# Sakakawea over the weekend



## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

Fishing was tough this weekend on Sakakawea. We started out fishing the east end on Saturday and as expected, it was a zoo. There was easily 50-100 boats just west of the sisters all day, so we stayed as far away as possible. We worked the east end, one of the east sisters and the north shore and didn't get on any fish until late in the morning. We spent most of our time in 6-18 feet with no results, we finally got on fish at 20-21 feet. We boated 4 walleyes and a variety of "other fish" and I think we were sunburnt enough and called the day.

We fished west on Sunday and went out of Beulah. The 15-20 mph forecast was more like 30-40 mph and after 1 hour and 1 fish we decided to get back before the wind got worse. It's been awhile since I've been in 5-6 ft rollers....

All fish came on crawlers and one on a leech. We mostly ran live bait rigs.


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## mallard (Mar 27, 2002)

Have you tried deepwater,or the van hook yet?


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## jmwhit (Jul 5, 2005)

We caught some fish over the weekend. Fished the van hook on Saturday. We went out at 7 and they really didn't start biting until noon. We must have hit a hot spot. For the next 2 hours 4 of us caught 12 nice size fish. The biggest was about 4 and a half pounds. We were fryed though and the baby was ready to get back and play. We all were hoping to go out Sunday, but with that nasty wind, we laughed at the people out there, and packed up our camper and headed home to enjoy the last of the long weekend. Most of the fish were caught on leeches, the other on worms, and we all used a spinner.


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

mallard said:


> Have you tried deepwater,or the van hook yet?


No, but was the next on the list to try.



jmwhit said:


> We all were hoping to go out Sunday, but with that nasty wind, we laughed at the people out there, and packed up our camper and headed home to enjoy the last of the long weekend.


You're not alone, losts of people heading home Sunday morning.


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## muskat (Mar 5, 2002)

Was out on Parshall on Sunday, we were one of the :idiot: that tried to launch a boat...........Chris, your right about that forecast 15-20 was more like 30-40. We got out and pulled cranks for about 10 minutes, then packed it in.

Heard reports that fish were being caught on Monday, 10 feet of water with live bait (leeches and crawlers).


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

I was told that a 19-foot Ranger got swamped on Sunday. :-? What a mess.


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## dblkluk (Oct 3, 2002)

Our weekend was spent cussing the flooding at my parents place on Metigoshe, wrapped up with an afternoon Sandbagging the neighbors place to protect it from the lake that is over three feet higher than normal and still rising. You want to talk about a mess
I had another thing in mind when I wanted to feel sand between my toes on the fourth of July!!! :eyeroll:


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## Stizostedion vitreum (Feb 2, 2005)

Cranks were doing much better out there on Van Hook during this past week. The fish have moved deeper, and guys were doing well with cranks last weekend. Now that we have had a couple days of stable weather, it may revert back to lindy rigs being dominant again. Soon though, cranks will do excellent on Sakakawea. Stizo


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

Just curious what depths you were finding fish. I knew of a couple guys who were cranking this weekend.


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## muskat (Mar 5, 2002)

Van Hook arm............bite was slow on live bait rigs (spinners and lindys w/crawlers). 8 keepers out of 10-15 feet of water.


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## jmwhit (Jul 5, 2005)

we were on the lake by the dam and didn't catch anything on friday afternoon. i think i will stick to van hook, it is much better fishing there. :lol:


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## stevemat (Jul 14, 2005)

I haven't fished Sakakawea in 3 years, and will be fishing next weekend. Whats been working, and what depths? Thanks for any info. :eyeroll:


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## muskat (Mar 5, 2002)

Depths to me really depend on the day. I would start in 7-10, if you cant find them there, go a little deeper. 
I prefer fishing live bait rigs (lindys/spinners w/crawlers or leeches). 
If they arent hitting on these combo's I switch it up........start running cranks. As far as brand/color/type of cranks, you wont know until you start catching them. People always have that one or two that they swear are killing fish, but I never know until I get a few hook ups.
What part of Sak will you be fishing?


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## stevemat (Jul 14, 2005)

Muskat: Thanks for the info. We will be going out of Beulah Bay, and I guess because of the water levels we will be looking for new areas. I'm sure everything that we fished before is not there anymore, or even out of the water. We used to fish in Nishua, pump house, shell island, and deep water, but like I said I'm sure we will be searching again.


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## muskat (Mar 5, 2002)

You are right, structure has changed a lot over the past several years. I used to fish Sak. every summer when I lived in Minot (6 years ago), but this is the first year that I have been able to get back and spend quality time on the lake. All the same principals apply, it just takes a little more time to find the fish. Good Luck!


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## minnesotaphd (Jul 18, 2005)

Hey, can anyone give me the current water temp on Sakakawea? In the inlets close to shore as well as out in the middle, if there is a difference...thanks!


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## northernwaterfowl (Apr 9, 2003)

It was 71 to 73 degrees on Tuesday. It had been up to 78 degrees in places before last weekend. This is in the Van Hook Arm.

Todd Siemers


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