I awoke really early the next morning after taking a drubbing on Waubay Lake. Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes he eats you. I was eaten yesterday, but the call of a new lake that I had never fished was inviting.
Several trips ago I met some fishermen from Minnesota. Imagine that. Two fishermen fishing South Dakota when they live in a state known for excellent fishing and a walleye haven. They told me there was not the competition in South Dakota, but I feel it is pretty heavy at times on some of the lakes in the Webster area. They had been fishing a newly opened up lake named Hazeldon and it was close to Webster. They had pulled out sixteen to eighteen inch walleye and a limit of four each in about two hours. I liked the sound of sixteen to eighteen inch fish and the action was fast, which was even better.
The lake is not big and it is divided into two sections. The northern section is almost impossible to access. You have to go through a very narrow channel that is very shallow and full of stumps. There are other problems if your boat gets hung up. Fishing alone, I was not about to try that access. The people at Sportsman Cove told me boats had damaged motors and gotten hung up in the mud trying to access the northern arm of the lake. Check with the people at Sportsman Cove before going there.
The southern half is relatively narrow and is only 863 acres with a maximum depth of 19.7 feet. It gets deep relatively quickly. The boat ramp is on the south end of the lake and the water level is relatively shallow. The dock is okay, but the access to the ramp and dock is not paved or graveled. It is just a dirt road. In rainy weather, this lake would be out of the question as the access is steep and you could easily get stuck trying to get your boat out. Also parking is limited to about 15 boats, depending on how people park. The road up to the access is one lane gravel so if you meet someone coming out or in, depending on your direction, you have a minor problem of someone getting by. Knee high weeds are on each side of this lane. Having said all this, I am sure everyone reading this has probably asked themselves, “Why go there at all?” It is the obsession to catch a limit of the “eyes.” To see a good drawing of the lake go the the following website and select Hazeldon Lake – Day Co. (http://gfp.sd.gov/fishing-boating/tacklebox/lake-maps/default.aspx)
I was on the lake by 7 AM and the only boat to hit it that early. The sky was a low overcast and the wind had come up probably around 10 to 15 mph out of the southeast. This provided a good drift and a chartreuse spinner was selected with a crawler. I started working up the northerly shore moving the boat between 12 to 18 feet of water. Off the weed line, soft taps were picked up, but no biters. The wind continued to pick up and boat control was a bit of a problem. Rods were switched to an ultra light with a chartreuse jig and leech. After about 90 minutes of not catching anything, the boat was moved to the southeast shore line, and north of the boat ramp.
Bass Pro Shops XPS Stalker Top Loader Tackle Bag or System
It was 11 AM and to get the four fish had taken four hours. By the time the boat was out and the fish were cleaned back at the motel, it would be lunch time and time for a short nap. A person needs to reward himself once the limit is reached. The plan was to go back to Waubay in the late afternoon and catch and pitch anything that would hit. After all, I came to fish.