MOBRIDGE, S.D. – The biggest event in professional walleye fishing, the Cabela’s National Walleye Tour Championship, is set for Aug. 3-5 on Lake Oahe, the sprawling impoundment of the Missouri River. Oahe is revered as an exceptional place to catch numbers of fish and larger walleyes are becoming increasingly common. However, August can offer a challenge as the summer heat pushes walleyes deeper, where anglers must compete with an abundance of baitfish. In short, Oahe is the perfect place to test the best walleye fishermen in the world.

 

Mercury pro Chad Schilling guides on Oahe over 200 days per year. He believes that thus far, 2016 has been his best year ever for numbers. 

 

“Oahe is a neat place to fish,” said Schilling, who owns and operates Oahe Wings & Walleyes. “There will be a ton of walleyes caught. Compared to the last time the NWT visited (2014), there will be a lot more overs too. It’s going to be exciting.”

 

On Oahe, “overs” are walleyes that exceed 20 inches in length. As pros are randomly paired with co-anglers and fish together as a team, anglers are permitted to keep two overs each day. Culling is prohibited, meaning anglers must decide whether to keep or throw back a walleye immediately after catching it. Typically, anglers keep any “over” on Oahe. But the decision becomes much more difficult if that fish barely pushes past 20 inches.

 

“I’ve lost so much money on this lake by throwing away 21-inchers,” added Schilling. “But I don’t feel bad about a single one of those fish. When you fish to win, that’s the chance you take. There will be a lot of top 10s in people’s hands that they let go if they want to win. There’s going to be some huge, gut-wrenching decisions.”

 

Schilling said that presently, the bite is surprisingly difficult. Stable weather with consistent wind will improve the catch rate come tournament time.

 

“The thing about Oahe is that it goes through waves, even within the same year. It’s good and then it’s not so good. Right now it’s not so good. That’s good news for the tournament though because it will only improve; these fish are built to eat. I don’t think it’s going to be a May or June bite, but I think there are plenty of fish to be caught. This is the time for the best pros in the business to prove they can go catch them in tougher conditions.”

 

In addition to the lucrative championship purse, anglers are competing for the coveted Lucas Oil Angler of the Year award. Currently leading the race is Evinrude pro Chris Gilman with 564 points.

 

“I’ve been in this position twice in the past,” recalled Gilman. “In 1997, I was leading the PWT race and I pulled it off. In 2007, I was leading the FLW and Jason Przekurat nudged me out. So I’ve lead it where I won and I’ve lead it where I’ve lost.

 

“I’m not a young guy anymore. You just don’t get that many chances at it. There’s a lot of unbelievable anglers out there who never get the chance to win Angler of the Year. It’s not really about the money; it’s more of a pride thing. I’m motivated by the competition and the trophy. It’s bragging rights and respect among your peers. To be honest, I don’t like thinking about it. I just want to fish and not think about it. But I’m preparing for the tournament every single day. I’m basically counting the days until we get out there. I just love championships.”

 

Both Gilman and Schilling agree that a wide variety of tactics will be used. Outside of a shallow bite, everything else is essentially in play.

 

“There’s going to be a suspended bite,” explained Schilling. “There’s going to be a bottom-bouncer and Slow Death bite. That’s what we all caught them on in 2014. And I really think there’s going to be a deep jigging bite or a deep leadcore bite. People need to come and fish their strengths. That’s the great thing about Oahe; if there’s something you do well, it will work.”

 

“The fish aren’t sophisticated out there that’s for sure,” added Gilman. “Shad Raps and bottom bouncers should be popular. I used a Jigging Rap to win the 2013 NWT Championship in North Dakota and you can bet I’ll bring every one I own with me to South Dakota. Overall, I really like my chances when it turns into a casting, rigging or jigging tournament. And that’s usually the case on Oahe – it tends to be a rod-in-hand tournament.”

 

Schilling said while fishing strengths is a good place to start, anglers must be ready to adapt as Oahe is an ever-changing body of water. These rapid changes are caused by the presence and then disappearance of nomadic forage.

 

“We’ve got smelt, a ton of little crappies and an abundance of lake herring, which is new to our system and it’s something people are not used to dealing with. It makes our fish grow fast, but it can be a challenge.”

 

The Akaska, S.D., guide expects the field to spread out with anglers running up to the North Dakota border and venturing as far south as Pierre.

 

“There’s a lot of history down near Pierre and Spring Creek. Chase (Parsons) won an FLW event trolling spinnerbaits over the trees on the Peoria Flats. It takes four hours of running time and cuts your day in half, but you can do it. On Oahe, you can make a 100-mile run by cutting corners and getting out of the wind.”

 

To make the top-10 cutoff, Schilling believes approximately 12 pounds per day will be necessary.

 

“Put two overs in the boat and get some decent slot fish and you’ll be good to go. Thirteen pounds per day will put you in the top 10 for sure. I think somewhere around 45 pounds will win the tournament.”

 

“The tougher the bite, the better,” concluded Gilman. “I really like those types of tournaments. The fishing has been slower, but the time people put in for the championship is impressive, so people will get limits.”

 

Anglers will take off from the Indian Creek Recreation Center, located at 12905 288th Ave., in Mobridge at 7 a.m. Central time each day. Weigh-ins will take place each day at Wrigley Square at the south end of Main Street, beginning at 3 p.m. The full field fishes each of the first two days and is cut to the top 10 for the third and final day with the winner being determined by the heaviest cumulative weight.

 

For more information on rules and tournament payouts, visit www.nationalwalleyetour.com.