Missouri River System (North Dakota) Fishing Reports

Put in at Hazelton ramp.  All is a go seen 7 other boats. Put the cranks on and we next to the trees not luck went south around the corner I notice out in the middle it was 10-15 feet and on the south east is was 30 feet and on the norh was 26 pull cranks caught one dink.  Went back up the east side back to the rame in 15 feet caught one monster w-bass looked like everyone else was live baiting. Just wanted to get the boat wet and get the kids out of the house. Nice sunset.  Water was a little muddy yet.  Any body have any luck down that way??????????

The Kipper

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That ain’t fight’n like no walleye I ever caught.

Less than 5 minutes in the water and a jointed 5 in Firetiger is zipping downstream. That ain’t fight’n like no walleye I ever caught. Maybe the best part of the Tailrace is the surprise. You never know what you’re gonna catch. First fish turned out to be an impressive Chinook Salmon.

Word has been leaking out about the tremendous fishing on the river just below the dam. For many it has not been an option due to the difficulty of gett’n on the water. The Corps closed the only ramp early in the season leaving the upper section of the ND Missouri without boating access.

That all changed as of today. I didn’t get on the water till 9 am and the wait was killing me. The morning radio report was scheduled for 8:20 and I wanted to be in a good signal area. By the time we launched, 25 boats were in and many were running the livewell pumps.

I already had the jigg’n rods out and planned to hook on a fathead. A quick look around in the honeyhole and just downstream changed my plans. Out came the cranks. How can I pass up 9 to 10 feet of water with a sand bottom?

By now my pump is running and it ain’t the livewell I’m talking about. Second fish on and yet another Salmon, almost a twin to the first. Before the Salmon flurry is over I’m beginning to wonder, “Are we gonna catch a walleye?”

Some days are magic. I think of them as a gift. The next wave of fish were walleye. I run through the cranks giving each style a fair shake but settled on jointed cranks most of the day. Late in the afternoon I switched out two for Bombers 24a’s and they stayed on till the end.

You never know what is next at the Tailrace. For us it was Sauger. Some of the best and biggest Sauger I have ever caught. No not deep, I stayed in 9 and 10 feet just below the ramp all day. In fact the small area I fished got so clogged up with trail I had to clear it to see where my boat was running on the GPS. I still can’t get over the Sauger.

Walleye? Salmon? I can’t tell but it has got spunk. Next wave was the Northerns and while we didn’t keep any, we did have fun. Put a 15 plus anything on the end of your line and tell me you’d rather be home mowing the lawn.

I’d like to state for the record that our epic day on the water had little to do with fishing savvy. Some days it is decreed to come your way. All we did was drive up and down in the river at around 9 and 10 feet with cranks in the water. No special speed. No special technique. Anyone could do it. Like I said earlier, our day was a gift.
If you have never been to the Tailrace do it now. Sure it will be crowded but bring plenty of patience and bait. Be prepared to catch anything. Our list today was Walleye, Sauger, Northern, Salmon and Cisco. I’m certain your list will be different as the list of possibles is much longer.

Most fishermen run the electric in the back water of the honeyhole. Jig and minnow or jig and half of crawler seem to be the preferred bait. You can cast, vertical jig or just drift with current. All seem to work as the fish move up and down in the current breaks.

The closure of a boat ramp may not seem like a big deal but its impact can be heavy. Particularly, if you run a seasonal business dependent on fishermen and bait sales. When you get here stop in to Scott’s Bait and Tackle. Fill’r up and get some bait and snacks. We have all been impacted by the flood one way or another. Think of it as a gift.

GPS Google Earth Locations, Video and Pictures of this report please visit:  www.ndlive.com

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For you bowfisherman there is hundereds of big carp schooled up next to concrete in the spillway. 

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is there access to the wing walls (probably not) or the rocks? Thanks.

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Little Muddy river outside Williston, everyone is catching lots of northerns, small to 20 lbs. Smelt under a bobber or on the bottom. Caught a couple on top water baits also. Location doesn't matter some shallow some deep.

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Was up there yesterday and there was a boat in the honey hole! Must have come up from Stanton cause there were no trailers at tail race.

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I Just talked to Scotts B.T. in Riverdale and the tailrace boat landing is CLOSED !

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Was up there yesterday. Boats are out and fish cleaning station was being used. What was being caught didnt see.

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We peeked in on the Ft. Rice boat ramp just two nights ago.  There was probably room for another 2.5 - 3 feet of water height before water would run into the parking lot there.    About a dozen campers at the north campgrounds already there and probably 4-5 campers set up at the low water ramp there ready for the holiday weekend.   

We also looked over the Eckroth corner area.  As far as shore fishing it looked possible from the rip rap below.  Worst situation would be to get down the bank to the rip rap below; looked like two areas only to crawl down onto the rocks.   With the east wind however lots of timber/wood laying along the shoreline there.  

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Is the Gun Range ramp open?  It looks like the only place to fish out of the no wake zone is south of the Gun Range. 

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looks like the ramp at the desert was pulled out of the water..water backing up below U of Mary hill...looks like the road to the desert could possibly be closed in the next couple days..

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went out again last nite for a few hours got there about 7.30 bite was on for about a hour but mostly small,  worm or minnow plain hook again..down at kimball..water came up in last 24 hours i was there...probably be fishing from the road sometime next week.lol...was pitching jig with green twister with worm...bell started to ring on other rod so i set my jig rod in my other holder to check the other line..well nothing was there..looked over and my jigging rod was bobbing up and down like a mother f..lol grabbed it and low and behold the fight was on ended up being about a 5 pound cat..that was my excitement for the 2 hours.

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 Went out to Kimball Bottoms for a few hours last night. The shore was packed with people until the brief thunderstorms swept them out. I waited the storm out and continued to fish. Caught about 13 dinks and a few I could've kept, but let go. The water is HIGH but the current isn't strong in this area. Fun fishing day for the younger kids. Was using bright floating jigs with minnows. Also tried worms w/no luck.

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