Gold Strike!  Anglers are finding bigger walleyes moving up the Missouri River from Lake Oahe. DEO Photo by Mike Peluso.

By Mike Peluso

Well, it’s been an interesting week fishing for walleyes on the Missouri River. So interesting in fact that I almost forgot to do this week’s fishing report! That tends to happen when you are guiding every day and even pulling a double shift or two.

During the early portion of the week the fishing was absolutely fantastic, with a good mix of walleyes: big fish, and good eaters. These past couple of days, however, have been a tad off. We are still catching fish, and if you follow my social media pages, we are still catching big fish too. But something is happening that I just can’t put my finger on.

I’m hoping it’s just a gap between the migration of fish. I saw a lot of fish on my electronics the past couple days that seemed to be moving and moving fast. I’m also seeing huge clouds of bait, but those have yet to be identified. I’m assuming we are seeing a little bit of a smelt run actually.

What’s working when you do see the fish in the spots? It’s been pretty basic for me:  jigs and minnows and jigs and plastics for me. It seems like many of my bigger fish this spring have come off the jig and plastic presentations. 

The boat traffic on this portion of river was horrendous this weekend. I do believe this plays a huge part in the moods of the fish. There is no question they get spooked and slide off into the current only to return again after things quiet down, especially in the cleaner water stretches of the river.

It looks like tough weather is on the way this week, but of course I’ll still be out there every day. I’m hoping it’s not as bad as the reports are showing. I will report back hopefully with good news and more big fish!

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