WALLEYE NEWS:
Explaining the changes, process
in Montana Circuit Tourney rules
From Jim Muscat and Travis Scott
Dear Members and Tournament Anglers,
What’s all the fuss about with the upcoming tournament circuit season?
The 2010 tournament and tournament circuit season is right around the corner and there have been some rule changes and clarifications that all anglers need to be aware of. The following is an overview of this winter’s circuit rule review process that concluded once in December but was restarted again in February. The rules are now finally set for 2010 and are available on the website and Fishtales magazine. Be sure to take a minute and familiarize your self with these rules before the upcoming tournament season.
On December 5th 2009 in Lewistown the tournament directors, the Angler Advisory Committee and the State Board of Directors met in Lewistown to review the 2010 season and discuss the upcoming tournament season and what changes or improvements were needed. 7 of the 8 total circuit tournaments directors were in attendance and each tournament carries a single vote on any changes. The director for the Tiber tournament was not able to make the meeting so no vote was cast representing Tiber. Doug Grubb represented the Fresno tournament, Dennis Hovden is the new tournament director for Canyon Ferry and was present, Kris Keller represented and voted for the Rock creek Tournament, Diane Brandt represented the Governors cup, Dave Snyder is the new director for the Fall Classic tournament and was present, Calvin Thomas is the director for the Hell creek tournament and was there and Kevin Anthony who is the director for Yellowtail tournament was also present. In addition to many general members Kennie Williams the president and Bob Klien the president elect of Walleyes Unlimited were also present. With the passing of our good friend Jim Rettig, Travis Scott and Jim Muscat were voted in to jointly fill the Circuit Director’s position until a full time replacement can be found. The circuit director’s position carries a single vote.
For those of you who don’t know, the Angler Advisory Committee that is chaired by Dan Pluth of Gallatin Gateway is made up a group of anglers from around the entire state that participate in the Walleye Unlimited tournament circuit. Because the individual tournament directors hard work and focus is primarily aimed at there own single event this advisory board was formed to provide hands on input from the perspective of folks who enter and compete in the multiple WU tournaments events. The Angler Advisory Committee now carries a single vote in tournament matters but did not at time of the December 5th, 2009 meeting.
One of the main messages that were brought forth from the Angler Advisory Committee to the Directors was that with multiple Walleye Unlimited tournaments being held under the common banner of a “circuit” as opposed to 8 “stand alone” tournaments more consistency in the rules between these circuit tournaments was needed. Another even more important concern of the angler advisory committee was that with the widening gap of tournament experience and our own sometimes inconsistent rules it was starting to make some new anglers feel unwelcome in Walleye Unlimited circuit tournaments.
At this annual fall circuit meeting in early December some great discussion and ideas came forward on how we could make the rules clearer, more fair and encourage more Walleyes Unlimited members to try or in some cases re-try tournament fishing. In the end only two rule changes were proposed and then voted on and unanimously adopted by all tournament directors present and the circuit director. The circuit directors were then instructed to draft language to clarify some rules that were discussed and submit them to all of the voting members for review in the coming weeks by email. The meeting was adjourned with out an ill word spoken and a great spirit of cooperation to try and make a few changes that would welcome more folks into our tournament circuit.
The two rules changes that were voted in for the 2010 season were:
1. Rule #9 would now state the tournament boundaries for WU events must be printed on the application and can not be expanded at a later date.
The reason for this change was anglers felt it was not fair to advertise a tournament with one set of boundaries and then expand those boundaries at a later date and not give sufficient time for all anglers to pre fish these new areas prior to the start of the tournament. To be able to reduce the boundaries due to severe weather conditions was agreed by all to be an important safety tool for the tournament director and was left in place.
2. The second rule change (rule #11) was at all Walleyes Unlimited Circuit Tournaments there will be a random drawing of one boat number at the rules meeting to determine the boat starting order.
In the past, except at the Governors’ Cup which has always used this type random draw method, the boat start order was based on the boat number you received when you signed up for the tournament. Boat #1 was always the first boat out on day 1 and the highest number boat was the first boat out on day 2. Many anglers complained that the same tournament experienced individuals ended up with these prime high and low numbers year after year giving them an advantage or at least a perceived advantage.
