06/21/09
For those of you who know my son Shane who runs the hunting department at Scenic, he is now officially married off! Shane and Melissa got married yesterday and it was a great day for all of us and it is wonderful to have such a wonderful daughter in law added to our family. Best wishes to them and thanks to all their friends and family that showed up. Now Shane can tend to business and not think about girls anymore, right guys!
The river here is going crazy and has come very close to hitting a new high for the year. It must be getting very warm up in the mountains and bringing on the melt. From looking at the graphs it looks like it is going to continue for quite some time and may even climb higher before it is done. The lake is filling up and looks great. I can barely remember when the lake was this high. I don't know if has been that long or just early alzeimers. Fishing also is much better than we expected and the water on this end is still not bad in some areas and fish can still be caught in the stained and even dirty water. Most fishermen though are now heading farther east to New Town and beyond. In the dirty water cranks and spinners seem to work best and the noisy cranks with rattles are probably the best. Look for Colorado blades on the spinners as they also make the most noise. If you are not familiar with Colorado blades they are the more round ones the tend to spin wider and as a result make more noise or vibration to help key in the fish.
We got in a few more twenty two shells and another load of powder so if you are needing some stop in soon. The stock of shotgun shells is great but they to in some areas are hard to come by. It has been a real interesting year trying to stay ahead of the panic that we have had since the election.
06/19/09
Some how we managed to loose all of the updates from 2/24/09 to the present. Sorry about that!
The walleye fishing has changed a lot with the stained water becoming more of a factor. Reports indicate that walleyes are still being caught on this end of the lake but the activity has also moved downstream and fishing is good all the way to Independence Point at least. The local fishermen fishing the stained water are doing so with spinners because of the noise or jigs real slow. It is always interesting how some fishermen can manage to keep pulling out fish while most think the walleyes are gone. No one knows for sure when the water is going to clean up on this end and some even wonder if it has already started. The river continues to put in about forty five thousand cubic feet per second with about fifteen thousand going out the other end. Water levels are still climbing fast and I am always amazed every time I get out to the big lake. Lots of cover for the newly spawned fish this year!
05/24/09
Paddlefish Report
Since Thursday the Yellowstone has been on a steady climb starting at 15,000 cfs and today it is at 35,700 cfs. We have had several calls from fishermen from out of the area asking what it is like. The rising water is definitely making the fish move and you can see that by looking at the increased numbers at Intake MT. We have had some good reports yet, with the last one coming from Sundheim Park yesterday when a fisherman caught a ninety pounder after about a half hour of casting. It was his first paddlefish and what a great way to start. While there is a lot more water this week has still been good considering the amount of water. If you want to look at the water levels yourself here is the link. http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv/?site_no=06329500&agency_cd=USGS We are now into the June rise which comes all the way from the mountains and will not let up for a month or so. I understand from those out west that the rivers in the mountains that drain into the Yellowstone are really cooking and we will be seeing good flows and lots of water.
It is really hard to tell you if it is worth a long drive to find out for yourself but the reports we have gotten have still been good but that could change quick if the river widens out to much and makes casting difficult.
The walleyes right now are the good story and everyone is having a great time out of the boats and off the bank. There is also some concern if all our new water coming will dirty things up or if our high lake levels will dilute out the silt or make it settle when it hits the lake now much bigger than in the past years. It has been a long time since we fished this much water and in the past few years the rise would send muddy water all the way to Pouch Point and beyond. My own guess is we will continue with good fishing from White Earth and east even with the water flows we are now seeing. The walleyes being caught in the White Earth area have a good amount of smelt in their stomachs so it appears we had more smelt up here than previously thought.
05/21/09
Good paddlefish reports from the Confluence today but very few fishermen. At one time everyone there had caught their fish and left. I loaned my gaff to a couple and they returned it a few hours later after catching their paddlefish. The Yellowstone is rising though and has gained about three thousand feet per second in the last twenty four hours bumping it up to about 17,000 cfs plus about 7,000 coming down the Missouri. That is the highest water we have seen all year and it should cause the fish to move up toward Intake where they have only caught seventy five paddlefish so far. The local radio station has been advertising the closing of paddlefish season between Ft Benton and Ft Peck which is the area above Fort Peck Dam on the Missouri. It has fishermen confused because they are not hearing the whole story.
This is going to be one of the best walleye fishing weekends we have had on this end of the big lake for quite some time. Fishing has been good but you have to figure out the technique and it sounds like you have to work the shallow water. Cranks are working in the deeper water and also pitching into the shore sounds good. The majority of the fishermen are running jigs and Lindy's in six to eight feet of water. Lots of snags but lots of fish as well!
