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I think many of you guys are over thinking this. These lakes in SD are mostly basins with not much structure. And if there is structure the fish don't hold to that structure, they roam and move around and so should you. Go by some scoops of minnows and drill and drill until you find fish. Its going to be awful out there after this cold spell that finally made good ice with warmer temps coming. With not a lot of snow cover to restrict access the thundering herds are going to be everywhere. It may be best to just sit and wait for everyone else to push the fish to you. Its going to be a zoo out there on some of these lakes.
I'm not a fan of guides because more than once we have had guides(one mentioned on the thread) park their pickups within 10 yards of our pickup and then call after they got fish and half hour later 12 pickups were there. Their are some very shady guides now that just want to make a quick buck. If you are still thinking of doing a guide, i would tell your buddies to chip in for 1 person to get guided and then just text your buddies where the fish are. In my opinion guides are a waste of money unless you are in Alaska or the mountains. Best route is talk to the bait shops. Or be adventurous and find the spot yourself.