Can I say a bad word? If you are a TikTok fan, you know the clip I’m talking about. Well, that’s how I feel about this weather right this moment. I’m honestly losing my mind.

If it’s not snow, it’s rain. If it’s not rain, it’s wind. If it’s not wind, it’s cold. Or it’s all of these all at once. This doesn’t make trying to establish a bite that is good for people who travel here to fish a day or two. It’s definitely not good for anyone for that matter who just wants to catch a few fish.

So what’s happening with the river this week? Mud and cold water are on tap and usually this story for fishing it isn’t great. If you are able to get a fish to bite, it’s a good one! Problem is getting them to bite, or see your presentation in order for them to bite. As I write this the Knife River to our north is free flowing and it’s pushing even more mud into the system. We also have yet another forecast for the 3rd weekend in a row with heavy rain. Should be interesting.

Side note here before I keep going, is next Tuesday the Garrison Dam will slow flows at 7am until 10am roughly for maintenance. After it’s complete they pump the water open again and catch back up with flows lost for power. Not sure what this will do downstream?

So what have I done to combat the rivers state of mud? I’ve fished the Big Muddy this week and I’ve also fished Sakakawea. We have caught fish on both, but the term I like to use is it’s a grind. All the bites are worth it, but man it’s a grind. Especially with the wind we have had.

Water temps on the Missouri River near Bismarck have been as low as 34 and I’ve seen almost 40 in areas this week. As for Sakakawea it’s holding tight at 36 to 38 degrees. The spawn is close on both systems at the moment. Another thing I noticed on the river lately is we do have a small smelt run going on. Nothing like the late 80’s but definitely a push of smelt around.

I’ll be out the rest of the week and I’ll have a fishing report again this coming Sunday. Let’s hope for better news!