Missouri River Fishing Report-May 15th, 2020

Written by Mike Peluso

May 16, 2020

I know I said my Missouri River Fishing Reports would be slowing down. The fortunate part is the fishing here locally isn’t slowing down so I figured I better get another one posted.
It sounds like summer is on the way next week which should help warm these water temps up a bit and really get the fish going. This week on the Missouri River near Bismarck/Mandan. The water temps have dropped considerably but should rebound fast! Some of that has to do with the cooler temps and some rain we have received, but also from a little push of water from the north coming out of the Garrison Dam. Like I predicted in my last post this usually pushes some fish northward into the river and that’s exactly what we are seeing this week.
The fish are spreading out and this allows us as anglers to do the same. We have also seen a mix of fish as well. Some of the big girls we are seeing actually still haven’t spawned. So this tells me we still haven’t seen the major male push quite yet. We have seen in in spurts but it’s just around the corner, and with the warm weather coming in that may just jump start it here!
Jigs and minnows with a more vertical approach in deeper water this week has been working well. Pulling cranks is also working well. I am seeing a way better bite in the evenings and I believe this is because the water warms up slightly and the fish get fired up. Look for really good fishing here yet for a few weeks!
Another place firing up big time is Lake Sakakawea! I’ll post more on this coming up. If your looking to book a trip here soon or this summer on Devils Lake it Sakakawea please email me! Mikepelusooutdoors@gmail.com hope to get you in the boat this summer!

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