PARSHALL - Greg Schoneck is looking ahead.

Although we had enjoyed a half-dozen hookups in less than an hour as we meandered around Parshall Bay pulling crankbaits on this fine Thursday, the operator of No Bonz Guide Service was thinking about the upcoming summer transition.

This day two-thirds through July was that 'tween time. And we were bringing in some of the last holdout walleyes from creek-fed back bays.

"This may have been the last day," he said as he held the tiller on his kicker motor with one hand and kept an eye on his GPS.

Those murky back bays continue to hold walleyes, and the boat ramp parking area at Parshall Bay held at least two dozen pickups and empty boat trailers. Most of those anglers also were working the bay's muddy water.

"I've never seen anything like it. It's the granddaddy of all bites," Schoneck said. "It's the longest I've seen them stay in one place since I've been fishing."

But the water in those bays was warming up, Lake Sakakawea was in its annual late-summer decline, and a lot of walleyes were heading toward the lake's deeper and colder water.

Schoneck had tied on four crankbaits in fire-tiger patterns, two jointed No. 5 Shad Raps and two jointed Grappler Shads, for this jaunt around Parshall Bay. The reels, equipped with line counters, were loaded with 10-pound Fireline.

"I seldom pull the same four lures, but I've been doing it in there," he said. This was his 11th day in a row to pull crankbaits through these waters.

Of those six walleyes we had boated into while still within sight of the dock, three were in the livewell, two were back in the water and one got off.

One of the walleyes that went back was too small, maybe 12 or 13 inches.

"Wait until next year," Schoneck said as it went over the side.

The other, a 22¼-incher, was wearing a blue North Dakota Game and Fish Department tag on its back. Schoneck noted the tag's number and color in order to report it to NDGFD. In the office the next morning, filing the report on the NDGFD Web site took less than two minutes.

Although releasing a tagged fish isn't required, Schoneck puts them back.

"You get more history. All that information helps you learn more about walleyes. You certainly can eat them, but turn them loose and you never know when that fish will turn up again," he said.

Now the time had come to look ahead, toward the next phase of walleye movements.

Those hot months also are known as the "dog days," Schoneck said,"which I think is a misnomer."

We were headed for Shell Village, a submerged flat surrounded by deeper water.

Although plenty of other boats marked the spot, Schoneck noted the GPS coordinates as N 47 48.444 and W 102 21.124.

"You know the summer transition is in progress when people are out in the middle of the lake," he said.

Walleyes often come to the sandy flat from the deeper water, making them accessible to the many anglers dragging crawlers along the flat.

"Shell Village is an excellent bait spot for fish," Schoneck noted. To show the chasm between the flat and the deeper water, Schoneck took us across the flat, which his electronics showed to be as shallow as 9 feet, to deeper water, where the bottom fell off to 69 feet.

He hooked one-piece Reef Runners in a variety of more muted colors on the Fireline, and we pulled them at 13 feet. In much clearer water, less color seemed to work best, and a copper-red combination got its share of attention from the walleyes.

"Jointed (cranks) may not work here, and Reef Runners work so well for so much of the season," he explained.

And the walleyes continued to agree. We put more back in the lake than in the livewell.

We were following Schoneck's self-imposed slot limit of keeping walleyes that were between 16 and 20 inches. The smaller ones would grow into keepers next year, and the bigger ones would be spawning more walleyes next spring, he reasoned.

"Those are keepers for a lot of anglers this year," he said as he put back another of the smaller walleyes.

When he's out with clients, Schoneck allows them to decide what to eat and what to put back, but when he's doing his Thursday "Wet and Wild" broadcasts for Clear Channel radio stations, including KFYR-AM in Bismarck, the slot is in effect, as it is for his "Gone Fishing" segments Wednesdays on the KX television network.

We moved on to Chimney, which his GPS showed as N 47 47.037 and W 102 18.941.

Just north of Independence Island, there's another shallow water area that's connected to deeper water, Schoneck explained.

"It's been a good spot for the last few weeks," he said.

We started by pulling the cranks around the shallow flat.

"If we don't find them shallow like I hope to, we'll sneak out deep," he said.

We hooked two more little ones that went back.

Then one-two-three, the clickers on three rods started buzzing madly.

"Priorities, priorities," Schoneck said as he decided which rod held the biggest fish.

Two made the livewell, but the third got off.

For anglers who have been most successful using live bait, the learning curve on pulling cranks will prove steep before anglers achieve the same success level that they had with live bait, Schoneck said.

"But if more people learned to use cranks, there wouldn't be a dog days of August," he added.

And with line counters, high-end electronics and precise trolling patterns and boat speeds, there is an investment in equipment, Schoneck said.

"For a lot of people, what they are using works just fine. So why change?" he said.

Now we headed for deeper water to pull Reef Runners at 20 feet.

"We will see if we can find more significant fish in deeper water. It's what you call an upgrade," he said.

And we did, landing another 22-incher that went back.

Meanwhile, dark clouds were building in the west. Although the weather forecast called for a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon, it wasn't even noon yet. We had left the ramp at Parshall a bit before 8 a.m.

One more reel buzzed, and one more walleye was aboard. Schoneck studied it a bit longer than usual, then put it in the livewell. It probably was the smallest walleye to make the livewell all morning.

"Do you know why that one was a keeper?" he asked.

"Look to the west," he answered, pointing to the building thunderheads that were darker and streaked with occasional flashes of lightning.

Rain is OK, lightning isn't. We called it a day and headed back, reaching the dock just as the first raindrops began to fall.

But there were enough walleyes in the livewell to make a fine meal of fried walleye fillets that evening.

That they were all that perfect eating size made them all the tastier.

(Reach outdoor writer Richard Hinton at 701-250-8256 or richard.hinton@;bismarcktribune.com.)