2022 dwc

[Migrator Man]

Go sit at the fish cleaning stations this summer and you will see why their are not more big fish.

Exactly! People in WY are really good about releasing the big girls. The weight down here are no joke and we don’t have the big forage like ft peck

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Makes me think of the guy I encountered on my last Sak ice outing this year. He talked about all the 40+ inch pike he used to spear in that bay, and in the next breath lamented that he just doesn't see those big pike like he used to. Hmmm, you don't say?

These tournaments send 200+ boats out to kill the biggest fish they can find. Even with high growth rates those fish take over a decade to reach into the 25+ inch range. Some in the recreational crowd are guilty too, certainly not just tournaments. But to say killing big fish doesn't impact numbers of big fish in the system is foolish.

Not enough tournaments to even make that big of an impact. It is the recreational fisherman keeping 22”+ fish to eat

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if i remember corrrectly they stocked 7 million in one year of fingerlings. The g and f have the power (greggy) to do anything they want. Low water is more than a threat ---- what happens if the water gets to low -the smeltos die out.


NO STATE DOES 7mil in stocking except here.

Sak is a zig zag

I would be more worried about the the smaller classes. I couldnt catch a fish under 16" when i was up on the lake a few weeks ago. I would not worry about anything to be real honest.

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pike do not like low water levels. They go rogue.

It shows that there WERE a ton of big fish 22”+ that had the potential to become trophy fish but they were harvested instead. Sak has the potential to be a bigger trophy destination but the regs are not set up that way to promote it

 

[sweeney]

I would say the average fish weighed in the tournament was about 18.5-19.5" inches, i think they didn't tare off the basket this year. the average fish weight was 3.09 lbs. Those 18-19.5 fish on my scale were weighing between 2.48 and 2.92 lbs. first day we weighed a skinny 20, 3 19s and an 18.5 for 14.6 lbs weighing them individually i was at like 13.3, second day 24, 22, 3 19.5 for 18.75, i only weighed the 19.5 they all were between 2.7 and 2.9, that puts a 24" and 22" fish weighing in at over 10lbs. if you look at big fish weights all kinds of 26 inch fish weighing in over 7 lbs, and 28" weighing in at close to 8.5-9lbs. Talked to numerous other teams who thought their weights were higher than what they weighed in the boat or expected them to be.

 

[Bfishn]

It shows that there WERE a ton of big fish 22”+ that had the potential to become trophy fish but they were harvested instead. Sak has the potential to be a bigger trophy destination but the regs are not set up that way to promote it

NDGF has always managed for opportunity not trophy's this goes for fishing and hunting. Also, what does WY do? I just see a 6 fish limit for walleye, do they have slots on certain reservoirs that are producing larger weights?

 

[Waterfowler]

Afternoon Sweeney. I can only speak for myself and our weight. We were the first team to weigh in on day 1 at Noon and I watched them weigh an empty basket and tare the scale when they pulled it off it read -2.?? lbs than they put our fish on in that they had in a separate basket. Our biggest fish a chubby 25" wighed 5.5lbs our total day 1 was 19.6. If they didnt tare the scale after us that hurts haha we missed the money by less than a pound. The weights were definitely up this year as has been said lots of nice fish caught. I think 70th place this year would have taken 2nd place last year for some perspective. Also i counted 30 plus fish weighed over 7 lbs this year, last year there were 5. Lake levels were almost the same. Water temps pretty close to last year as well. Not sure if that flush from the yellowstone had an impact or not. However this has been some of the best fishing i've seen on this lake up and down.

 

[Migrator Man]

NDGF has always managed for opportunity not trophy's this goes for fishing and hunting. Also, what does WY do? I just see a 6 fish limit for walleye, do they have slots on certain reservoirs that are producing larger weights?

No slots in WY except some lakes have a 15” minimum. Maybe people in WY are better at selective harvest and release the big ones more than MD fishermen? Do we have better forage? Maybe. Glendo is the fishery that the big weights are coming from.

 

[sweeney]

Afternoon Sweeney. I can only speak for myself and our weight. We were the first team to weigh in on day 1 at Noon and I watched them weigh an empty basket and tare the scale when they pulled it off it read -2.?? lbs than they put our fish on in that they had in a separate basket. Our biggest fish a chubby 25" wighed 5.5lbs our total day 1 was 19.6. If they didnt tare the scale after us that hurts haha we missed the money by less than a pound. The weights were definitely up this year as has been said lots of nice fish caught. I think 70th place this year would have taken 2nd place last year for some perspective. Also i counted 30 plus fish weighed over 7 lbs this year, last year there were 5. Lake levels were almost the same. Water temps pretty close to last year as well. Not sure if that flush from the yellowstone had an impact or not. However this has been some of the best fishing i've seen on this lake up and down.

tough luck on the close finish, i was 31st last year i know the pain haha. Overall it doesn't matter to me i don't doubt at all it was the same scale and procedure for everyone, i and others just felt the weights were high. The last 2 tourneys i fished the weights were with .25-.45 lbs of what the scale in the boat weighed. I still think a majority of the fish caught were less than 20" which is what a lot of fishermen box anyways is the point i was trying to get across.