| Northview strives to bring you the most recent reports from across all of South Dakota, western Minnesota and northwest Iowa. We also try to put you on the fish with some tips and hints specific to the lake. If you are looking for the latest information on a specific body of water, species or fishing technique, stop by the store and we will do our best to put you on fish. |
| South Dakota ALVIN (Lincoln Co) - From shore try the fishing dock, especially if you are taking the kids. Try a nightcrawler or minnow under a bobber down a few feet. Try different spots out from the dock (and under the dock) until you find some fish. Also try off the dam and east of the boat ramp. In a boat work the shorelines - if there are two of you, have one guy run the boat while the guy up front finds the fish - keep moving until you find them. Once the fish are found, anchor out as far as possible and cast into the fish. In winter use your Vexilar and work the south shore in 7-12 feet of water. Drill lots of holes and move till you find them. Occasionally you can find suspended crappies out in the middle of the lake but if you don't find them there fairly quickly, head towards the shoreline. BEAR BUTTE (Meade Co) - From shore it is best to fish near or off the dam. Use a slip bobber with a minnow and go down several feet to get the perch and crappies. In winter make sure to check the ice! The northern hills often have warm winters and that means thin ice! Fish straight out from the camping area and start drilling holes to find the deepest water. Bear Butte Lake is a shallow, flat bottomed lake so anything over 6 foot is about as deep as it gets. Use the Vexilar and hunt for the fish - usually crappies and perch with an occasional bluegill and bass. BISMARK (Custer Co) - A put and take trout fishery, the fish are where you find them. Remember that trout more often than not suspend so fish several feet off the bottom, especially when icefishing. In the summer, fly fishing can be a blast! Watch the surface on a calm evening and cast to the fish. BITTER (Day Co) - Odds are the next state record perch will come from Bitter. In summer pull plugs and/or spinners to find the fish. On the ice work the perimeter of the big groups that sometimes dot the lake. These groups tend to push the fish just outside of the 'zone' and right to your hook. BRAKKE DAM (Lyman Co) - From shore move around and cast into promising areas for bass and 'gills.Look for pockets in the weeds and cast softly into them. In winter start up near the dam and work you way back until you find the fish. BRANDT (Lake Co) - Shore fishing at times can be quite productive, if you are there on the right day. Fish off the rocks on the south shore at the public area or if you know someone with a dock, ask if you can fish from it. From a boat find the rock pile on the west side of the lake (go to SDGFP website and print out a map) and cast a jig and a minnow to get fish to strike. Also work the shoreline in spring, never know what you might catch! Evening is often most productive. CENTER (Custer Co) - Another put and take trout lake, see BISMARK LAKE. DEERFIELD (Pennington Co) - From shore in summer try using corn off the bottom or as deep as possible. From a boat go up into the arms of the lake and fish 4-6 ft off the bottom. In winter Deerfield is a steady producer, especially for those who know how to use a Vexilar well. A small jig with a waxie and plenty of movement works every time almost anywhere on the lake in 30' or less. DIAMOND (Minnehaha Co) - Diamond is s good lake to take someone new to ice fishing. While the fish are rarely whoppers (usually perch), they are usually willing to bite and the water is clear enough to watch the fish interact with your bait. During summer try for walleyes and perch just about anywhere - every once in a while the action can be fast and furious! FORT PIERRE NATIONAL GRASSLANDS (south of Ft. Pierre) - FPNG is always a fun adventure! If you have never visited, we recommend a trip to see this beauty. There are dozens of stack dams that have fish, usually bass, bluegills and perch. You need a map from the US Forest Service and a GPS certainly wouldn't hurt. Some of the dams that have fish are marked on the map, others you just need to find on your own. Come in to the store and ask Matt for some suggestions on where to find the right dams to fish. Lake Francis Case - (Missouri river) HANSON (Hanson Co) - Summertime shore fishing is basically where you can access the lake. Occasionally you can catch a few nice 'gills and a bass or two. In winter, drill lots of holes and hunt for the fish. UPDATE: Hanson Dam washed out this spring! It has been temporarily repaired but we have heard no reports! HAYES (Stanley Co) - A great little bass and bluegill lake that unfortunately gets hammered when the bite is on so it tends to run hot every couple of years. ISLAND (Minnehaha Co) - The south side of the lake on occasion puts on a decent perch bite. Find some deeper water to the west and try a minnow on a small white or yellow jig. Move till you find them. Can be quite productive for Northerns. James River LAKOTA (Lincoln Co) - Decent bass, bluegills and crappies can be found at Lakota. You won't catch a proud angler, but it is a fun and scenic lake. In spring you can fish from shore and catch bass on a beetlespin or plug and bluegills on a plain hook with a piece of nightcrawler under a bobber. In summer when the weeds get thick, you need to 4-wheel drive back into the slop and cast into the open pockects to catch bass. Otherwise head towards deeper water after crappies and perch. In winter if you want bass, head toward the west end of the lake in 3-5 ft of water and deadstick large minnows. You won't catch a lot of fish but you should catch a few nice bass. For panfish, head to the east end of the lake and fish close to the dam in deep water. Lewis and Clark (Missouri River) Lynn (Day Co) Madison (Lake Co) - Madison has a good variety of decent fish and if you are willing to spend some time learning and exploring the lake, this lake can be a favorite. Work the points with traditional methods. Try pulling plugs and spinners just about anywhere to find the fish. When you do, throw out a marker and work the area. In winter be careful of soft spots, especially around the points. Marindahl (Yankton) - A productive lake, Marindahl is a good shore fishing lake. You can catch crappies, catfish and bluegills from shore with a little work and patience. Try different methods and area untill the fish are found. Mitchell (Davison Co) - Bass, bluegills, catfish - Mitchell has it. In the spring head up the creek and look for the fish. As the water warms up look for spawning beds and cast into them (practice catch and release). During the dog days, jig in deep water, who knows what you will catch. Serious bluegill fisherman can catch some decent 'gills, you just gotta look for them. Lake Oahe (Missouri River) Patton Dam (Aurora) - A spot that we suggest you try if you are in the area and want to catch a rainbow trout, stop by the store and Matt will show what baits and tactics seem to be working on this quite little body of water. Icefishing is the better choice as the shoreline of this body of water is heavily vegetated You can only keep two fish so catch and release is pretty much the way to go. Poinsett (Hamlin Co) - A big bowl of a lake, Poinsette produces, smallies, perch, walleyes and white bass with regularity. Shore fishermen can do well at the inlet from Dry Lake and off docks, especially in the spring and the evening. In winter try fishing for perch just offshore from the state park on the south end of the lake. Roy (Day Co) - A clear water lake with a good variety of fish species, this lake requires a bit of stealth because of the water clairity. For smallies and walleyes, try pulling spinners of drift with a jig. For bluegills, find emergent vegetation and cast you lure in close. Lake Sharpe (Missouri River) Sheridan (Pennington Co) - One of the big two of the Black Hills, Sheridan offers the best variety of fish in the Hills. Trout, perch, rock bass and northern can be targeted. In summer try working the shoreline from both boat and from shore. In winter fish deep - 30 feet or more. Sinai (Brookings) - Sinai is full of nice fish but is a big body of water with lots of structure so you do need to know your way around the lake. If you have never fished Sinai, we suggest that you first fish it with someone who already knows the lake. Skunk Creek (Sioux Falls) - To the south West 12th St can be very productive for Northers in the spring. Sioux River - Baltic Airport Spillway Klondike Split Rock Creek (Garretson to Brandon) Thompson (Kingsbury) |
| Northview Bait A Guide to area lakes and streams |
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