Sakakawea - July 6

brettbloemendaal
Jul 6
2 min read

For those who like to say "the lake is on fire," that term would be fair now. When you find fish, they are flat out biting. Bottom bouncers and nightcrawlers have taken the prime presentation slot. Depths can range from 5-25 feet depending on location. For anyone who's been waiting for the bite to be really on to hit the lake, wait no longer! Here are some key takeaways from the past couple weeks.

Bites are going both on the main lake and in bays, but there are some key differences. The bays (including Van Hook and the East End) have some more stained water, so fish are both on the shallower end and will bite further into the day. The main lake bite, especially on the lower/eastern end, has clearer water and thus a little deeper average depth, an earlier morning bite window, and sometimes spookier fish.

The East End of the lake has really made a comeback. I think the stocking program from a few years ago down here has worked as there are much higher numbers of fishing running around, most 14-17 inches right now. I don't know if there are more numbers than the middle section of the lake, but they actually seem to bite more consistently, so our results have been better there, and we've fished from Hwy 83 to a little east of Douglas Bay mostly all of the last two weeks.

There are still a good number of 18-22 inch fish in the system, but given the huge year class of 14-16s, it takes a lot of work and a little luck to fill a large limit of 18+ fish. My recommendation to my clients has been to take the thick 15s, and if we get some of those 18+, great. I'd say on average a ten-fish bag has 7-8 fish in the 15-16 class and 2-3 in the 18-22 most days. And we've still occasionally run into a couple 24-27s.

For those who enjoy casting, jigs and crawlers have been the best. Any given day we've gotten into bites on jigging raps, jerk baits, etc., but it's not consistent day-to-day or spot-to-spot. If you just want fish, find a good school and work bouncers.

I still have some openings yet in July, so check the Contact Page of my website for the calendar, and let's get on the water!

Oh...and the videos: