With a good number of fish moving shallow, early Spring is a great time of year to get the young ones out on the water to chase something other than pan fish. This weekend, I got a chance to spend a little time on the water with my wife and daughter. This wasn’t a hog-hunting trip by any means. This was about finding a few fish eager enough to eat that they’d be willing to chase a bait and hang on all the way to the boat! 
Our destination for this family trip was Lewis and Clark Lake, a Missouri River Reservoir on the South Dakota-Nebraska border near Yankton, SD. Lewis and Clark holds a very modest number of smallmouth bass, but in the spring of the year, they are fairly easy to find as they are preparing to spawn. It’s this call to spawn that drives these fish shallow, and makes fishing a little easier for a young person with limited experience, and limited patience. Missouri River reservoirs also hold good numbers of white bass and drum (sheephead) which can also improve the action for a young person, or any person looking for something to tug on the other end of the line.
But on this day we were really hoping to find some smallmouth bass, and fortunately everything fell into place with little searching and little effort. As expected, the water temps were in the upper 50s and the bass were close to the shorelines. We looked for areas with rock, or sand and scattered rock transitions which are ideal spawning grounds for smallies. Depths were only from 3 to 6 feet of water.
Something I consider interesting observation… with all the bass baits I threw, the most popular bait for these small to medium-sized smallmouth bass was the BfishN Tackle and Everts Ringworms fished on a 1/8 ounce BFT precision jig head. The best color for us on this day was the Pro Blue with Black/Chart Tail taking a few as well. And I have to say, the kid was pretty handy throwing plastic for a 7-year-old! She managed to nab a few on her own and a few with dad’s help. The smile tells the story!
I should be able to supply a few Smallie Reports over the next few weeks and I plan to focus on the Missouri River System in the month of May. If everything goes as I hope, the fish in those pictures will eat the fish in these pictures for breakfast! Stay tuned…
Please practice catch and release so more kids can have days like this!
Nice job Buddy
Great pics
“It’s this call to spawn that drives these fish shallow, and makes fishing a little easier for a young person with limited experience, and limited patience.”
Wade,
You might have limited experience but by no means are you a young person.
Good job on getting the family out and getting the youngster on some bass. 
Mike M
Wade? Is Carinsa getting taller or are you getting shorter?
Nice report and reminder to take a kid fishing…no matter how old your “kid” is!
Wade, your little one must take after her mother cause she is way cuter than you
You do make one good point though—bass are for girls 
It’s sure nice seeing South Dakota reports. Sure hope there are more in the future 
Did you know that South Dakota is famous for its WALLEYE fishing!
Very nice Wade, kid reports are the best
Great job Wade and Carinsa.
Good luck with the rest of your Missouri River trips this month. We’ll all miss you at L&C next week. 
Carinsa had such a good time fishing with her Daddy. I know he is proud at how good she is at casting and reeling in those fishies!
Brian yes she is growing like a weed. Hard to believe she is finishing up the 1st grade and now can ride a bike. Time slips by too fast
..it is trips like these that make wonderful memories for all of us. 
Tamara Kuehl
Congrats Tamara & Wade. Sounds like your family had a great time getting away.
Good to see you getting on the water buddy!
Thanks for the reminder, Mike. Sometimes I wonder what I’d do without you…
Bk, She’s getting taller and I’m getting fatter.
Patience, you grumpy old walleye guy. The walleye reports will come soon enough.
Thanks for the replies, guys. I’ll be seeing several of you on the water in the coming months. Have a great (and safe) season everyone!
Great report Wade!! One question though…are those sweatpants??
Nice report Wade.
Great pictures too!
looks like a fun day was had by all, great report.