Bismarck river help

Nathan Hafdahl · Feb 29, 2016

I work as a traveling sales rep and I'm hoping to find a couple of decent spots on the river in Bismarck to fish from shore. I don't need your secret spot, but if anyone can direct me to a couple solid spots to kill time in the evening I would be forever grateful. Thanks.

Enslow · Feb 29, 2016

Cast right off the docks at the boat ramps.

dean nelson · Feb 29, 2016

The sandbar south of the condo unit south of the main street bridge can be decent. Just stay off the condos grass or they will get pissy. Down at the Fox ramp can be decent as well.

Trip McNeely · Feb 29, 2016

I've had decent luck south of town by the rifle range. right south of the ramp there is an eddy and a decent hole. a lot of people fish it but its been good. good for catfish mid-summer too. caught a ling down there two summers ago.

dean nelson · Feb 29, 2016

Trip McNeely said:
I've had decent luck south of town by the rifle range. right south of the ramp there is an eddy and a decent hole. a lot of people fish it but its been good. good for catfish mid-summer too. caught a ling down there two summers ago.

There's also a nice breakline just north of the ramp about 20 yards past where the fence starts. Never tried it deep but it's a great spot for top water walleyes in the summer so would have to think they may be in there now just out further.

Trip McNeely · Feb 29, 2016

yeah it gets pretty deep to the north. I have crappy electronics but my depth finder was reading 34-37ft in some spots near the pilings. we caught a few sauger in that hole but it was north of the parking lot and this was out of a boat.

- - - Updated - - -

another decent spot is just south of U-mary campus called the "desert" had some decent walleye fishing around dark quite a few years back. haven't been there in 5 years or more so maybe someone can verify if its still fishable since the flood? but right off the furthest west point where the channel broke off and flowed back into that back channel. always good for a few walleyes around prime time. got into the sturgeon one night there too. caught around 6 or so 3-4lbs. didn't know what was going on. we were laying a jighead tipped with a crawler on the bottom so right place right time I guess. those sturgeon are hard to clean though and taste like hell.. . haha got you guys good no sturgeon were harmed. . . .

dean nelson · Feb 29, 2016

Yeah I'm talking about the one that's formed by the area of rip rap just after the sheet pilings. As the water comes off the pilings it cuts west and forms a small eddy from about ten yards south of the pilings to just north of the boat ramp jetty. It's more or less set up like this with the red dot being where I target the top water eyes but now I would gun for the slack water in the center or down by the split. It's a small spot so you can work all of it from one spot. The south side spot needless to say can be vary good but can get crazy deep some years.

sparetire · Feb 29, 2016

If you're looking for open water this time of year, Nelson Lake should be good. I've not been there in several years, so maybe others here can help with time of year to get on the fish there.

DerHornen · Mar 1, 2016

I was at Nelson about 3 weeks ago on an unusually warm February day. My friend and I caught quite a few bluegill, a couple crappie, and one largemouth tossing dead minnows under bobbers along the riprap just north of where the power plant water re-enters the lake. A few other guys were fishing bass and picked up some in the 1-3lb range.

Live minnows aren't allowed on Nelson FYI.

Bismarck river help

Nathan Hafdahl

Founding Member

Enslow

Founding Member

dean nelson

Founding Member

Trip McNeely

Founding Member

dean nelson

Founding Member

Trip McNeely

Founding Member

dean nelson

Founding Member

sparetire

Founding Member

DerHornen

Founding Member

Similar threads

Recent Posts

Friends of NDA

Top Posters of the Month