Day Off Pays Off

My cousin Adam had to take a day off mid-week because of work, and he managed to swing it to come back up and fish again up here with me. We started the day out right where we left off last time he came up with Paul and Cathie. Things seem to change quick around here and we were not able to hit the fish here again. I did find a mid size pike but we knew we were going to have to explore.

The conditions were fantastic and borderline ideal and even with some exploring we were struggling. We were on the downwind side of the lake, there was the standard South Dakota wind, clouds, and yet still no fish. When Adam did finally hook into one it was a good one.

Even with a good walleye in the boat, it still took awhile before he found another. We had only two walleyes and I was throwing all of my tricks for a pike and could not come up with one. We trolled the road to the other side of our bowl with nothing to show for it. When we got to the other side we started pitching again, and found the fish instantly.
Another gator of a pike. 32"-33".

 We were boating them left and right and then it would stop instantly. The trend was backwards. When the sun would show, and the wind would die back a little, we were boating fish. Live bait and jigs didn't matter unless the sun was shining and then we would throw anything. I caught my limit in a little over a half hour once we had our sunshine. I even managed a dandy waldo.

 After deciding I could not leave without the fish and needed to put it into the livewell, (To which Adam was not exactly pleased...) we turned for one last run to finish our limit and head home. Didn't take long before we were making our run back to the boat ramp. Two man limit, a little harder to come by this time around but we found them at least.

I am learning more and more about the area and what each little pot hole has to offer. Hopefully, the weekend of the 4th will prove just as productive, but at least we have some high quality fish to choose from in the freezer.

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SD Fishing at it's Finest

After telling Adam and Paul that my little gem of a lake had a hot bite, it took little convincing to get them to come north for a day. Paul, Adam, and Cathy came into town a little after 9:30am. We wasted no time getting on the water, near where I had found them from shore. It took mere minutes before Paul put a walleye in the boat.

We were not more than 70 yards from the boat ramp and had fish in the live-well. After a more walleyes, Paul pulled in another one of the porker perch.

I had a really nice pike take a swipe at my crawdad crankbait, so I switched over to heavier gear and came up with my largest pike to date. I caught this one on a shallow crankbait I scored from the shoreline a few days prior.

I was beyond stoked!! I never did get a measurement on this one but after measuring another at 34-35" we knew this one was noticeably larger probably 36"-37".
While everyone else fished for walleyes, I was inconsolable about the pike situation. I pulled them in one after another.

 Right at 30". This one mangled the shit out of my fingers....Note the duct-tape on my hand already.

We found more walleye, periodically, but we were still catching perch and pike.

 I even convinced Adam to pose with a pike.

As we continued to pitch baits I glanced to the deeper water and saw a giant perch swimming sideways just below the surface. Another large pike had just T-boned it and had it in his mouth. I had to take a crack at it. I pitched my jig head towards the head of him. On my second cast, the giant dropped the perch and took a swipe at my jig.
Another one of my largest pike, this one going 34"-35" as we measured.

At this point my hands were so shredded I was casting with my ring finger as the duct-tape and foam were preventing my ability to cast farther than ten feet. We were doing our best to finish out our limit for the four of us and Paul felt he needed in on the pike pictures.

We finally boated our last to fulfill our limit and we headed back to clean our bountiful harvest.

A four man limit of walleye in a little over 5 hours. This was with some perch and pike mixed into the madness. We were within 100 yards of the boat ramp and limited on sizable walleye. I caught my two largest pike and enjoyed the company of family. I should also note that Cathie was the voice of reason that kept us all from drowning in the lake. I can't wait to get on the water again!



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First Fish as a Resident

Technically, I am still not a resident according to the paperwork, but as far as I am concerned I am a resident of South Dakota. The job search has been slow but steady, and I have been rather cooped up in the new apartment. I can only clean, and pace for so long is such a small space before I go insane. Because of this, Rachel granted me a fishing license and a free afternoon. I just wanted to feel the breeze and smell the water again. There is a size-able lake south of town. It's like most of the glaciated lakes in South Dakota; basically an over flooded slough. These shallow lakes have proven great for pike, perch, and walleyes. I was in search of a fish no matter what it may be. I bombed out a line with corn in hopes of finding a carp or two. I took my bait-caster and rigged a jig head as the area looked like there was a fair amount of sunken trees and logs. On my second cast I snagged a log. I was so out of tune with a rod I didn't realize that the log was taking a run. I though I maybe had found a pike or a smallie along the rocks. At about 10 feet out I saw a nice fat walleye!

I could not believe on my second cast as a resident I had a dandy waldo in hand! I always keep a bundle of random twine in my bag in case or any sort of emergency, and this was the time for a stringer. I don't keep many fish, but this fish was going to be dinner.

After stringing him up I continued to pitch my mister-twister. They were not hand over fist, but they may as well have been. I moved along the shoreline trying to find a few more. I found a lot of weeds and shallower water. I moved back to my original post and continued one after another.

I was able to land 16 walleyes in a matter of a few hours. All of these were within 18 to 25 inches. I only took pics of a few and didn't even get a pic of my largest because of the traffic on the road. I figured the attention was not worth it.
I even managed to catch two of the largest perch I have ever seen. I remember as a kid catching a few that were a hair over 12 inches but the pair I caught were 14 inches even. Of course, they both ended up on my stringer. I could eat these things every day.

I took home my first South Dakota catch and prepped them for a shore lunch dinner.

 The walleye I kept ended up being 22". I thought he was somewhere around 18" but I am a tad out of touch in the walleye world.

Some shore lunch bubblin' fish filets!

The rest is going on the grill or fish tacos I haven't decided yet.
Living in SD has been an adjustment so far, but I think I will make due with the hand I've been dealt!



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Clark, SD: A Place to Call Home

WE HAVE FINALLY MOVED!


Things have been unruly for the past two weeks but we have made the jump to another state. The small town of Clark, South Dakota. It has a wonderful small town feel and the community has already shown me that word spreads fast that there are newcomers. It's funny how we can drive north 7 hours and have neighbors we already know. "It's a small world" doesn't even begin. Some good friends of the Freeseman family from years past have lived up hear for the last 12 or so years and it took a grand total of 4 days before they have opened their doors to us. It's this small town mentality that I missed the most. I am in job search mode and Rachel is trying to get used to the ropes of actually working as a vet. She continues to study even though she has graduated and I am proud to see her become the veterinarian that she has worked so hard to be.

This transition has put my woodworking business on a short hiatus and quite frankly, this may give us some time to build some savings for a house, and give me time to visit family and maybe fish some...


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