Today I am super sad to report I’m done guiding on Lake Sakakawea for the 2026 season. That doesn’t mean I won’t go up to fish maybe here and there. Last September on the eastern portion was absolutely top notch!
This season was definitely one for the record books! From the moment I arrived June 11th, the fishing was stellar. It continues to be an amazing bite and it’s hard to leave it. I fished my last guide trip yesterday and it was excellent.
My guiding season isn’t over quite yet. I will begin probing the Missouri River near Bismarck and I will fire up the guide trips starting October 1st. Please get ahold of me if you want to get out and pitch jigsaw before the snow flies!
Before I close out this report let’s talk a little about the NWT Championship that was held on the eastern portion of Sakakawea. The buzz on the street and if you were watching some of the live stuff online you see 99 percent of the tournament guys using FFS.
For some folks this is discouraging. I’m here to tell you from an everyday perspective you can catch plenty of fish on Sakakawea using traditional methods. Even on the east side where the tournament was held.
The lake is full of 16 to 18 inch fish! A perfect fish in my opinion, and they can be caught relatively easy using a slow death, prop rig, lindy rig with a crawler. Pretty soon as the water cools down, minnows on these same rigs will work.
Just because you heard a lot of interviews during this past event on how difficult it was to get the fish to bite. Remember, these guys are targeting the bigger fish. Those fish didn’t get bigger by accident. So yes, once pressured with boats and FFS, they will and do get a little skittish.
So with all this said, if you want to get out on the river near Bismarck this fall, please get ahold of me!
