Hutch's Guide Service Fishing Reports

FISHING REPORTS LAKES OAHE /SHARPE PIERRE AREA FOR MAY 6TH THRU MAY14TH 2022







Fishing on Sharpe is excellent with water temps in many areas in the 50's.
Close to Pierre the water is colder with the discharge waters colder. Temps
on Oahe are colder on the main lake but starting to warm in the back of
river /creek arms making for the bite just starting to go. I guided the
party's pictured here to full possession limits to take home over the last
10 days. On a few days weather/wind made things harder. Most of these trips
however were limits by two or three in the afternoon. The bite for walleye
and bass on Sharpe has been mostly around 10 fow with either minnow jigs or
minnow bouncer rigs for me. Tried crawlers but maybe just a little early.
This next week they should go. Oahe is still a tougher fish with fish that
are being caught are right on the bank pitching jigs/plastic or minnow
tipped. As I said in my last report this time of the year weather is a big
factor in all trips. Big winds/ storms making some day's lots of work to
produce the fish. This early fishing requires keeping an eye to the sky.
Overall it looks like a great year again in our area with fish sizes and
numbers very good. Lots of bait fish in both reservoir's so a healthy
outlook for the summer. We have experienced lots of people and boats in
recent history so expect some area's to have busy boat ramps and lots of
boats in community spots but with Sharpe a 90 mile long reservoir and Oahe
235 miles long you are can find plenty of places to stay away from crowed
spots if you like. Things to bring along : Coolers, Sun screen, bug
repellent, rain gear and this time of year you might even bring some warm
clothing. Dave Spaid helped me guide the last groups of guys and we had 40
walleye in the two boats by two O'clock two days in a row, I am mentioning
this because we never fished around another boat. I am making the point that
all of the fish aren't under the big boat groups that you see. If you are
willing to do a little looking you might be surprised at how many fish are
all over these lakes. I do realize that a lot of what causes community spot
fishing is a time factor but finding walleye away from the crowds can be a
very rewarding part of the fishing sport. For many of us that spend a lot of
time on the water eating fish and catching them is fun but hunting and
finding walleye is the best part of any trip. GF&P"S is righting tickets for
not pulling boat plugs when you leave the water. It a way to stop
transportation of invasive species . It can be costly to forget that. Thank
you to all the customers picture above for your business and I hope you all
had as good a time as I did.
HUTCH'S GUIDE SERVICE
Hutch
FISHING REPORT LAKES OAHE/SHARPE PIERRE AREA MAY 1ST TO MAY 6TH 2022
I am back fishing on a regular basis so will start updating fishing around
the Pierre area. I guided Chack Gladden from the Omaha area to one day of
harder fishing then a second day of great fishing sending him home with full
possession limits of walleye and 5 nice bass. We caught all of these fish in
shallow water 10 fow or less on mostly flasher jigs tipped with minnows. I
then fished Jim Walter and his son Nathan from the Des Moines area to full
possession limits of walleyes to take home. Fishing mostly the same way with
Flasher jigs tipped with minnows, We did catch some on bottom bouncer minnow
combinations. Most of these fish came in around 10 fow or less. Water temps
around Pierre are in the low 40's and further south around west bend in the
upper 40's. Lake Oahe is putting out limits of walleyes for those willing to
work hard. The bite on Oahe favors the experienced fishermen and those that
know the lake. If you are not familiar with the big lake fishing this time
of the year your best bet is wait for the water to warm. Fishing on Sharpe
is easier for walleye however Northern fishing is best with pike sets and
dead smelt on Oahe. Much tougher for the walleye now but experienced
fishermen continue to work out limits in stained water. Temps still lower
40's most places but finding any warmer stained water is the key. on Oahe. I
usually start out mentioning that most of the time staying away from the
bigger groups of boats and trying to locate fish in less fished areas will
produce nicer times, nicer fish, and usually more numbers but in many areas
that is very hard to do now days with lots of anglers using our area.
Remembering that Lake Sharpe is a 90 mile long reservoir with Oahe 235 miles
long. There are lots of areas full of fish and much less boat traffic if you
are able to do some research. Limited time trips often mean fishing busy
areas and that is fine but exploring both new areas and maybe even new
species of fish {Catfish Bass} can lead to some great away from the crowd
experience's. In closing the real word this time of the year is WEATHER.
Weather watching is probably the most important consideration to take this
month {or any month} as it can save you some real bad times. Bringing warm
clothes and rain gear count right in there to. Just great to be back on the
water with such great lakes to fish and so many nice people to guide.
HUTCH'S GUIDE SERVICE
Hutch
FISHING REPORT LAKES OAHE/SHARPE PIERRE AREA FEB 1ST TO 16TH 2022
Just a brief mid-winter update. Caution is the word with the fishing. We are
having a mild winter in the Pierre area with no snow and lots of 40 degree
days. There has been open water by the dam and boats are still able to fish
Sharpe especially when the corps runs current. The bite on Sharpe fishing in
boats has been spotty with the bite late in the day. A friend Mike Kulm and
party were out and caught limits last weekend but caught most of the fish
around five in the afternoon on jig minnows below the dam. Reports of
catches on the ice on Oahe vary also but really watch the ice. I talked to
one party fishing the back of the Cheyenne river and they said they drilled
holes in the first spot they fished and had eight inches of ice, moved about
a half mile drilled and had 3 inches so caution is the word. I would
describe the bite in our area as spotty on Oahe too, but for those excellent
fishermen limits are coming in. The walleye that are being caught are fat
and healthy. We should be looking at a great spring fish and I think the
summer fishing should be along the lines of last year but with even lower
water unless we get a wet rest of the winter. I have cabin fever already so
really looking forward to our great spring bite.
HUTCH'S GUIDE SERVICE
Hutch
Month by Month Guiding Breakdown
April/ May
Both of these month's
produce excellent walleye fishing along with great smallmouth/ Northern/
Catfish. Weather is a factor so many times we have to stay off big water
because of high winds etc. but this is a great time to go after the big
northern and catfish in the back of creeks/bays to beat the weather. Also
fishing on Sharpe below Dam keeps you out of wind and produce's nice limits
of walleye. Jig fishing when water temps cold along with btm. bouncer
presentations as water warms most common .Boat traffic can be much more
around the Pierre area.
June
By far the busiest month on both lakes.(
School out and just traditionally start of summer season] so book early if
possible to get best guides/lodging. The fishing is excellent for all
species. Weather can still be a factor. We are usually fishing with Lindy or
btm. bouncer's.
July
Best all around month for both fishing and
weather especially family trips Walleye fishing at seasonal peak especially
in high water periods on Oahe. and Sharpe good two. Btm. Bouncer
presentations most common.
August
Same as July but there can be hotter
weather. If there is a breeze it is not to bad as big lake water temps keep
heat down. Fish can be a little deeper but still great fishing.
September
Very good on the walleye fishing with fall weather great toward end of
month. As water cools jig fishing starts to come into play again.
October
/ November
Fishing is still good but weather coming into play again Jigs
work best especially in colder water. Combination Hunting /fishing trips
most common. Just a note: You can catch fish in all the months above tolling
or casting plugs and we do that often. But I have found that guiding people
over the years most prefer live bait hover fishing better so I spend more
time with btm/bouncer/crawler/minnow/leeches than the plugs but pulling
plugs is always a good alternative and sometimes can be the best.
Kent Hutcheson
E-mail:
fishinghutch@aol.com
Cell Phone: 605-220-2844