Lake Sakakawea Fishing Reports

Bite Me! Tournament applications are now available. You’ll find them on the Indian Hills website.

If you are part of the REC Derby and have not sent your apps in please do so ASAP!

I think the transition from North to South may have began! There are some great fish being caught at Deepwater. Maybe they will make the corner yet. All the walleye we are seeing are in great shape and have some weight to them. I can only mean good things for the future!

Eastern Lake Sakakawea Recreation Report
July, 28 2011
Patricia Stockdill 

• South shore: Some walleye success using crankbaits in 3 to 6 feet or 12 to 18 feet with Lindy rigs or spinners and nightcrawlers working west of the resort. 

• Van Hook: Weather fronts are creating inconsistent walleye success in the Arm but good numbers of anglers are on the water. Try 20 to 27 feet with spinners.
    
• Garrison: Most walleye success remains shallow in the weeds and trees in the back bays on the east end of Lake Sakakawea. Try a variety of fast presentations. The key is to work fast but experiment with a variety of presentations. If walleye aren’t biting, it’s a good bet another fish of some type, including northern pike, bass or perch.
   
• Pick City: The east end of Lake Sakakawea is producing a few walleye around 10 feet along the north shore but bigger fish seem to be hanging in the weeds and aren’t biting with any consistency. Try jigging in the weeds for a different presentation this time of year. However, the better bite seems to be from Nishu Bay to the west up into the Van Hook Arm. Try spinners with bottom bouncers and leeches or nightcrawlers. Anglers are finding some salmon activity along the face of the dam longlining with deeper-running crankbaits in 50 feet.

North Dakota Rivers Report, featuring Lake Sakakawea’s two major tributaries: 

• Missouri River: Garrison Dam average daily discharge is 115,000 cubic feet per second (CFS), which is a reduction from last week.
   
• Little Missouri River, Long X Bridge: The streamflow average is 0.88 CFS while river stage at the bridge is 316 feet.
   
• Yellowstone River, Sidney, Mont.: The river stage is 11.87 feet with streamflow at 37,600 CFS, continuing to decline after the mountain snowpack melt is over.

Numbers and Web sites to know: 

• Indian Hills Resort: (701) 743-4122.
• N.D. Game & Fish Department main Bismarck office: (701) 328-6300, Web site ( http://gf.nd.gov ).
• N.D. Game & Fish Department Riverdale office: (701) 654-7475.
• Report All Poachers: (800) 472-2121.
• Friends of Lake Sakakawea: www.lakesakakawea.com

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Just wondering how the fishing is around Mel's,Mossets and Mckenzie area.Wouldnt mind taking a trip up there for afew hours this weekend.See what happens.Thanks and happy fishing

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Hey guys, just wondering what the salmon bite is doing up on the lake if anything? And or course how the walleye bite has been on the east end? Toying with making the first trip up there this weekend.

Not looking for hot spots or locations, just wanting to know if the salmon are biting yet and if the walleye are doing the same?

Thanks

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3 fish in as many minutes.

I normally go to the lake with a plan in mind. Usually it is a combination of several factors. Weather, and in particular wind, shapes the end result. We had wind yesterday out of the west at 25 plus so the east shoreline had my attention. I even had it narrowed down to a flat a few miles south of Brendles Bay Resort. Today’s wind was WNW so I’m even more convinced of my reasoning.

The season we are in is also a big part of the strategy. What was working this time last year? A quick look in the mind’s data base normally pulls up some success stories with all the details firmly in place. Location, depth, speed and even number of cranks lost. Really good days will have icons or waypoints on the Lowrance screen.

Fishing reports are a big factor. They come in all shapes and colors with a blend of fiction and nonfiction mixed in for flavoring. Sorting it out can be challenging. Today’s summary of internet info and cell phone conversation is all over the board. Fish in 12, fish in 30. Fish on crawlers in the trees. Fish on cranks, deep on sunken islands. Where do I start?

Last is something I have yet to master and find it difficult to explain. Follow your heart. Geez, I don’t speak the language of the heart let alone have the ears for listening. Is God speaking? Is this just me directing traffic? Sorting out fiction and nonfiction is challenging but sorting out those inner thoughts. Not likely.

Here is why I at least make the attempt. Occasionally it turns out with spectacular results. Me and the neighbor are pulling cranks a few weeks ago. We have 3 or so in the boat and it has slowed down. I keep gett’n these subtle thoughts, “Leadcore.” I’m only in 12 feet so no need for depth. I dismiss the subtle thoughts. Logic rules.

