Headed to SD last week for the weekend and fish with some old friends from around the state. The bite in NE SD has been very tough all winter from the bait shop owner to locals and friends.
My first afternoon, I targeted sumo perch with no success after burning through the better share of a tank of auger gas. About 3PM I setup on what looked like a good point that had some nice feeding shelfs and deep water all around. I put out a couple tipups and started jigging. My first fish came shortly after setup. A scrappy 12″ eye. I fished well after dark that night with only 4 fish total off this spot. One keeper, a 17.5 incher.
The next day my best friend from high school showed with a partner. We decided to hit a local slew(lake) and chase a bite that had been off/on for big perch. We marked a few fish, but nothing would bite. However, I got a bonus pike that is a personal best through the ice and quite possibly anytime. The pic is below. We hit 4 different lakes that day, ending on my day one walleye spot on Waubay. We got 4 small keepers from 14-15.5 inches.
On Saturday we decided to try a spot my friends have done well on in the past on Waubay. What started out as pretty depressing day ended with one of the best times I’ve had ice fishing. They bite here is typically early morning. However we never had a flag or a blip on the flashers at 10AM. Suddenly by 11:30AM we had 3 nice eaters from 15-18 inches in the bucket and released a 27+ monster. Look at the shoulders this fish has. I’m thinking it’s the biggest male eye I’ve ever seen. We had pretty steady action the rest of the day on tip ups. While cold out, the sun took it’s toll on us. My face will surely peel in the coming days.
Overall, it was a blast fishing with old friends. I was lucky enough to sucker them out of some cash in hold’em and we caught fish. I think the bite is 2 weeks from going on fire in SD. The ice is still 35 inches plus in some spots. If there was snow on the ground, often times I couldn’t get through with the strikemaster.
We stayed at the Sportsman Cove in Webster. Doug the owner was great. He was more than fair with his prices and did his best to help make sure we were on fish. I would highly recommend him again. As a matter of fact, I’ve already booked a trip for August.
…..great pics also 
Well done Kooty. 
