Sakakawea

Ehh, I didn't really have a tough time boating fish the few times I was up there.


Maybe you just suck at lake fishing, kinda like how I suck at river fishing. 

The fishing was pretty bad on the east end of the lake until about July 4th, it seemed like it fired up for about a month, and then shut off for the month of August. It seems like now since septemember, the fishing has been really good. I know a bunch of guys that have been going out on some of these crappy nights lately and doing VERY well. Its not that the fishing has been bad, its just not following the normal timelines. With the east end of the lake, it seems like we fish well from ice off until after the Governors Cup, then it really slows down, and areas like Indian hills and van hook and deepwater really turn on. Now here it is october all ready, and were just finally getting into our may/june bite.

If anyone teed off on the fish on Sakakawea they are did better than 97% of the fishermen on the lake or they just fished during June when fishing is good (actually, it sucked bad for many during June too).  Don't get me wrong, someone is always catching fish but what I mean by teed off is consistently coming in with quality limits or even near quality limits of fish during the entire season.

It was a very unpredicatable year.  Cool water.  Not many fish left in the lake.  Etc.

Look for better years to come.  She'll need a few  years to make a rebound but even so, what fish are left in the lake should be a little easier to catch next year.  Or maybe not, still a pile of water out there and not as many fish.  That will make fishing still fishing, versus catching.

For me, this was the worst year of fishing I can remember.

By the way, I expect the spawn was good for every species.  I still wish they would have stocked though.  It was a missed opportunity in my opinion.  The walleye spawn was good but good based only off the fact that what fish were left, did get a good spawn.

Also, I wanted to let you know the NDGF has a web cast on their front page.  Or you can access it by clicking on the quick link found just below the article section on the home page of this website.

I fished Van Hook, Pouch Bay area, & Reunion.  Van Hook was the worst IMO, but the other two spots were not to far behind.  Fish were caught but limits were not the norm.  Fish seemed to move much deeper much earlier in the year.  Very rare that a limit was caught in 8 ft or less.  Lots of small fish too.
Can only figure that the baitfish moved deeper, thus the fish moved deeper.  I'm talking 25 ft to 70 ft..
Also think that the huge rise in water this spring changed fish patterns.  Have a feeling that next season the fish will resume their patterns of yesteryear.
Was all good though.

Did anyone have luck fishing the flooded cottonwoods this year?   Seems to me there should have been fish in the flooded timber but I never had any luck.

Toughest year I have ever had up there also , I think 2010 will be a carbon copy  , but
its worth it to have the money , Tim you are right it should have been stocked this year .

No, I played in the weeds and flooded junk and had very little success.  I know others that played with the bobbers etc and it was definitely a deep pattern.

Here's a news release on Sakakawea.  My assumptions were incorrect.  Sakakawea didn't have that great of a reproduction year.  Why?  Not sure, probably lack of spawning populations of fish, especially walleye?

Reproduction Survey Shows Excellent Numbers of Young Fish
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s annual fall survey shows exceptional numbers statewide of young-of-the-year walleye, perch and northern pike, according to Scott Gangl, fisheries management section leader.

“The end result is a combination of our stocking efforts and excellent natural reproduction,” Gangl said, noting that a record number of lakes were stocked this year.

The Missouri River from Garrison Dam to Lake Oahe led the way with outstanding natural walleye reproduction. “This stretch was phenomenal, and this is noteworthy because it is all natural,” Gangl said. “Nothing is stocked in the Missouri River.”
Lake Oahe and Devils Lake also showed excellent numbers of young fish during the survey. “This was one of the best years ever for Lake Oahe, definitely a top five year,” Gangl said. “Devils Lake was off the charts, with numbers six times greater than the long term average.”

Game and Fish did not stock walleye in Lake Oahe or Devils Lake in 2009.

Lake Sakakawea wasn’t nearly as good as the other larger systems, but it was better than the last few years. “There was some natural reproduction, and numbers were similar to the end of the last drought in the early 1990s,” Gangl said.

Many of the smaller lakes had good numbers of young fish as well. “Whether it was because of stocking efforts or on lakes with natural reproduction, it was pretty standard across the state with a really good take of fish this year,” Gangl said. “Flooding across much of the state provided excellent fish habitat conditions.”
In general, fisheries crews saw good numbers of early spawning species, such as walleye, pike and perch, Gangl said. “Pike and perch take advantage of flooded vegetation and with the large amount of water this year we saw good natural reproduction,” he said.

Statewide, Gangl said forage species did really well. “Fathead minnows in smaller lakes were very abundant,” he added. “On some of the bigger systems, there was really good reproduction of white bass, crappies, and other minnow and sucker species.”

Gangl said a disappointment from this fall’s sampling was the lack of gizzard shad in the Missouri River and Lake Oahe. “Shad can’t tolerate cold water for long periods, and the severity of last winter appears to have depleted much of the adult population, as few young-of-the-year shad were collected this year,” he said.

Fall reproduction sampling provides biologists with an index that measures natural reproduction and stocking success. It allows biologists to see if fish did spawn, and how fingerlings survived the summer. All large and mid-sized reservoirs are sampled every year, and many small lakes are targeted as well. Survey nets are designed for small, young fish, which allows biologists to assess reproduction and status of both game and forage fish species.

“Good reproduction or stocking success is certainly the first step to good fishing, but those little fish have to survive their first couple of winters before they get to a size that anglers can catch,” Gangl said.

I know the east end of sak was bad this summer but we had good fishing all summer long west of White Earth.  Best fishing I have seen in probably 10 years I bet.  The fish just stayed on our end of the lake I guess..