Glacial Lakes -- Roy Lake, Clear Lake

[JackSalmon]

Four of us are leaving Arkansas very early on Friday morning for a week of fishing in the SD Glacial Lakes area. We are planning on starting at Roy Lake and Clear Lake on Saturday and fishing our way back down south. Has anyone fished these two lakes lately? Does anyone have any recommendations on other lakes to fish? We are planning to fish Waubay and Thompson, as well. Any information will be appreciated. Thanks, JackSalmon

[Skis]

Friend in Watertown says that the bite on Pelican has been good at times with good-sized walleyes. Would definitely plan on fishing Waubay at least one day, if not two. Couple of boats from Rock Valley went to Waubay on Saturday (6-4) and caught 208 walleyes! Thompson has nice walleyes in it as well. Bitter Lake would be another lake to take a look at. Swan, Lynn, man a week there may not be long enough!!

Here's a couple of web sites with fishing reports:

http://www.dakotaangler.com/reports/

http://www.sdglaciallakes.com/fishreport.htm

Second website has phone numbers of the reporting bait shops as well!!

Have fun!!

[walleye710]

Fishing is day to day because of the unstable weather we have had for a long time now. I am from Watertown and from the weather report on the TV, it looks like we are going to get it again tonight. It has been nice one day and rotten the next. We haven't had many stretches (2-3 days in a row) of nice/stable weather yet which seems to help the fishing. Best check with good bait shops when you get here cause things may change by Friday. I was on Pelican last night and caught a few walleyes. The bite isn't as good as it has been but generally the fish are an honest 20" or better. Seems that some guys are still fishing shallow water. I know of a couple guys on Kampeska that did pretty good yesterday in 6 feet or less. Bitter Lake is also pretty good right now but it is a very large lake and you really need to know where you are going. You can get into them on one side and bust on the other. Thompson is also doing pretty good but another very large lake. Just find the local bait shops and check in with them. In Watertown, Little River City (highway 212), Cowboy Bait and Ammo (highway 212), and Proud Angler Bait (highway 20) can point you in the right direction. And, use some caution, there are some hazards showing up due to lower water levels. Again, check with the bait shops on the specific lakes you plan to fish. There is a lot of water to fish up here so good luck.

[JackSalmon]

Thank you both for the information, it really helps. We are looking forward to this trip. We'll let you know how it goes. Again, thanks, JackSalmon

[HappyGilmore]

I had a friend fish Pelican on Fri. and caught quite a few then fished Poinsett on Sat and Sun. and caught two over 7lbs and a couple from 3-5 and then a bunch of smaller ones.

By the Way I am new to this place and am from Watertown, SD.

[walleye710]

One last piece of advice for you since you are planning to fish Waubay. The fishing is quite good there right now but the fish are running small. The lake has a 14" minimum and the daily limit on that lake is 2 fish. If you fish Waubay lake and keep a couple 14" or 15" fish, make sure you don't take those fish onto another lake with you if the minimum is 16". Most people who fish Waubay will catch a couple then run down to Bitter lake and catch a couple nice ones to fill out the 4 fish daily limit. Bitter Lake has a 16" minimum so you cannot be on that water with the fish you caught on Waubay if they are not 16". Leave them in the cooler in your truck. I know of a few guys who got into a jam last winter because they went to Waubay first, caught a couple under 16" then went onto the ice at Bitter and got caught with sub 16" fish in their pails. They were legally caught but how does the Game Warden know. Some will give you the benefit of the doubt and some won't. Conversly, don't catch a couple or three nice fish on Bitter (or any lake) then take them onto Waubay Lake with you because you are then over the 2 fish limit for that lake. Again, leave them in the cooler in your truck.

Don't want to confuse you but hate to see you get jammed up this way. If you aren't sure, ask someone who can tell you the straight info.

[JackSalmon]

Thanks for that "heads up" advice. I could see how someone could run afoul of the law and it be completely innocent. We are heading out in the morning and should be well on our way by this time tomorrow. Again, thanks, JackSalmon