Scattered across Pierre are about 80 anglers with their feet up and ice on their backs after a treacherous day out on a blustery Missouri River. The latest edition of South Dakota weather brought 40 mph winds, a touch of rain and plenty of cold for Day One of the Sharpe Showdown annual walleye tournament. Teams of two idled out one-by-one at seven o’clock on the dot this morning with hopes of hooking up with a monster walleye.
Anglers waiting to head out and then one by one, they head to their honey holes
The whitecaps and chilly temperatures along with the wind was a perfect recipe for a difficult, but stereotypical fishing day in South Dakota. It was nothing any of these anglers hadn’t seen before. Some had more luck than others, one contestant bringing in a fish north of 10 lbs., another making a 120+ mile round trip just to land just one fish. All the pre-fishing preparation somewhat went off the deep end thanks to the sudden front change along with heavy fishing pressure from the NWT’s tournament on Thursday and Friday. Pierre local, Fritz Keller, was one of the many who battled the conditions and hit his limit.
A large group of brave fishing fanatics gathered at Steamboat Park for the Day One weigh-ins sponsored by The Fishing Crew, anglers quickly weighing their baskets before either heading to their trucks for warmth, or heading to the pop-up Budweiser bar for, well, warmth.
Pop-up watering hole takes care of customers
The results are posted and you can find them here. Day two promises warmer temperatures but not a break in the wind. Anglers will push out at 7:00 AM again and weigh-ins will begin at 3:00 PM at Steamboat Park
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