The 2nd Annual Sharpe Showdown saw rain, wind, and everything that makes Lake Sharpe such a special fishery on full display! Anglers found no shortage of fish to be caught, with some massive walleyes finding the scales as well. Propelled to a massive lead after Day One, it was Tyson Keller and Max Sheets who were able to capture the victory.
Following heavy rains Friday before the event, which saw approximately two inches of rain fall on the Pierre area, the field took off to dirty water and dropping water temperatures. The runoff from the Bad River forced anglers to decide between fishing above the tributary or make the long run to the West Bend area, where clearer and warmer water was present.
“Anglers are able to fish anywhere on the reservoir for this event,” said Curt Underhill, Tournament Director. “Mother Nature set her own boundary though, and while we saw some anglers make the run to the West Bend and Iron Nation area many of them focused on areas between the dam and the Bad River.”
Lake Sharpe is known for being an action fishery, producing numerous walleyes between 14-18 inches each year, but there are large walleyes present too. The coveted “overs”, or fish greater than 20 inches, are key for Missouri River tournaments and there are plenty of these caliber fish present in the system. These fish played a massive role in deciding this event, with Tyson Keller and Max Sheets bringing a tremendous bag of 19.03 pounds to the scales on Day One.
After taking a commanding lead after Day One and launching on Day Two with a near seven pound lead, Keller and Sheets had to withstand consistency from Ben Brown and Chris Haines. Bringing 12.94 pounds on Day One and 10.65 pounds on Day Two, Brown and Haines cut into the lead and put together a total weight of 23.59 pounds. Despite a slower Day Two, Keller and Sheets were able to bring 7.88 pounds on Day Two to capture the victory with a total weight of 26.91 pounds.
“The overs always play a critical role on the Missouri River,” said Underhill. “This event, they were on full display. We saw a massive bag from Tyson and Max Day One, but Brown and Haines’ two very solid bags made it interesting.”
Beyond the top two teams, the weights got tight with the next four teams within a pound. Consistency was key, with Diegel and Swenson bringing 9.44 pounds on Day One and 10.06 pounds on Day Two for a 19.50 pound total weight for 3rd place. Miller and Panzer were close behind, helped by a 11.59 pound Day One bag to bring a total weight of 19.28 pounds. Near exact bags, 9.60 pounds and 9.45 pounds respectively, brought Saathoff and Nold to round out the Top 5.
The complete Top Ten were as follows:
- 1st Place: Sheets/Keller 26.91 pounds ($9,000 winnings)
- 2nd Place: Brown/Haines 23.59 pounds ($4,000 winnings)
- 3rd Place: Diegel/Swenson 19.50 pounds ($2,000 winnings)
- 4th Place: Miller/Panzer Jr 19.28 pounds ($1,000 winnings)
- 5th Place: Saathoff/Nold 19.05 pounds ($900 winnings)
- 6th Place: Cole/Daughtry 18.47 pounds ($800 winnings)
- 7th Place: Brown/Bowen 18.15 pounds ($600 winnings)
- 8th Place: Suiter/Seyer 17.84 pounds ($550 winnings)
- 9th Place: Kogelman/Hight 17.48 pounds ($500 winnings)
- 10th Place: Gregg/Ellwein 17.32 pounds ($450 winnings)
Anglers reported catching great numbers of fish overall, with many fish 14-16 inches being caught.
“There is an abundance of 15-16 inch fish and it was tough for a lot of teams to decide what to keep and what to put back,” continued Underhill. “It really speaks to the quality of the fishery we have here on Lake Sharpe. You can go out and catch a bunch of good fish.”
This was the challenge the Lip Ripper Fishing boys faced, with great numbers of fish entering the boat, but a struggle to put the right caliber of fish in the box.
“Overall both days we caught just a bunch of fish,” said Nick Harrington, Owner of Lip Ripper Fishing. “We had so many fish that were 15, 15 ⅛, 15 ¼, and we honestly weren’t sure which ones to keep and which ones to put back. There were some tough decisions both days.”
The boys started Day One pitching jigs right away, but the bite was slow. This forced them to switch to trolling crankbaits on leadcore in 12-16 feet of water.
