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Canyon Ferry

Fort Peck


FORT PECK 2010


APRIL 30



Its been an interesting week to say the least on the Big Dry Arm of Fort Peck. Weather conditions have taken a turn for the worst and so has the walleye spawning activity. Colder temperatures mixed with rain have continued to lower the water surface temperatures from 53 degrees down to 48 degrees in the Nelson Creek area as of today (Friday). The unfavorable weather and dwindling number of walleyes has signaled us to pull our trap nets for the 2010 walleye spawning season.

Similar to water temperatures, walleye numbers in trap nets have continued to decrease throughout the week. At the beginning of the week we were seeing close to 20 total walleye in the better trap nets but are now down to only a dozen in some of those nets. In addition, some of these walleyes are spent females and others are males that are releasing little to no milt. This is another sure sign the walleye spawn is coming to a close.

Only three ripe female walleye were brought in by boat from the trap nets today. An additional five others were pulled from the sparse holding pens giving us only 8 fish to spawn for the final day of the season. Like everything else, the amount of green female walleyes in the holding pens decreased throughout the week from 38 on Monday to 13 on Friday.

So what were the results from this year? Well, we managed to slowly plug along and squeeze out a few more eggs since the last spawn update. The amount of eggs collected each day was only around 3 million with the exception of just over 1 million the final day. These last few small egg-takes should bring the final tally to around 85 million eggs for the 2010 season. Even though we were shooting for 90 million, we should be sitting safely with our current number of eggs because we are starting to see some good eye-up or hatching percentages in the incubating eggs at the hatcheries.

On behalf of the reservoir and hatchery staff, I would like to thank all the volunteers who contributed to another successful year. We all look forward to seeing you again next year, and best of luck fishing in 2010 wherever you may wet a line.

 

APRIL 25th

Today was quite the awakening with gusty winds and rain that spattered our faces in the Big Dry Arm of Fort Peck.  Many of us at the walleye spawn have traded our t-shirts for rain gear and stocking hats.  The cold front that has moved in is definitely making its presence known.  Water surface temperatures have dropped from 57 degrees on Thursday to 53 degrees today (Sunday).  The gusty winds also prevented us from checking four of our trap nets.

Overall numbers of walleye captured in our trap nets are also starting to taper off.  I remember not so long ago when we were seeing upwards of 40 walleye in some of our better trap nets but are now only seeing half that in some of those nets.  We are still handling some green female walleye, which is always an encouraging sign, so the spawn will more than likely continue to drag on.  However, it is uncertain how much this cold front will affect those fish from ripening up. 

Similar to the trap nets, the number of green female walleyes in the holding pens are also starting to decrease from 68 fish down to 40 fish as of today.  The amount of eggs collected and fish spawned also continue to decrease, but we are slowly inching our way towards our egg-take goal.  Today we were only able collect a little over 3 million eggs which was similar to the previous days.  This should put us somewhere in the neighborhood of 65-70 million total eggs.  Lets hope the weather conditions cooperate so we can keep plugging away.

 

 

APRIL 21st

Over the last two days, the walleye spawning activity in the Big Dry Arm of Fort Peck looks as though it may have peaked and somewhat stabilized.  Water surface temperatures were starting to approach 56 degrees by the end of the day (Wednesday).  Were still seeing good numbers of walleye in our trap nets, but a majority of the fish weve been collecting are ripe.  We are even seeing an occasional spent female walleye.  Its definitely a turnaround from all the green females that were showing up when water temperatures were in the low to mid 40s during the start of the operation.

 

The last two days of spawning have still yielded some pretty good numbers of ripe female walleyes and eggs.  The numbers of fish in the holding pens were similar over the last two day with 63 fish on Tuesday and 68 fish on Wednesday.  On Tuesday, a total of 61 female walleyes were spawned and another 36 females on Wednesday.  This yielded around 17-18 million eggs over the two day period.  This should give us somewhere around 55 million total eggs in the Fort Peck and Miles City fish hatcheries.  This puts us past the half-way mark for the 2010 spawning season goal of 90 million eggs

 

APRIL 20th

The action continues to heat up on the Big Dry Arm of Fort Peck. The warm weather has really been a blessing compared to the beginning of last week. The water temperatures continue to climb and so does the number of walleye collected in the trap nets.

