The 24th Annual Cedar Shore Resort Walleye Tournament is upon us, and conditions are looking much more positive for this year’s event than they did in the year previously. The bite has been very strong on Lake Francis Case, particularly in the Chamberlain area, and weather conditions are looking favorable to allow anglers to fish all along the reservoir.
Favorable Conditions and Forecasts Lead to Excitement
The first factor for any spring tournament on the Missouri River is the forecast. Will there be wind? Will there be rain or snow? What are the temperatures going to be? Seasoned tournament anglers have experienced them all, and the forecast plays a critical role on both tournament day and how you approach your pre-fish.
“Last year’s event was one of the toughest tournaments I’ve ever personally fished,” said Nick Harrington, Owner of Lip Ripper Fishing. “Day One was cancelled due to the high winds, and Day Two wasn’t much better with wind, rain, and hail all presenting challenges throughout the day.”
While weather conditions make it difficult on the anglers, the greatest impact is on the waterbody itself.
“Water temperature is something anglers across the region pay attention to, and while this is a factor possibly even more so on the Missouri River is water clarity,” continued Harrington. “Dirty water means tough fishing, whether it’s Lake Francis Case or Lake Sharpe.”
The 2024 event, while the wind stole the show, also featured significant rain and run-off that led to a combination of factors that made for incredibly dirty water temperatures, and ultimately tough fishing. Fortunately, that doesn’t appear to be near a factor this year.
“Overall we’re looking at some really great conditions along the reservoir, there’s areas where the water is certainly discolored, but you’re not seeing those aggressive mud lines that can make fishing tough,” expanded Harrington. “We’re also looking at much warmer temperatures, which is going to play a major role as well.”
Anglers are permitted to fish from the Big Bend Dam in Fort Thompson to the Highway 44 Bridge in Platte, this allows for approximately 50 miles of fishing along the reservoir. It can be expected that this entire area comes into play.
“There’s many years that the winning move is to make that run down to the Snake Creek area, every year there’s some really nice fish in that area and this year appears to be no different,” continued Harrington. “That said, fishing directly below the dam is a great way to get a big one and there’s other stretches within 5 miles of the ramp that can be just as good.”
One area that will likely come into play this year is going to be the White River, particularly directly below this major tributary.
“It would be very safe to say the bulk of the angling pressure is taking place near the White River right now,” detailed Harrington. “When I took an assessment of the reservoir, this area had far and away the most boats and I certainly know why.”
The forecast, water conditions, and angling pressure means that anglers are going to likely be able to fish their top spots with no issue and should set up for some extremely large weights.
New Look Pre-Fish and Partner for 2025
While the conditions impact all anglers, on a personal front there are many changes that are being made for the 2025 event.
“Coming into this year, I took a hard look at how I approach these tournaments and we’re going to see a few changes for this season,” stated Harrington. “For starters, I’m completely redoing how I approach my pre-fish. As opposed to starting in my favorite spots, I made myself take a look at conditions along the whole reservoir.”
Pre-fish began with a plane ride over the entire boundary, looking at water conditions and other elements from the air. These areas were photographed, noted, and then checked from the boat.
“I began my pre-fish launching at the very end of the boundary at Snake Creek Recreation Area, and all I did was come out and start taking water temperatures and noting the water clarity,” explained Harrington. “My first day I drove from Snake Creek to just below Elm Creek, and stopped at many spots to take water temperature, clarity, and graph to see both numbers of fish and where they were holding.”
This meant there was very little time for fishing, but this insight when tabulated together provided a valuable look at conditions along the reservoir and how fish were responding to these.
“After I gathered this information at a broad scale, I then followed up on areas of note by trolling just to continue to cover water and get a better idea where fish were holding,” elaborated Harrington. “There were a few areas I then jigged just to see how fish would react.”
After exploring the southern half of the tournament boundary, the focus shifted to the northern half.
“The next day I did the same exercise, launching out of Cedar Shore and running to the dam, and then heading back and going just a few miles below the White River,” stated Harrington. “I covered a lot of water, and when I took all the information back it showed quite a bit about how water clarity, water temperature, and where fish were all related to each other.”
Location plays a critical role, particularly in the spring, and this then allowed Harrington to focus then on breaking down techniques, baits, and fine-tuning specifically where and when to target certain areas.
“The next step to the equation is presentation, both jigging and trolling are the top two ways to target fish this time of year on Lake Francis Case and I think both are going to have their spot,” noted Harrington. “That’s the focus now as we head into the tournament, putting it all together.”
Harrington will have a new partner for this event, and will be fishing with Tom Sieburg of Tom Tom’s Guide Service.
“I’m extremely excited to fish with Tom, he’s an accomplished angler and notably a World Walleye Champion,” said Harrington. “I think we’re going to fish well together, and it will certainly be a new way for me to look at things and approach these events!”
Tournament Forecast and Projection
Combining all of the information above, the 2025 Lake Francis Case Status and Forecast, and past year’s events it can be safe to predict some higher weights this year.
“There’s some really quality fish in the system currently, with a lot of 18-23 inch fish being caught so far this year,” stated Harrington. “I expect that to continue, and that means we’re going to have some really good weights.”
While the number of fish in the system is overall down, the majority of the fish in the system are greater than 15 inches and that means when anglers put one in the boat it will likely lead to some tough decisions.
“I think there’s going to be some anglers that are very selective, and that might make it tough to fill a limit,” admitted Harrington. “That said, if you can fill with those quality slot fish and an over or two you’re going to be really tough to beat.”
A new wrinkle to the event will be that it is a two-day tournament, which means that anglers are going to have to find success two days in a row to take home a trophy.
“The second day, to me, is the biggest x factor,” stated Harrington. “In the past you could make that run, hit them, and win. Now you have to do it twice, and that’s not so easy!”
The 2024 event was won with a 14.18 pound bag for one day, with several 3-4 pound walleyes coming in. Harrington anticipates higher weights this year.
“I’m thinking the 14 pound average will be right, and it will take 28 pounds to win this tournament across both days, but I think we’ll see at least a 17 pound bag one of the days,” claimed Harrington. “I think the big fish will also be a bit more, and I’m going to say 5.80 pounds for big fish.”
The answers will be revealed this weekend, stay tuned to the The Fishing Crew’s Facebook page for live on the water coverage, and stay tuned to our website and YouTube page for the latest reports and updates!
Best of luck to all anglers, be safe, and let’s have a great season!
Current Chamberlain Fishing Report
Nick Harrington shared the most recent report from the Chamberlain area, which featured much of his pre-fishing information and focused on what to know about the reservoir and the current angling pressure and style taking place!
Bonus Lake Francis Case Fishing Report
Follow along on our YouTube page for bonus fishing reports like this, where Nick breaks down the first day of pre-fish and the approach he is taking for this year’s pre-fishing efforts!
