Back to Webster South Dakota

How to Hunt Like a Gentleman

Wow, the weather just stayed rotten during the last weeks of May and the first of June.  Looking at a trip to the panhandle of western Nebraska was totally out of the question unless things turned a little more mellow.  My favorite haunt for the last 20 years is the Glacial Lakes region of eastern South Dakota.  So it was with deep intent that the study of the weather and frontal movements in that area began.

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The fronts just rolled through with winds and T storms through the area.  There is always one thing that is constant and that is the wind.  It is either blowing or howling in the Webster, SD area.  I noticed there was an opportunity for a high pressure to move in for a few days and the forecast was for clearing skies and breezes, more or less, and probably more, from the south.

After church on a Sunday, the weather was studied for the last time and the decision was made to go in the afternoon and fish the next two and a half days.  The next problem was a room.  The motels were full, but I could stay at two different ones if I did not mind changing.  I was by myself so that was not a problem.

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The drive up was uneventful except the cars, once I was in South Dakota, went by me like I was standing still.  The speed limit is 80 mph and the natives drive it plus.  As I was pulling the boat, I maintained a steady 70.  I need to point out that in the Sioux City, Iowa area on I-29, law enforcement places a remote radar detection device that takes a picture of your vehicle and license plate.  If you are going faster than the speed limit, you are nailed.  It has already cost me $65.00 so if you are traveling north or south in the Sioux City, Iowa area, pay attention to the speed limit.

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Next morning after grabbing bait, advice, and 5 gallons of coffee, the boat was launched at the Kanago boat ramp.  Wind was right out of the east at about 5 mph.  The water level looked a little lower than it did last year.

Fishing was started just 100 yards from the boat ramp working a chartreuse jig and crawler in eight to twelve feet of water.  Getting more shallow put me into moss beds and coated up the lure.  At eight feet no moss was picked up.  Good returns on the fish finder showed plenty of fish in the ten foot area.  After working the area for about 45 minutes moving south east from the dock, I headed northerly to the first big island.

The southwesterly corner of the island and half way up I picked up small mouth bass. 

On the northerly side of the island and staying in at least 8 to 12 feet of water, I worked the jig along the shore.  Boom! The rod bent over and the line moved back and forth.  What was that?  There was only one thing that I was sure of that was on my line, and I was correct.  I started picking up small mouth bass.  They are fun to catch and they take off and run just like a northern pike.  Plus, you may have to work the catch around the boat to the other side as they have a lot of fight.  There is a slot limit in South Dakota and you can keep only fish under 14 inches or over 18 inches, and they eat really good.
As I moved up along the side of the island to where some timber sticks out, walleye were boated.  They were not big but were above the 15 inch range.  As long as the boat was kept in about ten feet of water, I got a lot of hits and now and then a fish.  As fast as it turned on, it turned off and I did not catch a thing.  It was time to move.

The northerly tip of the first island, and it was at this location walleye and small mouth bass were caught. 

I was on the lake at 6 a.m. and my energy level began to run a little low.  At noon I decided to take a break, enjoy some lunch, and check into my next motel, and take a nap if I could get in the room.

The wind was still out of the east, but picked up a little.  Putting the boat back on the trailer alone was a bit of a task, and fortunately a fisherman came over and gave me a hand.  There is always someone willing to help when you are alone.  I counted the boat trailers and there were 37 at this location.  There is another ramp north that I did not use this trip.

Back on the lake by 3:30 p.m., I fished the area of Bresky Bay and got nothing. I then fished the islands on the northwest area of the lake.  Not a thing was caught and not one strike was felt.  Moving down the northerly side of the lake, the old school bus point was fished for about 30 minutes.  The minute the boat got into less than 5 to 8 feet, moss was picked up on the bait.  The graph did not show much and I never got a strike.

Bresky bay.  You can always find it 

From here I headed southeast to the standing timber on the south side of the lake that protrudes out into the lake.  No runs, no hits and no errors.  The graph showed nothing and there was little time spent at this location even though years ago there was some really nice fish hammered.

This in the past has been a good location.  Just southeast of school bus point and years past fish were caught here. Water is about 15 to 20 feet deep.  

From this location the boat was moved into a bay that is surrounded by timber on three sides.  There is a buoy line that you are not allowed to cross as it puts you in a federal reserve.  It is easy to spot. There is a lookout tower on the south shore hillside.  Some sparse standing timber marks the buoy line.  I would love to fish that bay because no one is allowed to go in there and it has to be a regular fish market.  We will never know.

There is a poacher following me around.  That is the tree line in the bay the buoy line is just beyond the trees.  Over the years I have always had some good luck at this location.

Staying in the 8 to 15 foot range produced nothing.  The water at this location was a little warmer than the water back on the west side of the lake.  Also I was continually having moss problems.  After moving out to 20 feet,  hits were made and I picked up a nice walleye.  My limit was made for the day and it was time to head back to the dock.

Good hunting, good fishing and good luck. Hank. 

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