Lake Sakakwea report

[Bassmaster-ND]

Fishing has slowed down with the cold weather during the past week,but what little action there was came on the bays for walleye and saugers in up to 60 feet of water on jigs and minnows.
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[Flagmanonice]

[] Hey Bassmaster , is there ice on the big lake yet ?

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[Bassmaster-ND]

Yup theres ice. I'm not sure what the current thickness is but you can sure ice fish it. I forgot to mention that the report above was an ice fishing one.
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[davetclown]

wow I didnt think the walleye would hit that deep. I am guessing that since Flagman is asking if the lake is froze over that this is a big lake with a reiver coming through?

looks like I might be getting on my lake here in mich by this weekend for the first time since march of last year.

I know we have walleyes in our lake I have had a hard time getting them up. so you got me wondering if I should be going deaper. the deapest hole in my lake is about 65 feet. I normaly target them around 20-25 feet. what do ya think. we have lots of shelter and miles of shelves on our lake that are at the 20 foot depth.

I figured that I would pull them up of the edge of those shelves when they come up to feed.
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[Bassmaster-ND]

Hey dave, Lake Sakakawea is the biggest lake in ND. The lake itself is one of the three largest man-made reservoirs in the nation. It's 368,000 acres and is 178 miles long.
As far as walleyes go...I'm not the guy to ask[]. All I know is when there biting get your line in the water!

Check out the attachment for a picture of it!
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[Flagmanonice]

[] Dave , right now we have our house in 37 ft of water and doing real good !! Because of how deep it is , the bite last a little longer in the morning , and starts a little earlier in the afternoon ! The only problem is , fishing that deep , you have to reel them up slowly so you don't blow the bladder and then not be able to release them safely ! Give it a try , and don't be chicken to fish that 50 ft stuff !!!!

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[Bassmaster-ND]

I read in our paper (Bismarck Tribune) last Wednesday, that "reeling the fish in slow from deep water doesnt do much because the fish will still feel the same pressure changes regardless of the speed of the retrieve.". They said its better to keep fish from really deep water rather than release them because of the pressure on there blatter.They also said "Don't target fish that are in deep water. It's better to fish in the shallows."

I disagree with what they said. Your not going to keep all the fish you pull in from the deep. So you release them. And why would you fish shallow when the fish are deep? I got a laugh from reading this. But I'm sure they probably have tests to back it up.[quote]
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[Bassmaster-ND]

Here's that article about catching fish from deep water:

Anglers Cautioned Against Releasing Fish Caught from Deep Water

Catch and release is a fishing practice that can help maintain fish populations. However, catch and release is not recommended for fish caught from depths of more than 30 feet, according to Randy Hiltner, fisheries biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, Devils Lake.

Several lakes and reservoirs in North Dakota offer anglers a chance at catching fish from depths of 30 feet or greater. "Anglers fishing Devils Lake commonly catch yellow perch in 40 to 45 feet," Hiltner said. "Likewise, many walleye and sauger caught in Lake Sakakawea during winter are from more than 30 feet. Unfortunately, often fish are considered too small and are then released.

"But at those depths, fish likely will not survive because of the extreme changes in pressure," Hiltner continued. "At the depth those fish are being caught there is one atmosphere or more of pressure change, and going from high pressure to lower pressure causes the swim bladder to expand, thus putting pressure on the internal organs and causing other bodily problems."

A few species, such as lake trout, can adjust to rapid pressure changes, Hiltner said, but most of North Dakota's native species, including walleye, sauger and yellow perch, are not adapted to compensate for rapid changes in pressure.

Reeling fish in slowly from deep water does little to alleviate pressure changes, Hiltner said, because it can take up to 30 minutes for a fish to adjust to the pressure. Also, letting gas out of the swim bladder (fizzing) by inserting a needle is not recommended, even though it does help fish return to the bottom of the lake. "Many fish will die within a few days because anglers may damage internal organs with the needle," he added. "In addition, winter is not a good time to experiment with fizzing because cold air temperatures can quickly freeze portions of the fish, especially its eyes."

Anglers should still continue to practice catch and release, Hiltner said, but in the right situation. "It is best to keep fish that are caught from deeper waters to minimize wasting the resource," Hiltner said. "If anglers are just fishing for recreation and do not want to keep fish, they should target fish in shallow water
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[davetclown]

I would do as flagman sugested untill which time fishing regulations stated otherwise. I have released dead fish before because the law here says I have to releas them when they are to small. I understand the logic behind the law that if it isnt manditory that smaller fish are released, then onters would keep live ones of smaller sizes. "I just do like having to do it", I have reeled them in fast and they would not even swim back down the hole, but if I brought them in slow they would return. question is will they return back to the depth where they came form or will they float from the bottom of the ice. I think we would see a lot more dead fish wash ups in the spring with all the catch and release action going on.

I read this report before also by another source and it stated just the oposite. it said that you should real them in fast to avoid blatter bloat. so there seems to be conflicting reports. the one I mentioned was from the golf of mexico. I kinda figured it was a bunch of phoey when I read it.
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[Flagmanonice]

[] Did you guys get enough snow out there to bring the water level up this spring ?

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[Bassmaster-ND]

From what I've been hearing is no. They're saying there is not enough moisture in the snow.
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[Flagmanonice]

[] Thanks Bassmaster !!

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