To make things completely fair and primarily to make all anglers feel more welcome into Walleyes Unlimited tournaments, the single random number that is drawn at the rules meeting will be the first boat out on day 1 and the last boat out on day 2. All other boats will simply follow in numerical order just as they always have in the past. To make sure there is no confusion whatsoever a “flight sheet” will be issued with the weigh card when your boat is inspected each morning.
The two rules that were discussed and then asked for a better clarification were rules #4 and also old rule #14 (which is now rule #16). The reason they were clarifications as opposed to rule changes is that it was felt the “sprit” or intention of these rule’s was already part of our existing rules but it was not written or explained very well. Therefore they were not considered a new rule or a rule change. At the December 5th meeting the directors agreed that rule changes would be voted on immediately but rule clarifications would not need a vote. However rule clarifications would need to be re-submitted to all 8 tournament directors and the Angler Advisory chair with ample time for there review before the final language would be adopted. If they were not satisfied with the written clarifications they were to let the Circuit Directors know so changes in language could be made and the final rule language re-reviewed by all.
The first rule clarification for the 2010 season is #16 (formerly 2009 rule #14). The old rule stated an angler can have no more than 5 fish in the boat at one time or they will be disqualified. This confusing language in essence made culling or upgrading your 5th fish illegal. By the letter of the law when you brought a 6th fish in the boat although you intended to release a smaller fish you were in violation of the rules. Some new anglers had complained that because of the way the they understood the old rule they had made the decision in a tournament to make a time consuming long distance run to find a weigh boat once they had 5 fish instead of staying put and continuing to fish and cull there smallest fish. The simple clarification now states that anglers can have no more than 5 fish in the live-well at one time and also explains the legal culling process which allows an angler to bring the 6th fish on board and measure and compare it with there smallest fish already on board.
The second rule clarification was rule #4.
This rule in its old form addressed the need for anglers to attend the mandatory rules meeting prior to a tournament. It was brought up at the circuit meeting in Lewistown and it brought several chuckles that no where in this rule did it say that anglers are not allowed back on the water after the rules meeting to pre-fish at anytime other than during the tournament. Although everyone in attendance agreed the spirit or the intention of the rule was to make it clear that the rules meeting was the official, “off the water” time and anglers were not to go back on the water before or between tournament hours so a clarification of this loophole was needed. Most all of the discussion on this rule centered on exactly when the official off the water time should be. It was felt that to have a different off the water time at every single tournament was confusing and that it would just make more sense to pick a standard time. The start of the rules meeting was picked as that standard time. Some events though such as the Governor’s cup have an earlier off the water time to promote events and so the clarification made note of this in the rules to make anglers aware they should not assume, and need to find out if the off the water time is either the standard (rules meeting start) or a special time. Interestingly enough over the coming weeks of draft and review only 2 comments from tournament directors were received in regards to long distance boating and launching at the designated ramp. Those comments were from the Tiber director and the Fall classic director and were concerns about whether they had to use one single ramp or not.
This final draft rewrite of rule #4 below went out to all of the 8 tournament directors, the angler committee chair and the circuit directors along with the draft of the rule on culling above. After a full three weeks to review the changes the circuit directors notified all 8 tournament directors to speak up if they were not OK with any of the new language. No objections were raised and the new rules were put on the website and published with the tournament applications in Fishtales magazine and the process was considered complete for 2010. Below is the way that the adopted rule read.
OFF THE WATER TIME AND RULES MEETING: At least one member of each team is required to attend the tournament rules meeting on the evening prior to the beginning of the tournament. This meeting will be held at a time and location determined by the individual tournament directors. In all Montana Walleyes Unlimited tournaments contestants may not enter or be on tournament waters after the start time of the mandatory rules meeting, except during competition hours until the conclusion of the tournament other than to immediately launch or load up there boat at the designated tournament launch ramp facilities. In some Montana Walleye Unlimited circuit tournaments the “off the water” time may be designated earlier than immediately prior to the start of the rules meeting by the tournament officials. It is the responsibility of the contestant to be aware of the correct off the water time for each tournament.
