Fishing Report Lakes Oahe/Sharpe Pierre area July 12th and 13th 2015

[Hutch]

I finished guiding one of my all time favorite repeat family groups. Paul Jacobson sons Alex and Nick, and Cory and Joe Moylan and sons Clint and Matt along with friends Zach Cox, Bobby Barns and TJ Jackson. Guides NE John and Larry Porter helped and we put together what they said was the most amount of walleye filets they have taken home in recent history. They had an honest 18 inch possession limit of walleyes to go home with along with some great walleye meals while they were here. We spent two days on Oahe in depth's averaging around 20 fow fishing with both night crawlers and minnows on bottom bouncers. Day three we went down on Sharpe at the West Bend area and caught at least 40 fish a boat releasing most of them as they were for the most part smaller walleye and they were very close to their possession limits. Here we fished the same way and in depths of around 20 fow. We fished a ridge line and were all by ourselves until two other boats joined us. In all of the guide boats when we released the fish that we did not want if they had swallowed the hook we cut the line and had no floating fish, however after these other two boats joined us all of a sudden floating fish started to appear. I watched one boat close to me just wrench a hook out of a little guy and float it. I am mentioning this because it is just wrong to not try and protect the future of the fishery's here and actually wanton waste is against the law. If you know you floated a fish even if it is small the right thing to do is pick it up and the right thing to do is cut hooks or very carefully go thru the gills to keep these fish alive (harder) I am sure we are all guilty of unknowingly doing this however making no attempt to keep these fish alive is not a sportsman thing to do. These guys might not even know what they were doing but still they should have. Anyway there is a great bite down at the Bend with a smaller size walleye and a great bite on Oahe for those fishermen able to get on active fish. Some boats are struggling however if they are either in wrong area's or just not finding active fish on Oahe so if you are just looking to catch a lot of fish the West Bend area is probably easier. Lots of hot weather but fishing is good.

Hutch's Guide Service

Hutch

[dew2]

 I agree that a killed fish should be kept!!!
 The area guides and good fisher people have a responsibility of educating users who seldom fish the water. Without knowing the consequences of releasing some bad hooked,from depths,an warm waters fish. I bet the tourists and even some locals dont really know what their doing and you see floaters.
 An by the way I see it often here in Mn in my area.gotta speak up i.n a polite manor. I've even netted the fish and offered it to the ones who released it. Politely of course.