The Missouri River reservoirs in South Dakota can produce some of the best bites of the season to start the year. Anglers flock to areas such as Pierre, Chamberlain, Mobridge, and Platte to take advantage of the year-round walleye season and excellent bite the areas can produce in the springtime. However, when Mother Nature decides to throw a curveball and brings heavy runoff, spring rains, and/or winds anglers may find a difficult bite when they hit the water.
“One of the greatest challenges you can encounter on the Missouri River reservoirs in the springtime would be dirty water,” says Mason Propst, guide for Propst Professional Anglers and owner of Mason Propst Fishing. “If you find dirty water on the river you’re going to need to adjust your approach.”
Water clarity as a whole has a major impact on the fishing on the Missouri River reservoirs. Clear water generally produces an excellent bite, but dirty water can bring plenty of challenges for anglers. Major tributaries, such as the Bad River on Lake Sharpe, Crow Creek and White River on Lake Francis Case, or Grand River and Moreau River on Lake Oahe can bring warm, but dirty water into the reservoir.
“The first step for any angler is to try to find clear water, even if it’s an area you might not have planned on targeting,” explains Propst. “If my A and B spots are dirty, I’d favor my C spot over both of them if that water is clear.”
There are times that no matter how hard anglers look, they ultimately won’t be finding that clear water. Fortunately, many of these tributaries act as staging areas for spawn and the water dumped into the system can be significantly warmer than the rest of the reservoir. These factors will attract fish to these areas.
“Focus on these key staging areas,” says Propst. “In pre-spawn conditions, you can find the males and saugers where there is warmer water than the norm.”
Once these areas have been identified, it’s time to zero in on presentation. The dirty water can make traditional staple, such as the jig and minnow, ineffective. Walleye have a tougher time zeroing in on these baits and in turn must be targeted differently.
“I love the classic jig and minnow,” says Propst. “If I’m fishing dirty water though, I switch to something that is going to produce maximum vibration.”
One of Propst’s favorite baits for these types of situations is the Berkley Ripple Shad. “A Ripple Shad, or similar paddletail baits, create vibrations as they go through the water and can help attract fish that can’t see as well,” continues Propst.
Propst likes to fish these baits aggressively, often incorporating a lift fall as opposed to a straight retrieve. “The bigger lift/falls will create vibration as the bait moves up but also as it comes down.” says Propst. “The fish will often hit as the bait falls or they might pin it to the bottom. The next time you give a lift it’s there.”
An additional aspect these baits present is the ability to provide a bright color as well. Favor brighter colors such as firetiger, chartreuse, or even orange. The combination of the brighter colors and the vibration produced by the paddletail makes your bait more enticing to fish.
Regardless of the cause, the combination of cold and dirty water sets up for difficult fishing on the Missouri River reservoirs. Anglers that can adapt to these challenges are going to be able to enjoy the most success.
“I won’t tell you the fishing will be easy,” Propst concludes. “However, if you focus your efforts on the warmer water, key in on staging areas, and create plenty of vibration there’s still fish to be caught.”
