North Dakota anglers may have some record-breaking years in store on state waterways.
The Game and Fish Department says they’ve stocked nearly 12 million walleye fingerlings statewide this summer. The combined walleye production came close to the state’s record year in 2017, and this year was the state’s largest walleye stocking since.
The near-record included 1.1 million minnows raised at the Valley City National Fish Hatchery. About 11 million more came from the Garrison Dam hatchery. The fish went into more than 150 other waters across North Dakota.
Game and Fish says stocking trucks covered more than 12,000 miles over two weeks in June to haul and dump the fish. Biologists with the department say the cooler spring and early-summer weather led to abundant food sources for the young fish this year.
The department says they stocked 1.1 million northern pike fingerlings in 37 waters statewide, focusing those fish on areas that don’t spawn pike naturally.
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