More than a month after the entire rules review process was complete and the 2010 rules were published in Fishtales, your circuit directors received an email from a single person who is a “co-director” of one of the circuit tournaments who although was not in attendance at the December rules meeting insisted that the new rules “needed to be tweaked and some needed deleted”. This person also informed the circuit directors in no uncertain terms that “his tournament” would not follow rule #11 the random draw rule. This uncooperative attitude was in stark contrast to how the Dec, 5th Lewistown meeting went and caught the circuit directors by surprise.
After many attempts to explain the now completed annual process that took place and what was discussed at the meeting in Lewistown and that the votes taken on the rules were unanimous including the vote from the director from his tournament and an explanation of the rule rewrites that were drafted and then sent out for review the argument changed very suddenly. Apparently after some re-consideration the strong opposition voiced for the entire rule changes but especially rule #11 (random draw for the start boat) was now focused down to a strong objection of just one rule clarification and that was rule #4.
The concern for rule #4 was that a small number of folks at some of the tournaments on Canyon ferry, Tiber and Fort Peck have instead of trailering there boats to the tournament launch site have boated long distance (sometimes over 20 miles). Your circuit directors made many attempts to explain that this would only pertain to long distance boating and the concern on the other side of the issue was that to allow a few competitors unrestricted long distance travel across the very same tournaments waters they were about to compete in opens up the possibility for an angler to use there electronics to actually scout for fish on the trip and went directly against the spirit of the “off the water rule” so the clarification was written as it was. It was also relayed that several tournaments including the Fall Classic and Tiber had asked questions on how the directors felt it applied to there tournaments. In both cases the directors were satisfied that the rule was workable for them and no other concerns were raised during the clarification review period. For a period after these explanations the emails and arguments against this rule from this group stopped. You’re perhaps naïve circuit directors falsely assumed that maybe the spirit of cooperation and going with what the majority wants had come through and the opposition to rule #4 from this one tournament would just be tabled until the next rule review cycle right after the last tournament in August. That unfortunately was not to be the case.
At the circuit meeting held after the state banquet in Lewistown in Late February the agenda showed action on the Angler Committee only and the rest only to be an informational meeting on the new circuit rules and AOY scoring and other non action topics since the rule changes had been voted in and approved months before. Regardless of this, an attempt was made by this small but vocal group to force a vote to completely throw out all of the new voted in rules and rule clarifications not just the rule #4 revision that had been the advertised as the problem.
Circuit Director Travis Scott refused to accept any such motion for a vote based on the fact that no such action item was on the advertised agenda for this meeting and many people that would be affected and were involved in the completed process to revise the rules were not notified such a vote could happen. In addition it was clear that if a motion such as this was forced to a vote it would still fail for the obvious lack of majority and the issue would still be unresolved. Since all of the complaints and objections voiced to date by this small vocal group were focused only on the rule #4 clarification a workable compromise to this rule clarification was the only fair and logical resolution.
Director Scott then asked for the motion to be tabled to have time to look at options and a compromise to alleviate the long distance boating limitations and yet maintain the accountability and fairness that was intended in the clarification. Anne Millard representing the Governors cup asked Travis for a deadline for this to be voted on and settled it was set for March 15th. The meeting was adjourned.
The amendment below was drafted and Kris Keller the director from Rock Creek approved the amendment and made the motion to vote on it on February 26th. Anne Millard seconded the motion on February 28th. Below is the amendment.
BOAT NAVIGATION EXCEPTION
Contestants may navigate or transport their boats across tournament waters before or after a tournament fishing day only when: 1.They notify the tournament director at rules meeting, tournament director will then notify circuit director. 2. Must be at start location 30 minutes before official start to be checked in. 3. Contestants will be inspected, which will include a review of a valid GPS plot trail. If plot trail is not there, or shows the boat veering towards points or the shoreline, contestants will be disqualified from tournament. Contestants navigating across tournament waters must travel the most direct route possible, away from shorelines and maintain a steady on plane speed. Boating down and back in one flight would be the preferred method. Tournament official boats may be used to monitor navigation over tournament waters.
