Elite

Baits that will play at Oahe

Posted on
Photography by
Kyle Jessie
There’s no question that the Bassmaster Elite Series field is going to be presented plenty of challenges this week at the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Lake Oahe. With the water roughly 10-12 feet low, there is significantly less submerged structure to fish than there was back in 2018 when the Elite Series last visited Oahe.
While the standard drop shot and Ned rig will play huge rolls this week, the fact that South Dakota smallmouth act differently than northern, Great Lakes smallmouth will provide anglers with the opportunity to mix in a different bait here or there as well. We caught up with a few Elites to get their take on the fishing, and show a couple of baits that they think will factor.
Mike Huff plans on using a Berkley Powerbait Maxscent Flatnose Minnow on a drop shot in hopes of matching the forage.
 
“This place makes me feel like I’m on Lake Cherokee fishing for smallmouth,” he said. “The forage here is pretty small, and the Flatnose Minnow matches it pretty well.”
In addition to the drop shot, Huff will also rotate a Ned rig with a Berkley Powerbait Maxscent Lil’ General Worm.
 
“The Lil’ General is just a go-to bait for me when fishing for smallmouth. I can cast it or drop it straight down under the boat.” he said. “This place is definitely different than the Great Lakes smallmouth. They almost feel like they feed more like southern smallmouth.”
Skylar Hamilton looks to cover as much water as possible with a Googan Baits Saucy Swimmer Swimbait.
 
“I’m trying to cover a lot of water,” Hamilton said. “When it comes to smallmouth that don’t key in on Goby, you have the ability to throw baits like swimbaits and other moving baits.”
Another bait Hamilton will cover water with is a Carolina rigged Googan Baits Bandito Bug.
 
“You don’t really think about a Carolina rig as a bait you cover a lot of water with, but you can cast it a country mile and drag it across a large area.”
Hunter Shryock plans to stick with Berkley Powerbait Maxscent on the tried-and-true drop shot and Ned rig.
 
“The biggest difference between these smallmouth and Great Lakes smallmouth is the forage base,” Shryock said. “With no goby here, the fish tend to be more nomadic and follow the bait around.”
A drop shot with a Berkley Powerbait Maxscent Flatnose Minnow and Flat Worm will be a key for Shryock.
 
“With the baitfish forage, I’m really trying to imitate that profile.” he said. “Also, the Maxscent will help trigger those fish to bite and hang on longer.”
Jacob Foutz will stick with a drop shot, but plans to take a different approach with a larger profile baitfish imitator.
 
“It seems to me that these fish relate to bait way more than structure,” he said. “There’s still a few fish that are hanging around the rocks that are still in the water, so I’ll use the drop shot to try to pick a few of those fish off.”
For the fish that are targeting baitfish, Fouz plans on mixing in a Storm Largo Shad on a 3/8-ounce jighead.
 
“I’m just going to throw the swimbait around the suspended fish,” he said. “They’re still relating to the points, but they’re mostly chasing bait around the points.”
Luke Palmer plans on heavily leaning on a drop shot with a Yum Forward Facing Sonar Minnow.
 
“These fish up here are liable to be on random shoals or points with nothing on it,” Palmer said. “The FF Sonar Minnow is the right size of the bait that they are eating. It’s like a little piece of candy for them.”
To cover more water, Palmer will rely on a Yum Scottsboro Swimbait.
 
“I’m going to stick with the Yum Scottsboro Swimbait quite a bite,” he said. “It’s actually the 3 1/2- inch swimbait. I’m really trying to get rid of the smaller fish with this bait, because the fish that can eat this size are going to the right ones.”
Given his power fishing prowess, Ray Hanselman will have a Strike King 5XD Crankbait tied on.
 
“The smallmouth here are pretty nomadic roamers,” he said. “They tend to act more like spotted bass in a herring lake. The crankbait will be for any offshore structure with hard bottom.”
When he wants to slow down, Hanselman plans on mixing in a drop shot with a Strike King Baby Z Too amongst other baits.
 
“I’m not really fishing the drop shot vertical, but rather throwing it out and dragging it back,” he said.
Bill Lowen has found that a heavier bait in general, like a 3/8- ounce Hayabusa Football Head or a 5/16-ounce Lure Parts Online jighead, has been a key to getting bites with a Ned rig style bait. A Strike King Ned Ocho will be his plastic of choice.
 
“I’m wanting the bait to fall fast in front of their face,” Lowen said.
In addition to the Ned rig, Lowen also plans on utilizing a drop shot with a Strike King Baby Z Too or a full-size Z Too.
 
“These fish actually feed on some bigger bait like cisco or smelt,” he said. “I think that a lot of the bait is out in deep water. The smallmouth will get out there and follow the bait like stripers.”
Angler of the Year leader Brandon Palaniuk will rely heavily on an X-Zone Hot Shot Minnows rigged on a drop shot and a jighead.
 
“Smallmouth are notoriously nomadic, but these fish are next level nomadic,” Palaniuk said. “The big difference here is that there’s not really any forage that lives on the bottom, so these fish don’t have to sit by a rock.
 
“The Hot Shot Minnows on the jighead is more for those suspended fish. They could be two feet down over 80-foot or two feet off the bottom in 25-foot. The drop shot is for the fish that get under the boat or pitching around on the breaks that they’re setting up on.”
For covering water, Palaniuk plans on winding around an X-Zone Mini Swammer swimbait.
 
“I’m going to fish the swimbait somewhat similar to the way I’ll fish the Hot Shot Minnows on the jighead,” he said. “You can cover a little more water with the Swammer.”

Related