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Last modified: Monday, March 30, 2009 10:44 AM CDT
The 2009 flood, Lake of the Woods northern pike and other notes
by Curt Wells
It’s virtually impossible to start this column without mentioning the flood and the persistent winter weather. I drove to Fargo on Thursday to basically “evacuate” my grandsons while their parents battled the flood. Both my sons live in Fargo and Jason is the Human Resources Director at the Fargo VA Hospital, which was evacuating as of Friday. Unless there is a significant breach in a dike their homes should be safe but there is a lot of nervousness up there and by the time you read this the Red should have crested.
I do have to commend the two cities of Wahpeton and Breckenridge for their foresight and efforts over the past twelve years. The flood preparedness achieved by the Twin Towns since 1997 has been outstanding and has made the Fargo-Moorhead area look as though they’ve been sitting on their hands for the past decade. To everyone from city engineers to sandbaggers – thank you and great job!
The weather in the rest of the state has been terrible as well. Marmarth, a small hamlet in the far southwestern corner of the state received 22 inches of snow last week and blizzard conditions stretched across the entire state. Pheasant populations took another hit at a time when they didn’t need the additional stress, especially considering the storm was followed by prolonged cold weather. Deer herds are also being impacted. A fair number of dead deer have been picked up in the Williston area by Game and Fish officials. Those carcasses will be tested for disease. The losses aren’t huge, maybe ten percent or so, but I’m betting there will be fewer deer licenses this fall because of winterkill.
It’s just not good out there and turkey season is almost here. ‘Ol Man Winter is really starting to tick me off.
LOTW PIKE
Just prior to all the flood problems, I traveled to Warroad with my Minnesota relatives for a few days of tip-up fishing for big pike on Lake of the Woods. We had a great time. The bite was fairly slow but we still enjoyed the time on the ice in decent weather. We put out our tip-ups, kicked back in folding chairs and even grilled some brats while watching for flags.
The northern pike are staging for the spawn and cruising the shallows near the river inlets. They aren’t too aggressive which is why we were fishing with dead smelt. Occasionally a flag would tip up as if a fish just bumped the smelt then lost interest. We were fishing in about seven feet of water (including three feet of ice) with the smelt suspended under the ice about 18 inches.
Over a total of two days we caught and released seventeen northerns. The quality was very good as we had five double-digit fish. My son, Jason, caught the largest, a 40.5” northern that weighed 19 pounds according to a digital scale. Even though it was over the 30 to 40 inch protected slot he still released it. We also landed a couple of 36” fish, a 34 incher and I caught a 39” fish that only weighed 12 pounds. It was very skinny, blind in one eye and had a large lamprey scar on his side. I think his name was “Lucky.”
Seriously, it was a lot of fun, very laid back and a nice diversion prior to the flood fight. I was surprised at the large number of anglers traveling all over the ice trying to get in their last few days of ice fishing. The ice was strong and thick but getting sloppy on top. There’s probably only another week or two left for this type of fishing.
BIGHORNS
Evidently the winter has not hurt the bighorn population in North Dakota. March surveys show the northern badlands herd is up 14 percent and the southern herd is up 4 percent. Lamb recruitment was a very good 35 percent and lamb survival was excellent at 80 percent. Biologists speculate the high survival rate is partially due to the transplant of Montana bighorns which are very tough and thriving in North Dakota.
A total of 313 bighorns were counted. That breaks down to 96 rams, 167 ewes and 50 lambs. The results of the bighorn, moose and elk drawing should be available in a couple of weeks.
ADVISORY MEETING
The spring round of North Dakota Game and Fish Department Advisory Board meetings will begin soon and the meeting for District 5 will take place on Monday, April 20th. The location is the Cayuga Hall in Cayuga and it will begin at 7 p.m. The Southeast Sportsmen’s Club will be hosting the meeting and everyone is welcome to come and express their opinion to officials of the Game and Fish Department.
SNOW GEESE
As of last week there were large numbers of snow geese in South Dakota and the first few “scout” flocks were venturing into southeast and south-central North Dakota, then slipping back south. Snow geese have a tendency to drift back and forth as they determine where the snow line is. That snow line had all but disappeared as warm temperatures and rain took care of most of the snow. Then the blizzard changed things and those geese headed back south. As it warms they’ll be back but it’s a fluid situation.
However, the real “fluid” situation is the high water. Many county roads have been affected by flood waters, especially in the eastern part of the state. Be extremely careful and do not tear up roads just because you’re after snow geese. County officials have bigger problems to worry about right now.
As spring progresses you can keep track of the migrating snow goose flocks in the Dakotas by calling the hotline in each state. In South Dakota the hotline number is 605-885-6401 or visit www.sdgfp.info. In North Dakota the hotline number is 701-328-3697 or you can read the updates online at www.gf.nd.gov.
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