After another half hour of no fish I lift the rod locker and see the leadcore rods buried in the bottom. Too much work pulling out all that equipment just for a very small and quiet inner message. Another half hour of no fish and yep, you guessed it, out comes the lead.

Within the next half hour we are limited out. Seriously, that fast. It was minutes and we had a double. I have more stories like that in the data base so why isn’t listening to the heart first in the priority line?

Today’s first stop is memories. Back bay of Shell Creek in 12 feet to start and then shallow up in 7-9 on the east shore. I still have that “yesterday’s wind blowing from the west” stuck in the mind. No fish, not even a skip jack. Should have know, even the pelicans are missing.

South it is to the flat. This is going to be so easy. We get there and I’m even more convinced. Water is dirty with yesterday’s mud line extending out for half a mile or more! I was planning to start out in 25 feet but with dirty water I drop 4 lines down in 9. It takes a while for reality to resister. No Fish here Schoneck.

After that it is a run and gun. Trees in 7 with jigs. Cranks in 12, cranks in 9, fish must be deep. This is gett’n frustrating. I check in with the heart but no messages. We decide to make a change and move deeper. 17 feet on the top of Props, a sunken island. Nope. Next move is to Moore in 19 feet. Same results. I remember one of the reports talking deep in 28 feet. Out we go.

Fish are everywhere. Easy targets on the screen at least. Bait is scattered in small balls which is what I like to see. Usually means the predators have been working for a meal. Fish are from 25 to 35 feet so I let down in 28-30 with deep diving reef runners followed by bombers out 150 feet. Didn’t set the world on fire but at least there was payback for the effort.

We call it a day and head into Brendles for the night. I have clients in the morning who are eager to experience what everyone is telling them will be unbelievable fishing. Word is out that all you need is a boat. Fish are everywhere. Expectations---Ya, that’s another story.

Bodie, Lori and 13 year old Colby are fired up. Colby more so than mom. Today’s fishing trip is a birthday present Colby is eager to unwrap. I’m not so eager. Yesterday was all work for a few fish and I don’t have much of a plan. A quick check with the heart. No messages.

We kick off with a pull up a narrow lane through the trees on Rodeo. Next play is in 9 feet, move to 12 and then out to 16 all with the same results. Wind is out of the east and picking up fast for this early in the morning. I’m not all that eager to hit the open water and face the rollers of the big water.

Duty calls, people are paying you to do something Schoneck. Out we go to open water on Props in 28 feet. A few waves break over and test the bilge pumps before we even get started. Big lures down and up comes our first fish of the day. Two more pulls for nothing and I’m now on mental “reserve tank” with no good ideas.

We head into the wind; I see Gull Island and think, “Head straight to it, at least it will break the waves.” Finally a reprieve from the NE wind as we settle into 12 feet. I had no plan to fish here but the quiet water looks inviting.

Out comes the jointed 5’s in Firetiger for a pull in 12 feet. The first present to get unwrapped is impressive. Turns out this is one party you don’t want to miss. By the end of the day everyone has had all the fun ND fishing regs allow. Mom, Dad, and Colby all pose for the family photo.

The ending was the most dramatic. I’m ready to leave and Lori has 3 fish to go. Somewhere from inside, maybe the heart, a message comes through. Take it shallow Schoneck. 3 fish in as many minutes. Limited out right on schedule!

So looking back, the battering by the wind drove us to shelter, resulting in a birthday party surpassing even my expectations. Seems like tuff things in life often bring a surprising reward. Ya, you can call it fate. I think hearing the heart was in the playbook. Oh—I should mention a significant item yet to be discussed. My wife, Julie. She has been home praying all day for the team.

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Sunday I got a late start and was on the water around noon since traveled from Pick City to the New Town Marina.  Spent most of the first couple hours driving around with cranks to see where and where not I could pull shallow, mid range and deep.  $45 to 50 later I kinda had that figured out.  Checked depths and the graph on a couple other spots and then headed to a crank locations.  Ended the day with three walleyes with cranks and one dink that went back.  I do not know if I could have gotten a one man limit as I didn't turn around but know I probably could have never gotten a two man limit.  All the fish were Dani's first of the year. 

Not too fired up for the "prefish" since water is expected to drop 3 feet from today.  That will make it all interesting but tis the life of a reservoir.  Hope the Corp isn't panicking!

