5/10/02 Fishing Report for Lakes, Oahe, Sharpe, & Francis Case

5/10/02 I was fishing Lake Sharpe today(pre-fishing for the Capital Journal tournament). It was windy, wet and coollddd! But I caught a lot of fish that made it worth while. I asked some of the other anglers how the fishing was for them, with the all of the bad weather. They all told me that the fishing made it worth it, and were limited out in just a few hours. There were a lot of fish caught(good eaters 16" to 20" walleyes) in the Pierre/Ft. Pierre area, and some more groups of fish have been found from Antelope Creek area, to the Pierre/Ft. Pierre car bridge to the Stilling Basin below the Oahe Dam. They also been at the entrance to Marion's Garden, and at the mouth of the Bad River down the west side of the bluffs. Other favorite local spots such as, "the tin shed" and "Farm Island flats"(where the majority of the boats have been fishing) are starting to take off. Some of the Top RCL placers fished in these areas. It's gonna be windy and cold out there saturday morning, and will warm up to the mid 40's saturday.

Weather for Pierre, SD 5/10/02
Tonight: Cloudy this evening with showers developing after midnight. Low around 42F. Winds E 15 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%.

Tomorrow: Rain. Temperatures steady in the upper 40s. Winds NNE 15 to 20 mph. Rainfall around a half an inch.

Tomorrow night: Rain showers ending early with mostly cloudy conditions late. Low near 37F. Winds NNW 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.

Sunday: A few clouds from time to time. High around 65F. Winds NW 15 to 20 mph.

Monday: Plenty of sun. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the mid 40s.

Tuesday: Partial sunshine. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the low 50s.

There were a quite a few boats out fishing(due to the the very nice weather) all weekend long from the bridges near Pierre/Ft. Pierre to Stoney Point. All boat ramps are in the water now, and fish cleaning stations are open. Let's go fishing!
Fishing in Chamberlain may be a little crowded this week due to all of the Pro Anglers pre-fishing for the PWT. There were a few nice fish caught out of American Creek in Chamberlain. Some fish have been caught around Crow Creek, bridges, and the White River areas, and the spawn is about over there.
The USACE has, by court injunction, keeping the water level from dropping on Oahe which if continued for a couple more weeks will insure the Smelt run will not have been for naught and that our forage base will improve. The excellent work done by our Fisheries personnel hopefully will not be undone by the outdated Corps of Eng. Master Manual.
There were a few good fish caught in the Cheyenne River on Lake Oahe, and the bite is just getting started in the southern part of Lake Oahe. The fishing on Lake Oahe is starting to pick up.

Ray McClelland
of McClelland Outdoors

[reddog]

Thanks for the report Ray. As far as the Corps deal goes, why didnt Janklow put an injunction on the whole state, instead of Oahe only? What has happened, is that the smelt have possibly been saved in Oahe, but this years spawn is left high and dry on Francis Case. There shouldve been more thought put into the deal, rather than a knee jerk reaction. Trying to fix one problem and causing another dont make too much sense to me.

Yes, I believe your right that it should have been the whole state of SD. My Opinion(which usally doesn't mean very)is that the Corp. found the loop-hole to play one part of the state against each other insort of a "get even with Janklw, retaliaion" for doing this to them.
But, like I said, this is only my opinion.
Ray McClelland

[reddog]

I just read a report from Tony Deans page that says that a judge has issued the injunction to stop further reduction of Francis Case levels also. While this is good news, it may be "water over the dam" so to speak.
You are also very correct in stating that one part of the state is at war with another part. That is not what SD needs at this point. I was involved in a conversation with the regional CO director at a business in Chamberlain last week, and he said that the worst thing that could happen would be to get a fight started between Pierre and Chamberlain. The fight is with the antiquated manuals of the COE, not the great people of South Dakota. $80 million recreation industry compared to a $10 million barge industry. Imagine the fishery if the reservoirs were managed for fish and recreation, instead of barges and electricity. I hope these injunctions will get the ball rolling in that direction.

I agree completly. Also I had read a statement by someone one WC that was a good point. He(or she) said that if we these states involved made so much more money then the barge companies, why not buy them out? It makes a little sence.

Ray McClelland