Spring Spawn Wrapped Up

Fisheries crews concluded a successful spawning season by surpassing a walleye egg goal that was the largest in more than a decade, and nearly reaching the target established for northern pike.

Jerry Weigel, fisheries production and development section leader for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said department staff, along with personnel from the Garrison Dam and Valley City national fish hatcheries, collected 60 million walleye eggs during spring spawning.

“The timing was perfect for spawning walleye in North Dakota,” Weigel said. “The weather was ideal and the fish were healthy.”

Crews collected 33.9 million walleye eggs from Lake Sakakawea over an 8-day period. In addition, 24.4 million came from Devils Lake, and another 1.9 million from Lake Audubon.

“It is interesting to note that the peak of the run was occurring in Lake Sakakawea right when crews were closing down operations because the egg goal had been met,” Weigel said.

While near-record catches occurred on Lake Sakakawea, the higher water level at Devils Lake made netting difficult, resulting in a lower walleye catch at Devils Lake than in recent years.

Warm weather conditions dictated an early pike run, Weigel said, and a quick spawn resulted in an egg take of 14.3 million.

“We had a very short window, making pike egg collections a challenge,” he added. “But staff netted six lakes – the most in one spring – and the above-average egg quality provided more than enough pike eggs to meet hatchery needs.”

Crews collected pike eggs from Alkali/Spiritwood Lake in Stutsman County, Lake Ashtabula in Barnes County, Devils Lake in Ramsey County, Turtle Lake in McLean County, Pfiefle Lake in McIntosh County, and Beaver Bay on Lake Oahe.

With the return of normal water conditions in the Missouri River System, the importance of Beaver Bay was especially noteworthy as it led the state in terms of pike egg take. 

Weigel said plans are to stock approximately 9 million walleye fingerling into nearly 120 waters in mid-June, and 2.5 million pike fingerling into approximately 90 waters during the last two weeks of May.

Remaining Deer Samples Negative for CWD

The remaining 1,000 North Dakota deer samples that were tested for chronic wasting disease and bovine tuberculosis are negative, according to Dr. Dan Grove, wildlife veterinarian for the State Game and Fish Department.

In all, more than 3,000 targeted and hunter-harvested samples from 2009 were sent to a lab in Minnesota. One mule deer taken last fall in unit 3F2 in western Sioux County tested positive for CWD, the first positive sample taken from a North Dakota animal.

Grove said one positive test result is not cause for alarm as the deer population remains healthy. “We’ve had a plan in place because of the presence of CWD outside of the state’s borders,” he added. “It is of high importance, however, that hunters continue to provide heads for testing.”

The deer population in unit 3F2 is above management goals, Grove said, so sampling efforts and hunter pressure will continue to be put on the population in the unit again this fall.

In addition to sampling 3F2, the Game and Fish Department will continue its three-year rotation of the Hunter-Harvested Surveillance program by sampling deer this fall from units in the eastern third of the state. In addition, all moose and elk harvested in the state, regardless of hunting units, are eligible for sampling.

Since the department’s sampling efforts began in 2002, more than 16,000 deer, elk and moose have tested negative for CWD.

CWD affects the nervous system of members of the deer family and is always fatal. Scientists have found no evidence that CWD can be transmitted naturally to humans or livestock.

Border Water Fishing Regulations

PIERRE, S.D. — The Game, Fish and Parks Department is reminding anglers that fishing regulations on South Dakota’s border waters may vary from statewide fishing regulations.

While special regulations apply to all border waters, prominent fisheries in that category include Big Stone Lake and Lake Traverse on the Minnesota border, the Big Sioux River on the Iowa border, and Lewis and Clark Lake on the Nebraska border. Anglers should refer to the 2010 Fishing Handbook for specific daily, possession, and length limits on all border waters.