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Fishing
Fishing is good, but let's be honest. Every one of us would rather be catching. Fortunately, North Dakota is famous for its productive fisheries. Our plentiful lakes and rivers are teeming with game fish like northern pike, walleye, perch, trout and bass. Water levels, species diversity, fish sizes and populations are up. So, if you're up for more action, more trophy catches and more fun, North Dakota is your fishing hotspot.
For a listing of registered fishing guides, please visit the North Dakota Professional Guides and Outfitters Association website.
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Ice Fishing
What would bring anglers to a place where the water freezes over and crisp winter nights are best enjoyed beside a cozy warm fire? For one thing, perch. For another, walleye; and northern pike. True anglers won't let a little (or a lot) of ice sidetrack their plans for a weekend fishing outing. Ice fishing in the winter in North Dakota is amazing. Small cities of ice houses spring up on lakes throughout the state, turning them into places where lifelong friendships and fish stories abound.
Devils Lake is one of the premier ice fishing lakes in the state. Amtrak runs The Perch Express to bring anglers to Devils Lake each winter. For three moths of ice-over, every lake and frozen backwater are in the state is home to potential whoppers.
And yet you can still find open water to fish, even on days when the temperatures drop well below zero. Where? At Garrison Dam.
Water from hydroelectric power generation flows year-round at the Tailrace. Bundle up for some shorefishing in the turbulent waters that churn into the Missouri River.
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North Dakota Fishing Waters
MISSOURI RIVER SYSTEM
Missouri River/Lake Oahe Boat Ramp Status
High water levels on the Missouri River have closed or restricted access at virtually every public boat ramp from Garrison Dam south to the McLean Bottoms area. The high releases from Garrison Dam are impacting everyone along the river, including boaters and recreationists. With the exception of the Tailrace ramp, all ramps down to, and including, McLean Bottoms will be effectively inoperable within the next week or by about June 1. Due to record flows forecasted well into summer, the affected public boating access areas will likely remain unusable for an extended time. An idle speed-only restriction is in effect until further notice on the Missouri and Heart rivers in the Bismarck-Mandan area. The north boundary of the idle speed-only zone is the power lines approximately 1,000 feet south of the Steckel (Wilton) boat ramp, about 23 river miles north of Bismarck. The southern boundary is the McLean Bottoms Wildlife Management Area boat ramp about 19 miles south of Bismarck. The idle speed-only zone on the Heart River starts at the confluence of the Heart and Missouri south of Mandan and extends upstream to the ND Highway 6 bridge. Idle speed-only is defined as operating a boat or other watercraft at the slowest possible speed necessary to maintain steerage. The Missouri River stretches across a good chunk of North Dakota and features four bodies of water that provide their own characteristics and fishing qualities. The four distinct areas are the Upper Missouri River, Lake Sakakawea, Central Missouri River and Lake Oahe. Click here for complete details from North Dakota Game and Fish.
The Upper Missouri River
The Missouri River enters North Dakota from Montana just west of Williston. The free-flowing river offers a good setting for sauger in the spring and fall. And at the western reaches of the river in North Dakota, anglers can find one of the better spots in the country to snag a giant paddlefish in late spring. They also can come across northern pike and catfish in this area.
Lake Sakakawea
The lake, named for the American Indian woman who helps guide Lewis & Clark 200 years ago, is the third-largest manmade lake in the United States. It's filled by the Missouri River and contained by the Garrison Dam, the country's fifth-largest. This huge lake, which covers 368,000 acres and features more shoreline than the state of California, is home to numerous types of fish. Walleye is the most popular catch, but anglers can reel in northern pike weighing more than 20 pounds, Chinook salmon, small-mouth bass, yellow perch, crappie and sauger.
Central Missouri River
Water leaving Garrison Dam flows south in the Missouri River until it reaches Lake Oahe near the North Dakota-South Dakota state line. The stretch of river is home to nationally renowned walleye fishing. And just south of Garrison Dam is an area known as the Tailrace, which is home to state records for Chinook salmon, brown trout, rainbow trout and cutthroat trout that were caught within 20 miles downstream of the dam.
Lake Oahe
This lake stretches from Pierre, S.D. into extreme south-central North Dakota. Anglers can find walleye and northern pike in this area, but there's also crappie, catfish and white bass swimming around.
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DEVILS LAKE
The state's largest natural body of water continues to get bigger. The 193,000-acre lake has roughly quadrupled in size since 1993, and fish populations have kept up with the expanding water size. You'll find northern pike, walleye, white bass and crappie, to name a few. Outstanding open water walleye and perch fishing in the warmer months continues to get better, and the lake remains popular for ice fishing. Devils Lake is a world-renowned yellow perch fishery.
LAKE METIGOSHE
Tucked within the scenic Turtle Mountains in north-central North Dakota and straddling the U.S.-Canadian border, Lake Metigoshe and its many surrounding small bodies of water are perfect for an afternoon on the water chasing pike, walleye and bluegills.
JAMESTOWN RESERVOIR
This lake have seven boat launches on its 2,492 acres. It also features a stocked fishing pond and great walleye, crappie and pike fishing.
RED RIVER OF THE NORTH
The winding Red River of the North forms the boundary between Minnesota and North Dakota, but it creates one long recreational play-ground for citizens of both states. The river provides canoeing, boating and fishing opportunities year-round, although spring floods create hazardous conditions before the river returns to its normal, slow, meandering flow in to Canada. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has online maps that detail access points along the length of the river.
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Stop the Spread of Aquatic Nuisance Species
Aquatic nuisance species like Eurasian water milfoil, zebra mussels, VHS virus and many others, threaten the productivity of all waters where they do not currently exist. In an effort to greatly reduce the potential for ANS transfer, North Dakota law requires all anglers and boaters to remove vegetation from all watercraft and equipment before leaving a water body. Boats and other equipment coming into North Dakota must be free of all vegetation and water with no exceptions, and live baitfish may not be transported into North Dakota from other states or Canadian provinces. Go to the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website for complete regulations.
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