Nothing better than fall fishing

I am missing fall fishing this year because of my goal to hunt Elk in Idaho.  The preparation is taking some time getting ready.  The first goal is to develop some proficency with a high powered rifle.  The second is to learn to ride a horse.  Both are needed for this trip.

However, there are other fishermen that are fishing in one of my favorite lakes in South Dakota, Wauby Lake, South Dakota.  My good friend John and a couple of his friends went without me to haul in the walleye.  Following my recommendation of fishing the weather, the three of them picked a great three days to make the 300 mile trip from Council Bluffs.

They arrived late in the evening, therefore their only information was by phone from the local bait shop.  It was the same information that I had based my trips on.  The recommendation was to fish the west end of the lake putting in at Kanago access.  Then they were told to fish the Bresky Bay area and stay along the north shore, but not to go beyond Duck Island.  They were also told to fish straight out from the lake access.  I was never sure of the distance after leaving the landing.  I always headed southeast and made a long sweeping half circle back before going east on the lake.  Straight out is a sunken rock pile, and with the current water levels the first pile is not visible.   Fishermen should approach with caution to avoid smacking the lower unit on their motors, but they will be rewarded with some nice fish.  The second spot is just beyond the sunken rockpile.  This pile of rock is more visible and there is some dead timber sticking up.  A fisherman should approach with caution, and fish around the pile staying in about ten to fifteen feet of water.  This is a bigger reef and probably runs thirty yards north and south.  East and west it runs about ten to fifteen yards. 

In the morning, John started at Bresky Bay and worked along the north shore as recommended.  He started out in ten feet, got no hits, then moved out to twenty feet.  He was rewarded with good solid hits and a nice keeper fish mixed in the group they caught.  They were pulling red and white spinners tipped with a piece of crawler.  They lowered the bait to the bottom then reeled it up about two to four feet to keep it out of the vegetation on the bottom of the lake.  This worked well all morning and by noon they were halfway to the daily limit. 

After a little break for lunch, they were back on the lake by 2 PM and repeated the process.  The walleye were getting finicky and the hits were not so frequent.  John also said he believed they were mouthing the bait and not smacking into it like a feeding fish.  Light strikes were not a real good sign, but these were patient men.  By 4 PM they were shut down and nothing was hitting.  The decision was made to hit it really early in the morning.

They were back on the lake early the next morning.  A light breeze out of the southwest gave the lake a nice ripple as they headed to Bresky Bay.  They fished for two hours along the north bank and struck out.  John then decided to head to the east end of the lake beyond school bus point and fish a bay just opposite the Grenville Access on the south shore. On the south end of this bay is a series of buoys that mark a restricted area operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife.  The area is a waterfowl refuge, and you canot enter.  About twenty five yards away from the refuge,  the action really picked up.  In fifteen feet of water they found the hungry walleye and had a daily limit by noon. 

 After breaking for lunch and cleaning the fish, the rest of the day was spent exploring the lake and looking for additional reefs, drop offs, and any other underwater structure that will hold fish.  How much better could this get.

On the final morning they went to the Grenville Access to fish the bay next to the wildlife refuge.  Success was with the fishermen.  By noon they each had two more walleye, which was a posession limit.  What a trip!

Having some good success this fall? Drop us a line.  Good fishing, good hunting and good luck. Hank

P.S. October 2nd is the opening day for ducks in the Tekamah area.  With all the water around it should be a good opener.

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