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WALLEYE NEWS:
Nagel is a native of Bismarck, ND where he attended high school and began his college education at Bismarck State College. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from South Dakota State University in Fish and Wildlife Management in 2005. Nagel worked for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department as a Fisheries Aide for 1-½ years on over 50 district lakes and two Missouri mainstem reservoirs (Lake Sakakawea and Oahe). His work with warm water fish species continued in 2006, where he conducted a study of Yellow Perch and other near-shore fishes in Lake Michigan. Nagel completed his thesis and Master’s degree in Aquatic Biology at Ball State University, Indiana, in the spring of 2008. fisheries in Canyon Ferry Reservoir Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologist Eric Roberts reported that Christmas tree reefs were made ready on Feb. 23 for later placement in Canyon Ferry Reservoir to provide spawning areas for perch and habitat for all fish species. Roberts said in an e-mail, "We had a crew of about 25 people to help put together the Christmas trees this past Saturday. Roger Terwilliger from Bozeman (Gallatin/Madison Walleyes Unlimited) was kind enough to bring up his Bobcat, which saved us all a whole bunch of time and effort. We were able to get all the trees drilled and laid out, and we got about 75 percent of the cable and concrete blocks run through the bundles. We had the full cooperation of the weather and had an excellent pool of volunteers. We used the money generated from the conservation fee for the Mak a Dream Tournament to buy 2500 feet of cable to bundle the trees and blocks together. Many thanks to WF and the volunteers who were able to lend a hand this past weekend! "Attached are a few photos from Saturday. We are still making final arrangements for a helicopter, but either the National Guard or DNRC will help with the final step of getting the trees into the reservoir. I will let you know when we set a date to fly out the trees." Roberts' photos are below.      Walleye Fishing, Lowrance and Mapping clinics Montana walleye pro Dale Gilbert will be presenting two clincs -- one on walleye fishing and the other on using Lowrance and mapping -- at Bozeman, Billings, Great Falls and Missoula in the coming weeks. The “Walleye Clinic” is a full day session covering what he has learned over the past almost 30 years of fishing for walleyes. He actually fished my first walleye tournament back in the late 70’s at Chamberlin, SD. Then, he moved to Great Falls in 1980. He fished the Montana Walleye circuit until about 2000 and then started fishing the RCL and PWT on a part time basis in 2001. The “Lowrance & Mapping Clinic” is about a 4 hour session to help people learn how to make better use of their electronics for finding fish. This session covers things on what to buy or not to buy, how sonar works and how to interpret what you see, and using GPS. The session will cover basic operation of Lowrance units, creating and saving waypoints, plot trails for trolling, and overlay data on split screens, along with the importance of transferring data to a MMC card to avoid losing your data. In addition, he will also cover mapping – using existing Navionics HotMaps and creating some of your own contour maps for specific structure. The clinics will be in: Bozeman at the Gran Tree on March 1st, Billings at the Billings Hotel & Convention Center on March 15th Great Falls at the La Quinta Inn on March 29th Missoula – location to be determined on April 5th Class size is limited and those interested should pre-register for the clinics. The cost is $50 per person per session. For more information, go to Dale's Web site at www.MontanaWalleye.com. You can also call Dale at 406-866-3304.  Bob Hart caught the new Montana State Record walleye on Sunday while fishing at Tiber Reservoir.  new state record walleye By BRUCE AUCHLY Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks On Saturday, Nov. 17, Bob Hart, of Missoula, caught his first walleye, a 14-incher. On Sunday, Nov. 18, for his second walleye, he broke the Montana state record. Hart, 46, caught a 17.75-pound walleye at 7:15 a.m., Sunday, on the north shore of Tiber Reservoir southeast of Shelby. The fish measured 35 inches long with a 22-inch girth. The previous state record – 16.63 pounds and 31.5 inches long – was caught January 2000 in Fort Peck Reservoir. “We were just sitting on shore fishing with a minnow and a weight to keep it on the bottom,” Hart says. He had the five-inch minnow at about 20 to 30 feet when the walleye struck. It took about 15 minutes to land, Hart says. He had 6- or 8-pound test line on his reel. “I said ‘Ohmigod,’ and called my friend to get the net,” says Hart, who was fishing with Gordon Smedsrud of Shelby. The pair immediately took the fish to Shelby. “It took us a while to find a certified scale in Shelby on Sunday morning,” Hart says. Fortunately Taylor’s Hardware Store was open. The fish was then taken to a local taxidermist. So how does a fish grow that big in Tiber, not known for extremely large walleye? “There is a very abundant forage fish, cisco, in Tiber for a large fish,” said Dave Yerk, fisheries biologist for FWP. During previous netting surveys, Yerk and his crew have sampled a 14-pound walleye from Tiber. As for Hart, a life-long fisherman, he has caught bigger saltwater fish – a 180-pound marlin – but no freshwater fish even close to this one. Now, several friends are offering to take the fish off his hands. No dice, Hart says. “I think I’ll hang it in my office,” says Hart, sales director for Blue Cross-Blue Shield. |