We have a great stock of AR-15 rifles if you have not got one yet, our pistol selection has also never been better so now is your chance while you can still get them!
05/20/09
The paddlefishing continues and it is amazing that we have not seen a rise in the river yet! Between the Yellowstone and Missouri we are about six thousand cubic feet per second below average with the water levels very comparable to two weeks ago. There has been sixty three paddlefish turned in at Intake MT so far this season so there are not any big numbers up there yet so that means they are still in our area. The largest so far at Intake is one hundred and nine pounds.
Walleye fishing has been good and this is the first year in a long time that there are so many bank and boat fishermen excited about fishing. The new area south of the 1804 bridge has been a big hit with the local bank fishing connoisseurs. Mostly pike being caught off the shore along the Muddy but you just never know what you are going to catch. I heard a rumor that the crappies have also started biting at Trenton but lets keep it under our hat for a while.
05/16/09
The paddlefishing people have given up! Season will remain open, more than likely for the entire month but the fishing pressure has dropped off to the point where North Star Caviar is closing down for the season. Very few fishermen were there today and with even smaller crowds predicted for Sunday they determined in was not worth staying open. Fishing will continue but you will have to clean your own fish. Sadly I guess my three week or more season prediction has come true but I did not think it would be because of a lack of interest. The past years have made everyone nervous and no one appeared to be willing to chance even the second weekend. It is not like the fishermen were hunkered down and counting there penneys because we had record numbers in tackle and license sales. I once again want to thank the many friends and customers who came to see us again this year. It was busy but it is always a good time seeing everyone. I suppose this is the best thing that could have happened because next year the pace will be a little more leasure and back to what normal use to be. I am sure the North Dakota Game and Fish is also a little relieved that the future years will be a little more mellow as long as we continue to see some higher river levels.
One hundred and fifteen pounds still appears to be the record for the year but it was pushed several times this year with fish in the nineties and even over one hundred. The huge bunch of males from about the 1996 class also came in strong numbers again this year which is also a good sign of a strong year class with females than will be joining the ranks soon. These males averaging about twenty eight pounds are still coming through in big numbers as if the spawn was just getting started. We have also had some real good females through this week and if you get one of these big girls now you just as well try processing a little caviar for you and your friends to try. If anyone needs info on how to clean a paddlefish I think I can still remember. Thanks again for all the business and support! Andy
2007 2008 2009
Wed 2nd - 66
Thur 3rd - 86 1st - 143
Fri 4th - 145 2nd - 150 1st - 115
Sat 5th - 200 3rd - 316 2nd - 168
Sun 6th - 100 4th - 195 3rd - 69
Mon - Catch & Release
Tues - Catch & Release
Wed 9th - 36 7th - 178 6th - 51
Thur 10th - 34 Closed - 982 7th - 64
Fri 11th - 20 Closed 8th - 66
Sat Closed - 692 Closed 9th - 86
Sun Closed Closed 10th - 32
Mon - Catch & Release
Tues - Catch & Release
Wed Closed Closed 13th - 20
Thur Closed Closed 14th - 23
Fri Closed Closed 15th - 10
Sat Closed Closed 16th - 15
Sun Closed Closed 17th - ?
So Far - 717
Fishing remains open but North Star Caviar cleaning station has closed!
05/15/09
Sounds like we could see some paddlefishermen by the weekend but it is really dead out there right now. The fishing is fine with some really good fish being caught but almost no one fishing. The guys at the cleaning station are begging for company the way it sounds. Weather is cool today but is suppose get nicer and I heard in the high seventies by Sunday. We are also expecting quite a walleye rush as well tomorrow if the weather holds out. Season will last through the weekend and maybe well beyond. Longest season since 2004 and we could top that as well.
We got in another load of 22 ammo which will be sold one bulk pack per customer. Still have a few primers as well which we are also limiting to 200 per customer. Lots of pistols and we even had a nice bunch of AR-15s show up today as well.
05/14/09
Still catching fish with some folks being real lucky while others have to work for them. We should see a little better turn out for the weekend but we are not expecting huge numbers of fishermen. Once again Montana does open on Friday and we are seeing some traffic already heading that way. Walleye fishing is also good on the lake east of Williston and should start drawing some good numbers of fishermen.
