Anglers reel in Idaho walleye worth $1K, and another ski area set to launch summer ops
Three Idaho fishermen have each caught a walleye worth $1,000, according to a news release from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. The fish were tagged as part of the department’s walleye lottery, which will help researchers understand the impact of recreational harvest on the walleye population in North Idaho’s Lake Pend Oreille.
Fish and Game tagged dozens of walleye with invisible tags embedded in their snouts and released the fish into the lake ahead of Memorial Day weekend. When anglers catch a walleye, they’re encouraged to submit its head to a Fish and Game checkpoint, where it can be scanned for the tag. Tagged fish net the angler $1,000, while each non-tagged head counts toward one entry in a weekly $100 lottery.
It’s the second year the agency has held the lottery, though last year no anglers reeled in a tagged fish.
Mike Gordon, of Sandpoint, caught his fish on the Clark Fork River where he was fishing for smallmouth bass. The walleye he caught had been tagged in 2019 and was caught more than 20 miles from where it had been released.
Tony Butler, of Hope, caught a 23-inch walleye on the north side of Lake Pend Oreille in Martin Bay, officials reported. The fish had been tagged in 2018 and had grown about 5 inches since it was released.
An anonymous Idaho Falls angler caught the third prize-winning fish, also on the north side of Lake Pend Oreille. That fish had been tagged just a few weeks prior.
Officials said there are still as many as 97 other tagged walleye still available.
Record rainbow trout caught at Idaho reservoir
A Wyoming man set an Idaho catch-and-release record for rainbow trout while fishing American Falls Reservoir, Fish and Game reported.
On May 25, Brett Jones, of Rock Springs, Wyoming, landed a 31.25-inch trout. The previous record was a 30.5-inch trout caught by David Raisch in 2018.
The southeast Idaho reservoir and neighboring Snake River have produced other record rainbow trout. A weight record rainbow/cutthroat trout hybrid which measured nearly 35 pounds was caught in the reservoir in 2011, while the 20-pound rainbow trout record fish came from the Snake River nearby in 2009.
Another Idaho ski resort opens for summer operations
Brundage Mountain announced Tuesday that it would start its summer season Saturday.
The McCall-area ski resort offers hiking and mountain biking trails, a disc golf course and scenic ski lift rides during warmer weather. According to a news release, Brundage will still host its Fourth of July Music Fest and TGIF Summer Concert Series “with a few adjustments to enhance social distancing and personal hygiene.”
Brundage was one of several Idaho ski areas that closed its ski season early as the coronavirus began to spread across the state. Tamarack Resort in Donnelly has also resumed its summer operations.
