- SLOW-TROLL Tricks are Deadly on Walleye Waters
- Lake Sakakawea, North Dakota, offers Hands-On Learning
- Bring a Camera: Canyon Colors and Walleye Go Good Together
By Forrest Fisher
Wanna catch walleye? Know the two rules that apply everywhere. Rule #1: Catching fish is fun. Rule #2: Fishing with a professional guide that understands fish movement helps to make Rule #1 possible. You can do it on your own later.
No matter where you go, catching quality walleye as a target species fish is the primary objective for many anglers. This story is proof that Rule #2 is a good money-saving idea.
Coincidentally, my wife and I were vacationing in North Dakota near Teddy Roosevelt National Park and my better half whispered in my ear, “You should go fishing at least one day while we are here – Lake Sakakawea is just up the road, I’ll go souvenir shopping.” Such a deal. I could not say no.
So I asked Kelly Sorge what people fish for. The “always cheerful” proprietor at Indian Hills Resort (http://www.fishindianhills.com/) said, “Crappie, northern pike, bass, trout and walleye – we have all those species here, but most folks fish for walleye. They like to eat them cooked over a campfire here. The walleye are so pure and so tasty from Sakakawea.” That settled it.
I rushed for my cellphone to make the call to Liebel’s Guide Service. Capt. Jeremy Olsen called me back a short while later to set up time and departure to fish this beautiful Little Missouri River reservoir – it is pristine, with millions of years of erosion providing colorful rocky backdrops on the canyon walls.
Lake Sakakawea in central North Dakota was created for flood control on the Missouri River by the Garrison Dam. The average width of the lake is 2-3 miles, but it is about 14 miles wide at the widest point, heavy with clean, deep water, shallow water, many undulating bay backwaters, drop-offs, flats, and a beautiful view of colorful mountain walls – hundreds of millions of years old, that form the gorge that creates this waterway. In short, it is breathtaking!
We met at 7 a.m. and when I saw his new boat, I was thrilled, motivated and EAGER to set foot on the 21-foot Lund, 219-Pro-V, with a 350 horsepower Mercury Verado. Cost: $81,000, I asked. Cost of my Charter: $350. A win-win for any angler. The new Lund Pro-V fishing boats are special: quiet, safe, powerful, live well, many other features. It’s all there on this boat.
We left the dock at 7:15 a.m., took 15 minutes to motor 10 miles to a chosen fishing spot (it didn’t take long at 62 mph), set up our lines on lightweight Phenix casting rods (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Phenix_Rods/catpage-PHENIX.html). At 7:40 a.m., Capt. Jeremy had the fish figured out and we landed our first walleye. By 9:15 a.m., we had landed 17 walleye! Could we call this a great day? No way, it was an insurmountable day!
It will be a day that I would never forget as a walleye angler. Indeed, vacations and special fishing moments are about making special memories. I have no doubt that Capt. Jeremy could do this again.
While I’ll admit, my standards are higher than the average – I expect to catch lots of walleye and often, to beat the usual catch rate, but who would have ever guessed this catch rate of walleye could even occur in wild waters in the middle of summer? Not me.
Capt. Jeremy is an expert. He knows the secrets to understanding how fish move, when they move, forage location, wind and eddy current effects, and how to attract fish to invoke a strike. For this day, he choose Smiley Blade attractors and worms. The Smiley Blades offer slow rotating action when tied in front of a 3-foot fluorocarbon leader that has two to four beads in front of a single 1/0 hook. In actual use, this action is death to walleye on Lake Sakakawea. I discovered after getting home to Lake Erie, it is deadly anywhere else that walleye swim too. The blades turn with as little as 0.4 mph forward speed because they are made from lightweight Mylar. Capt. Jeremy buys the blades separate and custom-makes the Smiley Blade rigs with his kids, adding a dash of special magic, I’m sure.
We attached the Smiley Rig leaders to a 1-1/4 ounce wire/bottom-bouncer and set the MinnKota Ulterra bow motor to troll at about 0.6 mph. Three or four minutes later, presto! Fish on! Walleye after walleye came into the boat. We released all the smaller fish as they were caught.
If you’re out that way, you can contact Capt. Jeremy through Lieber’s Guide Service at http://www.liebelsguideservice.com/. He will travel to many other waters too, including Montana.
Of course, understanding where to drop lines (location), why to drop where we did (bait movement and water clarity), and how fast to go, are among reasons why we ask a charter captain to take us fishing when we go to a new lake. A charter captain fishes many more times than we do and it is always a learning experience.
This was new water for me, I’m a Lake Erie walleye fisherman, fishing Lake Sakakawea was quite different. To do it again, I think I’d contact Capt. Jeremy again and leave my boat home. The trip was safe, fast, affordable and fun. It doesn’t get any better than that.
To learn more about Smiley Blades, a video with details about rigging, design, styles and colors is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoO7MxmD-rA.
Accommodations: You can camp at Indian Hills for just $20/night. There is a boat launch, convenience store, fish-cleaning station and running potable water at several spots. If regular tenting is too primitive for you, there is one cabin there called “Peacepipe” that accommodates 6 people with bunks, A/C, sink and kitchen for $90/night. At Peacepipe, you and your family can camp in comfort, and while this style camping cabin has no shower or toilet inside of it, the conveniences are an easy 200’ walk to the shower house. There is a built-in, sit-down table that seats four, the kitchen counter includes a 2-burner hot plate, small refrigerator and wash basin (potable water is just outside) with drain. You only need to provide your own sleeping bag or bedding. Outside you’ll find a picnic table and fire ring, and exterior electrical outlets. We stayed here and it was great. Above that, they offer condo’s and lodge rooms too. Choices are what life in the outdoor lane is all about. The degree of “outdoorism” that you choose is available here. My kind of place (http://www.fishindianhills.com/).
For additional general information on Lake Sakakawea and other North Dakota sites to see, visit http://www.ndtourism.com/blog/lesson-about-lake-sakakawea.
This may have been one of the most fun, most learning trips I have ever had the pleasure to experience. One last word, I love North Dakota! My sweetheart of 48 years and I will be back soon.