The dog days of summer continue on the Missouri River, but there’s still good fishing to be found if you look for it on Lake Sharpe! As the calendar flips to August, it’s easy for the thoughts of fishing to slip many folks’ minds but now is a great time to get in some last-minute summer fishing before school starts! Find out all about it in this week’s report!
Lake Sharpe Fishing Report
The fishing continues to be very hit and miss on Lake Sharpe. The primary bite would be the stilling basin, where trolling crankbaits has produced the most fish. There is a significant amount of forage in the stilling basin, mostly gizzard shad, and that means fish are extremely well fed. Covering water with crankbaits has been the highest percentage option, but the bite is good one day and slow the next!
Last week we highlighted traditional crankbait options, Rapala Shad Raps and Berkley Flicker Shad. As discussed, and studied, purple has been a top color for these baits. These baits, #5 and #7 Shad Raps have continued to produce fish and remain one of the top options.
Learn More: Blue vs Purple, Does Color Matter When Trolling Crankbaits?
This week we took a look at a new wrinkle, trolling light, flashy spoons behind heavy 10-ounce torpedo weights. This is a tactic that is common on Lake Erie, but not so common on Lake Sharpe! Fortunately, as we proved these last couple days, this can produce fish on the Missouri River too!
Learn More: Lake Erie Meets Lake Sharpe – Mixing It Up for Mid-Summer Walleye
Whether trolling traditional crankbaits or spoons, no one is immune from the hit and miss nature that comes with targeting walleye surrounded by forage in the stilling basin. Fortunately, when the bite is slow in the stilling basin there is still good fishing to be had on the river!
The best bite we’ve found is fishing in 6-10 feet along the major flats, targeting areas that feature rolling topography or “dunes” under the water. Fish are sitting in these areas and ambushing forage as it comes by. This means when it’s a #4 Colorado blade and nightcrawler behind a bottom bouncer, they’re often willing to bite!
Learn More: Fumbling into Summer Walleyes on Lake Sharpe
Throughout the entire system there remains a great number of fish 12-17 inches, with a good number of fish between 14-15 inches. These make for both great action and great eaters, especially for it being the heat of the summer. There is no shortage of forage in the system, but when you find active fish they’re often willing to eat a bit more!
Further down river below the Pierre area, anglers targeting the West Bend Recreation Area as well as Iron Nation areas are reporting fish as well. Similarly, the trend of a great number of fish continues to be the case all along the reservoir. Wherever on the fishery, there are often quality fish willing to bite!
Videos of the Week
These last couple weeks one of the main priorities has been continuing to build up the YouTube channel, which means we’ve thoroughly covered the bites we’ve been on since heading back down onto Lake Sharpe. Last week, we covered Red Hot Summer Walleyes on Lake Sharpe and Blue vs Purple, Does Color Matter for Trolling Crankbaits. This week we’ve got two more videos to add!
Mixing it Up for Mid-Summer Lake Sharpe Walleye
Tom Sieburg of Tom Tom’s Guide Service joins us to test out some Lake Erie tactics on Lake Sharpe. The question is will Great Lakes tactics work on the Missouri River, and the resounding answer is YES! Learn about trolling spoons behind torpedo weights and how this unique wrinkle can put more fish in the boat!
Fumbling into Lake Sharpe Walleye
We’re back in the YarCraft with Tom Sieburg of Tom Tom’s Guide Service, and the bite is proving tough! Cover water and try new techniques as we stumble ourselves into a new pattern, and enjoy a poorly planned and even more poorly executed video as we showcase the fast bite we’ve fumbled our way onto!
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