WALLY WORLD: DAKOTA’S LAKE SAKAKAWEA
By Mike Faulk

With nearly 400,000 acres of water, 150 miles long, 1600 miles of shoreline, covering six counties in two time zones, Lake Sakakawea in western North Dakota is huge by southeastern standards. At an impoundment elevation of over 1800 feet, it is roughly the same elevation as the North Carolina high mountain lake of Santeetlah – a part of the Tennessee Valley Authority system.

This western plains lake is situated at 48 degrees north latitude. When coupled with the elevation, this latitude makes Sakakawea a cold water sanctuary for many North American game fish including pre-historic sturgeon and paddlefish. More common species include northern pike, smallmouth bass, striped bass, trout, freshwater salmon, perch, shiners, catfish, and carp. But this lake of little fishing pressure is truly Wally World – walleye that is! There is actually a statue in Garrison, North Dakota of “Wally the Walleye”!

Lake Sakakawea, named for the famed American Indian girl who guided the Lewis and Clark expedition through the region, has drawn national attention in the past few years. In 2001, the Professional Walleye Trail made its first ever stop on the big water as a part of its western pro-am tour. With endless secluded bays, Sakakawea still retains much of the raw and untamed beauty that Lewis and Clark chronicled in their journals as they explored the area in the early 1800s.

With limited population to foul its waters, this prairie pothole section of the Dakotas is big farm country with single fields sometimes measured in sections [one square mile dimensions]. The wind can howl across this land lying just to the northeast of Teddy Roosevelt’s famed spread, the Elkhorn Ranch. The northern section of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park is also just north of Medora off Interstate 94 and east of the Montana border.

Clean, comfortable, and affordable accommodations exist in towns near the lake; but, lakeside lodging around the 1600 miles of mostly undeveloped shoreline is sparse. Choices for eateries are similarly limited but our merry band of east Tennesseans were pleased with meals from Scenic 23 Supper Club right by Van Hook.

Campgrounds are available and include Van Hook and Parshall Recreational Bay. They offer recreational vehicle sites, electricity, shower facilities, sewer, convenience store, cabins, and the only boat rental on the Van Hook Arm. Little shade was observed around these camps as this section of North Dakota is quite windy and trees are limited in comparison to here in the east.

Getting there from East Tennessee is a chore. Situated so far west that it straddles the Central and Mountain Time zones, Lake Sakakawea is a little over an hour’s drive from the nearest airport with scheduled commercial air travel: Minot, North Dakota. A number of air carriers also service Bismarck which is about two hours’ drive to the south. A distance of 1600 miles away, Lake Sakakawea is a thirty-plus hour drive from anywhere in East Tennessee.

June and July are the primary months to fish this pristine big water lake. Extremes seem to prevail. I also offer a word of caution about the weather: the temperature was a low-humidity 100 degrees each of the four days we fished in mid-July but light jackets were appreciated most mornings as our time on the water began. I was informed the coldest July on record with subfreezing wind chill was only a couple of years back. At times flat and at other times rolling with 3-4 foot swells, anyone loathing deer flies, bugs, and sea sickness should stay off this lake. But, if you show a little bravery, the rewards are out of this world.




A non-resident license of only $25.00 for a ten day fishing permit makes an assault on this nearly uninhabited lake affordable to almost all fishermen. An additional $4.50 permit from the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation may also required if fishing within the original reservation.

Given the shear magnitude of Lake Sakakawea, the employment of a fishing guide is prudent. Several excellent guide services operate out of towns near the lake such as Parshall, New Town, Garrison, Stanley and Williston. Expect to pay $150 per person per day for a guide who’ll supply boat, all equipment and bait.

The Van Hook Guide Service is on the Van Hook Arm of Lake Sakakawea and provides some of the finest guided walleye fishing in North America. Its professional fishing guides use top quality boats and equipment with state of the art sonar, GPS, and marine-band radios. These comfortable 18-21 foot walleye fishing boats have plenty of horsepower to get the job done, too.

All North Dakota fishing guides, the Van Hook Walleye Guide Service guys have fished the Van Hook Arm nearly exclusively for many years; it's their back yard. They knew where the walleye were. The guides worked together daily as a team in constant contact via radio. They prided themselves on not being in competition with one another. The Van Hook Guide goal is to put every client on the best walleye possible. When one guide puts clients on quality walleye, all their clients are on quality walleye.

We would never ask for a better guide than Robbie Attwood who works for Van Hook Walleye Guide Service out of Van Hook, North Dakota (701) 627-3812. With an attitude focused on pleasing clients, Robbie saw to it that each of the fishermen in his boat [two] were comfortable, safe, legal, and on the fish.

Attwood, a school teacher by trade, spends his summer days guiding anglers fishing for this cold water predator, was every bit the teacher in the boat tactfully suggesting slight modifications in technique to produce more catches than misses. Through his expert knowledge of the lake, we learned that while the Upper Missouri River Basin is in the grips of an extended drought, there’s still plenty of water and access on Lake Sakakawea. While the lake level is lower, there are more exposed points and structures for anglers to key on.

We rigged with night crawlers on a double hook leader below a small propeller separated with orange beads with a small half-inch chartreuse spoon in the lead. This rig was attached to a bottom bouncer.




Fishing 8 to 16 feet in depth, we drifted with the wind across flats and points motoring back for extra passes over those that were fruitful. When the wind made our pace too swift, water socks were tossed overboard to serve as drags to slow the boat to "trolling" speed.



Most walleye landed were in the twenty inch range with a few reaching 28 inches. The North Dakota walleye fishing limit is 5 walleye per day per person with a 10 walleye per person in possession. There are no slot limits or size restrictions.

The three of us limited every day on the water. Our catch was sufficient for us to each bring home over ten pounds of frozen fillets and stay within the 10 fish possession limit. The balance of our catch was consumed in a fish fry conducted by our friends and gracious hosts, Wade and Cindy Williamson. The townsfolk from Parshall, approximately twenty of them, joined us in the walleye feast.

In the 1983 movie, National Lampoon’s Vacation, the Griswold family took a road trip that included a stop at “Wally World’. I now know the real “Wally World” and the Griswold’s were no where near this North American Walleye Mecca called Lake Sakakawea.