September 30, 2010
Our region has been blessed with great fishing from one end to the other. Here's 12 months' worth of angling for our finest game fish and the top locations for catching them. (Feb 2009)
By Tim Lilley
My editor could easily devote this entire issue to the outstanding fishing opportunities available in our region -- and it still wouldn't be enough space to cover it all! The Dakotas, Nebraska and Kansas, collectively and individually, offer anglers an amazing mix of great angling options every day of every year.
What follows is a look at just some of the action you can enjoy in all four states every month. As you read through this report, one thing likely will become clear to you: Fishing season never ends in the Great Plains.
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From New Year's Day through the next New Year's Eve, you have a chance to enjoy some great fishing. Here's a calendar for you to use in making the most of every moment you can spend on the water. Enjoy!
JANUARY
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"If you want to catch a bass on a spinnerbait in January, you can do it at La Cygne," said Sunflower State fisheries biologist Kyle Austin. You also can catch nice largemouths on shallow-running crankbaits and just about any other bait you'd like to try.
Adjacent to the hot-water outlet, anglers can find great opportunities to enjoy hot action even when air temperatures are in the teens this month. I know; I've done it.
A great way to approach La Cygne's January bass action is to launch your boat and, when you arrive near the hot-water outlet, ease your craft up near the off-limits safety boundary. You then can let the outlet's current drift you along as you make casts to shoreline cover.
Other Options: South Dakota perch fishing can be very good this month, although biologists note that it's nearly impossible to predict which lakes will offer the best fishing in a given year. It's best to call ahead and see where these tasty panfish are biting through the ice.
Ice-fishing also abounds this month in Nebraska and North Dakota, although the action won't be as good as during periods of early and late ice.
FEBRUARY
Anglers have a number of public-water options, too. Bauer noted that two Smiths in Nebraska are good for late-ice action: the Smith Lake on the wildlife area of the same name, near Rushville, and the Smith Lake on Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge, in Garden County.
He also mentioned the lakes in the Sandhills region and the Valentine Refuge lakes as great destinations for late-ice angling. The latter have been known to give up bluegills over a pound, big pike and bass through the ice. Crappie and yellow perch are also in the mix this month.
Safety can't be stressed too much for those searching out the best fishing spots during late-ice periods. Move slowly as you venture out on a frozen lake. Take something to use for testing ice thickness step by step, and turn around at the first sign of too much stress under your feet. No fishing is worth risking serious injury or possible death from hypothermia.
Other Options: Late ice hasn't yet arrived in the Dakotas, but the fishing action still can be pretty good for walleyes, crappie and perch. The water is open in Kansas, and crappie usually are stacked fairly deep. They're not terribly difficult to catch after you locate them.
MARCH
Gangl also mentioned Sweetwater Lake, north of the town of Devils Lake, as another good possibility, and added that anglers who use frozen herring or smelt, either bottom-fishing or on tip-ups, are going to enjoy some good pike fishing. The same rules regarding checking ice safety apply. Don't take any chances.
Other Options: You'll find an open-water bite on the Missouri River in South Dakota for early-season walleyes. Trout fishing is good in Nebraska, and the walleyes in Kansas are staging along the dams of reservoirs for the annual spawn.
APRIL
The Missouri River system provides great options on lakes Oahe, Francis Case and Sharpe. Lott also mentioned Belle Fourche Lake in the western part of the state as another strong walleye destination this month.
Walleyes tend to be fairly shallow this month, and that gives shoreline anglers a good chance at getting in on the action. Although walleyes are the focus, Lott also noted that pike can be found in the shallows this month, too, which only adds to the flavor of the fishing, especially from shore.
Other Options: You'll find some Chinook salmon action above Oahe Dam in South Dakota, and there's some great early pike fishing in the Sandhills Lakes of Nebraska.
MAY
Bass anglers who fish soft plastics in shallow coves and bays often will trigger defensive/protective strikes from big females on spawning beds. The key is to fish very slowly, making the bass react instinctively to perceived threats "hanging around" near the beds. Soft-plastic lizards and tube baits are hard to beat.
A great tactic for crappie now is to float a sma
ll jig 12 to 18 inches under a bobber as you move through the backs of coves and bays. Often, wind action alone will move the jig in ways that entice big slabs to strike. It's a great way to catch some big crappie.
Other Options: It's walleye season throughout the rest of the Great Plains, with Nebraska and the Dakotas offering a mix of spawning action. Throughout the month, anglers will have a chance at some of the biggest walleyes of the year in all three states.
Other Options: It's walleye season throughout the rest of the Great Plains, with Nebraska and the Dakotas offering a mix of spawning action. Throughout the month, anglers will have a chance at some of the biggest walleyes of the year in all three states.
That being said, you also have to check out the paddlefish snagging action at the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers. North Dakota and Montana have set harvest limits because the action can be so good. You might only have a week or so to take advantage of this; it's a chance to tangle with some huge fish.
