Fishing Reports - NE South Dakota

[Jarrod32]

We don't need specific info...just some general reports if you've been getting out and how the bite is. I was out on Pickerel today...didn't do much fishing, though. I spent most of the afternoon going through the features and getting used to my new i-Pilot and my Humminbird 597 ci di unit. Those are both pretty sweet units...I posted in the consumer reviews forum on both of these. Anyone else been getting out?

[SHANTY]

nobody must own a comp. in these neck of the woods

[rundrave]

we own them, just been to windy and rainy to get some quality fishing in!

been a rough spring, and even when it does get nice, alot of landings are in rough shape to make it even worse

[verg]

has been good

[Avid Angler]

Just got back from a three day trip out in Webster. This late spring really helped us out. Water temps were still in the mid-sixties. We fished five different lakes in three days. That wasn't because the fish weren't biting either. We wanted to try something different each day.

Our most success came from trolling cranks along the windy shorelines in 7-8 ft of water. We also did a little jigging and rigging. It seemed like if you found some cabbage patches the fish were relating to them pretty heavy.

Biggest fish was 22.5 inches. We boated probably 100 walleyes in about 19 hours of fishing. I was really impressed with the shape of the fish. Very healthy.

Avid

[tori's dad]

I second that last report - got home last night after two days fishing and pulling cranks around windy shorelines again. Caught about 60 fish on Swan Lake - most being in the 14-15 inch range.

Then went to Waubay lake and caught some bigger fish including some very nice smallmouth bass again trolling cranks in the wind- all in all great trip and what a wonderful area to go fishing with so many lakes to choose from.

[Jarrod32]

Avid...that sounds about right. That 7 foot range is where we have had some success on a couple different lakes, including Waubay. Tori's Dad...while Roy Lake is considered the good bass (especially smallmouth) lake in this area, I too have found some nice smallies in Waubay this spring.

Glad to hear you both had good trips out this way.

[Jarrod32]

Fished Big Stone for a while yesterday. Well, tried to fish it. Got blown off after just a couple hours. Actually, given the wind, we probably didn't have any business being out there to start with. Not much fishing action...I lost a little walleye by the boat, but my brother did manage to land a nice smallie that went about 18".

[Jarrod32]

We have a couple nephews and a niece staying with us for a week or two, and I got to take them out fishing today...it was quite a nice day on the lake. Here is my nephew Blake with a nice 28" Roy Lake northern...biggest fish he has ever caught.

[Jarrod32]

Hit Waubay Lake today...another good day on Waubay. I will say that the walleye have moved deeper...they were in about 19-20 feet of water today. Still managed a limit of small/medium fish in a few hours. Nothing big, though. Added a dandy perch around 11" and threw back a couple smallies.

[rattleL]

Fished a variety of lakes last weekend in NE sodak found most fish from 15-20 ft of water pulling number 7 shads. Lots of numbers from 16-19 and some nicer fish pitching into 8-10 with 4 inch swimbaits

[Jarrod32]

Sounds about right. I've heard a couple reports that pulling cranks in around 20' of water has been working...

[Selmer]

A friend and I stayed at Enemy Swim Monday and Tuesday, August 8&9 for some fishing and relaxing. We were targeting panfish, bluegills and rock bass, and this is my favorite lake to fish for pannies. We tried for some walleyes a few times and only caught some candy bars in the main basin. But we had nice gills and rock bass just about every place we stopped on a drop off with weed beds. 7"-8" was the average on gills, we had three over 9". The rock bass were 7-10" and lots of fun to catch and delicious as well! We of course caught more smallmouth bass than I care to talk about, they always turn into a nuisance when fishing Enemy Swim. We released a dozen over 16" and had one over 18", literally dozens in the 12-16" range. We also picked up quite a few small perch depending on the spot. Overall we had a great time and have some great CPR fish as well as some great fish for the table. We stayed and Sandy Beach Resort and enjoyed the cabin for $95/night - it's a pretty good deal!

[Jarrod32]

Using crawlers? Or something else? I presume you caught at least some in the shallow west bay...

[Selmer]

Mostly crawlers, but Gulp! leeches cut into small pieces worked well also. After a cold front went through Monday night we had to downsize to small (1/32 oz.) jigs. The only time I fish Indian Bay is in the springtime when the gills are spawning. Otherwise I hit the deep points and rock piles, and every place we stopped had fish. I suppose the bay has some gills in it, but after the spawn I usually find the smaller fish there. Although the smallest gills we caught were from 25-30' of water in the main basin on spinners and crawlers! The smallmouth were ridiculous, a nuisance really, because we weren't targeting them, but anything that gets gills gets smallmouth in that lake.

[Jarrod32]

Had a good day on Lynn Lake today. The walleye fishing was slow, but we hit a spot that is usually good for some nice perch...and it did not disappoint. Three of us ended the day with 16 perch, three nice crappie, three nice bluegill (all from the same spot), a couple northern and one nice walleye. Put back a few small walleye and a buttload of small crappie. Not many perch went back; there was a good size structure on them.