Tuesday, July 31, 2007


Bow Season Opens in 53 Days
Will you be ready?

Friday, July 13, 2007

Duck Hunters: Cautious Optimism
USFS Announces Results from Annual Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey


From Delta Waterfowl:

July 12, 2007
Breeding Grounds Wet; Duck Numbers Climb
Duck hunters will find plenty to cheer about in the annual Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey, released Friday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The fourth highest Canadian pond count on record propelled the breeding populations of three duck species - northern shovelers, redheads and canvasbacks-to all-time highs and pushed the green-winged teal population to its second-highest level on record. Blue-winged teal took advantage of improved water conditions on both sides of the border to achieve their third highest breeding population ever.

The total-duck breeding population climbed 14 percent to 41 million birds and mallards rose 10 percent to just over 8 million. May ponds across the surveyed area were at 7 million, a 15 percent increase from 2006 and 44 percent higher than the long-term average.

"The breeding grounds got wet and five species are at or above record levels-that's great news," said Delta Waterfowl President Rob Olson after reviewing the numbers.

Of the other surveyed species, gadwall rose 19 percent to 3.4 million breeding birds, wigeon jumped 29 percent to 2.8 million, green-winged teal rose 13 percent to 2.9 million, blue-winged teal were up 14 percent at 6.7 million, shovelers rose 24 percent to 4.5 million, redheads climbed 10 percent to just over 1 million, scaup bounced 6 percent from year's record low to 3.5 million and canvasbacks jumped by a surprising 25 percent to 865,000.

Olson credits excellent water conditions in the parklands of Canada for the record redhead and canvasback numbers and near-record for green-wings.

About the only bad news in the breeding survey was the beleaguered pintail, which dipped to 3.3 million in spite of a 111 percent jump in the eastern Dakota survey area.

Olson says the good news extends well beyond the end of May, when crews from Fish and Wildlife and the Canadian Wildlife Service wrapped up the exhaustive month-long ground and air survey.

"In many areas of the breeding grounds, heavy rains continued into June and July, which is quite unusual," he says. "When small wetlands are abundant, hens are more likely to re-nest and brood survival increases dramatically. For that reason, we expect good production from these areas."

Despite all the good news, Olson advises hunters to temper their expectations about the prospects for the fall season, at least as far as mallards and pintails are concerned.

"Production is a function of when and where the water comes," he explains. "Ideally, the most productive habitat gets wet early, when the first ducks arrive. This year some of the best areas were dry right up to the time the survey was conducted. The Coteau in the Dakotas didn't get rain until after the mallards and pintails had gone north, and the southern grasslands in Saskatchewan were dry.

"Those are two of the most productive areas for mallards and pintails," he says. "We'd be more optimistic about those species if those areas had been wet early. The good news is that late-nesting ducks like blue-winged teal, gadwalls and shovelers should continue to do well.

"The parklands of Saskatchewan were extremely wet and attracted a lot of mallards, but research tells us that production in the parklands is only marginal compared to the prairies."

Olson says he continues to be concerned about low mallard numbers on the Canadian prairie despite the excellent water conditions of recent years. Saskatchewan's pond count has risen 105 percent since 2004 and is now 52 percent above its long-term average, but mallards are only 4 percent above the long-term average. Alberta was 68 percent wetter than the long-term average, but mallard numbers there are down 24 percent long-term. Manitoba was 21 percent over the LTA in ponds with just 2 percent more mallards than average.

By contrast, the mallard count in the eastern Dakotas was up 138 percent long-term on a 23 percent increase in ponds. "We know that mallards tend to home in on the areas where they were hatched," Olson explains, "so the U.S. number would suggest that the Conservation Reserve Program is still hatching a lot of ducks and that we have some ongoing habitat problems in prairie Canada," Olson says.

A similar trend is apparent with pintails, says Delta Scientific Director Frank Rohwer. "The lack of response by pintails in Canada is noteworthy," Dr. Rohwer says. "This is the second wettest year on record in Alberta, yet the pintail count was down 47 percent from a year ago and 55 percent from the long-term average. Saskatchewan was down 6 percent for the year and 21 percent long-term. Pintails track ponds, but they didn't in Canada.

