How’s this for an idea? Load up your gear, throw in the cooler and a comfortable lawn chair, stop in Wagner for a sub to go, and head to Pickstown.

Last week I mentioned what a fine job our Corp of Engineers have done to provide quality bank fishing beneath the Ft. Randall Dam at Pickstown. I have some thoughts on this fishing, particularly the roadway area that runs parallel to and alongside the tailrace on the Gregory County side.

As far as casting lures from the bank is concerned, success increases as one gets closer to the powerhouse. This calls for some dangerous climbing over large boulders, and I wouldn’t recommend this for all but the most athletic of anglers. I’ll limit my advice to bait fishing further down the bank toward and including the point.

We’re talking walleyes, catfish, smallmouth and white bass, and an occasional trout. Fishing the bottom with minnows or worms/night crawlers is most productive. Use a crappie rig or something similar. Hold the bait just off of the bottom by attaching a bobber, preferably cork, above the crappie rig. Attach a sinker heavy enough to pull the bobber under to the end of the crappie rig. As there are numerous snags, you will lose rigs. I prevent this by attaching my sinker with very light line so the sinker will break off when I pull it loose. Because sinkers get expensive, I use old nuts or bolts.

All along this roadway you will be able to keep your vehicle nearby. By driving around the point, you will have access to the east bank of the boat ramp bay. Along this bank one can add northern pike to the possibilities. The platform dock in this bay offers the comforts of benches along with handicap access and railing.

* * * * * * *

Have you ever wondered how the Indians obtained their coveted eagle feathers before they had access to firearms? In Hunters and the Hunted by George Laycock, I found the answer to this question.

The hunter dug a pit to hide in, then covered it with a framework camouflaged with grass. Next he tied a rabbit to the frame above the pit. Finally, after performing various religious rites invoking the aid of the Great Spirit, the hunter lowered himself into the pit before dawn and waited. When an eagle finally landed to take the struggling rabbit, the hunter reached up from beneath the bird, grabbed it by both legs, and dragged the giant bird into the pit. There the hunter wrestled with his captive bird until the bird was secured. He undoubtedly had his hands full.

The eagle bait sometimes attracted other, more dangerous animals. In The Mystic Warriors of the Plains, Thomas E. Mails tells of a grizzly that was angered when a warrior drew his bait into the pit by the attached string to keep the hungry bear from taking it. The grizzly promptly tore the covering off the pit, dragged the hunter out, and killed him.

The Indian people weren’t much for documenting with written word although some history has been passed on in their pictorial works such as the Lakota “Winter Count.” Fortunately for us, much has been recorded in white man’s journals. For an outstanding account of Sioux history, including the personalities of some of the great chiefs, James McLaughlin’s My Friend the Indian is priceless. I treasure the first edition given to me by my grandmother when I was ten years old.

In 1775, 18 yr. old James Smith was riding through the western Pennsylvania forest, carrying a message to British General Edward Braddock, when he was captured by Indians. For whatever unknown reason, Smith was adopted into the tribe rather than tortured and killed. In time he was permitted to go hunting, and he lived as a Caughnewago Mohawk for five years before slipping away. He kept a journal for those years, and from this we have learned much of how the Indians felt about the wild game and how they hunted.

With all of our modern conveniences, we might look down at the lifestyle of the primitive people who once inhabited our Dakota prairie. However, in his book Tribe by Sebastian Junger, the author points out that many civilized whites once chose the Indian way of life while no Indians ever chose the white man’s way of life. Tribe is a great, thought provoking read.

See you next week.