The Badlands Bird Dog Club is holding a field trial this weekend here in Williston open to all pointers and flushers. If you need more info call Shane at 701-770-4789. Have a great weekend. Andy
05/13/09
Catch and keep opened up again today with cool wet weather and very few fishermen. Success rate is up again for those who made. It is pretty crazy how the fish keep coming even though there is plenty of water for them to continue upstream. It is going to be very interesting to see how Intake MT is when it opens there on Friday. We are still seeing fishermen buying paddlefish equipment and heading out but no big numbers and no one is in a hurry. Does not look like there is any reason to close season anytime soon. Seventeen paddlefish had been cleaned by 7:30 tonight. The total for last Sunday was thirty two bringing the annual harvest to six hundred and sixty eight. The river has stable which is quite surprising as we have had some rain but not enough to have any effect. It was real cool today in the thirties but the rest of the week is going to be in the sixties and for Sunday up to seventy. One more chance for that big paddlefish if you still have a tag and a double header if you want to hit Montana as well. Our paddlefish season has now made it twice as long as last year and the last time we had a season this long was back in 2004.
05/12/09
We are starting to see a slow rise in the Yellowstone and stable levels from the Missouri but still very fishable water levels for the rest of the week. The North Star web site has not been updated but it appears that we will see quite a few fishing days and it looks good for the weekend for paddlefishing if there is anybody still interested. A 102 pound fish was caught on Sunday the last catch and keep day. That opens up again tomorrow with about 650 fish caught so far this year.
Walleye fishing is sounding more and more exciting all the time and we have had lots of good reports from the lake on this end. The small lakes and the river west of town have been slower and with higher water coming soon the river will not be much good for a while. Bank and boat fishing are both available out on the big lake but I have heard access has been even more restricted by Corp fencing.
05/11/09
We had a NSTRSA dog trial this weekend in Williston and while I did not clean anybodies clock, I did have a good time and enjoyed seeing a bunch of old friends. After the trial my wife and I ran over to Fairview MT and had pizza with some friends at the Powder Keg, absolutely great pizza and the beer is not to bad either. On the way home we stopped by the Confluence and visited with Scott, Rory and Dennis, they were kicked back in the lawn chairs waiting for fish. Just a few campers were there and a handful of fishermen fishing. Scott said the days tally was at about thirty five fish and that was at about nine in the evening. Fishing is still good but the numbers of fishermen is the only issue.
This morning we are seeing a few guys heading out to take advantage of the catch and release but are quite concerned that we will have very few paddlefishermen and could quite easily see three weekends of paddlefishing. A nice break for the locals who still want to spend some quite time on the beach snagging. Get your kids out there cause you could not find a better time to get them started. It may be worth while checking out the Yellowstone. Montana season opens Friday and we may see some interest from fishermen who want to try and double up by hitting both states. Remember it is 8/0 only in Montana.
Thanks again to all of you paddlefisher-people who come to see us again this year!
05/09/09
4:00 PM
They have updated the count for yesterday to sixty six fish and so far today about sixty. The fishing is good but no fishermen to speak of and season goes on! Scott said there has been enough activity to keep from getting bored but as we roll into next week that could be a little different. It is good however for people to realize that season can last for more than a week now that we have higher water. We are now into our ninth day of season with Sunday left of catch and keep and then two more days of catch and release only. The way it is going we could very easily see another weekend of open season to get close to a thousand fish quota and I would expect even fewer fishermen next week. Three weeks of paddlefishing would do a lot to cure the panic that has plagued North Dakota paddlefishing for the last few years.
We still are in good shape with lots of rods, reels, hooks, weights and tags. Montana season on the Yellowstone will open next Friday and fishing should be good at Intake right away.
6:30 AM
Very few fishermen have shown up yet this morning but it is early. I do not think we are going to see much of a crowd based on what we seen last night everyone appears to be done paddlefishing. A few folks are showing up from around the state but mostly locals. There is less than ten percent non-resident. My earlier guess of a three week season could become a reality. Either way it looks like we will be having the longest season we have had for three years. Snagging has been good and yesterday the Confluence appeared to be the best. We are only at 527 fish cleaned as of this morning.
05/08/09
We are once again stocked up with reels, rods, $49.99 combos, hooks galore and paddlefish tags. Thanks to the local auditor and the North Dakota Game & Fish they have rounded up a bunch more paddlefish tags so we are in good shape for the weekend.
The fishing looks great but we are still not sure how many fishermen will show up. Today again the numbers are way down and a couple guys said they were alone at the Pumphouse. The Confluence was the place to be yesterday after the morning run at the Pumphouse. Lots of fish and big fish was the story for the day.
