Lots happening here in the Bismarck, North Dakota stretch of the Missouri River. As of yesterday, the ice in town has finally moved out and I would anticipate Fox Island boat ramp being opened up in a day or two.
As far as my guiding is going, we are getting on the water! A little further north than I like, but hey, beggars can’t be choosy with the winter/spring we have had.
Fishing has actually been a bit better than I expected. Especially if you are looking for a PB. I had a client hit the dirty 30 mark and the fish tipped the scales at 12 pounds. Fish of a lifetime!
We also were able to scrape together a batch of eating size fish along with a few really nice fish we released back into river.
Nothing fancy, anchor locking in the softer areas behind the reefs and sandbars pitching light 1/8 oz jigs tipped with minnows downstream.
The fish were lethargic, so paying close attention to your line was critical! We did lose a fair amount of fish just outside the nets reach. We also caught a smorgasbord of other species.
All in all not a bad start to the 2023 season. We still have a lot of snow to melt here. Hopefully it melts slow enough to not make the river chocolate milk. Only time will tell.
It does feel good to set the hook with a 7′ 3″ JTX ML and feel a bruiser walleye on the other end! If you are the market for the best walleye rod out there go to JTODP.com and enter promo code Mpeluso and save some money!
