Missouri River Fishing Report-May 2nd, 2021

Written by Mike Peluso

May 2, 2021

Another Big Muddy Walleye tournament has come and gone. Congrats to the winners Jacob Miller, Jordan Binstock and Mike Binstock! They found some really nice fish to win it with a tad over 37 pounds for 6 fish.
As usual the tournament showed what the Missouri River Near Bismarck can produce, with many teams catching some really big fish. Saw lots of fish come in that cracked the 28 inch mark which is a trophy walleye anywhere in the country.
What to expect now for the rest of May?
A bulk of the fish yesterday were either spawning or spawned out. This typically begins a transition of the big female fish sliding south back to the deeper water of Lake Oahe for the summer. Not all leave, but a vast majority of them do. This doesn’t mean the fishing will slow down however. We will see a solid push of males begin to show up. This is my favorite time of year! Warmer weather and lots of biting walleyes pretty much in my backyard.
Once the water temps hit the 50’s we will start switching our tactics to more small jigs with crawlers or jigs and plastics. Any sandbar area with a slight decrease in current draws these male fish in and at times it can turn into a feeding frenzy.
May is an awesome time to get the kids out on the nicer days to try and get them hooked on fishing. Nice days and feisty walleyes are a great combination!

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