Missouri River rise

Mort

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Guess the river has risen because of snow melt, brings me to this question of you river fishing guru's.

When water rises like this, its best to fish by boat? Is fishing better on shore when the river rises? Or do we wait it out?

My assumption is that fishing is not so great when water rises

And goo......wait...am I safe from GST????
 


camoman

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In a lot of rivers, as water rises the fish move toward the banks to avoid the increases in current. However, the Missouri has a lot of intrariver structure (sand/gravel bars, drop offs, etc.) and so many of the fish can remain out of reach for shore anglers. If anything, it's definitely worth giving some shore spots a try.
 

KDM

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Check EVERY current seam that's tight to the bank and I do mean tight. Within 3 ft of the bank. If the water is at least a foot deep right off the bank it's even better. Chunk and Dunk is the best method for rising water I've found as the rising water tends to dirty up the water and the fish have greater difficulty finding a moving bait. Take a half a crawler or a minnow on a plain hook (think catfish rig) and drop it right on the current seam, crack a beer, and wait for dinner to come swimming in.
 

Mort

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Like your insight KDM, you the man, I need to at least fish with you for a day...now only to find time to make that happen.....
 

pluckem

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This time of year I would also start focusing time either south (Beaver Bay to State Line) or north more, Wilton to Tailrace... With the rising water all spring I would like the chances of going north. You should also be able to find some cleaner water and more typical river structure as you go north. Lots of flooded backwater and grass from Bismarck south right now....
 


JayKay

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I'm finding better results (quantity anyhow) in the past week, than 6 weeks ago. The fish are not large (18" was the biggest Saturday night), but there are fish to be caught.

The little males are aggressive. If you're not routinely hitting bottom, and you feel a "tick", it's likely a small male. They're plentiful. And don't be afraid to fish in 3 ft or less, after dark. Casting out as far as you can, is often a waste of time.
 

Achucker

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Check EVERY current seam that's tight to the bank and I do mean tight. Within 3 ft of the bank. If the water is at least a foot deep right off the bank it's even better. Chunk and Dunk is the best method for rising water I've found as the rising water tends to dirty up the water and the fish have greater difficulty finding a moving bait. Take a half a crawler or a minnow on a plain hook (think catfish rig) and drop it right on the current seam, crack a beer, and wait for dinner to come swimming in.

Looks like another episode of KDM's Muddin' Minute
 

BGH

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The Yellowstone is roaring right now in billings
 

MSA

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The faster n higher the water, the better the fishin. I prefer shore only because boat control can occupy more of my time than casting.
 


dragoneyes

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Went out Sunday south of town high water conditions not really and issue, water clarity and floating debris was with the recent rains had a limit of 15 by 3:00pm all were eaters and all came on the side of the channel or deep. Had to move around they were all scattered. Heard water will be high into September. Hoping river will pick up again in fall.
 

Brian Renville

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Mort in our area high water means mud mud mud. Cats will be all over the place and this time of year the shovelnose sturgeon will be a frequent battle. That being said if you can find a tributary with come clearer water you may find some other surprises.
 

eseamands

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The Yellowstone is roaring right now in billings

We were out at Nye, MT over the Memorial Day weekend. The Stillwater is BLAZING through that area too. Huge trees and all sorts of debris rolling through there. Very high water.
 

Allen

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Just for clarification, the Yellowstone through Billings is roughly a foot and a half below what it was last week at this time.

https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=byz&gage=bilm8


Billings Hydrograph.JPG
 

wstnodak

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Whats your predicted sakakawea peak Allen?...assuming no major rain events. I'm going with right up to the lip of the spillway 1853.5.
 


Bfishn

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They are going to be upping the outflows to 44,000cfs soon, so the Mo will be getting even higher. I think those are the third highest outflows behind 2011, and 1997.

The higher water on Oahe should hopefully help the walleye and crappie, as long as all the bait fish don't get flushed through the damn again. Maybe we can get another explosive crappie year like the 2011 year class that boomed about 3 years ago.
 
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Allen

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Whats your predicted sakakawea peak Allen?...assuming no major rain events. I'm going with right up to the lip of the spillway 1853.5.

1853.5 is not gonna happen unless the wheels come off the river, so to speak. One must remember that at all points in time, any forecast for Lake Sak, Fort Peck, Oahe, etc are trying to forecast the Corps' management decisions.

In that sense, the past couple of forecasts issued by the Corps itself takes Sak up to about 1851. I think that is where they are drawing the proverbial line in the sand on its elevation max for the summer. With no very large rain storms, I'd suggest they are going to keep the releases at whatever level they need (so long as they can stay below the pain threshold in Bis/Man) to prevent it from going over 1851. Once they get to 1851, I think they are not liking the amount of flood storage they have left in their toolbox.
 

ndlongshot

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[h=1]Lake Sakakawea levels expected to peak in coming week[/h]





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A spray of water follows of man jetskiing as he moves from Lakewood Harbor onto the Missouri River over the Memorial Day weekend.
KIMBERLY WYNN Tribune




Water continues to pour into Lake Sakakawea as snowmelt runoff comes in from upstream.

The lake is forecasted to continue its rise through next week, rising another 3½ feet to peak near an elevation of 1,851.5 feet, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' June 5 outlook. The lake rose 4.3 feet during the month of May to its current level of 1,848.1 feet, about a foot higher than what was expected.

The remaining snowmelt coming out of Montana is predicted to continue its runoff at a fairly rapid rate. For that reason, the corps will continue higher-than-average releases from the Garrison Dam and others in the Missouri River system. Snowpack levels remaining are well below those experienced in 2011.


“It’s been a good thing so far as long as they don’t get too carried away with releases,” said Kent Yancey, who has operated Big Muddy Guide Service for the past six years. “Right now, it's great fishing on the river.”

He said there are usually fish to be caught on the Missouri River around Bismarck-Mandan through June but the higher water levels seem to be keeping them local in greater abundance. Yancey said he is just hoping there aren't any major rain events that turn the already elevated river levels from manageable to overflowing.







Garrison Dam releases were increased from 37,000 cubic feet per second to 39,000 cfs near the end of May, for a monthly average of 36,800 cfs. Releases will be increased to 44,000 cfs through the first part of this month.


“Due to the water currently being stored in the reservoirs and the higher-than-average runoff being forecast in the Missouri River Basin above Sioux City, Iowa, the service level will remain 15,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) above full service to facilitate the evacuation of stored flood waters,” John Remus, chief of the Missouri River Basin Water Management Division, said in a statement.

The 2018 runoff forecast in the Missouri River Basin, above Sioux City, Iowa, is 34.6 million acre feet, 136 percent of average. May runoff between Fort Peck and Garrison was the second highest on record.

“More than 50 percent of the system’s flood storage remains available to capture runoff from the remaining mountain snowmelt and summer rainfall events,” said Remus, compared to more than 60 percent storage reported available last month.







 

dean nelson

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They are going to be upping the outflows to 44,000cfs soon, so the Mo will be getting even higher. I think those are the third highest outflows behind 2011, and 1997.

The higher water on Oahe should hopefully help the walleye and crappie, as long as all the bait fish don't get flushed through the damn again. Maybe we can get another explosive crappie year like the 2011 year class that boomed about 3 years ago.
They have more room in her so they are holding at 38,000 So the smelt shouldn't be to bad. Of the big three she's the only one rising through the full forecast period.
 


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