July 1, 2016 Fishing Report

Hello everyone and I hope this finds you all fine and enjoying the summer. It is a great time to be in North Dakota and the fishing has been good most of the time. The weather keeps a person a little shut down once in a while but overall it is all good.

I have been fishing pretty much every day and it has been fun Sure, we all have our tough days but it keeps us a bit humble also. Probably not the worse thing that can happen. We have to remind ourselves that it is still called fishing and not catching for a reason even though we want it to be. I guess if it was too easy, it probably would not be that much fun also. Kind of keeps us guessing and on our toes.

Well, here is what I know right now.

Lake Sakakawea is still Lake Sakakawea---it has been very good but can still humble you in a moments notice. One day it seems like a person is the smartest person in the world and the next it shows us how little we really know. The fish are very nice shape with lots of fish in the 14-22 inch range and some bigger and smaller also. Cranks work very well at times and other days it seems they want nothing but bait. Crawlers and leeches have been working the best in that category for me. I am working mostly in the 8-15 foot range but later in the day they seem to go deeper at a moments notice. Color doesn't seem to be a big factor most of the time but I still go by mostly bright colors on bright days and darker colors on overcast days. Seems to work most of the time for me.

Missouri River Pick City area: There continues to be a lot of fish in the area---lots of fish from small to up in the 16 inch range---there are some bigger fish that seem to come out occasionally---especially at night. It is a bait bite for me using mostly crawlers or leeches. The cranks just don't seem to be producing that great for me in the river so far.

Missouri River Bismarck area: I have not fished this so can't really give you a good report and am not hearing much either.

Lake Audubon: There are fish going there also----I haven't concentrated too much there as the lake Sakakawea and the river have been so good to me. I would use either cranks or bait there and start shallow and move deeper until you find their comfort zone that day. You should be able to find fish if you are versatile.

That is about all I know right now and hope you are all doing well and it has been fun seeing many of you again this summer. Good luck and be safe out there.

Please remember that when you take a kid fishing to actually let them catch some fish---one of my pet peeves I guess is when I see a person with his kids out there and they are so concerned about losing a fish that they never let the kids do any catching---they are only spectators----please please don't be one of those---if your kid loses a fish remember it is only a fish and there will be more and maybe they might even want to go fishing again with you. They are our future fisher people and we want them to have a great time out there also---if is not all about getting a "limit" of fish.

Thanks on behalf of the kids.