MOBRIDGE, S.D. — Several Elite Series anglers came to Lake Oahe last year in August to familiarize themselves with this massive Missouri River impoundment, which hadn’t been on the tournament schedule since 2018. Clifford Pirch was one of them.
“I found places last year where five casts and you were golden,” said Pirch. “It was lights out crazy.”
When the four-day Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Lake Oahe begins Thursday, Pirch will be one of 35 Elite Series anglers who competed here in 2018. And he’s the highest finisher of the bunch. The Payson, Ariz., resident was third with a total of 66 pounds, 2 ounces. Mark Daniels Jr. won it with 69-9. Pirch had the biggest bag of the event – 20 pounds, 11 ounces, and there were only three bags that topped 20 pounds.
After three days of practice this week, the consensus is that Lake Oahe (pronounced “oh-WAH-hee”) is going to fish more like it did in 2018 than what anyone found in scouting the lake last year.
“It’s nothing like it was last year,” said Pirch. “I don’t think the weights will be quite as high (as 2018).
The lack of success in practice has many Elite Series anglers on edge. This is the home stretch. Lake Oahe is the next to last tournament in the nine-event season that will conclude next week on the Mississippi River at La Crosse, Wis.
“I’m probably more nervous about this one than any of the other tournaments this year,” said Brandon Palaniuk, who has a 41-point lead over second-place David Mullins in the Progressive Insurance Bassmaster Angler of the Year race. “I don’t have a lot of confidence after practice.”
Lake Oahe stretches into North Dakota. The tournament waters are limited to South Dakota only, but that’s not much of a confinement in this 370,000-acre lake. Lake Oahe has both largemouth and smallmouth bass, but smallmouth are expected to dominate, just as they did in 2018. Troy Diede of Sioux Falls, S.D., a former Bassmaster Classic qualifier, caught a new state record smallmouth of 7 pounds, 4 ounces here on July 26 last year.
“I think 16 pounds a day will win it,” said David Mullins, who was 29th here in 2018 after two days before finishing 45th. “I don’t know how you catch a big bag here consistently. I don’t even know where I’m going to start (Thursday). I’ve caught one four-pound bass in three days. How do you put that together?”
Palaniuk is expecting the winning weight to be about 18 pounds a day, saying, “I don’t think anyone with press 80 (pounds total). This lake reminds me of some of the stuff around Idaho and Washington. This time of year, the bass are just real nomadic. That makes it hard to be consistent.”
If Lake Oahe fishes like it did in 2018, you don’t have to be very consistent to earn a check here. There were 107 anglers in this event then, and the Day 2 cut was top 50. Micah Frazier took 50thplace after two days with four bass weighing 8-10 on Day 1 and four bass weighing 9-10 on Day 2 for a total of 18-4.
