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Home › Waters › North Dakota › Sheyenne River below Baldhill Dam
Tailwater · Barnes County about twelve miles northwest of Valley City, the regulated reach below the dam that forms Lake Ashtabula · North Dakota

Sheyenne River below Baldhill Dam Fishing Guides

A warmwater Corps-regulated tailrace below Lake Ashtabula with abundant smallmouth and an unusual upstream muskellunge fishery, not a trout tailwater.

Warm light on a slow river running through heavy timber
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Guides on the Sheyenne River below Baldhill Dam

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About the Sheyenne River below Baldhill Dam

Baldhill Dam impounds Lake Ashtabula on the Sheyenne River about twelve miles northwest of Valley City, in Barnes County, and the reach immediately below it is a genuine regulated tailrace. Flows are set by the Corps of Engineers for flood control rather than by rainfall, so the river below the dam swings according to what the reservoir needs to do. The gauge here carries a temperature record alongside stage and discharge, which is useful on a river this managed.

It is important to say plainly what this tailwater is not. Despite the type, it is not a trout fishery. There is no trout stocking below Baldhill Dam, and anglers arriving with that expectation will be disappointed. What the cold, stable tailrace flow does instead is concentrate warmwater fish immediately below the dam, which is a different thing but a genuinely productive one.

North Dakota Game and Fish describes the Sheyenne as holding abundant smallmouth bass, with moderate numbers of walleye and channel catfish, and good numbers of muskellunge in the upper reaches. A muskie fishery is unusual for this region and is the most distinctive thing about the river. Above the dam, Lake Ashtabula itself runs walleye, northern pike and smallmouth in abundance, along with perch, crappie, white bass and bluegill, so a trip can reasonably cover both sides of the structure.

Access below the dam centres on Mel Rieman Recreation Area, the Corps site at Baldhill Dam itself. Downstream through Valley City the Sheyenne River Water Trail provides a paddling route with several launches. One practical warning matters here: zebra mussels are present in Lake Ashtabula, so clean, drain and dry requirements apply to any boat or gear moving between waters. Statewide North Dakota regulations otherwise govern the river.

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We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

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Posting to Sheyenne River below Baldhill Dam.

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Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Flow alert

Tell me when the Sheyenne River below Baldhill Dam cfs

Now: 161 cfs, read 5:00 pm CDT, Sun Oct 18, 2026 (USGS 05058000, SHEYENNE RIVER BELOW BALDHILL DAM, ND).

We never use this address for anything else and never share it. See the privacy policy.

Access

Mel Rieman Recreation Area - the Corps of Engineers site at Baldhill Dam, the main access to the tailrace.
Baldhill Dam - the structure itself, with the concentrated fishing immediately below it.
Lake Ashtabula - the reservoir above the dam, with walleye, pike and smallmouth and its own ramps.
Sheyenne River Water Trail - the paddling route running downstream through Valley City with several launches.
Valley City - the town about twelve miles southeast, with lodging, food, tackle and services.
Valley City city parks - riverside park access along the Sheyenne as it passes through town.
Upper Sheyenne reaches - the water above the reservoir, where the muskellunge fishing is concentrated.

Seasons

Spring: high, cold and often heavily regulated as the Corps moves flood water, with walleye active below the dam.
Summer: the main season, with smallmouth bass abundant in the tailrace and catfish through the warm nights.
Fall: cooling water brings walleye and pike back into the tailrace for a strong second window.
Winter: the tailrace stays open in places because of the release, though access is limited and ice is unreliable near the dam.

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Questions

What is the current flow on the Sheyenne River below Baldhill Dam?

As of Oct 18, 5:00 pm, the USGS gauge SHEYENNE RIVER BELOW BALDHILL DAM, ND reads 161 cfs, with water temperature 54 F. Conditions update every 15 minutes.

What species can you catch on the Sheyenne River below Baldhill Dam?

Anglers target Channel Catfish, Freshwater Drum, Muskellunge, Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Yellow Perch on the Sheyenne River below Baldhill Dam in North Dakota.

Where can you access the Sheyenne River below Baldhill Dam?

Mel Rieman Recreation Area - the Corps of Engineers site at Baldhill Dam, the main access to the tailrace. Baldhill Dam - the structure itself, with the concentrated fishing immediately below it. Lake Ashtabula - the reservoir above the dam, with walleye, pike and smallmouth and its own ramps. Sheyenne River Water Trail - the paddling route running downstream through Valley City with several launches. Valley City - the town about twelve miles southeast, with lodging, food, tackle and services. Valley City city parks - riverside park access along the Sheyenne as it passes through town. Upper Sh...

When is the best time to fish the Sheyenne River below Baldhill Dam?

Spring: high, cold and often heavily regulated as the Corps moves flood water, with walleye active below the dam. Summer: the main season, with smallmouth bass abundant in the tailrace and catfish through the warm nights. Fall: cooling water brings walleye and pike back into the tailrace for a strong second window. Winter: the tailrace stays open in places because of the release, though access is limited and ice is unreliable near the dam.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Sheyenne River below Baldhill Dam?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the North Dakota agency site: https://gf.nd.gov/fishing