The Missouri River and spring walleye fishing just go hand in hand. The river often produces some of the very first open water opportunities in the Dakotas and walleyes are often eager to strike. Whether anglers are pursuing a stringer of fresh walleye filets or a fish for the wall, the Missouri River reservoirs have exactly what they are looking for especially in the springtime.
While the expansive reservoirs can look daunting, the key to success is remembering your basics. Successful anglers focus on two factors: location and presentation. Location is the first piece and while the Missouri River reservoirs stretch for hundreds of miles across North and South Dakota alone, fish will often be in relatively predictable locations. Once those fish are found, your presentation is even simpler.
Locating Springtime Walleyes
In the spring, walleyes will congregate on the upper third of the reservoir. This section of the reservoir acts more like a river as opposed to a lake and often offers the best spawning structure. Anglers can expect to find current, sandbars and rocky shorelines in this section of the reservoir and it is these elements that attract fish in the spring.
Throughout the winter months, depending on weather conditions, the flowing water from the powerhouses will often keep several miles of the upper end of these reservoirs open and accessible to boats. A population of fish will often spend all winter up in these areas and can be targeted on traditional springtime areas at this time.
As the weather warms and the urge to spawn becomes stronger, fish that may have spent time on the lower end of the reservoir through the winter months will begin working their way up the reservoir to these areas as well. The expression “90% of the fish are in 10% of the water” could not be more true in the springtime and this 10% of the water is along the sandbars, rocky shorelines and deep holes in the upper end of the reservoir.
When considering springtime walleye location, anglers should be able to look in these traditional areas and find fish with relative ease. Except to find strong numbers of male walleyes actively cruising these spawning areas. These fish are often willing to bite a bait in their face and can put a limit in the boat quickly.
The larger female walleyes are a bit more conservative from an energetic standpoint. While the smaller males are quite active along these shallow, spawning areas the larger females will be spending more time resting in deeper water adjacent to these spawning areas. While they will be willing to bite, they often take a bit more coaxing and a little bit of luck with timing.
The advancements in electronics have also made locating fish in the spring much easier. Anglers familiar with side-scan can quickly locate pods of active walleyes patrolling sandbars, rocky shorelines and other pieces of structure. Graphing in deeper holes and channels can also reveal where larger female walleyes may be holding before they move up shallow.
Once fish are located, the next challenge is to make them bite. A variety of factors all combine to influence walleyes’ moods in the spring. These include water clarity, water temperatures, weather patterns and timing of the spawn.
Runoff from tributaries can dirty the water and have a negative impact on the bite, forcing anglers to search for clearer water. As this clearer water warms, fish will become more and more active but a cold front can give springtime walleyes lockjaw. Springtime storms can also produce an excellent bite as they roll in, but strong storms can also force fish to deeper water and put them in a funk for several days once the storm has passed. Overall, once fish are located an angler’s job isn’t over yet.
Presenting to Springtime Walleyes
On days that the weather and water conditions are favorable, anglers can enjoy a strong bite just by putting a bait infront of active fish. When conditions are less favorable, finesse can be the name of the game. The bite can change quickly in the spring and anglers hitting the Missouri River should plan to look to the history books and tie on a simple, yet time-tested offering.
This offering is the standard leadhead jig and a minnow. There may not be a bait that has caught more walleye in history than this set up and this option remains a staple wherever a walleye swims. While this staple seems pretty straightforward, savvy anglers can still fine tune this presentation to increase their success.
The biggest factor in optimizing this presentation is selecting an appropriate weight for your jig. Three factors should make this determination: depth, current and wind. A good rule of thumb is to fish as light a jig as possible, increasing weight only as current and wind conditions require. The lighter jigs allow your bait to fish more naturally and also increases a fish’s ability to inhale the bait as they strike.
Anglers pitching with one jig will find that utilizing their second rod to fish under the boat can produce fish as well. As noted above, larger female walleyes will often rest in deep water before moving up shallow. Hanging a heavier jig with a minnow under the boat can help produce bonus fish and in some situations, the largest fish of the day.
Overall, try pitching a 1/8-1/4 oz jig. If the weather conditions allow, the 1/8 oz jig will often be your best option. As the current or wind picks up or if you’re fishing in slightly deeper water, try upgrading to a 3/16 or 1/4 oz jig. On your vertical jig, a 3/8-1/2 oz jig will help you maintain bottom contact in deeper water even in current or high winds.
While the Missouri River reservoirs are a destination for anglers, especially in the spring, this does not mean that anglers should over-think them. In fact, anglers who are able to hone in on certain areas of these reservoirs will likely quickly find large concentrations of fish. Once these fish are located, a simple yet effective presentation will often yield the best results. Anglers who can do this will find that sticking to the basics will result in exceptional results!
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