Sak - Off the Beaten Path

ndfinfan

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So I'm off work next Thu & Fri...thought Thursday morning might be a good time for me to try fishing an area of Sakakawea that I don't typically target. First half of the year I fish west end (New Town to White Earth Bay/Van Hook/Parshall). Mid summer spend more time on the east end. Have only put in at Indian Hills a few times...thought maybe I'd put in there and explore the "middle" part of the lake. Any other suggestions to try just for something different? Thanks gents!
 


Bauer

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The community points can all be very good this time of year. Beacon, the kisses (just east of Beacon) Pepsi Point, Goat Island. The south shore also produces well at different times like Red Butte Bay, the pumphouse (water intake along shore) etc. I would find it hard to believe you couldn't make a great trip out of that area by fishing the main lake structure! Kelly Jo has a great map showing all the spots and their community names. Good luck!
 

SLE

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If you want to explore new territory, Indian hills will provide that all day long. On any reasonable day you basically have access from Deep Water Bay to Nishu bay and from Beulah bay to the West slides. McKenzie Bay isn't too far away and you can take a really scenic tour up the little Missouri. It's a great area, we have a seasonal site and have spent most of our free time in the summer over the last 20-years there. The store is good, they some essential items, food, and so forth and you can fill with gas and get your bait right there, no need to haul stuff in. don't forget to get some ice cream, they usually have about 6 different flavors in the freezer! With that said, fishing has been spotty. Look no further than results from the Dakota Classic last weekend. Even us regulars are having a tough year finding consistent success on decent fish. Lots of 13"-14" fish being caught with an occasional keeper mixed in. With that said, I've heard that's kinda been the story of the whole lake this year. Good Luck ad enjoy.
 
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H82bogey

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Just spent 4 days at Indian Hills. Do yourself a favor and fish elsewhere. It's an incredibly tough bite, and if. you do find them, they are small. In 4 days, we probably only caught around 50-60 fish, but only 13 of them were above 14". I try not to keep anything smaller than 14, but right now you are almost forced to since the fish seem to be in 25 FOW or deeper. 35' seemed to be our best depth. The closer we got to deepwater the better the fishing was.
 


ndfinfan

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Thanks for the input gents. Will make a decision Wed evening based on weather/wind. Have put in at Deepwater quite a bit...just hate that 3 miles of gravel road. May just put in at Parshall and run down to Independence/Deepwater and points south.
 

eyexer

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I fished Independence sat/sun and it was no better than anywhere else
 

ndfinfan

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Ya...just one of those years I guess. If wind is not a factor next Thu may just stick with putting in at Indian Hills and take the run and gun approach. Deep as the fish seem to be...might be a jiggin rap/jig and plastics day.
 

Bauer

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Thanks for the input gents. Will make a decision Wed evening based on weather/wind. Have put in at Deepwater quite a bit...just hate that 3 miles of gravel road. May just put in at Parshall and run down to Independence/Deepwater and points south.
The Game and Fish ramp at the east end of the bay is really nice to use and involves much much less gravel. Just be careful through the maze if its your first time. Once you are out past all the islands you are golden.
 


Migrator Man

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I've also thought about fishing the mid-lake area for bigger pike

I wonder if a guy ever fished the big bait schools in the middle of the lake 50’+ ? My dad always said they were probably carp but I never have dropped a line on them. Would be interesting To try it. Could be some big eyes feeding on schools of smelt.

I have caught big pike trolling cranks in 30’ off The edge of big flats on Sak.
 

eyexer

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We actually vertically jigged those large bait schools this last Monday. The top of the schools were at 45-50’ over 65’ of water. It was cool because we could watch out jigs one the locator. Bouncing shiver minnows. Caught two. Both catfish
 

Buckmaster81

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We actually vertically jigged those large bait schools this last Monday. The top of the schools were at 45-50’ over 65’ of water. It was cool because we could watch out jigs one the locator. Bouncing shiver minnows. Caught two. Both catfish


Any size??
 

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