"Yet even as the pintail count was dropping in Canada, it was through the roof in the eastern Dakotas. Saskatchewan and Alberta are the traditional pintail factories, but when two-thirds more pintails nest in the eastern Dakotas than Alberta, that tells us something about the importance of CRP."

"The mallard breeding population is at its North American Waterfowl Management goal, and CRP gets most of the credit," says Olson. "The U.S. mallard population is 116 percent above its North American Plan goal, but Canada is 20 percent below its goal.

"That's a huge concern, because we know we're going to lose a minimum of a million acres of CRP in the next few years, and for every acre of CRP that disappears, mallard numbers will drop, no matter how much moisture the breeding grounds get.

"Mallards and pintails arrive on the breeding grounds early, when cover is sparse and predators don't have much in the way of alternative prey," Olson explains.

"CRP provides the big blocks of dense nesting cover mallards and pintails need. Canada doesn't have a program comparable to CRP, and that's why mallard and pintail numbers haven't responded despite the ideal wetland conditions."

Olson says the numbers demonstrate the importance of U.S. duck hunters encouraged their representatives in Congress to support CRP, swampbuster and sodsaver in the current farm bill, along with the Emergency Wetland Loan Act and the Clean Water Restoration Act.

"Historically, most of the continent's ducks originated in Canada, but thanks to CRP, the Clean Water Act and the duck stamp, a significant percentage of today's ducks originate in the U.S. It's important that we hang onto the programs responsible for producing those birds."

2007 Waterfowl Breeding Population Survey
Species 2007 2006 % Change from '06 % Changefrom LTA
Mallard 8,032 7,277 +10 +7
Gadwall 3,355 2,825 +19 +96
American Wigeon 2,803 2,171 +29 +7
Green-winged Teal 2,911 2,587 +13 +55
Blue-winged Teal 6,694 5,860 +14 +48
Northern Shoveler 4,553 3,680 +24 +106
Northern Pintail 3,335 3,386 -2 -19
Redhead 1,009 916 +10 +60
Canvasback 865 691 +25 +53
Scaup 3,452 3,247 +6 -33
All numbers in 000s. LTA is long-term average.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007





WALLY WORLD: DAKOTA’S LAKE SAKAKAWEA
By Mike Faulk

With nearly 400,000 acres of water, 150 miles long, 1600 miles of shoreline, covering six counties in two time zones, Lake Sakakawea in western North Dakota is huge by southeastern standards. At an impoundment elevation of over 1800 feet, it is roughly the same elevation as the North Carolina high mountain lake of Santeetlah – a part of the Tennessee Valley Authority system.

This western plains lake is situated at 48 degrees north latitude. When coupled with the elevation, this latitude makes Sakakawea a cold water sanctuary for many North American game fish including pre-historic sturgeon and paddlefish. More common species include northern pike, smallmouth bass, striped bass, trout, freshwater salmon, perch, shiners, catfish, and carp. But this lake of little fishing pressure is truly Wally World – walleye that is! There is actually a statue in Garrison, North Dakota of “Wally the Walleye”!

Lake Sakakawea, named for the famed American Indian girl who guided the Lewis and Clark expedition through the region, has drawn national attention in the past few years. In 2001, the Professional Walleye Trail made its first ever stop on the big water as a part of its western pro-am tour. With endless secluded bays, Sakakawea still retains much of the raw and untamed beauty that Lewis and Clark chronicled in their journals as they explored the area in the early 1800s.

With limited population to foul its waters, this prairie pothole section of the Dakotas is big farm country with single fields sometimes measured in sections [one square mile dimensions]. The wind can howl across this land lying just to the northeast of Teddy Roosevelt’s famed spread, the Elkhorn Ranch. The northern section of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park is also just north of Medora off Interstate 94 and east of the Montana border.

Clean, comfortable, and affordable accommodations exist in towns near the lake; but, lakeside lodging around the 1600 miles of mostly undeveloped shoreline is sparse. Choices for eateries are similarly limited but our merry band of east Tennesseans were pleased with meals from Scenic 23 Supper Club right by Van Hook.