Surface water temperatures rose from the low 50s on Sunday to 54 degrees as of today. One of the best trap nets actually captured 39 walleye with 11 big ripe females. Its good to see we are capturing good numbers of males and green female walleye indicating the spawn is still underway. We have even captured some nice ripe northern pike females that are still cruising the shallows.

Like I mentioned earlier, the warm weather has really been ripening up some of those female walleyes. Good numbers of fish have been ripening up in the holding pens as well as ripe females caught directly from the trap nets giving the hatchery personnel plenty to spawn.

The number of ripe female walleye spawned has continued to increase from around 44 on Sunday to 67 on Monday. This has yield a little over 20 million eggs in just a two day period giving us close 37 million eggs total. Were definitely making progress and closing the gap toward our egg-take goal.

APRIL 17th

The water temperatures are starting to rise and so is the walleye spawning activity in the Big Dry Arm of Fort Peck. Water surface temperatures were starting to hit 48 degrees by the end of the day. As a result, we are beginning to see more walleye in the trap nets and females that are ready to spawn. One of the best trap nets checked today contained 24 walleyes with a combination of 5 ripe and 6 green females and the remainder being males. It looks like there are good numbers of green female walleye running from 8 to 10 pounds with some up to 13 pounds.

The good catches of walleye in our trap nets have also spilled over into the spawning operation. The number of green females in the holding pens went from 39 on Friday to 69 on Saturday. In addition, the amount of ripe females spawned nearly doubled on Friday as did the amount of eggs collected which was 4.6 million. The trend continued on Saturday with approximately 9 million more eggs collected. This should give us a total of close 16 million eggs collected thus far. The weather forecast looks favorable the next few days so hopefully we should continue to see good numbers of fish collected and spawned.

APRIL 15th

Another year has rapidly went by and the annual walleye spawning operation is here again. It seems like just yesterday we were bouncing around in boats of the Big Dry Arm on Fort Peck. Well, not much has changed since then because the winds have been howling from every direction the last two days while checking our trap nets.

Only a few walleye have been captured in the trap nets with a majority of the females being green (not releasing eggs). There are even a few green female northern pike that weve been capturing So, it looks like were still a little early. Water surface temperatures today were around 43 degrees which was a cool down from the start of the week as a result of the cold front that pushed in. However, it looks like we will experience a warming trend here the next few days and hopefully we will see an increase in spawning activity.

As of today, there were 30 green female walleye in the holding pens waiting to ripen up. The good news is we were able to scrounge up enough ripe female walleye to hold our first spawn for the 2010 season. Thirteen female walleye were spawned so we are on the boards with a little over 2 million eggs. Lets hope the weather cooperates this year because we still have a good ways to go before we meet our egg-take goal.
 


CANYON FERRY 2010


MAY 7th - Final Canyon Ferry Entry

We had a break in the wind this past Wednesday (5/5) and took the opportunity to dismantle the Merwins and cease the trapping effort for 2010.  The recent wind storms that moved through were impressive enough, combined with COLD temperatures, to halt almost all walleye spawning activity on the South end of Canyon Ferry.  Crews were only able to check the traps twice over the final nine days that the traps fished.  On 5/1, the final check, the traps yielded only 33 walleye (all males) between all three traps.  Time to call it a season.

 

We finished with 1,294 total walleye captured and put out 1,129 new tags (yellow and blue) this year (165 recaptures of fish tagged in 2010).  We got lucky with that fine warm spell during mid-April! 

Thanks again to everyone for their help and questions throughout the 2010 spawning survey!  Mark it on your calendar for 2011 if you didnt get a chance to get out this year as well certainly be netting again next spring.  Take care and see you out on the Big Pond!

 

MAY 3rd

13.3 pound walleye!

