March 9, 2026 Comments (0) Fishing Notebook, Home Page

Heading west in the spring

By Steve Weisman
Outdoor Editor

The first week in March was a trip down memory lane for me as my son and I traveled west to experience some really early spring walleye fishing on the Missouri River at Chamberlain, SD. We stayed at Allen’s Hillside Motel and used their guide service to fish Lake Francis Case. Here’s the story of my nearly 50 years down the Chamberlain memory lane…

Going back to the ‘60s

In the late 1960’s, I began dating my wife, who was from Redfield, SD, and I soon became best friends with her parents, Alvin and Mae Scheffel. Alvin and I found we were both fanatics when it came to fishing and hunting. We spent much of our free time going across eastern and central South Dakota.

One of fishing places was the Missouri River from Gettysburg all the way south to Chamberlain. Then in 1978, my wife and I moved to Estherville, IA., but Alvin and I would still head to the Missouri River. At about that time, we became acquainted with Garry Allen, who was just beginning his Missouri River guide service out of Chamberlain.

In addition to the guide business, Garry offered a motel, a bait shop and just plain fishing advice. When you stay at a place year after year, you can tell if they are the real deal or not. Allen’s office is one of those places anglers head to early in the morning for coffee, some bait and last-minute advice.

However, it is at the end of a day’s fishing that anglers get together in the main office by the big screen TV to share the day’s stories. Add a big spread of deer sausage, crackers, popcorn and chips along with a beverage and it doesn’t get much better than that! Even better, for all of those years, it has been free for all of us either staying at Allen’s Motel or using Allen’s guide service.

Over the nearly five decades, Allen’s has become a true go-to destination with guests coming from all over the United States to experience the excellent walleye fishing on Lake Francis Case and Lake Sharpe. Garry’s son, Mike has joined him in the family business, and they have been a top guiding duo. Each year it seems that the guide service grows more and more with over 20 full-time and part-time guides set for 2026.

In the late fall, Garry and Mike partner to offer some of the best ringneck rooster pheasant hunting in the state with access to over 15,000 acres of private ground. Again, Hillside Motel offers rooms and just plain good old Chamberlain, SD hospitality.

Becoming more than clients

Over the years, my father-in-law and I, along with my son, Curt, who is now 50, would head to Chamberlain a couple days over Easter break and then again later in May and sometimes in June. Over those 25 years, we fished from my boat, stayed at Allen’s, got fishing tips and would rendezvous each afternoon in the lobby for snacks, refreshments and stories.

Times change

Then maybe a dozen years ago, instead of taking my own boat, my son and I or maybe another friend would go out to Chamberlain, stay at Allen’s but would instead hire Garry, Mike or one of their top guides for a couple of days. Being in my 60s and now in my late 70s, it was worth it to not have any responsibilities, just go out for a couple of days and fish. It certainly made things easier.

March 4-5 trip to Chamberlain

Early each spring, I always do a quick update in one of my columns about heading west for Chamberlain, because once the ice on the main body of water is out, the boats are on the water! I always call Garry to get his thoughts. As we talked, he said, “Fishing has been pretty good. You know, it’s been a while since you and your son have come out here. Why don’t you think about it?”

My wife was listening to the conversation, and she nodded her head up and down. Garry said, “This time of year it’s all about the weather and the fronts.” One other thing, my only window was before March 12, which was when my wife would be having knee replacement surgery.

Garry was right, and we had to cancel twice to hit the right fishing weather. Then we saw that Wednesday, March 4 and Thursday, March 5 would work. Mike would be our guide, but we could only fish from early morning until about 1 p.m., because Mike had a doctor’s appointment.

Our plan was to leave at 3 a.m. to get out there by 6:30 a.m. so we could be on the water by 7 a.m. Wouldn’t you know it, over the 230 miles, we ran through heavy fog four times with temperatures going from upper 30s to 20s, and back…and on and on. The roads were good, but when we hit Chamberlain, my pickup had a coat of ice on it-kinda scary!

Day 1

We knew that we would be casting/jigging 1/8 to 1/4-ounce jigs tipped with large minnows. Mike told us we would run about six miles north to an area on the Kiowa Flats in 13-16 feet of water.

The only boat ramp open was the double ramp at the American Creek Campground because the river was several feet low. The wind was light, so Mike could do anything with his Lund Pro-V. Using his locator, Mike worked the flat, kept track when we found fish and set up a crumb trail where we had the most hits. The bite wasn’t fast, but enough to keep things interesting. It took a little while to figure out the way the walleyes were biting. Some would just smack the bait and not give us any time to feel the bite. It was a whack, and they were either on or gone. Others would latch on and hang and hang and hang…until I couldn’t take it any longer and had to set the hook.

After about four hours, that bite died, and Mike headed north on the west side of the river to fish the old dead tree trunks in 7-8 feet of water. The idea was the sun was warming the area a couple of degrees, and the fish were moving shallow and becoming more active.

In about an hour or so, we caught several fish over 15”. Then we had to leave so Mike could get to his doctor’s appointment.

For the day, we caught 15 walleyes between 15-20” and another 15 or so that were 14.5 to 14.75”. Not fast, but just plain steady fishing. I know that the mid-afternoon would have been lights out.

After we got back, Mike cleaned the fish (now that was a treat) and we went to the office for snacks and good conversation. It’s always a small world, when you head out to Chamberlain. Just as we sat down in came Tim Brashier, Jeremy Truog and Jerry Dalen from Estherville. Tim spends a lot of time out there, and Garry kiddingly calls the crew Team Top Hat!

That evening about five, we headed across the lot to Charley’s Restaurant, where they will cook up your walleye. Oh my, was it ever good, and with the fish (all you could eat), potato and salad, the cost was only $15! Bon Appetit!

Day 2

For this day, Garry hooked us up with Glenn Eimers, a top full-time guide, who was Mike’s classmate at Chamberlain back in the day. Now in his 50s, Glenn will guide seven days a week and then in the fall runs Pheasant Land, LLC., an extremely popular pheasant all-inclusive hunting operation on some of the best private land including corn, milo and native prairie grass fields in the state of South Dakota.

As we left Allen’s, the wind was already southeast at 10-20 mph. Plus the campground boat ramp was nearly a foot under water. Glenn and I got in his Ranger from the ramp, while Curt backed us in. There was no way Curt wanted to walk in a foot of water to get to the boat, but Glenn found a spot south that he could actually get the bow of the boat close enough to shore for Curt to launch himself into the boat. Luckily when we returned, the city crew had raised the dock out of the water.

Our fishing on the second day was going to be until a little after 1 p.m., because we wanted to get home by supper. We headed toward Kiowa Flat like Day 1. Glenn had taken clients about a mile to the north of us the two prior days and had really good luck. However, the 15-25 mph wind changed things up, and we only had four keepers, several short fish and several short hits, where we would have the fish on for a few feet, and then they would get off!

We tried three or four other spots and then Glenn headed back to town and under a couple of bridges, where he found a deeper flat. There we picked up another three, lost a 19” fish at the boat and caught several 14-14.75” short fish. We ended up with seven for the two of us. I know that Glenn wanted to stay longer, but it was time to pack up.

Almost magical

Whether it’s around here or wherever I travel to fish, there is simply something magical about each area! The same holds true for Chamberlain. Driving down the hill into town toward Hillside Motel, all of a sudden, the bluffs appear and the Missouri River is right there! What a view! It’s no wonder we love to head west for the Mighty Missouri! Thanks for making our early March trip another memorable one!