For many anglers, winter means ice fishing, and while this is true across much of South Dakota there are a select few who refuse to put their boats away as snow blankets the landscape. How might this be? Most winters, the area below the Oahe Dam in Pierre, Big Bend Dam in Fort Thompson, Fort Randall Dam in Pickstown, and Gavins Point Dam in Yankton will remain open all winter long due to the flowing water from the powerhouse.
Indeed, there are opportunities for anglers to fish out of their boats in the months of December, January, and February and for shore anglers to utilize their long rods as opposed to their ice fishing rods. In fact, the fishing in these areas could be categorized as very good!
In the Pierre area on Lake Sharpe, depending on the weather conditions that winter, the reservoir may be open until the bridges in town or it may go much further and remain open water down past the Polo Fields launch at Farm Island Recreation Area. This sets up multiple bite options, as fish may be sitting on top of the sandbars soaking in the head of the sun or they may be staging in the deeper water adjacent to them.
Many of the days anglers actually desire to put their boats in the water, are actually some of the best days to fish. This is because the sun will often be shining and the air temperatures will be warm. These conditions set up for the sun to bake onto the sandbars and rocky shorelines, which will in turn draw in walleye to take advantage of the warmer conditions.
Walleyes are ectothermic, which means their body temperature is at the mercy of their environment. Unlike humans, who are endothermic and maintain a body temperature of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, when the weather is cold the walleyes will be cold. These conditions in the winter slow down their metabolism and leave them with overall less energy to eat and move.
This is also why they will be drawn to these warmer areas in the water, as they will be seeking out the warmth to increase their body temperature. Not only will this congregate fish in the area, these fish will also be the most active as they will have the most energy due to these warmer water temperatures and external heat sources. What this means is anglers can expect to find congregated and relatively active fish.
This also makes the time of day important when hitting the water. Anglers are used to traditionally beginning their fishing days right away in the morning, and then heading in for a bite to eat or a nap during the midday lull. In the winter, the script flips. As the air temperatures are at their warmest and the sun is at its highest, the fishing will continue to get better as the day goes on. In fact, the best bite often sets up to be from about 2 p.m.-4 p.m. when the sun is at peak power and has been baking the sandbars and rocky shorelines for much of the day.
Anglers fishing along sandbars or rocky shorelines, such as on Lake Sharpe in the Pierre area, are often going to do best casting light jigs and minnows up onto these sandbars. There is a good chance fish will be in 1-4 feet of water. If the fish aren’t fully up yet, try vertical jigging in the slightly deeper water adjacent to these areas, which is usually 6-12 feet of water depending on the area.
Anglers fishing on Lake Francis Case between Fort Thompson and Chamberlain are likely to experience a similar bite. The large bluffs directly below the dam can be very good, once again try pitching shallow up onto these bluffs or vertically fishing a jig and minnow along the dropoffs to deeper water off these areas.
In years the water is open to the Crow Creek area or further below, another bite will set up. While dragging and pitching jigs can be effective, another strategy is to deploy small crankbaits on leadcore line fished relatively slowly. Anglers utilize the properties of leadcore to get these #4 or #5 baits down to deeper water, fishing both directly in the channel and along the flats. Once again, fish may be moving up and down from the shallow to the deep water depending on the day.
Trolling these small baits on leadcore is a good way for anglers to cover larger areas and contact active fish. Many times, you may fish for a while without any bites and then get multiple in a short order. As pods of active fish are contacted, they will often bite quickly. Once this happens, either try going through this area again or depending on where they are deploy a vertical jigging or pitching strategy.
Further downstream, the bite below the Fort Randall Dam sets up directly in the tailrace. Here, anglers pitch large plastics on heavy jigs directly into the flowing water, pumping these baits as they come back to the boat. Fish are sitting directly in this flowing water, waiting for meals to be flushed through. These large plastics emulate this situation perfectly, and often on a pump or reeling down to pick up the bait the fish will be on.
Anglers who are looking to take advantage of these opportunities should be mindful of a few things when it comes to caring for their boat and equipment. The first, would be to always drain your lower unit. This is something that should be done all year-round, as it helps slow the spread of aquatic invasive species such as zebra mussels, but it is most important for ensuring your motor is completely dry of all water when being stored or traveling in freezing temperatures.
The second, would be to minimize the amount of water actually in the boat. It is a good idea to have a five-gallon bucket or other device to put the fish directly in, as opposed to your livewell. When out on the water, leave livewells fully plugged, with water intakes closed, and off. This minimizes the amount of water running through the boat, and then when loading up pull those plugs again and leave them out until your next launch.
The third is to be careful of ice on the boat ramps. As trailers pull in and out of the water, they can dump good amounts of near-freezing water directly onto the cold concrete. This can set up for freezing and ice building conditions on the ramp, which causes trucks and trailers to slide down it. If possible, always slowly pull your trailer out of the water to minimize the amount of water dumped onto the concrete for fellow anglers. A bag of ice melt is also a must for all anglers looking to take advantage of winter fishing, should it be needed to quickly melt ice build ups on the ramp.
Winter doesn’t have to mean ice fishing. While the ice fishing opportunities in South Dakota are spectacular, and the Glacial Lakes region is an ice fishing destination for all anglers, don’t forget about the open water opportunities that present themselves on the Missouri River. See for yourself how whether it’s through the ice, from shore, or out of the boat the amount of fishing opportunities present in South Dakota all winter. Good fishing!