Water levels are also dropping making for even better fishing. The Yellowstone at Sidney is down to 12,600 cfs which is the lowest it has been since April 26th. The Missouri at Culbertson Mt is at 7,860 cfs and has also been dropping for the last couple of days. We had a sprinkle this morning but the sun is out now. The combined flow by the Confluence is now about 20,460 cfs that is about as low as it has been all season but still up from last year.
05/07/09
4:00 PM
Just talked to the guys at the cleaning station and they are having a really good day up there for the numbers of fishermen present. Looks like it will be about a sixty fish day with forty five so far. Ninety four pounds is the biggest for the day but lots of big females coming in, about half. Pumphouse was good early but seems to be slower for the afternoon. The Confluence has been quite steady all day. Have not heard anything from up the Yellowstone.
11: AM
A huge order of paddlefish hooks came in this morning and we have more reels and combos for delivery at 9:30 on Friday morning. We also got more paddlefish tags and looks like we will be in good shape for the weekend. The paddlefish sweatshirts flew out the door but we are placing another order that will not make it by the end of paddlefish season but if you want one email me and we will send it to you freight free. We can also get some bigger sizes as most paddlefishermen are a lot bigger than a medium!
Fishing has improved from last weekend but the numbers of paddlefishermen has been way down. We are expecting pretty good numbers for the weekend but nothing like opening weekend. No substantial change in water levels yet either. We have gotten more reports from the Pumphouse but the fish are well scattered through out the system as the Montana guys that are watching and waiting for their opener are seeing fish in the Sidney to Savage area. Season opens their on the 15th.
The numbers are up to 407 as of this morning and page down for a break down on the numbers for each day. I would have to guess the numbers for the weekend will be about the same as last weekend with improved fishing but less fishermen.
05/06/09
We had a shipment of reels get lost in Billings MT so if you are on the way here from Billings give me a call! Slim chance but you never know. Nobody here decided to track it until it did not arrive and that is just the luck when you are trying hard to keep a department stocked! We do have rods in stock, hooks, weights but it will be Friday morning now until we get reels and combos. I apologize for the poor job we have been doing keeping tackle in stock but we are trying to get it rectified. I will keep you informed so it will not put our customers in a bind if possible.
I talked with the one of the guys at the cleaning station and he said there was about sixty nine fish caught last Sunday and as of noon today another twenty. Pretty good fishing for the numbers of paddlefishermen out trying today. Much better than last weekend is what he reported.
05/06/09
Our stock of hooks and weights got a boost last night and we still have two loads on the way from the East coast scheduled to arrive tomorrow and Friday. More paddlefish rods & reels will also arrive at 9:00 AM this morning, now the only thing we need is paddlefishermen. Like I thought might happen this week is going to be much slower with the fear from the last couple years of an early closure sending everyone here the opening weekend. Two guys were here at about 6:00 AM who had spent the night at the Pumphouse and believe it or not they were all by themselves! They were worried about nobody having a gaff down there today but were a little to conservative to buy there own. I got a hunch there going to loose a new state record today! If you handle fishing without a crowd you should be here this morning drinking coffee with me and getting ready for the 8:00 AM opener.
We had a little spike in the Yellowstone yesterday that increased the flow about a thousand cfs and the Missouri is also slowly climbing but it looks like it will drop back a bit today. They did have an intimidating front come through last night but it only dropped a little rain except for over Fort Peck Dam where it dropped about an inch that we will not see. The river is at 21,700 cfs this morning. One of our local catch and release pros claimed a new record yesterday with ten paddlefish caught and released. He was fishing near the Pumphouse where he had came in by boat. Catch and release has been quite good but very few fishermen have been out, it must be to nice out!
Our hours here at the store are 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM Monday through Saturday and Sundays 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Like always we are looking for someone who likes fishing and hunting to help us out with these long hours!
05/05/09
They have still not released the numbers from Sunday at the cleaning station but estimates are about fifty cleaned. That would bring the total for the season to 333. That is a pretty slow opener compared to the opening three day weekend last year of 661. I hauled a couple of young fishermen out yesterday evening and while they did not snag anything we did get to see quite a few moving through the Pumphouse area. There was less than a dozen fishermen scattered over the two mile stretch and that was after work. Most of the locals feel that the best fishing is yet to come and that the bulk of the fishermen have came and gone. This reminds me a lot of the higher water years when the majority of the fishermen did not even come until the second weekend of season. The size has been very good, a lot better than you would expect with all the small males in the system. The largest so far was caught by Jon Wick and weighed a whopping one hundred and fifteen pounds. Talk about pushing the state record. Until the existing one hundred and twenty pound state record was caught I can't remember another record holder that big. A ninety nine pound paddlefish held the state record for about fifteen years back in the 80's & 90's. Then the state record was beat several years but was held again for quite some time by one that weighed about one hundred and seven. A new record is still out there?
