A Comprehensive Guide to Fishing on the Missouri River in South Dakota

The Missouri River in South Dakota offers some of the best fishing opportunities in the Midwest, and many anglers from across the country come to take advantage of the excellent bite. South Dakota is home to four major reservoirs: Lake Oahe, Lake Sharpe, Lake Francis Case, and Lewis and Clark Lake. Each of these fisheries offer their own different elements, and with hundreds of miles to fish, finding the perfect spot can be difficult.

To help break down all the fishing opportunities, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide to everything you need to know about finding the best bites at the best time to suit your style of fishing. Whether you’re looking for action fishing, the fish of a lifetime, or just a relaxing day on water there is plenty of opportunity on the Missouri River!

Early Season Action

For anglers eager to get their boat in the water, the Missouri River reservoirs offer some of the first open water opportunities of the year. Combine this with a year-round walleye season in South Dakota, and anglers from across the region come to take advantage of the early season action.

It’s this time of year that Lake Francis Case, specifically the Chamberlain area, steals the show. The fishing begins just below the Big Bend Dam before transitioning down towards Cedar Shore Resort as open water opportunities expand. The large boat ramps can withstand heavy boat traffic, and anglers should expect to be fish among some crowds. 

Lake Francis Case itself is a walleye factory, driven by a gizzard shad forage base, the fishery offers a near constant supply of 14-18 inch walleyes, with some bigger fish being caught as well. Several large flats adjacent to major tributaries, notably Crow Creek and White River, are popular spots to start and the flowing water from below Big Bend Dam, as well as nearby stilling basin, all hold an abundance of fish.

Learn More: Spring Walleye Fishing on Lake Francis Case

Two major tactics dominate this time of year, with trolling crankbaits and jigging the staples for this early season bite. Shad style baits are often the best choices, such as the Berkley Flicker Shad or Rapala Shad Rap, and smaller profiles such as #5 and #7 are most productive. Fishing these baits on leadcore line allow anglers to target fish suspended adjacent to spawning grounds over deep water and find fish along the bottom as well. 

Anglers can jig fish two different ways, with both pitching and dragging jigs effective. For dragging jigs or vertically jigging, pack plenty of ¼-⅜ oz jigs to maintain bottom contact between the current and the South Dakota winds. For pitching jigs, ⅛-3/16 oz is often the best choice. The traditional jig and minnow set up is most popular, but plastics can be just as, if not more, effective depending on the day.

Anglers who are looking to avoid the crowds can find a similar early season bite on Lake Sharpe near Pierre. About an hour north of Chamberlain, boat ramps are often quieter and the bite just as good for anglers willing to make the extra drive. The only real difference is pitching jigs is a bit more popular on Lake Sharpe than down on Lake Francis Case.

The Walleye Factories

The common theme between both Lake Francis Case and Lake Sharpe is they are both considered “walleye factories”, meaning they produce an abundance of 14-18 inch fish on any given year. Both of these fisheries are driven by gizzard shad as a primary forage, and both see consistent fish production courtesy of ample spawning habitat and steady flows through the Big Bend Dam and Oahe Dam respectively. 

Lake Francis Case is a bit larger than Lake Sharpe, but regardless, current can play a major role on the bite throughout any given day. For the most part, periods of high flows through the respective dam will make the bite stronger, while lower flows can make fishing a bit tougher. 

Throughout the entire open water season, anglers can reasonably expect to experience good fishing, and the ability to catch a limit, on any given day. Specific locations and techniques will vary throughout the year, but for the most part three techniques – jigging, trolling crankbaits, and bottom bouncing, will produce fish.

Spring and fall, as discussed above, is more of a jigging and trolling crankbait scenario. The upper end of each reservoir often produces the best bite, as fish follow the same seasonal migration patterns each year. 

On Lake Sharpe, the best jigging bite will often take place on the sandbars in the town of Pierre or on the large flats between Farm Island Recreation Area and Fort George Lakeside Use Area. Sandflats adjacent to deep water are often the highest percentage areas. 

