Trip of the Year

What a trip!  It happens a couple of times a year if you go often enough, and this was one of those times. Checking the weather for Webster, SD high pressure was prevailing with winds from the west to southwest not over 15 mph. This was perfect.


I left Wednesday evening with my wife and we had a really strong south wind blowing us north. Arriving at Webster the wind was really stiff and the lakes we drove by on our way in were really rocking and rolling.

Up early Thursday, we grabbed some minnows and crawlers and headed to Waubay Lake. The wind was not a factor at this time, but it switched to the northwest and really began kicking up the waves. By noon, I was done fighting with boat control and we headed in for lunch and paid a visit to Sportsman Cove. The forecast had changed and was for stronger winds in the afternoon. So with that in mind, we headed to Pickerel Lake.

Pickerel Lake is a beautiful body of water. It is long and narrow running north and south so we could hug the west bank and be out of the wind. Immediately we started picking up crappie, and they were really nice slabs about ten to twelve inches. The walleye we picked up were really small, less than fifteen inches.  We threw them back. To my amazement, we were getting smacked by small northern and this went on all afternoon. When this started to happen, I took a pair of pliers and bent down the barb on the hook. I wanted to get them off as easily as possible. I have never lost fish doing this. We were pulling red and white spinners with a minnow attached. The northern were really aggressive. The walleye would just mouth the bait and we would just feel a slight tug on the line. The crappie took hold like food was going to be rationed the next day. We picked up a nice limit of crappie and one northern which was a decent size.

Friday looked like it was going to be a good day. A little ripple was on the lake. At the boat ramp I met two gentlemen from Aberdeen, and they told me where their favorite spot was on the lake. So we followed them over. I had never fished the south shore much. We found some outstanding structure and graphed lots of fish. Immediately we started catching small walleye in about eight to ten feet of water. This was shallow for this time of the year. I moved out deeper and worked back and forth into the bank in eight feet and back out to fifteen. We were getting some action. Then it just plain shut off. The lake went totally flat, and there was not a breath of breeze. This was unusual for this part of South Dakota. The temperature rose into the 90s and there was not a cloud in the sky. We broke for lunch and headed back to the motel for a short nap. The rest of the afternoon, we stayed off the lake. However, several of the guests staying at the motel came in with some nice fish. You don’t catch anything unless you go.

Saturday morning the wind was brisk out of the south, so we headed for a location near the boat ramp. I had never fished here before, but the people at Sportsman Cove gave it a strong recommendation. What a call. The wind was around 15 to 20 mph. We drifted into about six feet of water and back out to 15. Then we started the process over and over again. We started fishing around 7:30 AM and were done with a day’s limit of walleye each by 10 AM. All the fish caught were sixteen to eighteen inches in length and made really nice filets.

We folded up and headed for home.  Good fishing, good hunting, and good luck.   Hank.

The outdoor suppliers are offering some really great buys.  You cannot have enough gear.  If your wife wants to know where it come from, say it just appeared.  Afterall they buy shoes. 

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Lake Mozingo

Southeast of Council Bluffs is the town of Marysville, Missouri.  Just a few miles to the east is one of the prettiest lakes I have ever fished.  A man made reservoir, it supplies the water for the town of Marysville, and the state of Missouri has stocked it with walleye, crappie, bass and catfish.  It is an outstanding fishery.  The lake is very long and very narrow and of course, widens out at the dam.  Fed by a small stream to the north, fresh water is constantly flowing through and this helps keep the lake pristine.  Another important feature, it is deep.  From the face of the dam, it drops rapidly from five feet to thirty to forty feet.  Deep clean lakes have the ability to hold a lot of bait fish and game fish.  When the weather turns hot, and it gets hot in Missouri, the fish can go deep to cooler water. Click on the Lake Mozingo website to see all that is offered. (http://mozingolakemo.com/)

To reach Marysville from Council Bluffs, you take I-29 south to Rockport Missouri exit and go east.  Here the highway is really lousy.  It is narrow, rough and very hilly reaching the city.  I recommend you have everything secured inside your boat or outside as the road is old and really rough. You will have to go through a number of small Missouri towns slowing the trip.  I figure about two hours in total from my house to the lake. 

My trips are day trips and I key off of the weather.  I fish the lake only early in the spring as when it warms up the boat traffic picks up with a lot of pleasure boaters.  Besides an out- of- state day license which is nominal, you will need a park permit for the day. 

Before entering the park, there is a bait shop that opens at 6 AM, and the people are ready to help.  Licenses and permits can be purchased there and you will also get all the latest tips and spots to work.  These are really nice people and very helpful.  It is the only bait shop on the lake and their phone number is 1-660-582-3600.

I only go to this lake when there is a light south to southwesterly air flow.  Therefore, the day was picked and the trip was put into motion.  Leaving the house by 4:30 AM, and arriving at the bait shop by 6:30, it was a beautiful morning.  The bait shop owner said, "Minnows are the bait of choice and for walleye stay off the face of the dam and work into fifteen feet of water."  The second spot was a point near the face of the dam that sticks out into the main body of the lake.  It is on the east side.  The third spot was across from the boat ramps.  The plan was to work the bottom in thirty feet of water with a spinner on a bottom bouncer.  Big walleye have been known to hang out in this area. I also field glass other boats to see what they are doing when I am on a lake seldom fished.