Jon Wick with his 115# paddlefish caught on Saturday up in the Yellowstone. Look at the girth on this big girl! Way to go Jon!
I have had a lot of emails but one really hit home when they mentioned some of the abuse that happened last weekend. There are a lot of families who come paddlefishing for quality family time and some of those out there are not very respectful of the kids that are in the crowd. If you want to party that's great most of us have been there before but watch your mouth as not everyone is still at the level that we need to hear the F word in every sentence. I watched it happen at the Pumphouse on Saturday myself and I am ashamed to say it was a bunch of local kids, in there twenties who should be well beyond the point they were. The email also mentioned the parking problems which happened at the Confluence and of course the litter which seems to be getting worse instead of better. Like the gal in the email said pack out more than you pack in as there are a lot of people who use public land that are to stupid to pick up there own trash! One day I watched a lady with her family throw garbage out her window, I got out of my truck and picked it up right in front of her. She was a little embarrassed and attempted to apologize, but I got a big mouth, and told her I had to clean it up because slobs like her made me sick! Hopefully she learned something she can teach her kids before it is to late!
When you consider how many fishermen have used the Pumphouse and Confluence area it is quite amazing how clean it is and I want to thank the many of you who do your part to clean up after yourselves and more. You are appreciated by lots of us but we are the silent majority.
We definitely got pounded here at Scenic Sports but we are starting to heal up and getting ready for another weekend. We have a few hooks left this morning and have three loads on the way which will put our bulk hooks back on the shelf. The first bunch will arrive today, the second on Thursday and again on Friday. Rods, reels and combos will arrive on Wednesday morning. Thanks to UPS we have freight coming all the way from the coast where this type of rig is a little more common. This stuff aint yur average catfish'n gear!
THANKS TO ALL OUR CUSTOMERS AND WE APPRECIATED YOUR PATIENCE THIS PAST WEEKEND!
05/03/09
The weekend is slowly coming to an end and now we are seeing the catch and release fishermen showing up. A lot of folks have headed home and the success has been mixed from all of the group filling tags to none filling tags. The big numbers of fishermen were at the Confluence but record numbers were at both locations. We sold more tags in the first two and one half days as we did the entire seven day season last year. It is nice to see some fishermen coming for the catch and release and it will be interesting to see what kind of numbers show up for the second week of season. I checked how the numbers of paddlefish compared to previous years and here is some of what I found. Bear in my the numbers of fishermen is way up this year so it is obvious that the catch rate is down. We have had higher water and cool temps this year but today is a great day with lots of sunshine, light wind and about seventy degrees. One of the fish shuttle drivers was just in and said fish numbers for the day were down and that most of the fishermen have cleared out and gone home for the weekend. I will update the numbers as soon as I hear anything.
05/03/09
The second day of paddlefishing seen one hundred and sixty eight fish caught with the biggest being one hundred and fifteen pounds. The water has been dropping slowly with the combined flow down to 20,650. The Yellowstone which is where we get the bulk of the flow from has dropped to 14,100 from a high of almost 16,000. The Missouri has risen about 1500 cfs which made the loss less obvious. The Yellowstone will likely continue to drop until about the 11th through the 15th when the mountain run off starts to be noticed. Last year the 11th was when the water started to climb. Next weekend could be the best or later in the week when it is not quite so busy if you want to avoid the crowd. The catch rate has not been near as good as last year yet but because of the numbers of fishermen it does appear that way. Monday and Tuesday are catch and release only and by Wednesday we will find out how many people are still wanting to go paddlefishing. The early closures the past few years have made paddlefishermen real nervous about waiting for later in the season and we have noticed a big drop in numbers after the first weekend rush. We did get in more hooks but all the gear is getting down and will be replenished by Wednesday. Total for the season is now 283!
05/02/09
It has been crazy, we have sold almost totally through on our hooks in the first two days of season and had a couple thousand more than we sold all of last season. Everyone I have talked to that has been to the Confluence before said they have never seen so many people and vehicles. If you are coming this way tonight or tomorrow bring snagging hooks cause we will be out today. If you have a few thousand extra give us a call. We have more coming but ordered on Friday and will not probably see them until Tuesday. We still have combos and lots of weights left and have more of those coming as well. The first day total ended up at 115 paddlefish cleaned at the cleaning station. Size does seem to be pretty good but the catch rate is down from last year. Only fifteen more fish had been cleaned by 9:30 this morning and I think it would be safe to guess it as about a one hundred fish day with slightly less tomorrow. Then we have two days of catch and release. Depending on what the water levels do it still looks like the season could make three weekends. Fishing could get better by next weekend like it has done during the higher water years in the past. The year before last the numbers of fishermen fell off drastically after the first weekend because everyone worries about a short season. Weather has been decent but it is still a little on the cool side.
