Outdoors Notebook: Game and Fish launches 3-year walleye-tagging study on Devils Lake

Yahoo

24-05-2025

May 24—DEVILS LAKE — The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has launched a three-year walleye-tagging study on Devils Lake in an effort to learn more about the "exploitation rate," or percentage of walleyes anglers harvest each year, on the popular fishery.
In a "North Dakota Outdoors" video segment, Todd Caspers, district fisheries biologist for Game and Fish in Devils Lake, said the goal is to tag at least 1,000 walleyes each of the three years in various locations across the lake.
Running the study for three years instead of just one will help account for year-to-year differences in fishing success, Caspers said in the video.
"One year, the fishing might be really good and exploitation might be a little higher, and then vice versa, if it's a slower year for walleye fishing, exploitation will probably be lower," Caspers said. "So, (over) three years, we'll see that kind of average out to a more average picture of what our exploitation is."
Fisheries crews will tag walleyes of various sizes — basically from 13 inches up to 30 inches — throughout the study, Caspers said, using metal tags that are fastened through the fishes' thin mouth tissue.
Anglers who catch a tagged walleye can either keep or release the fish like they would any walleye, but should report the tag number, either through their personal online Game and Fish account,
on the Game and Fish website
or by calling the Devils Lake district office at [phone].
The Devils Lake walleye-tagging study is one of seven department fisheries crews are conducting across the state this year. Game and Fish last conducted a walleye-tagging study on Devils Lake from 2007 through 2009.
BISMARCK — The North Dakota Game and Fish Department
encourages public comment on the revision
of its 2015 State Wildlife Action Plan.
Known as SWAP, for short, the plan is North Dakota's guiding document for the conservation and restoration of at-risk species and their habitats, with a focus on preventing species from becoming endangered. It identifies species of greatest conservation need, including fish, wildlife and invertebrates.
In a news release, Game and Fish said the plan is revised every 10 years and represents a unified effort involving various stakeholders aimed at creating and implementing conservation strategies to ensure the long-term protection and sustainability of the state's fish and wildlife.
North Dakota's SWAP is a collaborative effort by Game and Fish staff, species experts, partner conservation groups, and state, federal and local agencies.
A draft of the plan is available on the department's website — gf.nd.gov — and public comments will be accepted through June 30.
ST. PAUL — Minnesota's bass fishing
catch-and-keep season
opens Saturday, May 24. According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, spring is a great time to cast a line for these fun-to-catch fish. Largemouth and smallmouth bass can be easier to catch in spring and early summer when they spend more time in shallow water. Later, as water temperatures rise, many bass move to deeper water in search of sunken points, rocky humps and aquatic plant edges that offer protection from larger fish and hiding places for prey.
Learn more about how to fish for bass and other species on the DNR's
learn to fish webpage
at
mndnr.gov/gofishing/how-catch-fish.html
.