Sunrise at Oahe this morning









Note how the wind is blowing her hair and shirt. It was too hot. The flies ate us up. It never cooled off at night. At 10:00 it was still over 85*. The generators ran until they ran out of fuel, then the air conditioning quit. All last night the wind blew maybe 45 mph; a hot dry wind, and shook the trailer. I was rocked to sleep even in the heat, which was too hot to sleep. Wife was scared. We are home.

She won't quit picking on me. She caught first, biggest first day. She caught first, biggest, most second day. Both day we caught our limit.

She gave me new fish pole for birthday. Daughter gave me a new reel. Wife used my pole and reel. New pole has a real different fast tip strong back bone action i think; i didn't get to use it.

It sounds as though you had a good trip with lots of fish Ron, even with that hot dry wind. Nice fish too!

I hate the wind and refuse to fish in anything over 5-10mph. It just makes it unpleasant to cast and no fun.

The wind wasn't too bad while we fished. It was late in the afternoon both days when the wind picked up and blew most of the night; maybe till just before dawn. It blew hot dry air most of our sleeping time. Catching, and fishing too, sure was fun, and good, even though she teased on me all day.

Walleye? If so, that's some good eating there!

Very nice fish. Oahe (near Mobridge) was a favorite lake of mine for many years. Its been years since I have fished it.

Nice!
Were there any dumb ones that bit on your hook Ron?

I am hoping to get out towards fall. I bet that water is getting quite warm there.

Water temperature is just shy of 80* most of the day, according to the sonar. Cooler in the early morning.

What you mean about dumb ones, and my hook?

The aerator pump quit running in the middle of the first day, and fish started suffering because the water temperature was so high. It took me awhile, but i eventually realized the fish weren't getting fresh water. Managed to get the motor out of the housing, and the impeller wouldn't spin. Closer examination revealed monofilament wrapped around the motor shaft. Once it was removed the motor worked; put it back together, and gave the fish some air. They healed up some, but most were sick when we made it back to camp.

Warm water, and lots of fish seem to lead to problems in the live well. The second day was warmer. The pump worked fine, but the fish started to suffer as the live well was filled. We watched the fish more closer the second day. After deciding they were not doing so good, we switched the aerator pump to run full time, not intermittently. This really helped the fish, but made me nervous, because of the steady drain on the battery, and i began watching the voltage closely. Luckily when running the generators all them hours the evening before, i had also connected the battery charger, and the battery was fully charged when we started. The voltage gradually lowered from 12+ volts to right at 12; at that point, i became kinda too nervous to fish any longer. The motor started right up, so i guess we could have stayed out longer, but the heat, and the flies were tough on us too. The fish were a lot healthier upon arrival at camp the second day.

It surprised me how much hotter coffee is at 1600', than it is at home which is 3400'. Nights are much hotter too; it didn't cool much till a way after midnight.

That lake(reservoir) sure is good fishing!

Back when the kids were at home and I did a lot of fishing with them we use to eat a lot of fish. In the hottest weather I use to take a cooler with one fourth cold water and the rest ice in the boat and used that instead of the livewell. The fish wouldn't stay alive but they would stay fresh and taste great. I don't like to see dead fish in warm water for very long.
I got a sister in Aberdeen and I get out there fishing now and then. We don't usually get to the river as there is great fishing right in NE South Dakota in the Waubay/Webster area.

Do you ice fish out there Ron?

No, never have needed to ice fish. Normally, i cut their throat after the boat is on the trailer, and fillet fresh dead fish that have been just now bled. This trip, the first day is the first time i have ever filleted fish that were already dead at the dock. They are noticeably different. Putting them fish on ice would, no doubt, have been better.

Normally i have only kept 2 or 3 fish to kill. Two or three fish in the live well usually do OK, no matter how warm the water. What i have always done in the past is take day fishing trip, and bring home a couple three dead fish, which we have eaten fresh. The last 2 summer, i have not been able to catch fish close to home. This has required us to kill and freeze fish on our camping trip. This summer is the first time we have ever eaten frozen 'eye. Last summer we ate only one fish meal. We already have eaten many many fish meal this summer. There are about 6 package of fillet in the freezer right now after this last trip. This summer, the only time we get to eat fresh fish is whilst on the lake camping, which we do. We always bring meat with, but so far whilst camping, we have only eaten fish.

Once this summer whilst wife was traveling, i brought home 3 teeny 'eye, caught close by, and ate them fresh at home. There was plenty for me, but not for two.

Heading to the River next week. Look forward to wetting a line and catching eyes.