March_April 2013.pdf - North Dakota Game and Fish

surveys continue to show that walleyeand northern pike are very abundant,with about 75 percent of the adultwalleye between 10-15 inches long,and about 20 percent are between15-20 inches long. About one in 20walleye are 20 inches or longer. Thecurrent walleye size structure is on thesmall side, but should improve in thenext few years as the abundant youngerfish age and grow.Northern pike are running larger,with about 75 percent between 21-28inches and about 15 percent arebetween 28-34 inches.South Dakota State Universityis just completing a bioenergeticsstudy on Devils Lake. Randy Hiltner,Department fisheries supervisor inDevils Lake, has helped guide thisstudy to determine not only food habits,but also growth and mortality rates.Nothing too earth shattering in termsof what the predator fish eat. Scuds(freshwater shrimp), various otheraquatic insects, leeches and small fish,such as fathead minnows, are commontable fare. One finding of interest fromthe study showed that adult white bassdo not eat many small yellow perch.Regarding walleye reproduction, ithas been good for some time. Highlake levels provide good spawninghabitat as “new” shoreline is scouredby wave action and exposes clean rockand gravel.Q: Any thoughts on where the next, ifany, state record walleye might comefrom?A: Obviously the big three – Sakakawea,Oahe/Missouri River and DevilsLake – come quickly to mind. DevilsLake put out some very large walleyelast year, some of the largest ever outof that lake. However, sleepers for apossible state record include many ofour midsize reservoirs such as Darling,Audubon, Heart Butte and Ashtabula.And believe it or not, the Red Riverhas the ability to produce large walleye.Q: You work with fish all the time. Whatis your personal favorite type of fishing?Surveys on Devils Lake continueto show that about 75 percent ofthe adult walleye are between10-15 inches, and about one in20 are 20 inches or longer.A: Perch in the winter and walleye duringthe open-water season leads my list,but with a caveat. The only fishing Iwill do is where the crowds are not, soI pass up some hot bites. There’s nothingbetter than casting cranks fromshore at night or working the electricmotor on the Missouri pursuingwalleye in peace and quiet. It’s not justabout catching fish, but all the neatthings you see or hear while fishing inthe back 40. You may have to get upearly or stay out late, but thankfullyNorth Dakota still offers quality fishingwithout the crowds.Q: Any creel surveys coming up thisyear?A: If all goes according to plan, there willbe a creel survey on Devils Lake thissummer and again next winter.Q: Game and Fish conducts populationsurveys on most of the perchlakes each year. Is there a place whereanglers can find out the results ofthose tests to eliminate wasted timeand zero in on big perch lakes andavoid lakes with stunted perch?A: Though this may be a simple question,trying to answer it is anythingbut. However, the Department has notbeen, nor plans to be a repository of“where are the fish biting.” We continueto direct the public to the localbait shops, as they often have the latestfirst-hand fishing reports. In terms ofavailable information, we do currentlyprovide, and periodically update, directionsto a given lake, what species arecommon, and if available, a contourmap. This information is included inthe North Dakota OUTDOORS magazineand online at http://gf.nd.gov/fishing/fishing-waters.However, we haven’t provided catchrecord information. This matter hasbeen both a practical and philosophicaldebate for years with pros and conson both sides. The reality is that of thecurrent 400 water bodies in the statethat we’re actively managing, we areonly able to get to slightly more thanhalf of them during the course of theyear to assess the adult fish population.And for the water bodies we doget to, the catches can vary based on anumber of factors and so interpretationof catch records often require a broaderworking knowledge.For example, a high catch rate froma given lake does not necessarily translateinto angler success. Saying all that,we are providing additional informationabout our lakes in this magazine.(See Page 6). This is not catch recorddata, but summaries from the respectivefisheries supervisors for anglers touse and frame realistic expectations.This information will be updatedperiodically online at http://gf.nd.gov/fishing/fishing-waters.34 ND Outdoors March-April 2013SANDRA JOHNSON