Stay classy Sakakawea.

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What a Difference a Day Makes!!

Saturday:  My wife and I along with our 2 yr old hit the water about 10:30 to try and get some walleye action in.  Day was overcast but promising after the previous night's weather.  It completly dumped for hours at Deepwater.  Wasn't expecting much for a bite as figured the storm shut off any type of decent fishing.  Well, my hunch was right unless you count catching pike after pike a successful day.  Started out with some live bait but after losing countless crawlers to pesky perch, switched over to the crankbaits.  Started in 9 ft and worked my way out to 18 ft.  Managed to lose a few cranks to the underwater forest.  Caught pike after pike (15 total) until finally scratched 2 walleyes before retiring for the day.  A couple buddies were also out and total tally for all 3 boats/7 guys was 11 fish.  Water temps were down after storm at 69.7 but warmed during the day to over 70.  Reports from during the week were decent as some were bringing in fish but that storm just shut em off as the DWC boys also know.

Sunday:   The 3 of us headed out again to give it another shot.  I had marked a lot of fish Saturday but nothing would go as my report above states.  Decided to go back and put the livebait down with some spinners to try and entice a bite.  First spot only produced a pike, imagine that!!  Checked a  couple of previous years favorite spots to see what depths they were running this year.  Too deep!!  Off to the next spot.  Few boats in working the area but they were out deeper so went inside to my targeted depth of 12 ft and put down the spinners and set the speed to 1.0-1.5mph.  Didn't go far and had the first fish on, a nice 21" fat walleye.  Not much further and my wife hooked into another dandy while I was unhooking mine.  Well, let me tell you what it looks like in a boat with 2 20+" walleyes flapping on the floor and a 2 yr old in the boat!!  After the chaos settled, noticed that the vast area to fish had been inhabited by many.  We settled back into our troll and picked up 2 more dandy's at 20".  Bite slowed a bit so decided to rip the spinners through 8-10 ft.  Also was able to get away from crowd again as they had sucked in.  Wasn't far and I picked out another good walleye at 19".  It wasn't long and my wife hooked into a good one and once in the boat the tape measure showed 22.5".  Weighed nearly 5 lbs!!  We worked the area a bit and the graph was showing fish consistently and nets were common in the group.  I managed to lose another dang nice fish at the boat as he made a run right behind the motor.  With our 2 yr old son at his limit and with 7 nice walleyes in the well, we headed back to the ramp.  Would have liked to stay and complete the limit but when a 2 yr old is maxed, you are done!!  He didn't even make it out of the ramp area and he was sleeping!!  All in all, a great day and seeing my son's face every time we netted a fish, makes me want to call into work sick and take him fishing again tomorrow.  Water temps were in the 71 degree range.   

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Van Hook was a complete toilet yesterday.  I don't think it was only my boat either....everyone was running each and every other direction looking for fish.  I did win $160 in blackjack on the way home though.

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2011 Indian Hills " Bite Me Invite" will be held on Sat. Aug 20th. Apps can be printed off our home page www.fishindianhills.com Hope you can make it.

Some very nice fish have been coming in 2-3 lbs, but they are not in large numbers. Most boats are coming in with 4-6 fish and having to work for them. The AM bite has been better. Parshall has seemed to slow down as well. Most are fishing shallow with crawlers. Locations, west to beacon and McKenzie area. High winds have most everyone docked today. 4-6 ft waves are reported!! That should make for a mud line! Kelly

Oh ya and they caught some walleye from the docks, maybe that's where they should fish today!


Eastern Lake Sakakawea Recreation Report
July, 20 2011
Patricia Stockdill 

• South shore: Anglers are working hard for fish but the walleye that have been taken are nice-sized. While anglers are pretty tight-lipped, try 13 to 18 feet using Lindy rigs or spinners with nightcrawlers for walleye. Don’t forget to also try crankbaits. Most activity remains west of the resort. A mix of sauger, perch, bass and northern pike are also biting.
   
• Van Hook: The Van Hook Arm remains fair to good for walleye with most activity still around the trestle area and the east side by Shell Creek – generally anywhere in the upper one-third of the Arm. Work deeper, though, including around Rodeo and Horsehead in 20 to 25 feet using bottom bouncers and nightcrawlers. Some success from shore continues, as well.
    
• Garrison: Walleye remain shallow inside tree lines on the east end of Lake Sakakawea. Try Lindy rigs and nightcrawlers in 2 to 10 feet. There has been a lot of activity around Steinke and Douglas bays.
   
