Conversations on the local fishing piers

The Department of Game Fish and Parks pushes public fishing piers into area lakes soon after the ice goes off, and they make sure to pull the piers out before freeze-up.

The recent history of the pier at Lake Campbell is more complicated — a story of destruction, construction, and opportunity.

In Brookings area lakes, about 25% of the fishing is done from boats whereas 75% is done from shore or from public fishing piers. The GFP wants anglers to have access to public waters. As with most conservation projects, hunters and anglers pay their own way, in this case by purchasing a $10 habitat stamp to fund public access land and facilities. The access points are also used for picnicking, water-dog training, and general sightseeing.

Fishing access for boaters is at the boat ramp, but for shore anglers it is the public shoreline or fishing pier.

Near Brookings, shore fishing access is available at lakes Oakwood, Goldsmith, Brush, and Campbell.

Fishing piers are at Oakwood, Dakota Nature Park, and Campbell. https://gfp.sd.gov/fish-accessible-areas/.

At Lake Campbell, the GFP owns eight acres of land at the north end of the lake that includes the dam site, a short road to the dam that offers shore fishing sites, a parking lot, boat launch ramp, boat dock, and a fishing pier. The Lake Association named this area Madsen Landing, in recognition of Carl Madsen who was quite involved with lake conservation.

The fierce May 12, 2023 storm called a derecho pounded Lake Campbell.

The storm was a straight wind; a surging, tumbling thick brown cloud that churned the lake water to a white froth. Downed trees, damaged buildings, and over-turned docks and boat lifts were left after the storm.

The public fishing pier was tossed onshore, its wooden floor and railings broken and twisted.

The lake was without a fishing pier that summer, but a new pier was delivered in the winter of 2024. It had been built by one of South Dakota’s prison industries, and it was solid.

Heavy wood super structure on a heavy metal frame with skis for sliding the pier in and out of the lake.

The GFP orders piers that are accessible, meaning that the end of the pier accommodates anglers or onlookers in wheelchairs. It is easier to land a hooked fish through the fish-sized vertical openings in the guard rails.

I occasionally check on the fishing action as I visit with the anglers using the pier. Most anglers are easy conversationalists, full of wit and wisdom. I learn a lot about fishing methods, fishing philosophy, and opinions about Lake Campbell, GFP, and life in general (“$5 for a scoop of minnows is unbelievable, and it’s just not right!”)

One experienced angler showed me a stringer of fish – a dinner-plate sized crappie, a pike, and three walleyes. I mentioned that many people don’t like to catch a pike because it is bony. “Oh, I know how to fillet them – want me to show you?” said the angler. The back of his pick-up had all the tools for efficient fish processing – from electric knife to iced cooler. He used an electric knife and a fillet knife, skillfully and quickly cutting around the line of troublesome “Y-shaped” bones on each side of the fish. When he finished, he caressed two long strips of pike meat and said “these are the fillet minion of the pike!”

A somewhat disrespectful cliché goes “The fishing pier is where it’s at – where fishermen turn fiction into fact.” Among the fishing facts that I learned from the expert pike butcher was that South Dakota takes yellow perch from South Dakota lakes for sale in Iowa – “it just isn’t right!.” I had to fact check and soon got an answer from a state fishery biologist.

False! South Dakota does send pre-spawn perch (1,000-2,000 fish annually) to Iowa as a trade for fish that we need, like hatchery-raised largemouth bass, muskie and a special strain of “river’ walleye.

Anglers on the pier range from experienced to novice.

I watched as a Dad was teaching his son about fishing gear. He deliberately showed him how to set a slip-bobber to the right depth to keep the baited minnows off the bottom. There is more to a slip bobber than just floating around on the surface! The line goes through the bobber, there is a bobber “stop” on the line, and the position of the bobber (vertical or horizontal) tells the angler if the bait is set at the right depth. The kid was an eager beginner. When he held the rod back for a mighty cast - his Dad quickly motioned for me to “Get out of the way!!”

Shortly after the slip bobber had bobbed a while, it went under! The kid reeled in a nice yellow perch.

His Dad helped unhook the fish and took a photo of the proud angler, who returned the perch to the lake.

Then the kid clinched his fists, scrunched up his face, arched his back (I thought he was having a seizure!), and joyously yelled to the fish God above “I’m so proud of myself!”

The GFP routinely monitors the fish community in Lake Campbell; all lake surveys are easily found on line.

Biologists report that common game fish in Campbell are yellow perch, walleye, channel catfish, black bullhead, black crappie, saugeye, northern pike, and white bass. The name “saugeye” might sound strange. The state is using Lake Campbell to experiment with a genetic cross between a sauger and a walleye. The saugeye are supposed to grow and survive better in marginal walleye lake habitat than the pure walleye species. Preliminary netting results are favorable.

Campbell produced the highest catch rate of channel catfish in the survey nets of any lake in the region. The report concludes: “Any angler targeting channel catfish in the region should be sure to consider trying Lake Campbell,” but I suspect that angling wisdom is available on any lake fishing pier.