Biologists took a near-record number of walleye eggs from Fort Peck Reservoir this year, which translates to large numbers of larval fry and fingerlings being available for stocking.

“The 2009 walleye spawning operation on Fort Peck Reservoir went extremely well,” said lead biologist Heath Headley. “In contrast to 2008’s relatively small egg-take, we surpassed this year’s goal of 80 million eggs. In fact, the final tally this year was 131 million eggs, which were collected in only a week and a half.”

Headley said typical Fort Peck walleye spawning operations last throughout the month of April. But this year late ice cover prevented crews from getting out early. As it turned out, however, this spring’s gradual warming was very beneficial. “This warming trend came at a critical time in April, as this is when we see a majority of the walleye spawning activity occur in the Big Dry Arm of Fort Peck Reservoir,” Headley said. “An increase in reservoir elevation also played an important role by allowing us to place our trap nets over a larger stretch of the reservoir to find suitable netting areas.”

Headley said FWP staff and volunteers were able to concentrate all of the nets within a one-mile area near McGuire Creek on the reservoir’s eastern shore.

“This near-record egg-take resulted in a good number of walleye fry (larval stage fish) being released back into Fort Peck Reservoir,” he explained.

The total number of fry released this year was 45.6 million from both the Fort Peck and Miles City fish hatcheries. In addition to the walleye fry, larger walleye fingerlings are now being stocked throughout Fort Peck Reservoir. Headley said it’s still too early to know the total number of fingerlings being released this year as most are still in the hatchery rearing ponds.

“The number of fingerlings harvested from these rearing ponds greatly depends on the plankton production, which serves as the primary food source for these fry walleye,” Headley said. “It is quite comparable to growing crops. If the ponds experience warm conditions early on, plankton production can be really good. This means better growth and survival for the small walleye.”

So far there have been more than 500,000 fingerlings released back into Fort Peck Reservoir. If all goes right, many more will soon be on the way.

“It is important for anglers to understand that a good stocking or even a good reproduction year doesn’t always mean that the catch will be good in the upcoming years,” he said. “Those smaller fish still have to grow and survive through their first couple of year before anglers start to notice them on the end of their lines. But the good news is that the water level of Fort Peck Reservoir has come up seven feet since April, and that is definitely a step in the right direction.”

Headley said this additional increase in water levels means that shoreline vegetation around the entire reservoir will be flooded. That provides a greater amount of cover, as well as a wider array of food items for growing young walleye to eat.