Dakota Recreation Report

Talk about it

Outdoor notes

- Lake Sakakawea ramps: American Legion (Raums, Williston) marginal, Hale Marina and Reunion Bay unusable but all other ramps OK.

- Missouri River ramps all usable except Sibley Island unusable and Maclean Bottoms closed.

- Saturday: Purple Martin Assoc. of the Dakotas annual meeting, Grand Forks.

- June 13-17: Potholes and Prairie Birding Festival, Arrowwood NWR, Pingree.

Tournaments

- Saturday: Lake Oahe, Beaver Bay; Upper Missouri River, Trenton area.

- Sat. and Sun.: Lake Sakakawea, Parshall Bay; Lake Oahe, Langeliers Bay.

- June 16: Lake Tschida.

Fishing

- North Dakota Game and Fish Department District game wardens: No reports from southwestern lakes.

- Bismarck, Dakota Tackle, Missouri River/area lakes: Slowly improving success on the Missouri River with more anglers working north of Bismarck around Stanton and Wilton. There’s a little more of a switch to nightcrawlers recently. Limited reports from the state line area of the river. Fish Creek starting produce a few trout. Work just outside of the weed line on Lake Audubon for fair to good walleye success.

- Dickinson, Andrus Outdoors, Lake Sakakawea/area lakes: More anglers on the water with activity at McKenzie and Mossett bays and Mel’s Marina with fair to good success for pike along with smallmouth bass. Try minnows in 15 to 18 feet. Walleye remain slow. Lake Tschida fair for small walleye. Camels Hump Dam good for rainbow trout. Bowman-Haley Dam producing a few small walleye. Missouri River tailrace remains fair to good for walleye.

- Dickinson, Runnings Farm and Fleet, Lake Sakakawea/area lakes: McKenzie Bay on Lake Sakakawea improving for walleye. Missouri River tailrace also fair to good for walleye. Camels Hump Dam fair for small trout. Indian Creek Dam producing a few small walleye.

- Garrison, Cenex Bait and Tackle, Lake Sakakawea: Lake Sakakawea producing a variety of fish species in various depths from 6 to 20 feet using an assortment of presentations. Work from Fort Stevenson State Park west to Douglas Bay. East end of Lake Audubon fair to good for walleye using variety of presentations. Missouri River remains good for small walleye with a few more larger fish starting to show up.

- Garrison, Indian Hills Resort, Lake Sakakawea: More walleye activity with several limits starting to come in. Try Lindy rigs or spinners and bottom bouncers with nightcrawlers working as deep as 23 feet around McKenzie Bay. Also try south shore points from Red Butte Bay to the mouth of the Little Missouri Arm.

- Glen Ullin, Fitterer’s Inc., Lake Tschida: Lots of activity with good white bass success. Small walleye mixed in.

- Mandan, Southside MVP, Missouri River/area lakes: Continued fair to good for small walleye on the Missouri River but finding big fish remains a challenge. Anglers now switching to nightcrawlers but almost any presentation is working.

- Mandaree, McKenzie Bay Marina, Lake Sakakawea: Improving walleye success with smaller fish in the bay and larger walleye showing up from the bay to the north out to the mouth. Try 8 to 20 feet using Lindy rigs or spinners with minnows or nightcrawlers.

- Pick City, Scott’s Bait and Tackle, Lake Sakakawea/Missouri River: Lake Sakakawea improving for walleye along the east end embankment and Steinke and Douglas bays. Try jigs and minnows in shallow water. Continued pike success. Most Missouri River boat success is coming from a mix of crankbaits, live bait or plastics with fish still generally on the small side. Try coal veins, stumps or cable crossings and into the spillway channel. Crankbait success from the rocks remains fair but inconsistent. Wing walls continue producing fair to good walleye success but slowed slightly depending on the time of day. Good numbers of pike are still in the river with a few trout mixed in.

- New Town, Scenic 23, Lake Sakakawea: Spotty and inconsistent walleye success in the Van Hook Arm. Some anglers are finding good numbers of nice-sized fish and others are having slow success.

- Watford City, One-Stop, Lake Sakakawea: Continued pike success from shore on Lake Sakakawea with boat success generally limited to pike and a few bass.

- Watford City, Tobacco Garden Resort, Lake Sakakawea: A nice mix of walleye, pike and sauger in the big water. Try jigs with a variety of live bait or crankbaits.

- Williston, Scenic Sports, Lake Sakakawea/Missouri River: Fair numbers of walleye and sauger. Work shallow with jigs or Lindy rigs. Also try crankbaits. White Earth Bay producing some smallmouth bass. Work the back bays for crappie in the upper end. Small area lakes are generally fair, including Kota-Ray Dam.

North Dakota rivers streamflow and river stage

- Bear Den Creek, Mandaree: Creek stage, 3.51 feet; streamflow, 0.49 CFS.

- Cannonball River, Regent: River stage, 4.87 feet.

- Green River, New Hradec: River stage, 6.3 feet; streamflow, 1.9 CFS.

- Heart River, Richardton: River stage, 5.02 feet; streamflow, 22 CFS.

- Knife River, Manning: River stage, 6.39 feet; streamflow, 4.6 CFS.

- Little Missouri River, Marmath: River stage, 2 feet; streamflow, 60 CFS.

- Little Missouri River, Medora: River stage, 2.14 feet; streamflow, 91 CFS.

- Little Missouri River, Long X Bridge: River stage, 0; streamflow, 126 CFS.

- Missouri River, Williston: River stage, 18.08 feet.

- Missouri River, Stanton: River stage, 9.39 feet.

- Missouri River, Bismarck: Streamflow, 26,900 CFS.

- Yellowstone River, Sidney, Montana: River stage, 8.36 feet; streamflow, 19,200 CFS.

Numbers to know

- NDGF Department main Bismarck office: 701-328-6300; website (http://gf.nd.gov).

- NDGF Department Dickinson office: 701-227-7431.

- Report All Poachers: 800-472-2121.

- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bismarck, website: (www.fws.gov/northdakotafieldoffice).

Patricia Stockdill

Tags: dakota recreation report, rec report, outdoors