Late Lunker.  With a drop in flows, anglers can expect walleyes to start making their moves upstream later this month or into October on the Missouri River.   DEO Photo by Mike Peluso.

By Mike Peluso

What a week it was on the Mighty Missouri River! There was lots of wind, dropping water levels, shifting channels, and the list of condition changes could go on and on.

The fishing definitely isn’t red hot on the river yet. Things may be delayed a bit after the recent cut in flows out of the Garrison Dam tailrace, but rest assured the walleyes will make their way towards Bismarck this fall.

One observation from fishing this week is that there is lots of bait in river system at the moment, and it seems to be a little of everything. We saw shad, baby drum, perch, shiners, smelt, you name it turning up in the livewell. The walleyes you do catch are pretty healthy looking!

Another thing we witnessed was a rapid drop in water. In fact, during the tournament on Saturday, we actually saw while on the water fishing, a one-foot drop in many areas of the flow. It made for a sketchy ride back upriver.

The bulk of the walleyes, however, are still way south. My guess is that after a week or so they will start to move north when the flows settle in a bit. This is a fairly normal situation for this time of year.

Fish are being caught if you are patient and in the right areas. Jigs and crankbaits are both working if you are in the areas where the fish are.

Putting your boat in the river will also be a bit of a problem as some of the ramps are now unusable. I’ll report on that as we go into fall and as I figure out this week which ones are still usable. I do know of a few that are not or based on my past experience, possibly not open anymore.

Congrats to my good friends Jacob Miller, Jordan Binstock and Darrin Miller for grinding out 14.14 pounds of walleye to win this year’s Fall Big Muddy. The weights were tight in this one. I had the privilege or misfortune – however you want to look at it – of watching them boat all of their walleyes. You guys are true fishermen in every sense of the word!

I have a few openings left for this fall. If you are looking to get out for big autumn walleyes get ahold of me to see if we can find you a date!

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