Campgrounds are available and include Van Hook and Parshall Recreational Bay. They offer recreational vehicle sites, electricity, shower facilities, sewer, convenience store, cabins, and the only boat rental on the Van Hook Arm. Little shade was observed around these camps as this section of North Dakota is quite windy and trees are limited in comparison to here in the east.

Getting there from East Tennessee is a chore. Situated so far west that it straddles the Central and Mountain Time zones, Lake Sakakawea is a little over an hour’s drive from the nearest airport with scheduled commercial air travel: Minot, North Dakota. A number of air carriers also service Bismarck which is about two hours’ drive to the south. A distance of 1600 miles away, Lake Sakakawea is a thirty-plus hour drive from anywhere in East Tennessee.

June and July are the primary months to fish this pristine big water lake. Extremes seem to prevail. I also offer a word of caution about the weather: the temperature was a low-humidity 100 degrees each of the four days we fished in mid-July but light jackets were appreciated most mornings as our time on the water began. I was informed the coldest July on record with subfreezing wind chill was only a couple of years back. At times flat and at other times rolling with 3-4 foot swells, anyone loathing deer flies, bugs, and sea sickness should stay off this lake. But, if you show a little bravery, the rewards are out of this world.




A non-resident license of only $25.00 for a ten day fishing permit makes an assault on this nearly uninhabited lake affordable to almost all fishermen. An additional $4.50 permit from the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation may also required if fishing within the original reservation.

Given the shear magnitude of Lake Sakakawea, the employment of a fishing guide is prudent. Several excellent guide services operate out of towns near the lake such as Parshall, New Town, Garrison, Stanley and Williston. Expect to pay $150 per person per day for a guide who’ll supply boat, all equipment and bait.

The Van Hook Guide Service is on the Van Hook Arm of Lake Sakakawea and provides some of the finest guided walleye fishing in North America. Its professional fishing guides use top quality boats and equipment with state of the art sonar, GPS, and marine-band radios. These comfortable 18-21 foot walleye fishing boats have plenty of horsepower to get the job done, too.

All North Dakota fishing guides, the Van Hook Walleye Guide Service guys have fished the Van Hook Arm nearly exclusively for many years; it's their back yard. They knew where the walleye were. The guides worked together daily as a team in constant contact via radio. They prided themselves on not being in competition with one another. The Van Hook Guide goal is to put every client on the best walleye possible. When one guide puts clients on quality walleye, all their clients are on quality walleye.

We would never ask for a better guide than Robbie Attwood who works for Van Hook Walleye Guide Service out of Van Hook, North Dakota (701) 627-3812. With an attitude focused on pleasing clients, Robbie saw to it that each of the fishermen in his boat [two] were comfortable, safe, legal, and on the fish.

Attwood, a school teacher by trade, spends his summer days guiding anglers fishing for this cold water predator, was every bit the teacher in the boat tactfully suggesting slight modifications in technique to produce more catches than misses. Through his expert knowledge of the lake, we learned that while the Upper Missouri River Basin is in the grips of an extended drought, there’s still plenty of water and access on Lake Sakakawea. While the lake level is lower, there are more exposed points and structures for anglers to key on.

We rigged with night crawlers on a double hook leader below a small propeller separated with orange beads with a small half-inch chartreuse spoon in the lead. This rig was attached to a bottom bouncer.




Fishing 8 to 16 feet in depth, we drifted with the wind across flats and points motoring back for extra passes over those that were fruitful. When the wind made our pace too swift, water socks were tossed overboard to serve as drags to slow the boat to "trolling" speed.



Most walleye landed were in the twenty inch range with a few reaching 28 inches. The North Dakota walleye fishing limit is 5 walleye per day per person with a 10 walleye per person in possession. There are no slot limits or size restrictions.

The three of us limited every day on the water. Our catch was sufficient for us to each bring home over ten pounds of frozen fillets and stay within the 10 fish possession limit. The balance of our catch was consumed in a fish fry conducted by our friends and gracious hosts, Wade and Cindy Williamson. The townsfolk from Parshall, approximately twenty of them, joined us in the walleye feast.

In the 1983 movie, National Lampoon’s Vacation, the Griswold family took a road trip that included a stop at “Wally World’. I now know the real “Wally World” and the Griswold’s were no where near this North American Walleye Mecca called Lake Sakakawea.

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