The sky had a high overcast and I headed straight toward the dam.  The wind was now straight out of the south.  Starting in five feet of water, I let the boat be pushed into deeper water to about fifteen feet.  Turning right around, I back- trolled into the wind and into the face of the dam.  The plan was to make this in and out turning pattern from five to fifteen feet.  It did not take long before Wham! I got a good hit.  A nice fish was boated.  I then tried to stay in the general area for about thirty minutes to see if I could pick up another. It did not happen.  Moving eastward along the face of the dam, I picked up another walleye. These fish were running about 16 inches.  I kept moving along the face S turning in and out from five to fifteen feet.  The fish were all caught in about twelve feet of water.  They hit really nice and hard.  These were feeding fish.
 The fish I started picking up along the dam were small walleye that had to be thrown back.  Missouri has a 15" minimum length requirement and I was throwing fish back.  At this point in time, I was up to three fish over 16 inches.  The sun began to poke out from behind the clouds and the bite began to turn off.  I had fished for two hours.

I then moved off the dam and motored to points on the east side that stuck out and drifted from deep water into shallow water and back to deep over the point.  This produced nothing. I then moved into deeper water and dropped a bottom bouncer with a spinner and minnow attached.  I worked this method for about 90 minutes, but did not get one hit.  I was graphing fish, but nothing took.  All I needed was one more walleye for a daily limit, but it was not to be.  As noon approached, I gave up for the day, loaded up and took off to find a restaurant and then home.

Good hunting, good fishing, and good luck.  Hank

There are some great buys right now at one of these fine outdoor suppliers.  You cannot have enough gear.  If your wife asks you where it came from, just say it appeared.  It works for me.

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A Fishing Tale

The Fisherman

Behold the mighty Fisherman

He riseth early in the morning and disturbeth the whole household

Mighty are his preparations

He goeth forth full of great hope

And when the day is spent, he returneth smelling of strong drink

And the truth is not in him.

Author Unknown

The truth is I got skunked.  Although it was not for lack of trying hard.   The weekly fishing report from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources announced that walleye were on the spawn and in the shallows at Lake Manawa.  A DNR official at a sport show had provided advice on where to fish and how deep. In addition, a book of Iowa lakes was purchased that showed all the hot spots on the lake and for all the lakes of Iowa. Now is the time for patience. Waiting for the right weather pattern will put fish in the boat.

The day came. I headed over to the bait shop and checked with the owner. No big fish had been reported caught. The only thing caught were small ones. They told me the big ones had all gotten away. Wind was light and variable in the early morning hours and the trend was to be southwest 5-15 during the day. This was perfect.

My first stop was on the south shore at a location named Tin Can dike. As a boy, I had fished with my dad at this location. At that time it was full of junked cars and other metal objects of varying size. It was a dangerous place to take a boat. The process was to cast into the edge where all the junk was hiding under the water. Then retrieve the bait. The rule of thumb was never let the bait drop to the bottom. If you did, you lost the lure. We fished with Johnson Silver Minnows with a pork rind attached. You never moved your boat in among the piles of junk. If you did, you would tear out the bottom.

The area now is all silted in, and the junk cars and other objects are totally covered with mud. The memory still lingers. Making sure of not getting too close to shore, I flipped a spinner with a minnow attached toward the bank and retrieved it.  This pattern was repeated.  I moved down the bank, but stayed out in five feet of water. The plan was to cover as much shoreline as possible. This was being accomplished by using the electric trolling motor on the bow. The DNR had told me the water was about two feet deep next to the shore. They also told me they had netted fish along the bank in the shallow water. This was in the early spring. After about 45 minutes, the area was covered, and the boat was moved back up to the original starting point. Here baits were changed. A Rapella Minnow was put on the line and the same process started again. Staying out in five feet of water and moving the boat down the shoreline produced nothing. Placing the lure just to the edge of the weeds on the bank and then slowly retrieving toward me was the plan. No walleye were produced. I was not going to give up.

The next plan was to move to an inlet that led into a lake home area just to the east of Tin Can dike. The boat was moved into the inlet. I kept it in the middle and then drifted slowly out toward the deeper part of the lake.  I used a spinner with a minnow attached.  It was chartreuse in color and the bait was coated with Berkley’s Walleye spray. All the guns were pulled out now. I was not giving up. I had no luck except for catching a small stripper. That gave me great hope. After two hours of nothing, it was time to move.

Heading over to the west side of the lake the wind had picked up and was more to the west. Still, that was okay. Arriving at the west bank, there were no boats, and no one fishing the bank. How could anyone pass up a morning this gorgeous. In previous years, starting at the southern most inlet to the housing area and moving south was productive. Back to the chartreuse spinner with the minnow and the bait spray. I decided to S turn into the bank and back out to three to four feet of water. For this exercise, I used the kicker and back trolled. You get great boat control with the kicker and I like it better.

Working for about an hour and reaching the south end of the lake, it was obvious the wrong tactic was being used or they were not feeding.

The wind now switched to the northwest, and clouds began rolling in. The wind also picked up in velocity and the temperature dropped. This was not forecasted. Back trolling along the bank, baits were switched from a Rapella to a Jig and Minnow combination. Nothing.

I had worked the lake now for about five hours. The weather was turning snotty, and I gave up. It happens. It is called fishing not catching. Everything should have worked, but this is why we keep going. It is all about the conquest, picking the day, picking the bait, and having some good luck along the way. With a lake ten minutes from my home, it is no problem to come back at my leisure.

Good hunting, good fishing, and good luck.  Hank

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Great buy now at these outdoor suppliers.  You cannot own enough gear.  If you wife asks any questions about where did this come from, tell her it just appeared.  It works for me.