Dog days of summer have hit a little bit up on Sakakawea here as of late. Trust me you can stills catch fish and lots of them if in the right spots at the right time, but it’s definitely a far cry from what folks are accustomed to. Electronics electronics electronics are the savior to catching fish on Sak right now. Spot and stalk is what I call it looking for dolphins on the screen. You will know what a dolphin looks like on your sonar when you see one and when you are spot and stalking walleyes it’s even better when you see 3 maybe 4 dolphins close together. That usually means you can get one to bite if not two. I have found when doing this you can usually get two per anchor lock, 3 is pretty tough so I almost always move. The moves don’t have to be very far at all, sometimes only yards to relocate these fish. I think out west on Sakakawea right now there is less of a smelt population right now and that is making these walleyes roam more looking for white bass, perch and other forage. Another thing we are finding is the fish are really shallow all the sudden for this time of year. Don’t get me wrong shallow fish are a heck of a lot more fun to catch. Just a bit off or odd for this time of year especially. Jig raps, blade baits, spoons, etc etc all seem to have a place to catch theses walleyes right now. They seem to want flash and action to trigger a strike. Don’t be afraid to pull out all kinds of random baits with lots of rattle and action to them to pitch at these fish. Now if you slide towards the eastern edge of Sakakawea right now you will find more of a normal scene. More smelt out deep and the dolphins I mean walleyes are pretty close by. Guys are catching them on the Lindy rigs with crawlers and minnows and also jig raps fished vertical. I would say this should continue like this all the way into late fall right up to ice up! I’m still booking trips up on Sakakawea and lake Oahe/Missouri River so please text or call me at(701) 471-8649 or email me here off of the site! Lots of good days remain!
Missouri River Fishing Report-November 19, 2023
This extremely nice weather the last couple of weeks sure can change one's attitude. I was pretty optimistic after the first snowstorm that we would get to fish again, and fish we have! Ever since I was a young boy I looked forward to late fall fishing. Many of those...