ND Fish pop never better

[Lee Borgersen]

           'Fish populations have never been better'

BISMARCK, N.D. — If you are an ice angler, the bitter cold of the last week or so has probably made you smile as lakes iced up.

But it hasn't done much in the way of participation. Most of the lakes in the state froze clear with not much snow on them, which makes for safer ice, but the frigid temperatures have kept most people off the lakes.

Snow cover on the lakes, heavier in the northern part of the state, has been kept at bay mostly by winds that also help make for safer ice.

Greg Power, fisheries chief for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said two weeks ago there was 8 inches or more of ice on some parts of Lake Audubon, a popular destination, especially for early ice anglers.

Lakes like Audubon, Sakakawea and Devils Lake are no secret when it comes to ice fishing.

But Power said the other 400-some lakes that the Game and Fish Department manages have a lot of "sleepers" with the potential for great fishing.

He said the state never has been in a situation with so many lakes with strong numbers of game fish.

"Our fish populations have never been better," Power said.

It's the cyclic nature of lakes on the prairies that began to turn back to the wet side of things in 2008, the first of three consecutive winters with considerable snowfall.

The downside to those years, much to the chagrin of anglers, was access. With the snow came the winds and for the most part, access was extremely difficult and getting around on the ice nearly impossible.

Power said the interest in winter fishing never has been stronger, mainly because of the good opportunities on lakes big and small.

The numbers back that statement: 25 percent of all fishing done in North Dakota is done through the ice and 40 percent of those who fish open water also ice fish.

For a variety of reasons, Power said, the smaller lakes offer better fishing than their larger counterparts.

Generally speaking, there is easier access to smaller lakes, even though some may not have modern boat ramps.

Through the wet, then dry, then wet again cycle, Power said, biologists have learned quite a bit about stocking and managing the smaller lakes.

That's especially true when it comes to perch, which in many stocking strategies is the backbone of the food chain for walleyes and northern pike.

"We're going through our second boom for perch now," Power said. "It probably won't be like it was 10-15 years ago, but it's still pretty good."

Perch often are targets of winter anglers, but not many fish the open water for them.

Power said many of the smaller lakes that filled with the recent abundant precipitation are shallow and therefore more prone to winterkill.

In the past, Power said, perch often were stocked in smaller lakes as a forage source for pike and walleye and did well in lakes that had a good population of fathead minnows.

But when these shallower lakes sustain fish kills — either during the summer or winter — sometimes restocking perch isn't the way to go, Power said.

"Logan WMA (Logan County) is a good example," he said.

"It was a great perch lake," Power said, until a summer die-off years ago. But perch were difficult to get re-established, likely because of competition with those same fathead minnows.

He said in that case, biologists altered the stocking strategy in favor of walleyes. "It's now a pretty good walleye lake," he said.

Power said there are tons of other examples of similar lakes that for many anglers are off the beaten path.

He said many anglers do their homework studying stocking reports from year to year to determine which lakes will produce best in the coming years.

And, Power said, in those lakes with strong fathead minnow populations, the growth rate for walleyes has been phenomenal.

"You know, we're not talking about 4-to 5-pound walleyes, but we are talking about nice eaters ... 16- or 17-inch fish in a couple of years," he said.

Whether you are talking about Baumgartner Lake in Emmons County, Brekken Lake in McLean County or Miller Lake in McIntosh County, Power said most of the sleeper lakes are underused to unknown.

Many are multi-species. And speaking of underused, Power said northern pike fit that description.

"We have more than 200 lakes with excellent pike numbers ... we've never had so may pike in the state," he said.

Some anglers are taking advantage, as indicated by the increasing popularity of darkhouse spearfishing.

Only pike and rough fish can be taken by spearing. This is the second winter fishing season after the daily limit for northerns was increased from three to five fish in all waters except for muskie lakes and the Red River.

Last year, a record number of anglers registered for darkhouse spearing in North Dakota — about 2,600 — spending more than 12,000 fishing days on the ice taking more than 1,800 pike.

[corny13]

Shhh!!!!