The winds subsided for 3 hours on Saturday morning (5/1/2010) , allowing us to check the Merwin traps for the first time since 4/27/2010.  Unfortunately, the weather wreaked havoc on both our nets and walleye spawning activity.  We captured a total of 33 walleye, all of which were males.

The water temperature has cooled dramatically .  On 4/27/2010 the water temperature was 52 degrees F and by 5/1/2010 it read only 46 degrees F.  The extended forecast is calling for more cool weather and extended periods of high winds.  We are planning to wrap up trapping efforts sometime this week unless things pick up again and the weather cooperates.

Total captured walleye numbers this spring are approaching 1,300!  Remember, because of a warm, windless six day period in mid-April, weve been extremely fortunate to see the sheer number of walleye weve seen this year.  To put this season into perspective, over the past five Springs (05-09) FWP crews captured a total of approximately 1,300 walleye using Merwin traps.  So, the Spring of 2010 has been good to us.  Weve been able to get out a ton of new tags that will better help us understand the dynamics of both the walleye population and the anglers who fish for them.

 

APRIL 28th

15 pound walleye!

Heres the latest from netting on Canyon Ferry.  Since this is the first time Ive sent this your way Ive included the netting results from the start of the 2010 Merwin trapping season!

The peak of the walleye spawn on Canyon Ferry may have come and gone, but quite a few fish are still cruising the shallows and showing up in our traps.  Some of the smaller females are trickling in, but most of the catch continues to be smaller ripe males.  Of the three Merwin traps weve been fishing for the past few weeks, the trap off the northernmost point of Pond #1 has remained the most consistent, mostly due steady warm water temperatures.

Recent storm systems have slowed down capture rates and our ability to check the traps, but a short window of good weather early this week should allow for more fish to be tagged.  We are approaching 1,200 captured walleye this spring!  

Heres what has been going on with the traps from the beginning:

Date

Time

Water Temp.

# of WE

# of RB

Comments

4/9/2010

1200

40⁰ F

 

 

Launched traps @ Pond #1

 

 

 

 

 

and Duck Creek

4/10/2010

930

42⁰ F

1

4

WE = Immature Male

4/12/2010

1015

42⁰ F

9

41

WE = Immature Males

 

1420

44⁰ F

 

 

Launched 3rd Merwin, 2nd drainage

 

 

 

 

 

South of Duck Creek Bay

4/14/2010

1230

43⁰ F

0

5

WE = all males

4/15/2010

920

42⁰ F

24

56

WE = all males

4/16/2010

915

43⁰ F

61

66

WE = 1 Ripe female, 60 males

 

 

 

 

 

Largest Female was 30.9", 16.6 lbs.

4/17/2010

930

46⁰ F

113

87

WE = all males

4/18/2010

1000

50⁰ F

131

97

WE = 3 females, 128 males

 

 

 

 

 

Largest Female was 31.2", 12.8 lbs.

4/19/2010

930

49⁰ F

180

111

WE = 6 females, 174 males

 

 

 

 

 

Largest Female was 31.7", 14.0 lbs.

4/20/2010

1000

51⁰ F

200

79

WE = 8 females, 192 males

 

 

 

 

 

Largest Female was 30.5", 11.0 lbs.

4/21/2010

915

52⁰ F

103

82

WE = 4 females, 99 males

 

 

 

 

 

Largest Female was 31.4", 13.3 lbs.

4/22/2010

935

53⁰ F

197

53

WE = 8 females, 189 males

 

 

 

 

 

Largest Female was 32.0", 15.7 lbs.

4/24/2010

815

52⁰ F

68

105

WE = 3 females, 65 males

 

 

 

 

 

Largest Female was 30.0", 10.8 lbs.

4/26/2010

1000

54⁰ F

85

73

WE = 2 females, 83 males

 

 

 

 

 

Largest Female was 22.4", 4.8 lbs.

4/27/2010

900

52⁰ F

89

64

WE = 4 females, 85 males

 

 

 

 

 

Largest Female was 31.4", 15.2 lbs.