05/01/2009
The first day of North Dakota paddlefishing for 2009 is just about coming to a close! It is 9:30 and season closes for the day at 10:00 PM. Look like the first day will easily exceed one hundred fish. Not super hot but decent and a surprising number of big fish coming in. The biggest I have heard of is at about ninety six pounds. I also heard of a couple of eighty plus pound fish coming from the Pumphouse. Fishermen who have came back through the store said the Confluence is packed and will be rockin' tonight. Probably a little more elbow room at the Pumphouse and from the reports we have gotten both are producing fish. I have heard of some fish coming from Sundheim Park as well but remember no gaffs can be used or out at Sundheim. We have seen lots of fishermen and there again several people have said they have never seen the Confluence so crowded. There also have been some parking issues on the private road to the east of the parking area so make sure you leave room for the farmers to get through. Have not heard of any problems at the Pumphouse but if you are out there it is all public land and be sure to pick up your trash. All of us fishermen have a lot of pride in that area and sometimes it does not look that way. Like I mentioned before there is not supposed to be any glass bottles in that area and they are kind of strict about driving of the roads and parking areas. Camping is permitted and you can find spots off the beaten path to put a camper or pitch a tent. Obviously it is primitive camping!
For those who prefer a motel and a beer after paddlefishing Williston has some pretty good night life. There are several good places to eat and lots of bars in town as well. Don't forget to be careful of drinking and driving and also that paddlesnaggin' starts at 8:00 AM sharp!
04/30/09
Sunshine is on the way! Just checked the weather and the weekend is looking good. We have had a wet week with light rain just about every day, but no snow so I guess we can live with that. It is about 6:00 AM and it is about thirty five degrees outside. Today is still suppose to be cloudy but we will start seeing the sun again tomorrow and by Sunday the forecast is seventy degrees and lots of sun. It was quite busy yesterday with the early birds already starting to pull in with their campers. By the way there is a camper dump just down the road from the store so you don't have to haul your _____ back with you! Now that is hospitality at it's finest! We are seeing a little drop in water elevation even though it has been raining but we are still up substantially from last year at about 20,330 cubic feet in the Missouri below the Confluence. In 2008 that level today would have been 12,080. We reached this level last year on May 22, 2008.
Once the fishermen start we will have a lot better idea where the fishing will be hot. With the high water this year you cannot rule out the Yellowstone early as they can definitely get there and that move cuts the water flow down by over 5000 cfs that is coming down the Missouri. Keep an eye on Sundheim Park and even the State Line. I still feel that the big girls or at least the majority of them have not even made it into the river system and that makes the Williston Bottoms more attractive but it is going to be muddy for a while and you will have to use the backroad to get to the Pumphouse. We do have maps at the store and please ask or call if you are having a problem finding your way. The backwaters in the area have attracted the pike so if you tag out early that is a fun past time. We have smelt at the store. Cats have also been good but you may have to find a spot out of the current to do good. There is other things to do here besides just drinking beer! Which reminds me if you are bringing beer shame on you because you suppose to buy it here, but remember that it is cans only on the Corp land which is the vast majority of the bottoms. Sorry as I am a bottle fan to but it beats a ticket! For those sleeping in tents and drinking lots of beer don't forget that one of the mountain lions or should we call them swamp cats, came from the Williston bottoms this year about a mile from Scenic Sports off a willow bar. They have also opened the bottoms to moose hunting this fall so don't ever feel like your alone down there. I am not trying to scare you away so maybe I better shut up for now! See you soon, Andy
Still lots of gear for the fishermen and no problems with getting low on anything except the sunshine!
