Here’s my latest walleye report. I can’t get the main fishing report system to work so I’ve given up on that and posting here…
With a colder than normal spring and at times a reduced flow, the walleye bite on Lewis and Clark Reservoir near Yankton, South Dakota has been a little slower than normal for this time of year. At least that has been the case for me. But it has picked up over the past week with the walleye being down right cooperative on Sunday (June 2).
With water temps hovering around 60 degrees last weekend we had to work a little harder than we normally would this time of year, but we were able to find some willing walleye with a little persistence. The heavy rains have stained the waters, and with the heavy rains the Corps of Engineers had closed the gates at Gavin’s Point Dam in an effort to avoid downstream flooding. I tend to think that less current of the reservoir leads to a slower walleye bite, especially in shallower waters.
Last weekend, the fish were in better numbers on the channel breaks and shoreline breaks. We found very few fish on top of the flats. However, Sunday we were able to find more willing fish on the flats and were able to land 10 quality 16-24 inch walleye in a 2-hour period. The fish appear to be in transition, with a number of fish being caught in the 14-20 foot range as well as good numbers of fish being caught on the shallow flats. Although we have found fish in a variety of depths and the shallow bite was good for us on Sunday, that bite died by 11am. I suspect that had a lot to do with the bright sun we had. If that happens to you, pull out the lead core and drop off the edge. It’s been working well for our boat.
Our primary presentation has been pulling shad cranks with both hard line and lead core, depending on the depths we are targeting. Colors have varied and you really have to let the fish tell you what they want on any particular day and be ready to adjust to the changing conditions. Our trolling speeds have varied slightly from 1.5mph to 2 mph of the GPS. I should note that although I prefer pulling cranks on this body of water this time of year there were plenty of fish being caught by angler using bottom bouncers with crawlers as well. So pick your poison and use the technique that you have confidence in. Chances are, the fish on these South Dakota Reservoirs will be willing to bite just about any offering you can get in the strike zone this time of year. Have a great summer, everyone! 
And I am sporting the BIG RED T-shirt, too! 
