devils Lake. Devils is a ton of fun to fish and it certainly did not disappoint for them!

Wade Hiller, Clint Carda, Corey Pierce and Travis Hesert also reeled in some nice fish this week! Great work guys! Check out all the pictures and also check out the leaderboard on their website! If you need more incentive, there is also a photo contest for a RTIC 30pack cooler for anyone who submits a walleye of any size to the group! Check out the Walleye Warrior Facebook group to learn more!

Iowa Great Lakes

Chris Seylar has our Iowa Great Lakes report! Chris has been having some great success lately and it sounds like the bite has been good for a lot of folks!

The walleye bite on Spirit Lake is holding steady when the weather is good. The water temp on the area lakes have dropped about 3 degrees in the last week with below average air temperatures.

The bluegill are moving out to weedlines more and more everyday on Spirit, East and West Okoboji. The yellow bass also are doing the same on East Okoboji.

The bass bite has also been good! Anglers are finding both largemouth and smallmouth on all three lakes. The fishing has also been good for walleye and yellow bass on Clear Lake and a few perch have also found the hook.

The great thing about the walleye fishing is the fish are biting all day long and you really can’t go wrong with your presentation. Leeches, crawler, crankbaits and jerkbaits have all been good for the walleyes!

Well we may have set a new record for species covered in the fishing report! We hit walleye, smalllmouth bass, largemouth bass, bluegill, channel catfish, white bass, yellow perch, yellow bass, freshwater drum, bullhead, goldeye and even herring! Regardless what you’re after I wish you the best of luck and good fishing!

Coming Up

It’s a busy weekend for us! After a tough start to the tournament season, Mason Propst and I will launch out of Platte Creek on Saturday to take on Lake Francis Case in the South Dakota Elite Walleye Series!

A quick turn around brings us to Merritt Reservoir on Sunday! The season may have started rough, but there is no better time to turn it around than the present!