04/28/09
I am going out on the limb here but I want to be as honest as possible. I feel quite strongly that we are going to have a longer season this year and as a wild guess I am going to give it three weeks or better. Based on the temperatures we have been having and the moisture that they are getting between here and the lower areas of Montana & Wyoming I am guessing we will have one of the longest seasons we have had for quite some time. As of today the Yellowstone at Sidney MT is flowing at fifteen thousand four hundred cubic feet per second with the average being nine thousand four hundred and ten. That is about six thousand cfs above normal. The Missouri at Culbertson is down about three thousand but that still leaves our paddlefishing area at three thousand cfs above average. Don't panic as that is nothing like the water levels we see in May and June but it is higher than, the average for this month for over ten years. Temps have also been cool and the forecast for this week is for forties and fifties for highs. When we had warm weather the fish had better water temps and some made the move up stream but those fish will move up and down the system based on water temperature. If you have the weekend planned we know there is paddlefish in the river but if you cannot make it till another week or so don't give up hope either. The NDG&F did do some netting and they are not keeping pace with other years when the low water held the fish back. Water temps have varied from forty nine to fifty eight degrees with the current temp at fifty now. One other issue will be how much bank there will be to hold fishermen. With the water up many of the good areas will have limited access so be ready to look for a new spot. At the Pumphouse the bank will limited at the parking area but the rocks along the river to the south will be good. I have not made it to West Hole and that is a tough area to get to without a boat, which also may be a good idea to find an open area. We will definitely know more as we get into the weekend and I will try hard to get out and find out what is happening. Any reports will also be appreciated. I will try to update every day if at all possible. By the way we are still looking for help out here if you want to move to God's Country!
04/25/09
It is final! We are going to be having a paddlefish contest this year! All you need to do is pre-register at the store which will be free of charge. The first place winner will get a brand new combo rod & reel with a sweatshirt for second and a t-shirt for third. Thanks for the ideas that you guys wrote in.
The river here by Williston is still up a little from the average but it looks like only about fifteen hundred feet per second. The Yellowstone is running at 11,900 cfs which is about three thousand cfs above average. The Missouri at Culbertson is down a couple thousand and for some reason has been on a downward trend. This will not have a big effect on the paddlefishing and while we are supposed have some precipitation it has not amounted to much and does not look like it will. Montana is still getting a fair amount of snow in the lower areas and it has been melting fast. I heard second hand that the NDG&F did do their paddlefish netting again and caught a good amount of paddlefish up in the river. The biggest was about one hundred and seven pounds. There will be a lot of small males caught again this year but there is always that chance of the big whopper.
We will not be doing the paddlefish shuttle again this year but they have awarded the bid to a local guy and his sister who will be handling it. We will have his name and number posted at the store and it does sound like he will be giving it his best attempt. Nice guy and we are hoping he does well and can keep up. If you are in the area and need a place to store your paddlefish meat please stop by and talk to us.
04/20/09
The Yellowstone is still running higher than normal by a about three thousand feet per second but the Missouri is running about fifteen hundred below average. It is looking good for paddlefishing and even the Yellowstone will be good if we keep the flows coming for another ten days. Some years like last year the fish piled up at the Confluence waiting for the Yellowstone to raise and then they seemed to shoot up in a hurry to get to Intake. It is nice to see some steady flow to disperse the paddlefish. I have had a lot of emails about where to go and what we have in stock. Typically the areas closer to Williston are better early and as the run goes into May it gets better upstream. You also have to remember that the bigger fish are females and last to move upstream like any other type of spawning run. If the fishing is a little tougher early it will increase the chances of the small males moving through and increase the chances of catching some bigger females. I really encourage catch and release because you have a chance to catch more and possibly a big hog as well. Mondays and Tuesdays are catch and release only and are not near as crowded. After you have eaten enough paddlefish you are ready for walleye and it is fun to watch those big old girls swim away. It would be great to see the Game & Fish expand the catch & release opportunities in more of the river than just the Confluence after the quota is filled. From the Lewis & Clark Bridge to the Pump House is a very popular catch and release area!
We have a great stock of hooks, weights, rods and reels for the paddlefishing folks and still have the best warranty in the country, across the counter right here where the action is! For those who do not know for sure how much time they will spend at it we have combos starting at $49.99 and still our good warranty. For the hard cores we have combos that will handle years of the kind of abuse that paddlefishing gear gets. If you have a rig and have loaned it out you know what I am talking about!
We have also gotten in a new batch of paddlefish sweatshirts and t-shirts that are awesome. The great big 20/0 hooks are also available as well as the 16/0 that make great gaffs. We will have a sign up for a paddlefish contest this year which will be free of charge but you will need to sign up in advance of catching the monster. If you have any ideas on what you would like to see for prizes, and we are not talking a new pickup, let me know. In the past we have given one of our best combos, but like Ross Peort, we are all ears!
