About 30 people attended a meeting hosted by the Marshall County Sportsman’s Club at the Britton Area Event Center last week Tuesday to hear about fish netting results in area lakes.
The Game, Fish & Parks conducts annual fish studies on area lakes and Area Fisheries Supervisor Mark Ermer updated area anglers on the most recent results.
Perch are always a fish of local interest and there have been concerns for a number of years that that species of fish seems to suffer from stunted growth in area lakes. Back in the “boom years” of the 1990’s and early 2,000’s the area was known for its large perch and attracted anglers from all over the country.
However, that is no longer the case and the GFP has continued to try to figure out reasons why.
“After 20 years of study we’re fairly sure the growth is not being affected by genetics,” said Ermer, “and that it’s more a factor of environment. Those good years came about when lakes like Waubay, Bitter, and Cattail were basically new lakes with new nutrients and high water which led to fast growth. We’re in a new normal now.”
Ermer said competition is also a factor. The more species of fish there are in a body of water the more competition there is for survival, and more mature bodies of water generally feature a wider variety of species.
“Everything in our lakes eats perch,” Ermer noted.
There are also several new things happening with the GFP. Ermer said that the Blue Dog Hatchery will be updated. The facility was built in 1985 and updates will give the GFP more flexibility with being able to raise fish year-round rather than just in the summer months.
A project to introduce lake sturgeon to Big Stone Lake is also underway. Ermer reported that both growth and survival has been very good in the lake and there are currently 60-inch fish in the system.
The GFP is also studying stocking survival rates of musky in Lynn Lake. There has been a lot of mortality in the early stages of stocking the fish and transmitters are being used to help determine what is happening in the lake.
Community fishing parks are also becoming more popular and there are currently 11 of those parks in northeast South Dakota. The GFP stocks those parks on a regular basis to help promote youth and family recreation.
Ermer also presented results of netting done in area lakes during the past year. Some of the findings from area lakes follow.
Cattail: Walleye numbers were down but there were some nice fish in the 18-24-inch range. A strong year class of younger fish is on the way. More vegetation is appearing and the lake seems to be on a trajectory to become more of a bass and bluegill lake. Perch numbers were pretty strong but most fish were only five to seven inches.
Clear: This lake has seen a lot of pressure, especially during the winter. There had been some concern when the lake was opened up for spearing northern, but the northern count was six per net which was the highest in 20 years and there were fish up to 37 inches. Crappie fishing should continue to be good with three to four-year-old fish measuring eight to 11 inches. Walleye numbers are low with fish 14-18 inches. The GFP did see some success stocking large fingerling in 2019 and did the same thing in 2024 and will stock the larger fingerling again in 2026. There were 158 bluegills per net. Bluegills have a pretty slow growth rate but there are a lot of up and coming fish. Bass are also in good abundance.
Cottonwood: Four northerns were caught per net with indicates a very good population. Perch numbers were low on the heels of some winter kill in 2022-23 but the population is rebuilding with a lot of fish in the five to eight-inch range. Bluegills also seem to have taken a big hit during that bad winter with fish six to eight inches. Walleye numbers were better with 3.3 per net up to 28 inches and a lot of fish in the 14-17-inch range showing good growth.
North Buffalo: Four pike per net shows a very strong population. Perch are slow growing with many fish five to six inches. Walleyes were 15-22 inches and showing good growth with four-year-olds around 19 inches. Bluegills numbers were down but a strong three-year-old class is coming up.
Opitz: Walleyes down with 2.3 per net. Seventeen-inch growth by age four with most fish 12-17 inches. Perch have dropped off with most of the fish two years old. A few three-year-olds were netted and about 10 inches.
Waubay: The walleye count in Waubay was the highest in 13 years with 13 per net and running from 17-28 inches. Perch have been the go-to fish for years at Waubay but net numbers have been going down. Growth for perch is good, however, with three-year-olds at 10 inches.
Bitter: Bitter is considered a walleye factory with 17 caught per net al all sizes and 70% of the fish from the class of 2021. But the 2022 and 2024 classes are also strong. Perch are not as good as Waubay with five per net but growth is good.
Big Stone: Big Stone is turning into quite a fish factory for a variety of species. Walleyes are not doing as well as they were but perch, bluegills, and bass are coming on strong. The lake is now considered a hot largemouth bass and very good bluegill fishery with bluegills doing extremely well.
