The Walleye Bite is On

 

From Lewis and Clark Lake in southern South Dakota north to the North Dakota border, the Missouri River system is alive with boats.  Fishermen are all after one of the best eating fresh water fish on the planet.  That is the walleye.  Filleted out, dipped in the batter of your choice, and then fried, provides outstanding fare.  If you select a reservoir or fish below one of the many dams along the Missouri River, you will never go wrong.

Fried Walleye Recipe

Ingredients:

2-4 walleye fillets

2-4 cups of Italian bread crumbs

½ to 1 tablespoonful of Italian seasonings

½ to 1 tablespoonful of Lawry’s Seasoning Salt

Sprinkle a little pepper

Add a little garlic (this is optional and not in Ted’s recipe)

1 cup of flour

2 eggs whipped and set aside

Cooking pan with vegetable oil or the oil of your choice

Directions:

1.  Toss the walleye fillets into the flour and coat both sides

2.  Dip the fillets in the whipped egg

3.  Add bread crumb mixture in a gallon zip lock bag with the seasonings and shake until coated

4.  Cook in well heated oil about 3 minutes to a side and the coating lightly browned

5.  Serve with a lemon wedge and sauce of your choice

6. The fish goes well with a Piesporter wine or a chilled Tusker beer if you can find it. 

South Dakota has one thing that you have to keep an eye out for and that is weather.  Big T storms can roll across the prairie with high winds, blinding rain storms and hail.  It is imperative to keep track of what is going on with the weather in this beautiful state.

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May has been a wet month this year,  not only at home but across South Dakota in the areas that I wanted to fish.  My wife and I finally picked a four day stretch where the weather looked great with high pressure and westerly flow.  We would drive up late Sunday getting into Pierre, fish for 2.5 days and leave on Wednesday afternoon after a cold front had passed.  The weather was forecast as balmy with temps in the 70s, cooling down to the 60s at night.  We would fish the lake prior to the cold front passage.  If we were striking out, it always turns hot before frontal passage.

We decided to fish Farm Island Lake below the dam south of Pierre and an arm of the Missouri River.  It has an excellent boat ramp and other facilities.  If you are a camper, this is a good location to park your camper or pitch a tent.  You do need a South Dakota Park Permit.  We buy an annual permit because we will fish in several parks in the state. 

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The lure of choice was the Flicker Shad by Berkley and we moved into about eight feet of water and started the pulling of the plug process.  There was great ripple on the water, but there was not a cloud in the sky and the sun was getting hot.  And then, Wham! Pam nailed a really nice seventeen inch walleye.  It was quickly brought into the boat, and one of my jobs is to remove the lure from the fish.  If you have fished with Flicker Shad you are aware of the series of small treble hooks on the belly of the lure.  The fish gave a wiggle and a hook went right into my index finger just to the left of the nail.  It buried itself with part of the hook sticking out the under neath side of my finger.  The barb was well buried.

No problem, I have had hooks in my fingers before and you squeeze the digit real hard and back the hook out of the entry point and the barb comes along.  It did not work.  There was only one thing left to do.  Push the hook on through my finger until it comes out the other side and then clip off the shaft of the hook at the entry point.  No problem.  No pain no gain.

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Then the problem started.  I could not find my wire cutters to cut of the hook.  Fortunately there was another boat on the lake.  We motored over to see if they had a wire cutter.  To get their attention, I yelled and then held up my hand with the lure hanging off my finger.  I could hear the gentleman's wife say, "Oh good grief, he has that lure in his hand."  Fortunately he had a wire cutter and we cut off the hook at the entry point and pulled the rest of the hook through my finger.

The couple had their grandchildren with them in their boat and they were white as a sheet seeing all this.  They will remember this experience for along time.

The hook was gone and after a quick coating of triple antibiotic ointment and a band aid we were off and fishing.

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We kept up the same pattern, but bites were beginning to slow.  Pam started to mention how much hotter it had become and were were still not totally limited out.  A fish a piece would put us at possession limit for the day.  It was noon and it had gotten hot.

We took a bathroom break and stopped and talked to the DNR who was checking licenses, fish, and other permits.  The temp was above 90 degrees and the new forecast was to be mid 90s by 2 PM.

