So much has happened since my mid week fishing report. We had a close call on a new state record walleye. Some good numbers of fish have started to show themselves in the river, and yes it’s deer hunting season.
It’s been a common theme since I was in grade school that the walleyes show up around deer season on the river near Bismarck. This fall is no exception. Found good numbers of fish south of town in the 14 to 18 inch range. A bunch smaller and a couple bigger. I was pretty happy to see this! For a long time this fall I wasn’t sure if that was going to happen.
Sakakawea…well, it’s just in my personal opinion the top walleye fishery in the country right now. I personally had a fish over 10 pounds this week, and good friend and a tournament partner in the past of mine Jeff Enzminger caught what I believe was a new state record had it been certified earlier. 16.3 is the final tally on it which is an absolute beast! I also know of one that I saw on video that came unbuttoned at the net that would have pushed “teeners” status. Crazy big fish!
The overall quality of the fish on Sakakawea right now is insane also. We averaged 18 plus with many of the fish near or above 20 inches. They are healthy and full of smelt right now. I would anticipate another state record fish or close to it coming out of Sak again here in the very near future. I also predict we see one over 16 plus coming out of the river near Bismarck again this spring. South Dakota down on Oahe which feeds our river to the north has had some giants caught here the last couple of weeks. So the big fish potential in ND is unreal right now.
How are guys catching fish right now on both Sakakawea and the Missouri River? Jig raps and jigs and minnows are both producing fish. Hard to beat catching fish like that! The only problem we are going to have is to find some good weather yet to try and take advantage of it!
