, Fishing and Archery

If the outdoors are your thing, you’re heads, blue and channel cats are taken Another bird largely popular in the going to love visiting Yankton. It is tough with frequency. Yankton area is the wild turkey — taken to beat a place like Yankton with an Don’t be surprised if a big old northern either by archery or firearm. Nestled abundant fishery, plentiful and pike takes your bait or lure when fishing along the Missouri and James River wealth of trails (hiking or biking) and the rivers or Lake Yankton. Valleys, the habitat for this delectable bird camping. Roughfish such as carp, buffalo, drum is ideal and populations are strong. There is something for all anglers — and bullheads can be caught with fre- Being located right on the Missouri beginner to seasoned. quency in either of the rivers. River Flyway should speak for itself when Year-round, fishermen can find a One of the most popular angler oppor- it comes to hunting for ducks and geese. bountiful amount of in the tunities Yankton is also known for is the Yankton sees hundreds of thousands of . All year you can enjoy paddlefish archery and snagging seasons. various waterfowl fly through every fall catching ’s most popular A special tag is required to harvest this and winter. , as well as open water fishing just delectable, prehistoric fish. Don’t be sur- If you prefer hunting something with below Gavins Point . For three sea- prised if your line is taken by at least a 60- four-legs, look no further. The Yankton sons out of the year you can enjoy open pounder. area boasts an ample population of white- water walleye fishing on Lewis and Clark Stable weather is always a bonus when tail deer. Lake or try your hand at ice fishing dur- fishing, but even when unpredictable sys- Archery is quite possibly the most pop- ing the winter. tems move through, the fish are still there ular way to take a trophy rack home and If bass is your choice of catch, Yankton — you just have to work a little harder. If fill up the freezer with meat, but firearm is has some of the best bass waters. you’re new to the area or a novice, visit also popular with muzzleloader gaining Largemouth bass are caught on Lake the local bait shops for their advice on popularity as each year passes. Yankton and in the upper reaches of the what’s biting and where. Yankton has become a hub for archery Lewis and Clark . Smallmouth Yankton is also a hot spot for hunters enthusiasts. Yankton is so popular with bass are common in the tailwaters below every year. You name it, Yankton proba- archers that the National Field Archery and in all stretches of bly has it — the big four are pheasant, Association has made Yankton home to Lewis and Clark Lake — spring and fall turkey, waterfowl and deer. the National Unmarked 3D Tournament are the best times. The Yankton region’s pheasant popula- the past few summers thanks to the hard Crappies are good on Lake Yankton tion has enjoyed a population boom. The work of Bruce Cull. The NFAA headquar- just about any time of the year. You can Game, Fish & Parks was estimating 2007 ters have also made Yankton their home. also easily catch your fill of bluegills and to be one of the best years in South Yankton can truly be called paradise panfish from Lake Yankton and the Dakota history. Favorable weather condi- for the outdoor enthusiast. Whether it is Missouri River. tions and the increase in habitat conserva- hunting, archery or fishing, Yankton has But if catfish is your choice then you tion efforts paid off for the bird popula- it all just waiting for you. definitely have to check out the Missouri tion — and the hunters. State and federal River, Lewis & Clark Lake and the James officials are working hard to keep the pro- P&D Staff Reports River. These are considered some of the tected lands available for nesting pheas- best catfish waters around. Large flat- ants, and other . VISITORS GUIDE • YANKTON, SOUTH DAKOTA – 29