We quit for the day and headed to the room after we had cleaned up the fish.  Both of us were slaked with sweat and we could not drink enough water.  If there had been some clouds to keep the sun hidden we might have been able to finish out the day, but it was way too hot.

The plan was to come back in the evening and see if we could pick up two more fish.  It was not to be.  The wind went down, and the lake went flat and we were beat.

The new plan was to check weather for the next day and really pound the daylights out of the lake and haul in the fish.  We were up before light.  We grabbed a breakfast sandwich at a quick shop and a pint of coffee and were back on the lake.  The forecast was not good.  It was going to get hot again and by noon they were predicting 90 degrees and then climbing on upward.

We fished hard changing from Flicker Shad to spinners with minnows to jigs off the bottom, but it was not to be.  We picked up two more fish, and now it was decision time.  Do we stay another night or take the 8 really nice walleye and call it a day?  The next day was forecast to be more of the same and we called it a day.  This was a good trip even though I drove a hook into my index finger and the heat was oppressive.

When I got home, I tore the boat apart and there was my wire cutters.  They have now been moved to the console.

 
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Good hunting, good fishing and good luck.  Hank

The Baltimore Orioles Have Returned

They have appeared again and we do not know where they came from.  A neighbor who is really into birds told my wife to put out some grape jelly and we would see a beautiful bird come and feed on the grape jelly.  It is the Baltimore Oriole.  The oriole is a singer with a rich whistling song that echoes from tree tops and parks.  Now the birds are in our neighborhood.  We always thought this bird lived in the eastern states, but here it is in Iowa.  The male has brilliant orange plumage while the female appearance is much more subdued. 

Male Baltimore Oriole getting ready to have some grape jelly

Besides the Baltimore Oriole, we are also being visited by the Orchard Oriole.  A smaller bird, the male is brick red with a solid black tail. First year males have a well defined black bib. The female has a greenish yellow rather than the orange - yellow breast.  Their song is a medley of melodious whistles and flute like notes, quite different from the short phrases of the Baltimore.  They migrate in July to August, so we do not expect to see them much longer.

Male Orchard Oriole

Female Orchard Oriole

We live on a golf course and there are no great stands of trees in our neighborhood.  However, to the west of our location is a wooded area.  It is here, we assume, they have built their nests.  The female weaves a hanging nest from slender fibers.  We intend to hike over to the wooded areas and search for the nests.   

Male Baltimore Oriole at the grape jelly bowls.

The name of the bird is based on the crest of England's Baltimore family, and has the same colors of orange and black plumage.  The family also gave the name to Maryland's largest city.    

Male Baltimore Oriole at the grape jelly bowls

Their breeding grounds are considered to be in the eastern and east central United States.  Iowa is far from being considered east central, but here they are.  We continue to enjoy the singing of the birds and the brilliant colors of the male as they eat grape jelly from a feeder placed on our deck.  Besides the jelly in our feeder, they feed on insects and forage for fruits in brush and shrubbery.    We are very interested to see how long they will be with us, as they winter in Central America and will inhabit the coffee and cocoa plantations in those regions.    

Female Baltimore Oriole

Baltimore Orioles eat insects, fruit, and nectar. Some orioles in our neighborhood have been seen eating oranges that have been set out for them.  However, they seem to prefer grape jelly. Their preference for each food varies by season: in summer, while breeding and feeding their young, much of the diet consists of insects, which are rich in the proteins needed for growth. In spring and fall, nectar and ripe fruits compose more of the diet as these sugary foods supply energy for migration. Baltimore Orioles eat a wide variety of insects, including beetles, crickets, grasshoppers, moths, and flies, as well as spiders. They are also helpful in our neighborhoods by eating many pest species, including tent caterpillars, gypsy moth caterpillars, fall webworms, and spiny elm caterpillars.

This spring has unseasonably chilly weather and the birds are really chowing down on the grape jelly.  We put out our hummingbird feeders, but none of them have showed due to the cold weather. When it warms up, they will return. 

 

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Good hunting, good fishing, and good luck.  Hank