These past two weeks on the Missouri River near Bismarck have been a fast forwarded version of normal. Good friend and past Big Muddy Winner Corey Perman had to remind me that the walleyes in this system are like death and taxes. At some point they will show themselves.
The fishing for a mix of eaters and size are definitely present. I don’t feel like the overall numbers are there like in years past however. I fell like we are running on a half tank of gas. Lots of fish traveled into the tributaries and didn’t spend a ton of time in the main portion of the river.
Another thing I’m seeing and I saw it last fall as well, is a bait source. If you pay attention to your electronics and all the minnow eating birds this spring both are pretty busy. Seeing a lot of 3 inch super shiny minnows in their beaks. Hopefully this is the start of something great!
So what to expect on the river the next few weeks? You are going to see the size shrink up but the numbers will be there. Lots of 12 to 16 inch males will be occupying the sandbar slots. Best part about those fish is pick your poison to catch them! Cranks, jigs and minnows, jigs and plastics, jigs and crawlers will all work well.
With the warming temps and the youngsters getting out of school. This is a great time to try and get them on the water. Hook them young for our future generations to enjoy this beautiful gift the big guy has blessed us all with!
Happy Mothers Day to all the moms out there! I have one week left is all on the river here. I’ll be heading up to Devils Lake for about a month. I’ll be back and forth between the two big ponds until later this fall.
I posted my open dates which are few for both Devils Lake and Sakakawea. I do have later August and September dates available for both and I’m always willing to fall fish the river in October and November weather permitting. If you plan to pheasant or duck hunt out here this fall and need a day or two to rest the dogs get ahold of me!
