March_April 2013.pdf - North Dakota Game and Fish

Dave pointed out, 2012 proved onceagain that the Missouri River basinis a basin of drought far more frequentlythan floods. During the pastyear, drought intensified throughoutthe basin and large amounts of waterwere flushed downstream to support aminiscule navigation industry. Consequently,the reservoirs look far differentthan they did just a year ago andforecasts aren’t that encouraging.Maintaining a rising water levelduring the spawning season (generallymid-April to mid-May) is critical foradequate forage and game fish productionin both fisheries. Unfortunately, inyears with minimal plains snowpack,that proves challenging and often oneor both reservoirs drop during thiscritical period. Given the more immediateneed for forage production inLake Oahe, it has priority for a risingpool this spring if adequate runoff doesnot occur. If drought conditions persist,2013 will see reservoirs decline tolevels that hamper the recovery of theLake Oahe fishery and begin to impactthe Lake Sakakawea fishery. Furtherwater level declines will also beginto negatively impact angler accessas some locations on both reservoirsagain become unusable.Q: Are there plans to stock cisco or gizzardshad in Lake Oahe this year?A: There is no doubt that the currentwalleye fishery between Garrison Damand the state border is much differentthan what anglers experienced inrecent years. Lack of forage followingthe 2011 flood led to decreases inwalleye condition and growth rates,as well as a corresponding increasein mortality rate. According to PaulBailey, Department district fisheriessupervisor, most of the walleye fromthe exceptionally strong 2009 yearclasshave now reached 13-15 inchesin length and will dominate anglercatches in the upcoming year.Over the past 40-plus years, thisfishery has demonstrated a remarkableability to recover if water levelmanagement and springtime weatherconditions are favorable for foragefish reproduction. However, recoverywill be delayed if the dry conditions ofFisheries biologists tag the rostrum of a young paddlefish. In recent years, fisheries managers saypaddlefish have suffered from poor recruitment into the population.FRED RYCKMAN2012 were just the start of a longertermdrought.Last year, the Department workedwith the South Dakota Game, Fishand Parks to stock adult gizzard shadin Lake Oahe in an effort to provideadditional forage for predatory fish.Paul indicated that it appears that thisshad reintroduction was a moderatesuccess. However, it will likely takeseveral consecutive mild winters forshad numbers to increase to the levelsseen in the mid-2000s. It is likely thatwe will stock additional adult gizzardshad again this year.Cisco are a coldwater forage speciesand thus we have never stocked norintend to stock them into our portionof Lake Oahe. They already exist andreproduce in the colder waters of lowerOahe in South Dakota.Q: Lake Sakakawea made a nice comebacklast year. Can you provideupdates on: 1) stocking plans for2013; 2) the status of salmon; 3) howsmallmouth bass increased so dramaticallylast year; 4) are you worriedabout oil development eventuallyimpacting Lake Sakakawea?1. Again, according to Dave Fryda, theLake Sakakawea fishery was generallyvery good in 2012 and shouldremain so in 2013. Smelt and otherforage species remain adequatedespite high entrainment ratesexperienced during the flood eventof 2011. Declining habitat conditionsdue to dropping water levelsmay begin to impact the fishery asthis year progresses.Currently, the proportion of thewalleye population exceeding 20inches is the third highest sincesurveys began in 1968. Additionally,anglers will see lots of 14- to16-inch fish recruited to the fisheryin 2013 due to a strong 2010 yearclassthat has grown exceptionallywell.Northern pike abundance isoff the charts at levels double theprevious record. Good opportunitiesfor pike exist throughout theMarch-April 2013 ND Outdoors 31