JUNE
Most of the Interstate Lakes are reclaimed borrow pits that were formed during construction of the big four-lane highway, and they provide super bass fishing this month. A variety of baits and techniques will produce action. You can fish spinnerbaits or crankbaits to find fish and/or cover a lot of water, or use soft plastics to slow down and fish more thoroughly. Either way, these fairly small potholes have plenty of largemouths waiting for you.
"Anglers are going to hit these lakes during pre-spawn this month," Bauer said. "They'll find good water temperatures (for fishing) and really good water quality. We've had big bass taken from all of them, and there are a handful that also have smallmouths. They really provide a unique opportunity for bass fishing."
Other Options: Stock dam fishing starts heating up in South Dakota for bass and panfish. Catfish start turning on in Kansas, and North Dakota anglers will find a mixed bag of fishing in the tailrace of Garrison Dam.
JULY
"Walleye fishing in our western reservoirs is generally very solid throughout the season," Lott said. "Gizzard shad are their primary forage in those lakes, and the annual spawn really turns on the fishing. It triggers activity that will run throughout the month."
A variety of baits and techniques will put walleyes in the boat now, but the tried-and-true jig-and-minnow combination is tough to beat. It mimics the size and look of the natural forage walleyes are keying on now.
Other Options: Look for good panfishing around Nebraska, and good prospects for catfish in North Dakota and Kansas. This is the month when white bass, wipers and pure stripers also become great angling options.
Boaters on the water early and late in the day should be on the lookout for schools of baitfish being targeted at the surface by bands or marauding white bass, wipers and/or stripers. This action often lasts only a few minutes, but the frenzy provides some of the most exciting action of the whole fishing season.
AUGUST
"In the Red River," he added, "the potential for catching a 20-pounder is really good this month." From Grand Forks north, anglers will find many miles of the Red River available for catfishing. Bait fishing is the way to go, and fishermen should expect the action to be fairly consistent.
Honestly, North Dakota is not the first place many anglers think of when talk turns to destinations for summer catfishing. Use that to your advantage, because the action's really good, and plenty of cats are to be caught in the state this month.
Other Options: One of the options Great Plains anglers have this month involves a trip to Kansas' Wilson Reservoirs for pure stripers. Most of the fisheries in our four states feature wipers, a white bass/striped bass hybrid. But Wilson continues to offer strong fishing for pure stripers, and they can be great fun this month.
SEPTEMBER
"They're preparing to spawn this month," Gangl said, "and that makes for some great shallow-water action." He recommended using spoons or other artificial baits that have a lot of flash. He also noted that fly-rodders can have a big time with chinooks.
"We have flyfishermen who put belly boats into the shallow coves and bays when the Chinooks are in, and they do very well using traditional salmon flies and large streamers," Gangl said. Just like with spoons and other artificials, using flies tied with flashy material will be most effective.
Other Options: Catfishing is good in Nebraska reservoirs like Ogallala and Merritt, and shoreline anglers will catch nice white bass on Kansas waters. In South Dakota, lakes in the Madison area offer great action for yellow perch this month.
OCTOBER
Personal experience suggests that casting stickbaits can be effective on walleyes now, although there are other more traditional methods (e.g., jigs and minnows, trolling, etc.) that are used more prevalently and are very effective.
Those same stickbaits are killer for fall smallmouths. So are other crankbaits, and spinners -- both inline and safety-pin style. However, nothing beats fishing rocky structure in the fall with soft-plastic crawfish imitations. Smallmouths love crawfish, and it's almost easy to catch smallmouths on those lures this month.
Other Options: If you can possibly imagine fishing for walleyes in North Dakota without a lot of other anglers around, then definitely plan on an
October outing. The walleye action can be outstanding this month, but the onset of hunting seasons have many fishermen thinking about the woods and pheasant fields instead of the water. Kansas' fishermen also will start to see walleyes moving toward the dam and its rocky structure on many reservoirs, and that always brings good fishing.
NOVEMBER
Action for them this month can be outstanding. Anglers who aren't used to fishing for muskies should opt for their heaviest bass tackle because muskie baits aren't tiny or light. Large inline and safety-pin style spinners are very effective, as are large jerkbaits and jointed crankbaits.
Fishing coves with spinners can be very exciting, as muskies often follow lures back to the boat before striking. When that happens, bring the bait within a few feet of the boat; then, dip the rod tip in the water and make figure-eights with the lure just under the surface. Don't think that a 40-inch muskie gets a little put out when it feels the hook after striking right next to the boat? You're very, very wrong!
Other Options: Early ice is starting to form up north, and the panfishing can be very good where you find safe ice. As is the case with late ice, you just can't be too safe in checking ice thickness on outings this month.
DECEMBER
Crankbaits will work; so will inline spinners. But, once again, it's really hard to beat stand-up jigheads with soft plastics that mimic crawfish.
Even when it's really cold, these scrappy fighters will hit like it's late spring or early summer because of the favorable water temperatures the power plant outlet provides. Make no mistake -- anglers are going to be more sluggish because of December's cold weather than are Coffee County's smallmouths.
Other Options: North Dakota's Nelson Lake, another power-plant lake, boasts good smallmouth fishing this month. If you'd like to tell your fishing buddies that you took a smallmouth on a spinnerbait in North Dakota in December, just head here.