“We started in our A spot right away, where I had caught a 15 pound bag in pre-fish on Thursday, but while we were marking fish they just weren’t going,” said Mason Propst, Owner of Mason Propst Fishing. “We made the switch to the crank trolling stretch Nick found on Friday and started putting a lot of fish in the boat right after that.”
When The Fishing Crew Live started at noon on Day One, the boys had five fish and were trying to upgrade.
“We had a solid 17 ½, but beyond that we were having a hard time catching anything except 15 inch males,” continued Harrington. “We worked the area over trying to get a couple more of those 17s, but they just weren’t going.”
The boys then did a milk run of spots that can produce those coveted overs, but they weren’t to be found. The boys ended up weighing their five fish for 6.11 pounds to conclude Day One.
“You can never win it on Day One, but you can lose it,” said Propst. “Obviously we wanted a better weight, but we knew we weren’t out of it heading into Day Two.”
Day Two saw the boys switch to Nick’s Lund 1875 Pro Guide as the bowmount on Mason Propst’s Lund 202 broke near the end of Day One.
“The boat change was an interesting wrinkle to the event,” said Harrington. “I love my tiller but in the rain we were facing on Day Two, a windshield might have been nice!”
The boys began Day Two again focusing on jigging and this time, the fish were snapping.
“I think we had four or five in the boat before the second flight even launched,” said Propst. “They were whacking the jig, but once again they weren’t the size we wanted.”
After being selective, the boys only had one 16 incher when they went back to their starting spot from Day Two. Similar to the other spots they had fished, they again found biting fish.
“They weren’t crushing it,” explained Harrington. “I’d feel just the slightest weight on my JB Designs Oahe Platinum and once I did, I’d pause my jig, point the rod tip to the fish, and then reel down to it and set the hook. The only fish all day that actually bit hard scared me so much I missed it!”
Heading into the Day Two The Fishing Crew Live, the boys had four in the box and were focused on filling out the rest of their bag hunting significantly better quality fish.
“We decided to throw our eggs in the trolling basket and went to the basin,” said Harrington. “Unfortunately they just weren’t snapping.”
After two and a half hours trolling, the boys knew they needed to finish their limit and went back to find their jig fish still active.
“We pulled in and Nick popped another 15 and then quickly put a 17 in the boat to upgrade, we then decided we needed to be pretty selective with that last tag,” explained Propst. “We knew there was the possibility of a real big one there, but it just never bit.”
The boys ultimately weighed 6.83 pounds for their Day Two bag, bringing their total weight to 12.94 pounds.
“The dirty water forced us to fish in town, which isn’t our confidence area,” concluded Propst. “It’s disappointing to not be able to fish our favorite areas, but that’s how spring on the river can go. No doubt about it we were on fish, we just couldn’t get the right ones to go.”
The total weight will equal $12.94 donated to Casting for Recovery in South Dakota.
“It’s tough to be upset because we followed our plan and executed well,” concluded Harrington. “We didn’t really leave any fish out there or make any mistakes, we just couldn’t get those right bites.”
The Sharpe Showdown is hosted by the Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce and launches out of Downs Marina in Pierre. Weigh-ins took place at Pierre’s Steamboat Park.
“I just want to say thank you to both our anglers and the Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce,” concluded Underhill. “This was a fantastic event overall for the community and this really captured what the city of Pierre is all about.”
The complete results can be found at TheFishingCrew.com. The final event of the Team of the Year circuit will be the 50th Annual South Dakota Governor’s Cup, which will be July 20-21 on Lake Oahe.
Casting for Recovery Donation
Each week throughout the Tuesday Night Walleye Fishing League season, each pound brought to the scales will equal $1 donated to Casting for Recovery in South Dakota. The Sharpe Showdown weight will also be added to this, with $12.94 being added to the donation.
- Tuesday Night League Week One: $3.85
- Sharpe Showdown: $12.94
Total Current Donation: $16.79
The Road Ahead
The boys will now focus on their Tuesday Night Walleye Fishing League in Pierre, which runs through the month of June.
