Fall Fishing

Location: Sheridan Lake

Target Species: Trout, Bass and Perch

Weather: Low 50s, rainy

Water Temp: High 50s

Technique: Spoon casting for bass, trolling with jigs for trout and perch

Fall conditions are causing the water temperatures to start dropping. The recent colder weather has caused most of the lakes to drop into the very low 60s and high 50s and the fish are starting to prep for winter and are feeding heavier. I met a friend of mine out at Sheridan Lake in his boat and we gave bass fishing a try along the weed lines closest to shore. We caught some smaller ones, but he did manage to catch a nice largemouth.

From here we moved to another area on the east side of the lake where the perch and crappie had been before. We trolled jig similar to the way he and I had used them down at Angostura before, slowly trolling along with 1/8 oz. jigs with minnows in anywhere from 10' to 22' of water. We caught some small perch and smallmouth bass, but we did catch some decent rainbow trout which were feeding along the bottom with the perch. While we didn't catch any monsters, we are starting to map out places to try once first ice conditions start up in another month or so.

The fall bite across the Black Hills is still heating up and with the colder weather, it should stay that way for most of the month, though some warm days are still on tap for the area. It's a great time to go out and try the shorelines again as the fish are moving shallower and feeding more. Bluegills are stacking up in the bays in many of the lakes and will provide families with a lot of fun with the bass and pike feeding heavily along weed lines in the other lakes. Winter will be here soon, so be sure to get out and enjoy the last warm days of the season.