The lake ice is leaving fast and it is now open about as far down as Little Beaver Bay. We will hopefully be walleye fishing by the weekend out of the boats. The smelt should also be running but we are not expecting a big run this year but definitely a good hatch that is so important to our lake right now. Most of the current fishing activity has been on the Muddy and other backwaters in search of the big pike. When is it gets warm don't forget about the kids. Turkey hunters have also been more successful lately and it is time to be out there calling. Anything other than calling in turkeys in the spring is cheating and you are cheating yourself out of a good time. I know what it is like to loose your patience though and putting the sneak on them is kind of gratifying at those times.
04/18/09
BURRRR! It has been a cold week but they tell us the warmer weather is on the way. The Yellowstone was running at about twelve thousand cubic feet per second as of yesterday, which is about twice what it would typically be. It has been wet to the west but the river could still drop unless the moisture in the early reaches of the river continues. The little Muddy right next to the store has dropped back to less than three hundred FPS but had a high of about twenty eight hundred. Wow! It has been a lot of years since we had the much water come down the Muddy. As far as paddlefish are concerned if we have real low water and then get a raise during the run that is when the fish seem to leap at the opportunity of zipping up stream. Many fishermen are pointing out that it has happened the last couple years. Last years high on the Yellowstone was about the second week and was the highest it has been in about two years. I personally don't think we are going to have as low of water on the river as in the past and we maybe will have a little longer season. The higher lake levels should help a little and it does seem like they are having a much wetter year in Eastern Montana and Wyoming. The Big Horn and Powder are going to be the big factors in the early May run off coming into the Yellowstone. Right now our lake is about twenty feet higher than it was last year and we are all real excited about the good effects it will have on our fishing in the long run.
If you are planning on coming out for opening weekend I would recommend booking rooms if your not planning on roughing it even though the boom has slowed down and more rooms should be available. A nice warm shower feels pretty good on sore muscles and a hot tub even better. Some of us paddlefishermen are getting kind of a stinky reputation too!
We are carrying three different infinite anti-reverse reels this year which I strongly recommend for paddlefishing. We also have the Ugly Stiks and some beefed up Okuma rods that can handle the paddlefishing abuse. The Okuma Avengers we got in this year have a beefed up handle because they had an issue last year and we warranted a bunch of them. If you bought an Avenger here last year it is still under warranty so have the guys check it. Be careful if you buy a hold over from someone else because last years handles will not last long. Okuma was great about taking care of us but when you have a short season you can not afford to wait a day much less a month. We do have a good stock of parts for the reels that we stock and plan on keeping you casting as long as your arms can handle it.
04/11/09
SCENIC UPDATE
It is great to see all the water we are getting on this end and how much the lake is raising. It still does not appear like the river will be running hard during paddlefish season and we are now less than three weeks away. At this point it still could be a quick season with good early success and if it appears that is going to change I will get a note on here as soon as possible. If you have to plan your days off I would recommend the first week in case we have another short season. We have gotten all the paddlefish gear out and are ready to go. Our combos start at $49.99 and all our rods and reels come with our one year across the counter, "keep me fishing" warranty. If you have to buy a combo buy it where you can get warranty when you are fishing! We have seen a lot of fishermen who had to buy a second rig while they were up here because they had bought some where else. We have great deals on hooks as well with an 8/0 treble running about fifty cents bulk and fifty nine cents each. We buy direct and no one sells them cheaper. This end of the lake is also looking good for a walleye bite this spring and the late ice fishermen were quite successful. We should also see a good northern run and finally a good smelt hatch as well. If your coming up for paddlefishing bring your regular gear along. The one fish that has really taken off in this area is the catfish and if you can enjoy catching cats there is a bunch of them. There is always the rumors of twenty pounds but seeing is believing and I am still weighting to see a local cat that big.
The Mighty Mo is waiting for YOU!
03/26/09
PADDLEFISH UPDATE
The river is a mess right now and of course we are seeing flooding through out much of the state but not to much in our area. Fishing on the river will be tough now until the ice goes out which could happen in the next week or so if we get some warm weather. Right now the cold weather is saving a lot of North Dakota from worse flooding so while we are ready for spring some folks are not. The snow between here and Billings is minimal but a lot of snow has hit southeastern Montana and that will find its way here either down the Yellowstone or the Little Missouri. If we do not see a rise between now and paddlefish opener it is going to be another quick year but don't get alarmed because we could see more snow yet that could cause the season to drag out. It has been a very wet year in this area. They closed down the damn at Garrison because of flooding and we are gaining about a foot every two to three days on the lake. The mountain snow pack also looks good so we should see out lake rebound even more like we did last year. I will do my best to keep you informed about changes that could effect paddlefishing.