Fishing ND Tailrace or Missouri River Part 2 6-21-12

I am sorry for such a long gap between Part 1 and Part 2.  I have very valuable information for you though. 

On April 8th(Easter), Amber and I had our baby girl, Evangelyne Joy.  Since her birth I have been out fishing the river almost every weekend.  Before she was born we did go out to the tailrace and fish from the wing walls.  So that is where I will start.

Fishing the wingwalls was very interesting.  You are fishing back water and release water that is coming out of Lake Sakakawea.  Then you are probably 20 feet in the air.  If you do catch a fish you have to try and put it in a bucket/rack that is tied to the fence and pull it up.  If you don't have one of them then you have to pull that fish up the 20 ft hoping that it does not get off or break your line.  And if you do not have a bucket you have to keep the fish.  If you drop the fish the 20ft it will not survive. Fishing the wing walls was interesting, it took me a while to figure it out.  What works for me is to cast a 5/16oz jig(some even use a 1/4oz) with a worm or Minnow and slowly jig it back.  Always keeping tenchen is key. They bite lite and you want to feel that bite.

After Evangelyne was born I was able to fish the river portion in a boat.  I will share this in my next post.

Fishing ND Tailrace or Missouri River Part 1 3-22-12

Being new to the area brings it's challenges.  Catching fish has been a challenge for us.  Back in Watford City I can tell you where to catch fish and the time of year you can catch.  Around the Beulah are, not so much.

North Dakota's Garrison Dam 2011 Water Release

Because of this I am going to challenge myself.  I am determined to learn how to fish the Tailrace or Garrison Dam and the Missouri River.  While learning techniques, what to look for on the river, where the main channel is, etc. I will blog it on here and also video tape it and air it on our TV show.  Hopefully this will help you learn how to fish the Missouri River as well.

My quest started by posting a topic on Fishingbuddy.com (http://www.fishingbuddy.com/fishing_the_tailrace).  In this topic I asked for some techniques or any helpful hints that other anglers would be willing to share with me.  Here 2 suggestions that I got.

• One guy suggested that we look for current breaks or slack water.  We should be able to find these pretty easy.  Sometime when the river comes around a corner there will be water on the inside of the bend that misses the main current.   We should be able to see as it should be a calm top to the water.  That is slack water.  A current break should be behind a tree or some kind of object like that.  Behind that object should be current break where the water current is not as fast.
• The second suggestion or technique is when you us an anchor to cast at a 90 degree angle instead of casting up river.  By casting at a 90 degree angle it will allow your jig, in this technique we are using a jig, to slowly trickle down river.  By having a lighter jig it will allow it to sink slowly and will end up behind the boat.  You then slowly jig it back to the boat.  By doing it this way it is suppose to cover more ground.  So if you have a big whole you are trying to fish you probably could cover a forth of it in one cast.  Doesn't mean that they will bite on the one cast but you can cover more ground.  

These techniques make perfect sense.  My next thing I need to learn is the channel of the river.  I do not want to ruin my prop or bottom out.  That would put a damper on trying to fish the river.  To try and learn the river I am going to email ND Game and Fish department and see if they have a map of the river, more importantly the main channel.  I will write a blog as soon as I get that info.

Vaughn M. Anderson
Rough Creek Productions