KWAT’s Outdoor Report for week of October 18, 2021

Aberdeen Area

Fishing Report
Richmond Lake: Anglers have been catching perch, crappie, and walleye. The perch bite has been good throughout the day. Anglers that have been jigging with minnows have had the best luck.
Elm Lake: Anglers have been catching walleye, northern pike, crappie, and perch. Anglers fishing from boats and pulling spinners with live bait have had the best luck. The south boat dock and handicap fishing pier have been pulled. The water level is too low to use these docks.
Mina Lake: Anglers have been catching perch and walleye.

Hunting Report
Waterfowl Season: We are starting to see a push of geese from the north. There are a few small flocks of snow geese in the area. There are also good numbers of white-fronted geese, and Canada geese too. There are still good numbers of green winged teal and gadwall throughout the county. There are also some swans at Sand Lake Refuge. The corn harvest is well underway, and fields are opening by the day.
Pheasant Season: Hunters that had corn strips to walk did the best. Hunters saw decent numbers of birds. Brown County still has lots of standing corn fields, that made hunting pheasants difficult.
Deer Season: The cooler weather, archery hunters have seen deer moving more in the mornings and just around dusk.

Clark County

Fishing Report
Dry 1: Starting to catch walleyes off the road grade.
Dry 2: The perch and walleye bite are good.
Indian Springs: Page 21 in the fishing handbook. Read regulations and closed areas.
Reid: Closed to boat October 20th to December 31st.
Swan: The walleye and perch are slow to bite.

Hunting Report
Waterfowl Season: Waterfowl hunters have been having some success. The area has not seen the migration start and the duck and goose numbers are low as of now.
Pheasant Season: Opening weekend had a lot of struggles, and most hunters did not see many birds. The fields still have a lot of unharvested corn.

Codington County

Fishing Report
Goose: Fishermen are primarily catching walleye from the boat, as the weeds make shore fishing difficult. The walleye continues to be 14 to 16 inches, with a few over 20 inches being caught as well.
Kampeska: Fishing has remained consistent over the past couple weeks. Fishermen pulling the center of the lake are finding a few walleye and perch, while other fishermen are still reporting a mixed bag of fish.
Pelican Lake: Little fishing pressure.
Blythe Slough: Little fishing pressure.
Long Lake: Little fishing pressure.
Dry Lake: Little fishing pressure.

Hunting Report
Deer Season: Starting to see some daytime activity around the morning and dusk times, as the rut draws closer.
Waterfowl Season: There are a good number of fields with geese in them; hunters have not seen much of a push from the north yet with any of the goose species. Hunters saw a small push of ducks into the area last week with the cooler temperatures. The species of ducks that moved in were gadwall, shovelers, and a few wigeon.

Day County

Fishing Report
Waubay: Still active around the Grenville area, seeing some nice walleyes coming out.
Bitter: A few anglers are trying their luck for some fall perch, but most are having success catching a few walleye.
Rush: This is the most popular lake right now, and they have been catching real good numbers of walleye.

Hunting Report
Deer Season: Deer have been spotted on the move; the mentored hunters have been having good luck with the doe harvest. Archery deer hunters are having good success.
Waterfowl Season: The waterfowl hunt has been very good around the small sloughs and wetlands.
Pheasant Season: The opener was mediocre at best, very few limited on opening day.

Hamlin County

Fishing Report
Lake Poinsett: Fishing remains steady. Anglers who are having success are catching a mixed bag of walleye and perch. Anglers are having the best success during the evening hours.
Three Buck: Pressure remains steady. Anglers are having decent success catching walleye and a few perch. Boat access is difficult due to low water.
Lake Albert: An occasional walleye is being caught, little to no fishing pressure.
Clear Lake: Fishing has been slow. A few small walleyes are being caught.
Hunting Report
Waterfowl Season: New birds are migrating daily with the cool temperatures. A range of waterfowl have been pushing through from white-fronted geese, snow geese, Canada geese and mallards have been seen through the week.
Deer Season: Deer activity has continued to pick up, the recent cold mornings have had deer up and moving around. The recent increase in crop harvest has deer pushed out of the fields and are being seen more by hunters. Smaller bucks are starting to show signs of rut.
Pheasant Season: Hunting pressure was high with it being opening weekend of pheasant season. Hunters who were successful found birds in grass and cover toward the last few hours before sundown, very few birds were harvested.

Marshall County

Fishing Report
South Buffalo Lake: Anglers found a few blue gill, crappie, walleye, and northern pike.
North Buffalo Lake: Little to no activity.
Piyas Lake: Good walleye bite, however the bite has slowed tremendously. Anglers are getting a few perch as well.
Opitz Lake: Good on the walleye bite with a few perch mixed in.
Cattail / Kettle Lake: Little to no activity.
Clear Lake: Anglers found some blue gill and crappie. Bass bite is picking up as well.
Roy Lake: Slow bite, but anglers found a few bass and northern pike.

Hunting Report
Waterfowl Season: Goose hunters have had luck in finding birds, no real pattern of geese, due to new fields being harvested daily. A small push of geese moved into the area the last week. Duck hunters struggled a bit trying to find ducks – most are on the big water right now.
Deer Season: Hunters are finding deer, although their movement is slow due to the warm weather.
Pheasant Season: Hunters really struggled to find pheasants this past weekend possibly due to crops in the field, and a lot of the CRP has been hayed.

Parks Report
Pelican Lake Recreation Area: The 3D targets are now up at the archery course! These are a different option to shoot and help get ready for this fall’s adventures! A park entrance license is required to shoot the archery range and course. These can be purchased at our new self-service kiosks at the entrance booth.
Hartford Beach State Park: Don’t forget to get ready for this fall’s hunting seasons at our new archery range and course! The range offers targets from 10 to 50 yards to get bows sighted in. We also have wood targets set up for anyone that wants to try axe throwing. The 28-target walking course winds through some of the parks wooded areas for different challenging shots. Hartford Beach also has miles of scenic trails, a disc golf course, and great picnic spots in the beach area!
Oakwood Lakes State Park: Mortimer’s Monstrous Halloween Event:
Saturday, October 30th from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM. There will be
Scavenger Hunt Face Painting Hayride
Campfire Games Coloring Corner

Come and Trick or Treat, this event is FREE to all participants. A Park Entrance License is required for all vehicles. Park license will be available for purchase at the State Park Welcome Center.