Anglers can expect to find fishing trolling these same flats, particularly the larger expansive flats further downriver, and this is an effective way to cover water and contact active fish. The bulk of the fishing is done in 6-12 feet of water, and smaller profile shad style crankbaits are the best choice. Anglers looking to troll should not count out the bluffs either, as these provide a several mile long stretch that walleyes will use for both spawning habitat and a travel corridor as they move along the reservoir. 

On Lake Francis Case, the best jigging bite takes place in the stilling basin, along the large flats on major tributaries such as Crow Creek, Kiowa Flats, and along rocky grades and bays in the town of Chamberlain such as Pontoon Bay. Downriver a bit more, Carpenter Bluffs between Dude Ranch Lakeside Use Area and the mouth of the White River offers another popular jigging location.

All of these areas can also produce for anglers trolling crankbaits, and the deeper water between the bridges in Chamberlain can also be an extremely effective spot to target for larger, suspended walleyes adjacent to spawning habitat. Fishing the flats just above and below the White River is also an excellent option for trolling crankbaits. 

A bit further downriver, the Snake Creek and Platte Creek areas can produce fish both jigging and trolling crankbaits. While these can produce fewer, but a bit larger fish in the spring months, these become some of the focus of the summer months. 

In the summer months, the same flats that produced in the spring can still hold fish, but for the most part fishing will transition down to the lower end of the reservoir. On Lake Francis Case, this is where the Platte area begins to really shine.

Deeper than Lake Sharpe, beginning near Platte and down to the end of the reservoir at Fort Randall Dam in Pickstown, Lake Francis Case sets up for a classic summer trolling or livescoping scenario. Large sunken tree flats, which were flooded when the reservoir was created, still hold fish and are a major concentrator of quality sized walleye in the summer months and into the early fall.

These tree flats are easily located on a map, and all can hold fish at any given time throughout the summer. Other areas to target, particularly in the early summer, are the flats adjacent to deep water further down the reservoir. Fishing between Buryanek Recreation Area down to West Bridge boat access near Platte can be particularly effective, as can near the mouth of Pease Creek.

While fishing near the Platte area is popular, and rightfully so, the area between North Point Recreation Area and Pease Creek Recreation Area often sees a bit less pressure. This area in particular has many good spots, particularly for anglers who are willing to make a bit of a longer drive. 

In the summer months, bottom bouncing is the best right away, particularly with Mack’s Lure Smile Blades or Colorado blades. Tipping these with a crawler is effective, and this bite can carry strong through the month of June. As temperatures continue to increase, this is when trolling crankbaits or livescoping the deeper water really begins to take shape through September. 

The same shad style crankbaits from the spring can be effective, but don’t be afraid to bump up your size to a #7 or even #9. Below the Platte/Winner Bridge on Highway 44 in particular, minnow style baits can also be effective. A #7 or #9 Flicker Minnow or Rapala Tail Dancer is most effective, but don’t be afraid to fish even larger for the biggest fish in the system. Big Eye Spinnerbaits are also an underutilized option, particularly when fish are holding in the trees. 

On Lake Sharpe, it’s impossible to think of summer walleye fishing and not immediately think of West Bend Recreation Area. The expansive flats on the lower end of the reservoir sit right outside the boat ramp, and can produce an incredible action bite.

Fishing is simple, with bottom bouncers and crawlers the top choice. The current plays less of a factor here, and anglers who wish to slipbobber or cast the edge of the large weed flats outside of the main channel can also find success. Sunken timber is also present in this area, though the shallower nature of the reservoir doesn’t set up for the deep tree trolling bite like what takes place on Lake Francis Case below or Lake Oahe above. 

Further up the reservoir, another option begins to present itself, and this is Hipple Lake within Farm Island Recreation Area. An oxbow lake off of Lake Sharpe, this shallow, stained, fertile fishery holds an abundance of forage and in turn walleyes. In fact, some of the largest walleyes in Lake Sharpe can be found in this area, which for the most part is only 4-8 feet deep. 

