Missouri River Fishing Report-April 29th, 2019

Written by Mike Peluso

April 29, 2019

As Harry Carey used to say Holy Cow! Things have really gotten tough around the Bismarck/Mandan area as of late.
Dropping water temps, spawn, and rising water are making things extremely difficult to put a solid pattern together. You can find the males out in the current right now trolling cranks, but to find where the few pre spawn walleyes are, and also where a few post spawn walleyes are, is another story all together.
Of course everyone is getting pretty tight lipped at the moment with the Big Muddy Walleye Tournament, here out of Bismarck on May 4th. People tend to get a little serious this week.
Another tough factor right now is the weather. We have had rain, snow, wind, cold air temps you name it, the last week or so. Again, this is playing havoc on guys like myself who are on the water everyday trying to follow these fish around.
I am questioning if we even have a lot of fish around here? With the super high water down on Lake Oahe, I think a lot of those fish got hung up down there. I’ll be curious to see if the increase in flows are going to get these fish moving? I sure hope so!
What can I tell you about the fishing on the river. If I wasn’t in the Big Muddy Saturday, I would for sure be up near the Tailrace. Anytime the water gets increased those fish up that way activate. Always have and always will. As far as trying to track these fish down locally, it’s going to be a grind. The weather is supposed to warm up towards the end of the week, and that should help everyone out.
Jigs I feel haven’t been as good as normal and the crankers are in my opinion doing better. I think anytime you have fewer numbers of fish these guys will do better, simply because they are covering more water.
I will be switching up things a little next week. I’ll be spending sometime up at Sakakawea. I will continue to run trips here on the river and also up on Sakakawea through May. I’ll also continue to bring you fishing reports so you’ll know where I’m fishing. If your looking for a trip please dont hesitate to email me! Mikepelusooutdoors@gmail.com to book your trips!

Related Reports

Ice Fishing Report-March 12th, 2023

Ice Fishing Report-March 12th, 2023

This actually might be the last ice fishing report of the season. I only have one week left on the ice. As I look outside I could probably guide on the ice well into April. This last blizzard definitely is gonna make this final week an interesting one. Access as I...

Ice Fishing Report-March 5th, 2023

Ice Fishing Report-March 5th, 2023

For me the ice fishing season is ticking away. I have about 2 weeks left of guiding on Devils Lake. After I'm done on the ice my attention will immediately turn to the open water north of Bismarck near the tailrace and hopefully near town early April. Until then I...

Ice Fishing Report-February 26th, 2023

Ice Fishing Report-February 26th, 2023

I've personally had a goofy week up here on Devils Lake. With the storm events around us it definitely caused some interruptions. One of the interruptions was clients couldn't travel in to fish. So I definitely took a hit business wise with the weather. It's all part...