The 2025 South Dakota Governor’s Cup set a new tone for what constitutes a “mega bag” on Lake Oahe, weighing over 61 pounds for a two-day tournament winning weight.
It was Beau Schilling and Ben Beadle on top, with a record breaking 61.51 total pounds for a two-day weight. After weighing 31.05 pounds on Day One, Schilling and Beadle brought yet another 30 pound bag with yet another 11 pound big fish.
See More: Day One 2025 South Dakota Governor’s Cup Sees Massive 31 Pound Bag
It took both of these spectacular days to edge out Beau’s father and sister, Chad and Samantha, who also brought a stout 25 pound bag for Day Two to capture second place with 48.30 pounds. Close behind in third place was Jackson Hilton and Jack Oberg with 48.12 pounds.
Rounding out the top five was Paul and Dave Steffan with 46.77 pounds and Nate and Gunner Neddo with 42.51 pounds. Overall, the top seven teams all weighed over 41 pounds over a two-day weight.
Beau Schilling and Ben Beadle are the youngest to ever win the South Dakota Governor’s Cup, with the 2025 event being the 51st annual Governor’s Cup. Beau and Ben will pocket $20,000 for their victory.
The Schilling family completed the sweep, with Chad and Samantha winning the Austin Oliver division as well, which constitutes a parent/child team.
Day One Big Fish winners were Seth Lubbers and Tanner Burkman with an 11.63 pound walleye. Day Two Big Fish winners were Beau Schilling and Ben Beadle with their 11.80 pound walleye, which was also the biggest fish of the tournament.
Following the awards ceremony, Schilling and Beadle elaborated on their winning strategy. The Jigging Rap was their top bait for tournament days, with the simple white #9 Jigging Rap the top option according to the anglers.
“Our game plan was get our big ones before our slots, and when you’re fishing for big ones you throw #9s,” said Beau Schilling. “When a fish is hungry, a fish is gonna eat, a lot of guys over complicate things.”
The bite on Day Two particularly was difficult, with Schilling and Beadle staying focused on the same pod of fish all day.
“We kept our heads down and we knew we were on the right fish and sooner than later they were gonna go,” elaborated Schilling. “We went through the same group of fish four times, they didn’t bite, the fifth time one did, and the sixth time the other did.”
Their persistence paid off, capturing their first South Dakota Governor’s Cup championship in their first attempt.
The Top Ten included:
1st Place: Beau Schilling/Ben Beadle, 61.51 pounds
2nd Place: Chad Schilling/Samantha Schilling, 48.30 pounds
3rd Place: Jackson Hilton/Jack Oberg 48.12 pounds
4th Place: Paul Steffan/Dave Steffan, 46.77 pounds
5th Place: Nate Neddo/Gunner Neddo, 42.51 pounds
6th Place: Jake Ringling/Reggie Ringling, 42.17 pounds
7th Place: Casey Buechler/James Walti, 41.51 pounds
8th Place: Josh Moret/Joe Lower, 39.90 pounds
9th Place: Jeff Simonsen/Brody Simonsen, 38.93 pounds
10th Place: Michael Warren/Travor Diegel, 38.70 pounds
The 2025 event was the 51st Annual South Dakota Governor’s Cup, which is hosted by The Fishing Crew and launches out of Spring Creek Recreation Area north of Pierre onto Lake Oahe.
The 2025 event was a difficult one for Mason Propst and Nick Harrington, who were able to see flashes of the bite they were hoping for, but unable to put together the ultimate bag they had been looking for.
“Heading into the tournament we felt really good about the bite we had been on,” said Nick Harrington, Owner of Lip Ripper Fishing. “Mason was on a really good bouncing bite, and I had put some nice fish together trolling crankbaits.”
Day One of the event was focused on bottom bouncing, with the boys hitting every single one of their best spots.
“We fished 17 different spots on Day One looking for the active fish,” elaborated Harrington. “We were able to get three to weigh, with numerous just shy of that 15 inch mark, but the theme was the fish were tight to bottom and not wanting to bite.”
When fish did bite, it was a bottom bouncer with a plain hook and nightcrawler or Mack’s Lure Smile Blade that was the ticket.
“They only liked very subtle presentations, and if you didn’t get them when they first hit it you weren’t going to,” detailed Harrington. “We had some come on the .8″ Smile Blade, and the rest came on just a plain hook and nightcrawler.”
Heading into Day Two, the boys felt they had put something a bit more together.
“We had a spot that had the right fish on it, we just needed them to go,” explained Harrington. “Mason stuck a beautiful 19 1/4 right away and we were really liking our chances, but those fish just shut off after that.”
Halfway through the day, the boys switched tactics and put out some crankbaits to target larger fish.
“We knew we needed overs, and I had a spot I felt confident that there wouldn’t be many, but they would be the right fish,” continued Harrington. “We had one on pretty quickly, but the wind made landing it difficult and we lost it right at the boat.”
Shortly after, another right bite did find it’s way into the box.
“We kept the pass going and it couldn’t have been another 20 minutes we did stick a good one in the box,” detailed Harrington. “We kept working that stretch over, and it seemed when the wind died that bite did too.”
Despite the tough results, the boys caught a lot of fish over the last couple weeks on Lake Oahe.
“The fishery is just in tremendous shape, Mason had a pile of 18-23s he caught in the weeks leading up to the event and I had a solid trolling program going too,” concluded Harrington. “It was a tough result for us, but a huge congratulations to the Schilling family on just a truly incredible weekend. Lake Oahe is a special fishery, and I’m fortunate every time we get to go out and experience it.”
Stay up to date on all the latest bites by checking out the Lip Ripper Fishing weekly fishing reports, following along on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
