Cedar Shore Walleye Tournament 2025

Cedar Shores Walleye Tournament Recap – April 12, 2025

Chamberlain, South Dakota

This year I had the opportunity to fish the Cedar Shores Walleye Tournament alongside Nick Harrington, owner of Lip Ripper Fishing Guide Service based out of Pierre, South Dakota. It was great to get the chance to team up with another full-time guide and competitor on a river system we both spend a lot of time on.

Pre-Fishing Conditions

We had a couple of days to pre-fish ahead of the April 12th event. Water conditions varied quite a bit depending on where we were on the river. From the dam down to the Highway 44 bridge, we saw water temps ranging from 46 to 49 degrees. That early spring transition period always brings some unpredictability, especially when you’re trying to dial in a consistent pattern for a one-day shootout.

The Game Plan

We started by making a long run south—about an hour from Chamberlain—to scout some spots we felt had potential. We picked up a few fish down there, but nothing that really told us, “this is the winning area.” After some trial runs, we headed back north, hoping to find fish closer to the weigh-in that were ready to go.

Forward-Facing Frustrations

Even with Garmin LiveScope, we found ourselves marking a lot of fish that just wouldn’t commit. We could see them sitting there, watching the bait, even following it…..but getting them to fully engage or bite was a whole different story. That’s tournament fishing in early spring for you.

Most of the fish we did manage to catch were unders—not the kind that were going to put us in contention for a win. We tried mixing up presentations, depths, and baits, but couldn’t crack the code on the quality bite we needed.

Final Thoughts

That’s how it goes sometimes in tournament fishing. You can do everything right, put yourself in the right areas, use the best technology, and still not get the right bites to fall your way. It was still a great time on the water with Nick, and the Cedar Shores tournament continues to be a well-run, challenging event that brings out some great teams from across the region.

We’ll be back.