Gavins Point Dam

I used to fish at Gavins Point Dam with my Grandpa back in the day...  I haven't been there for a decade.

We would always go for catfish.   I remember using primarily 'Crappie Rigs' and various river rigs on the bottom.  We would catch Catfish, Drum Bass, Sturgeon, Gar, Carp, and even a few turtles... 

Is there a good place off of shore to catch Walleye?  How about and Bass or Northern?   I haven't been there for many years, so I'm really curious which side of the river to be on at this time of the year.  Also, what is the best thing to go for?   I would love to catch anything, and I'm prepared to try everything in my tackle box.

Thanks for any input!!  Have a great day, all!

Hey, you can still catch cats below the dam fishing off the bottom.  I've never had excellent luck fishing walleye down there.  If you want to catch bass go farther down the river...just east of the boat ramp on that little inlet from lake yankton.  I've caught tons there using cranks or minnows.  Also, lake yankton is good for small panfish.

Thank you for the advice!!   I'll post some more info I received from the Nebraska forum:


When I'm bank fishing, I like to pack light, I pack for where I'm fishing, and what I'm fishing for. This aids in mobility.
At gavins, I pack EVERYTHING. It changes from day to day, The several times I've been there this year, not one of the trips were the same as the last.
But, you sure can't go wrong with a jig tipped minnow, just about everywhere.


Gavins is definitely one of those fisheries where options abound, but if I could take only three things, they'd be:
Float and minnow setup
Worms / hooks / weights
Jig & grub combo
Bet you could do pretty great with just that.
For fly fishing, clouser minnow and a sink tip.


Mobility is key. If I were to go up there right now, I'd start as close to the dam, on either side, as possible, and start fishing. If no bites after what ever ammount of time you think you should have had a bite by, I'd move farther down stream. Fan cast, cast up against the rocks up stream, retrieve, cast a bit farther away from the rocks, retrieve, cast a bit farther away, cast straight out, continue until you are casting up against the rocks down stream. If no bites, move downstream again, repeat until fish are found.


don't rule out cranks either. shad raps, rat l traps....
if i chose 3 things it would be
jigs/grub/minnow
crankbaits
live bait rig minnow/crawler/leech


Keep moving or trying different things until something works. I catch fish from different spots almost every time I go.
Big White Bass have been the main story the past couple trips now...


I've done very well with a slip float and leeches in the past, typically that's early in the year though. It's an under-used tactic on flowing water that can sometimes really help you to peg fish.
This time of year, plain old fatheads should suffice.



When fishing off the wall, I like crappie rigs, and like to use a gumdrop jighead on the top.



We used to have good luck on the Nebraska side pretty far up towards the dam. Basically the area before all the rocks end and it gets flat. Minnows and shiners worked well. Nightcrawlers and crawdads always worked for drum. There is all kinds of things to catch in the river.


There you have it... Take care!