Good Eating!  Quality keeper sized walleyes for the frying pan are plentiful all over Lake Sakakwea right now, with a slow death rig the ticket to fast action. DEO Photo by Mike Peluso

By Mike Peluso

It has been a crazy week of walleye fishing up here on Lake Sakakawea! I don’t know if the North Dakota Game & Fish Department knows this yet, but the management of this walleye gem is really shining right now, especially on the east end of the lake! 

I’ve been able to mix and match my trips as of late with the winds and weather.  What a treat it has been to use the entire lake. Normally to have good consistent catches you need to stay west.  

That hasn’t changed!  The only thing I’m seeing is you can have unreal success right now over by Garrison and Pick City and anywhere in between.  

I addressed in last week’s report how I thought the fish were trending deeper.  They are now definitely in the deeper water, but there are also some which are extremely shallow as well this week.  We have caught plenty of fish in under 10 feet of water all week long.  

The presentation of choice is no doubt a slow death rig and a crawler.  At times it’s silly trying to keep up with two rods.  I also did a little jig pitching with excellent results. 

The water is stabilizing now but we are still seeing current and water temperature swings that you need to pay attention to.   The keeper sized fish are showing themselves really well on the electronics and there are lots of other fish biting also so bring plenty of bait! 

I have a couple openings up here on Sakakawea yet so get ahold of me if you are looking for a trip!

Mike Peluso is a Dakota Edge Outdoors contributing writer and a licensed ND fishing guide specializing in walleyes on the state’s premier waters.