If you’re familiar with Lewis and Clark Lake near Yankton, South Dakota, (boundary water with Nebraska) the last reservoir on the Missouri river system, then you have likely heard of the “Chutes”. However, if you haven’t, just envision walleye fishing the everglades. Shallow water, sand bars, tall grass and blind corners leading you to the next hole. The Chutes begin or end depending on which direction you’re coming from on the upper end (west) of the lake and go on for several miles before the river channels rejoin to make one. This particular place is a duck hunter’s paradise but the locals know it as a walleye haven.
The Chutes are definitely not the place for a novice boat owner to navigate and running your brand new Ranger up river isn’t recommend unless you are very well versed on where you can drive. Navigating the chutes is the most difficult part about fishing this system but once you have it figured out you can be in for some beautiful days on the water. The tall grass and large bluffs on both sides of the river make fishing more feasible on windy days. Partnered with the abundant wildlife and absolutely NO recreational boaters, makes for peace and serenity many are in search of on each outing.
So what’s so difficult about navigating the chutes? It’s a river that is constantly changing. When Lake Master came out with its 2014 version, it had the river mapped out nearly perfectly. However that didn’t last long, some of the holes are still there but don’t follow any map that is more than a few weeks old especially during high water season. I spend a full day every spring motoring around up the chutes working my way up stream re-mapping my trail and finding the new holes. This will usually get me through for a few months unless we have a surge of high water and then it all starts over again. The chutes are primarily made up of sand and the strong river currents move the sand around frequently. So what was once a 20’ foot hole may now be a four foot hole and vice versa. It’s paramount to put the time in to get familiar with the river while always working up stream. If you happen to get stuck on a sandbar hopefully the current will pull your boat off.
At times there is too much debris floating down river which makes pulling cranks too inefficient so I slip downstream with the current holding my jig just off bottom with the occasional thump on the bottom. I prefer to use 1/2 oz. to 3/4 oz. jig that I make out of Do-it Molds paired with Matzuo Sickle hook. The long shank hook allows the bait to be further away from the jig head and more time for the fish to strike. I use the heavy jigs to displace more water which creates more noise making it easier for the walleye to find the bait in the dirty water. A six foot med/action fast tip rod paired with a very light spinning reel spooled with 6 lb. Berkley Fire line or Nano fill is an excellent set up to feel the lightest of bites. Many times the bite is so subtle you will just feel a little weight on the line. As I tell my clients “hook sets are free” so when in doubt set it. When the current is running at its lowest, usually July and August, you may switch to just dragging your jig or even pulling a lindy rig downstream. The key here is to keep it simple and pay attention to what the fish want. Make a mental note of what you or your fishing partner were doing when you caught that last walleye. Weed lines are all over in the chutes so don’t be afraid to get right up next to them while jigging or trolling.
When pulling cranks I prefer to only pull up stream at about .8 to 1.5 mph, considering that on average the downstream current is 1.5 mph to 2 mph. You will hit eddies and slack current seams so paying close attention is crucial to effective boat control ensuring your bait are in the strike zone and not buried in the bottom. With swiftly moving current, my go-to presentation is lead core line as most runs are not that long and I can get my lures down faster with better control than any other presentation. I can usually get by with less than 100’ of lead out. Spring and Fall I run big baits with smaller baits in late summer to match the hatch. Berkley Flicker Shads, Flicker Minnows, Salmo Hornets and Matzuo Tournament Cranks have all been very affective crank baits for me and have caught a variety of fish including some very big northern pike and smallmouth bass.
On most days, if conditions are right, I will start off making a pass upstream trolling and drifting back downstream, jigging to see what method may be best. Usually after just a couple attempts you will have it dialed in, however don’t be surprised if it changes midday.
