The summer heat is here, but fortunately the fishing is just as hot as well! The walleye bite continues to be excellent on Lake Oahe and the fishing on Lake Sharpe continues to be productive as well. We’ll take a deep dive into the best patterns to catch Lake Oahe walleye in this week’s fishing report!
Lake Oahe
The walleye bite continues to be spectacular on Lake Oahe! Up and down the reservoir, anglers are enjoying quick limits and a great number of 15-17 inch fish. Fish are still in relatively shallow depths and highly accessible to anglers.
The fish continue to move more towards their mid-summer patterns, especially with the recent hot temperatures, and are continuing to transition with the changes in conditions as well. Fish are still relating primarily to their spawning locations and back creek areas, but they are continuing to move toward more main-lake structure. Continue to look for walleyes adjacent to these areas, but if the bite is tough be sure to check the main lake areas adjacent to these areas.
Primary depths are also changing with the conditions. Right away in the morning, fish can be found in as shallow as 6-10 feet. As the day goes on, if there is windy or cloudy conditions, fish may still be in that 8-14 foot range. If there is minimal wind and sunny conditions, fish may be slide out towards 15-20 feet. Overall, expect to start the days looking in 6-14 feet but if weather patterns are calm and bright, look for fish as deep as 15-20 feet.
As far as baits, bottom bouncing with spinners is often most productive right away in the morning. Larger blades with brighter colors are often most productive as you fish shallow and aggressively. Focus on blues, purples, and even pinks.
As the sun gets higher and conditions get brighter, top colors are going to transition to white, silver, and gold. The metallic and more neutral colors will be the go-to option throughout the rest of the day.
Forage is becoming more abundant, which is slowing the bite down a bit. The abundance of food available is leading to well-fed walleye and thus fish are less willing to bite as they had been. Previously, marking fish often led to bites, but now fish marked on your graphs may not bite. Focus on presentation to help convert these marks into bites.
Lake Sharpe
The bite on Lake Sharpe in the Pierre area continues to still be overall good. Generally speaking, fishing can slow down this time of year, but the bite continues to be holding quite well. Anglers can find success fishing in the back of the stilling basin, along the sandbars, and along the docks and shorelines in town.
Hipple Lake within Farm Island Recreation Area continues to be a productive area, particularly for good numbers of fish. There is a good number of smaller fish available in the area and fish in the 15-17 inch range are also abundant. Larger fish, 18-19 inchers, are present as well. There is also always the chance to catch an over in this area too.
Further downriver, the bite in the West Bend area has been slowing down. However, this area is often an excellent mid-summer location for targeting walleyes on Lake Sharpe.
News and Notes
National Walleye Tour Heads to Lake Francis Case
The National Walleye Tour will head to Lake Francis Case this week, June 22-23, fishing out of the Prairie Dog Bay at North Point Recreation Area near Pickstown. Anglers can expect to find a lot of walleyes, particularly those slot fish, with the key for success being the best “over” fish. Walleyes over 20 inches are gold on Lake Francis Case, and a good number of fish of this caliber in this area will make finding the larger overs the difference between a good finish, and a great one.
Hunt for Habitat Raffle Closing Soon
South Dakota’s Hunt for Habitat raffle will be closing soon. Tickets must be purchased by 8 a.m. CST July 11. This raffle gives three lucky hunters the opportunity to hunt one any deer, one any antelope, and one any elk. A fourth winner will be able to enjoy a Custer State Park Trophy Buffalo hunt. Tickets are $10 for residents and $20 for nonresidents, there is no limit to the number of tickets that can be purchased.
