Photo by Ron Sinfelt

There's no time like April in the Dakotas. The ice that once blanketed our waters has all but faded, and the walleye fishing gets into full swing. The spring walleye bite in the Dakotas historically provides the best action of the year, and April's the month that gets things started.

It's a special time of year on the Plains, and everyone is busy getting ready for the season that is upon us. I remember years ago when my dad and brother stewed over the spring tackle catalogs like Sunday bibles, marking every other page and accumulating another year's worth of treasures. Naturally, 99 percent of the spring's walleyes were taken on jigs and live-bait rigs, but the flash of the year's new "secret weapon" and another bottle of deadly walleye scent somehow managed to find its way into our tackle boxes each spring.

We've certainly seen our share of ups and downs on our favorite walleye waters the past few years, but by the looks of the boats running down the highway lately, I'm not the only one anxious to wet a line.

Fishing the Dakotas in April usually means clear water and spooky walleyes. The month is one of extremes when it comes to Mother Nature, and she usually dictates our fishing activity. Two of my best outings last spring were on days when I should have stayed in bed. One was a day in late April fishing with my brother Dale and battling high waves. We were pulling small plugs five miles South of Chamberlain, SD, on Lake Francis Case. Though the water was rough, we were pulling in walleyes left and right -- and were too stubborn to quit. The fish weren't giants, ranging from 16 to 21 inches, but boy did we have a ball!

The other was a cold, rainy spring day jigging on Sakakawea's Van Hook Arm. The harder the rain, the bigger the fish.

While memories are great, the promise of the upcoming season is even better. By looking at current water conditions and using last year's action as a barometer, several fisheries seem to stand out and are our top picks for this month's walleye bite. Here's a look at what the Dakotas will have to offer this month.

SOUTH DAKOTA
In South Dakota, there are many small lakes in the northeast part of the state that host some tremendous fishing each spring. The town of Webster lies in the heart of these small lakes and is headquarters to some of the best walleye fishing the state has to offer. Within a 30-minute drive of the town lie 15 productive lakes, any of which can shine like the sun on any given day. Of course, Waubay Lake is king when it comes to walleye fishing and garners the most attention.

Veteran angler Cory Fields of Webster who guides on massive Waubay with partner Jason Coaster says the lake is still full of walleyes.

"Depending on ice-out and weather conditions, this is usually a good time of year to hit the lake," says Fields. "The system has a lot of fish in the 14- to 16-inch range, but hosts bigger fish, as well, in the 26- to 28-inch range. Every time you think the big guys have been thinned, they go on a bite again and spring is always a good time of year to land a big fish."

With a current predator-to-prey imbalance that has only improved slightly over the past year, the walleyes in Waubay should be very active this spring and a lot of fish will be coming from the flooded timber and shallow flats.