Oahe Reservoir

[BottomDweller]

Headed to Oahe Reservoir in South Dakota in the morning for some spearfishing and tailrace diving. Another first-time trip for me, including the destination, the spearfishing, and the tailrace diving. Several others going, including my shop owner, have been there many times, though. Sounds like I'm going to want to stay there and never leave. Word is the vis is great, the fish are super-plentiful this year, and the weather will be perfect.

[juls64]

What is tailrace diving?

[skdvr]

What is tailrace diving?

Thanks for asking... I was going to ask the same thing....

Phil

[Wkndbum]

What is tailrace diving?

Drift diving below the dam. It's definitely a RUSH!

[juls64]

Drift diving below the dam. It's definitely a RUSH!

That does sound like fun

[M&P+4]

Headed to Oahe Reservoir in South Dakota in the morning for some spearfishing and tailrace diving. Another first-time trip for me, including the destination, the spearfishing, and the tailrace diving. Several others going, including my shop owner, have been there many times, though. Sounds like I'm going to want to stay there and never leave. Word is the vis is great, the fish are super-plentiful this year, and the weather will be perfect.

We were there a couple years ago. It's a very nice place to go, the water is warm, the campground is clean and quiet and the vizability isn't bad either. Good luck with the spear fishing...they say the toughest thing to do is find fish below the slot to shoot.

The one thing I learned (too late, of course) is when you're hunting ignore all the stuff you learned is class about not holding your breath and staying off the bottom....

[BottomDweller]

We got in one tailrace dive this afternoon. Lasted 59 minutes. The current was great when we dropped in just below the dam, but shortly after that they shut off the flow, because while we were carried downstream pretty quickly at first, the current really slowed after a bit, and we discovered when we got back to the dam afterwards that there wasn't any more water coming out of the dam.

We saw tons of sturgeon - even caught one and held it in both hands for a bit while I swam. Saw some big drum and a few carp. One of the carp came up to me so close that I reached out and kind of punched it in the side. It came right back, but when I reached for it, it was outta there.

Coolest thing? I saw a burbot (looks like a gold/brown catfish with spots) behind a rock. I touched its back, and then our guide (had a guide for my buddy's and my first time in the tailrace) caught it when it moved forward. He stuck it on his metal stringer and will cook it up for us tomorrow night at our fish fry. It's about 3 feet long.

We didn't do a second dive since the current was gone, but we were pretty happy about the burbot. The wind is blowing like crazy up here and it's pretty chilly outside - definitely doesn't feel like the end of July!

We have a night dive in the tailrace (thanks for the definition, Wkndbum - wish you were here!) planned for tomorrow night, and a fish fry with whatever we shoot tomorrow.

[BottomDweller]

By the way, for the tailrace dive, we dropped off the pontoon boat right up by the dam and dropped to the bottom at about 25 feet. The current was moving us as we dropped, but it was hard to tell 'til I saw the bottom moving when we got there. Right away we started to see sturgeon. We stayed right near the bottom the whole time, and the current just swept us along. Didn't need to use the fins much at all. Cool stuff!

[Wkndbum]

Coolest thing? I saw a burbot (looks like a gold/brown catfish with spots) behind a rock. I touched its back, and then our guide (had a guide for my buddy's and my first time in the tailrace) caught it when it moved forward. He stuck it on his metal stringer and will cook it up for us tomorrow night at our fish fry. It's about 3 feet long.

We didn't do a second dive since the current was gone, but we were pretty happy about the burbot. The wind is blowing like crazy up here and it's pretty chilly outside - definitely doesn't feel like the end of July!


Glad you're having fun Beth. If you make a 4 day trip up there the wind is guaranteed to blow 3 days.

If you are around somebody in a dark green or brown (UPS driver ok) uniform you may not want to tell the story on how the Burbot was captured. Don't think they're considered a game fish in SD but it might not go over too good.

later,
Terry

[BottomDweller]

We spent all day on Saturday and on Sunday spearfishing. Wkndbum generously loaned me his A.B. Biller speargun for this trip, which was GREAT! I loved the positive buoyancy of the wooden gun - made it very easy to handle in the water and find after a shot. A shot a few carp and some keeper smallmouth bass. Saw a walleye briefly, but wasn't able to get a shot at it. Some others in the group shot their limit of walleye.

The highlight of the trip for me was Saturday night's tailrace dive. We got there later than we'd intended, around 11 p.m., but it was SO worth staying up late for! If you haven't done this type of diving, you're seriously missing out. The current was really ripping out of the dam, and we dropped off the boat (platform/pontoon boat) and dropped to the bottom at about 26 feet. While dropping you don't feel like you're moving at all, but as soon as the bottom comes into sight, you realize you're being whisked downstream at a pretty high rate of speed.

We (my buddy and I, and it was her very first night dive) were using LED lights, and immediately we were lighting up white catfish that were literally all over the place. We never ran out of those fish in the time we were in the water. Saw quite a few sturgeon, too, but the catfish were EVERYWHERE.

The current was really moving, and we had to watch out for the boulders scattered on the bottom. Mostly the current just lifted us up and over them, though. There was no danger of getting a face full of rock, and they just added to the aura of the dive.

We dove with Steamboat's Skin & Scuba out of Pierre. Caleb Gilkerson is the owner, and he and his brother Josh, as well as others working with them, did an absolutely amazing job. They filleted all our fish for us and got them to the restaurant we ate at Saturday night so we could have an all-you-can-eat fish fry. The leftovers and the fish we shot on Sunday were filleted for us, vacuum-bagged, and divvied up among the group (I'm eating some fish as I type this, as a matter of fact). Steamboat's had the pontoon boats, the boat captains (including Caleb and Josh), and the expertise. They had lunch for us each day and had coolers with water, pop, and iced tea on the boats, as well. They were professional, super hard working, and took care of everything. We left our BCs and regs on the boats overnight, and they filled our tanks and had everything ready for us in the mornings. I definitely recommend this shop. They also do pheasant hunting, kayaking, and other types of outdoor adventures.

[skdvr]

Sounds like a great time to me....

Thanks for the report....

Phil