With the weather we have been having lately sure makes it difficult to do my job. Wind, rain, and cool temperatures have all played a part here lately, and oh, did I mention really high water.
The amazing thing for me is how good Lake Oahe can be even when conditions are not favorable. I guided groups this week, and spent most of the time way down in the southern portion of North Dakota. The state line To Hazelton to be exact.
Fishing, even with the tough conditions is still really good right now! We saw a lot of fish in the 14 to 17 inch range with a mixed in good one here and there.
We started out in the 10 to 15 foot range pulling quick swap bouncers and a plain Lindy rig with a minnow. Action was fairly steady, nothing fast and furious, but enough to keep a guy interested, and my clients happy. It wasn’t until I decided to duck around a point to get out of the wind when things got really exciting! I cut the point we were working a bit shallow and boom, all hell broke loose. I decided to turn around and get the jig rods out, and we anchored locked just off the point concentrating on super shallow water. 3 to 5 foot was the ticket and after we left this particular point we moved up and the theme continued to be shallow. Hang on to your rods cause in a few areas the big pike are also on the chow. We had a few hooked up that we never did get a chance to see.
The Reel n Rec tournament is happening this Sunday just south of Bismarck and I expect a lot of fish to get caught and I’ll guarantee they will bring a few really big fish to the scales. There are some super big walleyes in this whole Missouri River system! Another tournament just around the corner is the Aim National Championship out of Hazelton. 10 teams from North Dakota, 10 teams from Minnesota, and 10 teams from Wisconsin will all be scoping the river and the lake looking for the big bites to win a brand new boat. So lots happening here on the river near The Capital City the next couple of weeks.
I’ll be slowly shifting my focus to Devils Lake and Lake Sakakawea here in the coming weeks. I do have openings, so if your looking for a guided Walleye trip here in North Dakota, I can find you a date or line you up with a guide that works for me at Mike Peluso Outdoors and Guide Service. Email me at mikepelusooutdoors@gmail.com if your interested! Hope to get you in the boat with us here soon!