ND Live Fishing Reports

Fishing reports are updated every Friday and follow the ND Live radio program heard throughout North Dakota

Greg Schoneck

It’s impossible to tell from this distance.  Doesn’t that look like a head moving?

4 Bears marina is our launch site for a day on “The River” as it is locally called. The upper end of Sakakawea is normally the first to turn on. If you are looking for camping $12 will get you a full RV hook up. Obama should have such a stimulus package. I can’t pitch my tent for $12 a night. Gas, bait, tackle, groceries topped off with a concrete ramp and fish cleaning station.

An unexpected call from a fishing buddy got us started in the right direction. Kevin suggested south to Diamond Head in the Hunts Along area. We started shallow in 9, moved to 15 and settled in 24 because that is where the bait seemed to begin. This school of smelt is over 2 miles long and covers the bottom like heavy storm clouds.

The tackle box was emptied in an effort to fine tune the presentation. We settled on cranks but most boats seemed to do better than us using live bait. I’d say the Sauger bite is the strongest right now with a Walleye now and then and a few Northern or White Bass mixed in. Talking with other boats it sounds like a good starting depth would be 30 and go both directions from there.

Sakakawea is where I learned to crank and nothing treats me better on Sak than Reef Runners. From the little Rip Shads to the big Deep Divers, in my opinion, they will out fish any other crank. With water color off a bit I sent down a Mud Minnow and turns out it was the right guess.

It’s been too long since I dropped the big lures in deep (93 ft back) and put the speed on at 3mph. Today’s results fired off with Northern after Northern. In fact they became a nuisance after the first 15. With all the flooded vegetation we can expect to see the big northern fishery back soon. 

At 3 mph the clicker really screams when a big fish latches on. When you have 30 feet of line out and the fish is all but straight down you can start to smile. Of all the ways to catch Walleye nothing comes close to the satisfaction of big fish on big lures. This one was no disappointment. A few pictures and back for another day.

Water temps in the high 60’s were a welcome sight. Not so welcome was the lack of wind. Most of the day was flat calm. Even though we moved around a bit we pretty much stuck to the west shore in 24 feet all day. Bait is everywhere and when we would get into areas where the clouds were broken up into smaller balls we seemed to catch fish.

Fish move in a reservoir and where they are this morning is not where they will likely be this afternoon. Don’t get too settled on a specific location or where they were last time out. Move, move, move. It is more a game of interception than sit and wait.

From reports on the water fishing is pretty good both directions from 4 Bears Marina. Antelope Flats to the north is getting lots of attention. If headed south I would go straight to Diamond Head and work both directions. The bluffs on the west shore held the most bait today and just a slight breeze will create a mudline due to the high water.

Over the years I have seen rattlers swimming across the lake, coyote out for a morning dip, even seen antelope swimming across the lake! Oh ya and the time I saw the loch ness feeding along shore. Ya, I got pictures and no they ain’t blurry. This however was a first. Too far to tell for sure but no question it was moving very slowly across the lake headed into Hunts Along Bay.

Not one to let a mystery go unsolved we motored cautiously in its direction. At a safe distance, otherwise known as “maximum telephoto range” for my camera, I snapped my first photo. Sensing the creature was not alarmed I moved in closer for another shot. Good Grief, what is a navy seal doing swimming across Sakakawea. I’ve seen it all now, well unless I get another glimpse of Nesse.

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Remember fishing is a learned sport. More you practice the better you get, so better get fishing!

Greg Schoneck for ND Live