Id like to send out a special thanks to Fred Kuchinski for volunteering on a moments notice last week when we really needed the help.  Thanks again Fred!

Again, if anyone is interested in volunteering for a day on the traps, please contact via e-mail (astrainer@mt.gov) or phone (495-3263)!  Better call sooner than later as the end of the spawn is quickly approaching.

APRIL 21ST

We have truly been blessed with ideal conditions since April 15  for our annual walleye spawning survey on Canyon Ferry Reservoir.  Fish numbers increased simultaneously with water temperatures and the early spawning period may have peaked yesterday with exactly 200 walleye showing up in our three Merwin traps.

 We saw 10 ripe females come in over the past two days ranging from largest of 31.7 inces,  14.0 pounds,  to the smallest female weve seen in a few years at 14.6 inches, 0.85 pounds.

Thank you to all of the volunteers for their help over the past week and to all of the interested anglers calling!  Every little bit helps.  We officially broke the 800 fish mark (822 total walleye) this morning!!!

Below is a trapping summary from the past two days:

Date

Time

Water Temp.

# of WE

# of RB

Comments

4/20/2010

1000

51 F

200

79

WE = 8 females, 192 males

 

 

 

 

 

Largest Female was 30.5", 11.0 lbs.

4/21/2010

915

52 F

103

82

WE = 4 females, 99 males

 

 

 

 

 

Largest Female was 31.4", 13.3 lbs.

APRIL 19th

The weekend brought warm temperatures and very little wind which equated to the rainbows and walleye coming in hot and heavy.

The total number of walleyes tagged increased each day throughout the weekend and this morning we tagged 180 walleye.

The forecast calls for one more day of excellent weather with a cooling trend scheduled for sometime during the middle of this week.  Numbers will probably decrease significantly until the next warming trend

The largest female walleye tagged over the weekend was 12.8 lbs.  The most recent tagging information is below:

Date

Time

Water Temp.

# of WE

# of RB

Comments

4/17/2010

930

46⁰ F

113

87

WE = all males

4/18/2010

1000

50⁰ F

131

97

WE = 3 females, 128 males

 

 

 

 

 

Largest Female was 31.2", 12.8 lbs.

4/19/2010

930

49⁰ F

180

111

WE = 6 females, 174 males

 

 

 

 

 

Largest Female was 31.7", 14.0 lbs.

 

APRIL 16TH

After a week of fighting the weather to keep the traps fishing, a warm spell has moved in that has the fishing cruising the spawning areas. 

Walleye numbers in the traps are picking up and rainbow numbers are staying fairly consistent.  We picked up the first female walleye of the year, a 16.6-pound bruiser, this morning.

The weather forecast is calling for warmer weather through this coming weekend, so look for things to really start popping over the next couple of days.

Below is a summary from the past few days:

Date

Time

Water Temp.

# of WE

# of RB

Comments

4/9/2010

1200

40 F

 

 

Launched traps @ Pond #1 and Duck Creek

4/10/2010

930

42 F

1

4

WE = Immature Male

4/12/2010

1015

42 F

9

41

WE = Immature Males

 

1420

44 F

 

 

Launched 3rd Merwin south of Duck Creek

4/14/2010

1230

43 F

0

5

WE = all males

4/15/2010

920

42 F

24

56

WE = all males

4/16/2010

915

43 F

61

66

WE = 1 Ripe female, 60 males

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If  anyone is interested in coming out for a day, please contact me at by e-mail at astrainer@mt.gov or over the phone at (406) 495-3262. Well be heading out almost daily, including weekends.

When theres room, the best days usually follow a storm system moving through as the temperatures increase post storm system.

APRIL 13TH

Well, were officially up and running with 3 Merwin traps along the East shore of Canyon Ferry between Duck Creek and Pond #1. We launched the third trap yesterday, but weve checked the other two traps twice since they began fishing on 4/9/2010. Heres what weve learned so far:

April 10: 1 immature walleye, 4 rainbows, water temp 42 degrees
April 12: 9 immature walleyes, 41 rainbows, water temp 42 degrees
 

 

 

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