Pike Haven Resort Fishing Reports on Facebook

Recently I started posting my fishing reports and photos on Pike Haven Resort's Facebook page. Look in the Notes section. www.facebook.com/pages/Pike-Haven-Resort/60529782544?sk=notes Walleye and Northern Pike continue to bite. Weather has been good making for some great outings. This has been a winter and spring like none I can remember.

Walleye and Northern Pike Biting on Lake Oahe

Tuesday was nice but a little windy, so we decided to test the pike fishing. We caught a bunch in a little bay along the south side of the Little Bend peninsula. They were between 5 and 12 pounds, all chunky guys. We laid large dead smelt near the bottom in about 12 feet of water, and had action all afternoon.

On Thursday I was able to get up to Joe's Creek and try for some walleye. Not disappointed. I caught 10 in about 25 feet of water on minnows moving very slowly. The largest was 25 inches, the smallest 17 inches. Also caught a couple of very nice smallies. I hope to get out again soon.

Lake Oahe Update, March, 2012

The water level is 1606 feet, which is 14 feet lower than the peak last summer. Lake Oahe is forecast to rise 4 to 5 feet by mid-June. We'll see. The lake is open from the dam to around the corner at Little Bend. North of there the main lake has an ice cap with open water in bays and around the edges. Lake access is good in areas with open water.

Walleye fishing has been very good all winter on open water in the lower parts of Lake Oahe, and continues now up to and into the Cheyenne River. Northern Pike have been taking smelt and herring for at least a couple of weeks now. There seems to be a lot of six to twelve pounders, and we here of occasional reports of 20 pound-class catches.

At the shows we often here the question, "When do the walleyes start biting in your area?" In response I tell them that I am not sure if that will happen this year... first they would have to stop, and we don't see any signs of that.

Winter Fishing

No ice to be found on Lake Oahe around Pike Haven to the Dam, and fishing is continuing like it was summer, only bigger fish. We thought we might have a unique situation here around the mouth of the Cheyenne, but from what we hear, people are catching very good walleyes in open water from Chantier Creek to the Whitlocks area. In addition, nice fish are being caught in the tailrace area of the Oahe Dam. Actually, I can't think of a period of time since early July this year that walleye fishing has not been good in this part of the lake. Ohh how lucky we are.

By the way, if you have a RV you're looking to park this summer, Pike Haven has some rare openings this year for an annual full-service lot. Better hurry though.

2011 in Review

It was an excellent year for the mid-section of Lake Oahe. Large quantities of Walleyes were caught easily throughout most of the season. Fishermen are still getting their limits. The average size was down a little, showing signs of great spawns and lots of fish for the coming years. Follows is a recap and some of the highlights from 2011.

This is a shot of the Pike Haven ramp in April blocked with drifting shale.

We did struggle a little in the spring. Due to cool weather, the walleyes stayed in the Cheyenne River longer than usual. Some nice fish were caught, but numbers weren’t what we are used to.

Typically, as the weather warms in June, so does the walleye bite. Through the first part of June, 2011, the weather was cool, and the fishing was challenging compared to typical years. Myself, as well as, many others found the bite to be excellent, but some found it difficult to locate active fish. Northern Pike, however, were very active, and large enough to put up an exciting fight on a walleye rig.

Follows are some pictures of Pike Haven guests and their fish taken during the June time period.

During July everyone found it easy to catch walleye in this part of Lake Oahe. They would bite about anything and in depths from 2 to 35 feet (salmon fishermen also caught them in 80 feet of water). Size wise, we caught fish from 12 inches to 30 inches. I would say that the most typical walleye was between 16 and 17 inches long. A bit smaller than recent years, but nice, fat and feisty. A boat of three fishing a reasonable day could easily catch over a 100 fish. Some where during mid-July we started picking up good number of mid-twenty inch fish as well. This continued for about 3 weeks, and it is hard to imagine better walleye fishing than we experienced during that period.

The good fishing continued into the fall without a noticeable let up. Coupled with pleasant fall weather made for a wonderful fall fishing season well into November.

We anticipate another great year in 2012. Make your plans early to secure your accommodations and guide services.

July 25 Report

Walleyes seem to be all over this part of Lake Oahe. Fish in 10 to 25 feet, drag a crawler on about anything. Move along 1/2 to 1 mile per hour and catch lots of fish. The tricky part is to hook up with larger fish. Just keep working the good spots and you will get them too. Here's a picture of today's catch with George and Bill. We got most of them near the Little Bend camp ground area.

July 9 Report

Walleyes are biting throughout this part of the Lake in both shallow and water upto 30 feet. Crawlers are the bait of choice and crankbait pulling is effective also. In addition to walleye, fishermen are catching a lot of northern pike.