Being back on Sakakawea has been fun! Honestly for me, I love being able to guide on both of North Dakota’s big bodies of water this time of year. It keeps you on your toes and I feel I’m a better guide because of it! No time to get complacent.

The fish are moving around a ton right now on Sakakawea. This doesn’t mean you can’t catch them. When you land on a hot pod, action is fast and furious. The only problem now is the fish are sliding deeper and deeper. Still some really nice fish to be had up shallow, but the majority of fish are out deep.

For me with clients in my boat, I’m trying hard to stick close to the bouncer and slow death method. I know you can whale on fish with jig raps right now. Problem is a lot of people I get in my boat have a tough time fishing with jig raps. So for me I will literally die trying to catch fish the easiest way I can to produce good catches for my customers.

So here is what I am looking for right now on Sakakawea. There is a ton of bait showing up right now. Again, this isn’t a big deal if you are running crankbaits or anchoring on top of the fish using jig raps. You will catch fish in the clouds of bait on these presentations. However, it’s very difficult to catch them pulling a crawler through all that bait. I tell my clients the walleyes are down there eating prime rib and we are offering them hot dogs. So I look for fish away and out of the masses of smelt we are seeing right now. Those fish will eat!

How deep? Well, that depends on the day. The fish are actually sliding up and down throughout the day so you have to chase them down a little. Trust your electronics and things will go well for you no matter what section of Sakakawea you see on.

I am completely booked up in August and have a few options in September. I also am booking late fall Missouri River trips and also ice fishing trips on Devils Lake. Get ahold of me if you want to get on the schedule!