• Pick City: The east end of Lake Sakakawea remains spotty and inconsistent for walleye. Reports are limited with the upcoming weekend tournament.

North Dakota Rivers Report, featuring Lake Sakakawea’s two major tributaries: 

• Missouri River: Garrison Dam average daily discharge is 120,000 cubic feet per second (CFS).
   
• Little Missouri River, Long X Bridge: The streamflow average is 0.85 CFS while river stage at the bridge is 303 feet.
   
• Yellowstone River, Sidney, Mont.: The river stage is 13.57 feet with streamflow at 48,200 CFS.

What's going on!

The tournament fishing scene shifts from last week’s North Dakota Governor’s Cup in Garrison to Beulah this week where the annual Dakota Walleye Classic Fishing Tournament takes place at Beulah Bay. Looking ahead, the North Dakota Rural Electric Cooperative Association comes to Indian Hills Aug. 6 and 7 for a tournament. Off the water, the annual Praise on the Prairie Festival at River Bend Ranch northeast of Hazen runs Thursday through Sunday. As a reminder from area game wardens, boaters are encouraged to be cognizant of the lake’s high water and the effect boating so close to the shoreline has on erosion and slumping banks – plus wakes disrupt docks, people along the shore and young goslings hiding in the grass. Please slow down along the shoreline.

Numbers and Web sites to know: 

• Indian Hills Resort: (701) 743-4122.
• N.D. Game & Fish Department main Bismarck office: (701) 328-6300, Web site ( http://gf.nd.gov ).
• N.D. Game & Fish Department Riverdale office: (701) 654-7475.
• Report All Poachers: (800) 472-2121.
• Friends of Lake Sakakawea: www.lakesakakawea.com

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Another day, same story. Walleye are holding tight to the shore in 7 to 10 ft. Lots of fish were also taken on the island southeast of the west trestle. Water temp this morning was 76 degrees. They must be after insect larvae as stomachs appear to be empty, but they're rolling with fat. I was thinking about last year. When the fish pulled off the shoreline, they really didn't go far. We had exceptional walleye fishing until mid August, by fishing around the edges of standing trees, especially on the corners of the groves in 13 to 17 ft.

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Went out saturday from government bay,  fished deadman and east to just about the 83 embankment.  Tried lindys, jigs, bottom bouncers and cranks.  Used leeches and crawlers no walleyes a norhtern and some perch.  real slow but nice to be on the big lake.

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Tried White Earth Sat. morning after hearing a couple good reports.  Pulled lindys with leeches through the trees on the point and had a couple bites but no luck there.  Saw one guy catch a few nice keepers in the trees using slip bobbers so we gave that a shot.  We were in about 13ft and only caught a drum.  The other guy was in 9-10ft and caught quite a few but the bite appeared to die out at 11am or so.  Then went out to the main lake to the east with spinners and caught a few pike up to 8lbs.  Called her quits when the sun and jet skis came out.

That was my last shot at the big lake till late August unfortunately since I am leaving for some work training. 
Good luck everyone!!

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Had a rough outing last night fishing out of Lund's Landing.  Went out after work and immediately went over to Hofflund bay.  Worked with crawlers and leaches from 5ft out to 20ft.  Marked most fish around 12ft but couldn't get a reaction from them.  Also tried pulling cranks to no avail.  Not a single bite.  Talked with another boat and same thing.  The weather that was moving in might have turned them off but that is two weeks in a row with nothing to show out there. 
I guess we are Van Hook bound this weekend!

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 Fished quite a few areas on the 10th 11th and 12th this month started out at lewis & clark trail, then went to little beaver bay, then to white earth bay. All these places pretty much used the same bait worms,leaches,minows and some cut up carp. Through all these days fishing was pretty slow caught a white fish off a minow at lewis clark trail, then caught some perch at little beaver bay. Last placed we fished was white earth bay and this is where we caught the most fish, Caught one little walleye, 6 drum, 3 smallmouth, 1 carp, 1 catfish all off worms just using a hook and splitshot on bottom. Fishing right next to the baitshop, wish i knew were else to fish but am new out here to fishing because i live in colorado and fish while im out on the rig. If anyone has some ideas please let me know, hope this helps someone.

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we had pretty good luck with jigs and gulp in shallow, extremely shallow in some cases.  Of course, real crawlers on a lindy worked as well, but much more stressful.  This was over the 4th.

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