Beyond Hipple Lake, the largest walleyes in the system are often found in the Oahe Dam tailrace. These big walleyes will spend the bulk of their time in the flowing, cooler water, enjoying the benefits of the water coming through Lake Oahe and the meals that come through as well. They often have short bite windows, and the best bet is often at night from either the boat or shore.

Trophy Walleye Fishing

If those big walleyes are what you’re after, there’s one choice, Lake Oahe. Lake Oahe is a lot of things: it’s big, it’s expansive, it’s deep, it’s a boom or bust fishery, but at the heart of all of them – it’s a trophy walleye factory. 

Learn More: Lake Oahe – A Trophy Walleye Factory

Anglers should come prepared to be challenged by this fishery. The waves can get very big, summer storms can come out of nowhere, cell phone service is spotty, and the size of the waterbody means you need to plan on making some runs, including some long ones. There’s an abundance of structure, including points, creeks, submerged islands, rock piles, submerged timber, large tributaries, and long flats. 

Similar to Lake Sharpe and Lake Francis Case, gizzard shad are present in Lake Oahe as a food source. Gizzard shad do a very good job growing walleyes quickly, which is a big reason Lake Sharpe and Lake Francis Case are the walleye factories they are, but what makes Lake Oahe a better trophy fishery than the reservoirs below is the addition of cold water forage.

Rainbow smelt are the primary cold water forage, and make for the perfect option for larger walleyes. When gizzard shad grow walleyes quickly, around the 20 inch mark they can then switch over to rainbow smelt as a primary forage and continue to grow well into the mid to upper 20s, maintaining a quality weight the entire time. 

While these large walleyes are certainly possible anytime you drop a line into Lake Oahe, the possibility to catch a true “teener” walleye, or a fish that’s weight is greater than 13 pounds, is present as well. These walleyes are driven by a different forage, which are ciscoe/lake herring, a larger bodied prey fish that is also present in the system.

As mentioned above, Lake Oahe is a boom or bust fishery and that is true in regards to both the walleyes and the forage. Forage is greatly dictated by water levels, with periods of high flow events, notable recent years such as 2011 and 2019, flushing these rainbow smelt through the dam. Not only does this take forage away from the Lake Oahe walleyes, it also allows the ciscoe population to surge. 

Rainbow smelt and ciscoe have an inverse relationship, which means when the rainbow smelt are abundant the ciscoe are not. This is because of the timing of each species’ spawn, and the smelt eating the young ciscoe. However, when smelt numbers are down, ciscoe numbers are going to increase. This isn’t a viable food source for many of the smaller walleyes, but makes a tremendous food source for the gigantic walleyes. 

Whether it’s an early season jigging bite on Lake Francis Case, catching literally dozens of fish bottom bouncing near West Bend on Lake Sharpe in the summer, or looking for wall decor in the late fall on Lake Oahe there are always good bites to be found along the Missouri River reservoirs in South Dakota! 

Everything to Know About Fishing Lake Oahe

Lake Oahe is a massive waterbody, spanning two state capitols, routinely reaching depths over 100 feet, and featuring numerous tributaries. While the fishery can appear challenging, the reward can be truly the trophy of a lifetime. Whether you’re looking for one for the wall or a fish fry, we have everything you need to know to find fish on Lake Oahe in The Complete Guide to Fishing on Lake Oahe. 

Everything to Know About Fishing Lake Sharpe

Lake Sharpe is a true action fishery, with numerous walleyes between 15-18 inches providing a great opportunity for a fish fry and a number of shorter fish to provide entertainment throughout the day. Find out how to find fish on Lake Sharpe in The Complete Guide to Fishing on Lake Sharpe.

Everything to Know About Fishing Lake Francis Case

One of the most popular walleye fishing spots in the spring time, if not the most popular, Lake Francis Case and the Chamberlain area draws anglers from across the region each spring. There’s more than just great spring walleye fishing though, find out where to follow the fish on Lake Francis Case all season long in The Complete Guide to Fishing on Lake Francis Case.

Learn More About Fishing on the Missouri River

Learn more about Lake Oahe, Lake Sharpe, Lake Francis Case, and targeting walleye, smallmouth bass, salmon, and more on the Missouri River!