South Dakota
South Dakota really has to be divided into three areas because all three areas are vastly different. The central portion of the state is where the Missouri River flows. The river acts as the state divide segregating the two sections into “East River” and “West River”.
West River
The western portion of the state, “West River”, around the Rapid City/Black Hills area is predominately deep, clear lakes. There is a lot less overall water and the lakes that are present generally are going to have a lot of Lake Trout, Northern Pike and smaller Yellow Perch. The Midwest Lip Ripper staff does not get out to this region often.
Missouri River
The Missouri River is in the central portion of the state and is divided into three reservoirs. Lake Oahe is the Northern most reservoir. Oahe is categorized as a “Boom and Bust” fishery. The lake is a cold water fishery, so cold it is able to support a Salmon fishery as well. Cold water prey species such as Smelt and Ciscoes are a high protein food source that grows large, healthy fish. During periods of high water, such as 2011, these baitfish can be flushed through the dam resulting in a depletion of prey and that can really hurt the gamefish population and condition. The other downside is when there is a large abundance of prey species the fish are going to be very large and heavy: however, they are not going to be hungry often so it is a real challenge for anglers to coax them into biting. Mobridge is one of the most famous fishing/outdoor communities on this portion of the river.
Lake Sharpe is below Lake Oahe. Sharpe has warmer water and because of this Gizzard Shad is the main prey species. This is another situation that often the fish are extremely healthy but when the prey species is exceptionally abundant coaxing a bite can be difficult. Lake Sharpe also grows some incredibly large Smallmouth Bass. Lake Sharpe is often a more consistent fishery than Oahe, although it seems to lack the amount of top end potential that Oahe has.
Lake Francis Case is the reservoir below Lake Sharpe. Lake Francis Case is the warmest of the three reservoirs and is a favorite of anglers especially in spring because it ices out the quickest and is often the first open water available in South Dakota. Lake Francis Case consistently receives the most angling pressure of any waterbody in the entire state. Gizzard Shad are once again the primary prey species in the waterbody and some large Walleye are taken every year as well as thousands of limits.
Pro Staffer Mason Propst lives in Pierre and has spent a tremendous amount of time fishing all three reservoirs. He is a river ace and has a fantastic resume when it comes to both tournaments and guiding on all three reservoirs. Pro Staffer Nick Harrington has also spent a good amount of time fishing mainly Lake Francis Case but also Lake Sharpe out of Pierre.
“East River”/Glacial Lakes Region
The headline of Eastern South Dakota is the rising water conditions. Increased precipitation across the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s turned many small “prairie potholes” into large expansive lakes. The area in Day County near Webster is famous for being one of the most impacted areas of expansion. These small pothole lakes started growing and connecting with other small sloughs and ponds creating large, complex waterbodies. The favorite lakes of the Webster area are Bitter Lake and Waubay Lake: however, with the amount of water in the area anglers can often find many gems all across the landscape.
The Clark county area is very similar with the expansion properties. The main difference is that these are often more surface area and less depth. Lakes such as Dry Lake #2 or Indian Springs are often quite shallow and not deeper than 12-15ft. This contrasts to the deeper 25-30ft lakes of Waubay and Bitter near Webster.
The one fact about all of these lakes is that they flooded agricultural land making for some extremely fertile waterbodies. The increased nutrients fuels the food chain at the most basic level. This creates a boom of invertebrates (small aquatic bugs) that act as high protein snack packs for all fish species. This is most evident in the goliath Yellow Perch that come out of these lakes and sloughs, although they also can produce some incredibly large Walleye and Northern Pike as well.
Pro Staffers Nick Harrington and Chris Seylar both spent four years at South Dakota State University in Brookings giving them ample time to explore the entire region. Nick prefers fishing more around the Arlington area but also spends a lot of time out by Clark. Chris also enjoys fishing around Brookings, although he has also put in a lot of time around the Webster area as well. Mason Propst also has had great success on Bitter Lake, Dry Lake #2 and Indian Springs.
South Dakota is a sportsmen’s paradise and all three Midwest Lip Ripper Pro Staff members have had terrific success on a wide variety of waterbodies. They can’t wait to share their experience so that others can enjoy the success that they have.
