Lake Oahe Walleye????

We spent Memorial day weekend at the cabin on Lake Oahe and tried our hand at walleye fishing. THe first thing I learned was that owning a cabin sure cuts down on your fishing time. Between chores and family time our time on the water was limited to a couple hours here and there. We heard the bite was going up at Suttons Bay and Bushes (Thanks Will-eye)but we didn’t have the time to make the trip 30 or 40 miles north. Our cabin is a mile or so south of Chantier creek landing so we just fished that area. The picture is of the only fish we caught, a 7 pound salmon. It put up quite the fight and made an otherwise quiet evening memorable. We did make it down to Lake Sharpe one morning and got 3 18 inch walleyes in a few hours of trolling cranks. We hear that our area should be going good by July so our fourth of July report should be better.

This is what he did to the crankbait!!

I was just thinking, you area should get good in about 30 more days. We worked the deep points and mudlines all along that section of river in July and Aug. Don’t forget to do the night trolling bite on the flats in Aug.

Thanks for the information Kooty. I know last year we were fishing too shallow for the walleyes. I’m mind set for Pool 3 and 4 where 7 to 13 feet is the norm but everything I see about Oahe mentions 20 to 22 feet. It makes sense I guess with the clear water the fish will be deeper. How common is it to catch a salmon while walleye fishing?

I really don’t know anymore, but back in 97, we got them quite frequently. We also targeted the fish back then when they were stocking them. Of course a 10lb chinook was a monster in those days. I think the state record is in the 20’s now. A 7lb chinook, with burst speeds up to 50mph, will out pull anything that river has to offer. Great fish to catch on light tackle.

In the falls, watch in the back of the bays for the “spawing” salmon. A blast to catch and hardly anyone targets them on the west side. Everyone focuses on Cow & Spring Creeks & any other major feeder on the east side all the way up to Gettysburg. I use to shoot them with a bow right on the face of the dam just before ice up. It was darn cold, but you would see hundreds in a day back then.

Just got a report from buddies who fished Oahe this weekend. The fish are on a tear. Lots of 17″ fish with the occasional 23″ fish to throw in the mix. Oahe is on it’s way back!!!!

I would strongly suggest you watch for wind blown points on focus on those mudlines it creates. We would work the points from 10′ to 25′. Pulling spinners was always our best tactic, but lately the crankbait bite out there on lead and snap weights has also shined.

Good luck and keep on passing on the reports. Makes me feel like I’m home!

What area were your buddies in. I hope the fish are around Chantier creek by the last week of this month. Our house overlooks Peoria flats and it is amazing how few people are on it on any given day. There is so much I want to explore out there. We were out there for pheasant opener last year and we caught walleye every evening from shore throwing cranks in the tailrace area. We just started exploring Sharpe over Memorial Day and that is one heck of a lake too!

If I can get the details out of them, I’ll PM you. I’m guessing they were out of the Cow/Spring Creek access.

There is so much water up there, even though it’s extremely low. Then throw in a reservoir like Sharpe, you have a two lifetimes of area to learn.

We always started on Sharpe for the jib bite, then when it started to slow and the water warmed enough on the lake, we hit the jib bite up there. This transitioned into a spinner bite then a crank bite for us. Just about the time it was getting good, I picked up my bow and never touched a fishing rod til ice up. So many choices when you live in God’s country!!

If everythings goes as planned we have 4 years 1 month and 17 days till we move—not that I’m counting. Last year the part of Oahe in front of the cabin never froze over and the geese were all around there when we were there at New Years. One of the great things is the boy and I will have lifetime MN fishing license so we can hit Evert’s a few times a year but have all of South Dakota at our doorstep the rest of the time!

Nice fish Jr.!

Guys, remind me via PM a week or so before your trip out there again. I’ll see if I can get some up to date info for you.