Lake Oahe Chinook Salmon
Chinook salmon in Lake Oahe were healthy and were experiencing good growth due to an abundance of rainbow smelt and lake herring. Stockings are made annually to continue the Chinook salmon fishery. The success of Chinook salmon fishing season in 2012 is unknown due to the high number of fish being pulled through Oahe Dam in 2011. A good number of Chinook salmon were found below Oahe Dam. On the other hand, a large number of Chinook salmon came from Lake Sakakawea from North Dakota into Lake Oahe. The summer months are typically a good time to catch Chinook salmon due to salmon concentrating in the deep, cold waters of Lake Oahe. However, early spring can also be a good time to fish for Chinook salmon without the need of downriggers. If you are after larger Chinook salmon, try fishing in the late summer and fall.
Salmon Fishing Techniques
To effectively catch Chinook salmon on Lake Oahe, an angler needs to remember Chinook salmon are cold water fish. The warmer the water gets, the deeper Chinook salmon tend to go to find food. In the spring and fall, anglers fishing the lower portion of the lake can do well trolling with spoons and plugs. During the warm summer months, Chinook salmon tend to concentrate below the thermocline, in the cold water layer and downriggers equipped with plugs, spoons, herring, dodgers, flashers and squids are used to get fishing lines down to where the fish are. During the fall, shore anglers can do well casting spoons and plugs from shore around Whitlock Bay when the Chinook salmon are preparing to spawn.