Any abuse of above navigation exception will result in immediate disqualification.
All anglers go through a boat inspection before a tournament so to check a GPS trail to make sure the route taken was direct and there was no scouting done on the way down would in reality only take a couple extra seconds yet give tournament officials a way to demonstrate that WU tournaments are indeed fair. The requirement to be at the start location 30 minutes early was a safety feature designed to alleviate tournament directors from holding up the start of a tournament for any angler that was late boating in from miles away in bad weather.
By March 12th all written votes were in and the motion to adopt the compromise passed by a margin of 8 for and 2 against. The 8 yes votes were Fresno, Tiber, Canyon Ferry, Hell Creek, Yellow Tail and Fall Classic tournament directors. Also voting yes were the anglers committee and the circuit director. Although the motion and the second came from these two tournaments The 2 no votes were cast by the Rock Creek and the Governors’ cup tournament. This amendment to the 2010 rules is now in effect and anglers can continue to boat long distance across tournament waters prior to and after tournament hours.
Now that the compromise has been adopted the only decision left for the tournament directors was if they wanted to be part of the Montana Walleye Unlimited Circuit. The fundamental requirement to be included in the Montana Walleyes Unlimited circuit is simply all circuit tournaments must adhere to the same set of rules. This choice to be in or out of the circuit is entirely up to the individual tournament directors. All are welcome to participate. However once a tournament decides not to be in the circuit, getting back in will take a vote from the existing circuit board.
So where does this leave us for the 2010 season? There are 5 tournaments that have chosen to be in the Montana Walleye Unlimited circuit for the 2010 season, Fresno, Tiber, Canyon Ferry, Fall Classic and Yellowtail. Scoring from these five tournaments only will be used to determine Angler of the Year, Team of the Year, Adult/Child and Mixed Couple teams of the year. Rock creek, Governor’s cup and Hell creek have chosen not to participate in the circuit this year.
Travis and I would like to personally thank all of the tournament directors and everyone that worked so hard through this challenging revision process. A special thanks goes out to Diane Brandt and Anne Millard from the Governors cup, Calvin Thomas from Hell creek and Kris Keller from the Rock creek tournament. These 4 directors have worked extra hard to properly represent all of the members of there respective organizations and we encourage all members to support the tournaments these groups work so hard to put on. I truly wish I could tell you that 100% of the people who have been part of the tournament circuit in past years were in support of trying some new things to address the concerns brought to us about consistency and fairness through the circuit. Some feel strongly that nothing is broken and so there is no need for change and your circuit directors respect that. The majority though felt that these minor rule changes were worth trying and will help make newcomers as well as the seasoned veterans know that Walleye Unlimited tournaments strives to be 100% fair and everyone is welcome!
Thank you for your patience and support and we look forward to seeing you on the water!
Jim Muscat and Travis Scott
Montana Walleyes Unlimited Circuit Directors
Fort Peck tourneys form Championship Series
From Steve Harada, Wolf Point WU
Three Walleye Tournaments have joined together to offer anglers another opportunity to test their angling expertise against other fisherpersons. The all new Fort Peck Lake Walleye Championship Series will combine the scores of two out of the three participating tournaments, Rock Creek, Hell Creek and the Montana Governor’s Cup to bring forth an exciting new tournament trail. More information is listed below.
FORT PECK LAKE WALLEYE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
• The Rock Creek Walleye Tournament, The Montana Governor’s Cup Walleye Tournament, and The Hell Creek Walleye Tournament have joined together to establish the 2010 Fort Peck Lake Walleye Championship Series. Membership to MT Walleyes Unlimited is required to compete in the tournament series.
• The tournaments will be using the 2009 Montana Walleyes Unlimited Circuit tournament rules & individual tournament scoring will be done by each event.
• Scoring will based on the anglers best two places out of the three events and scored on the reverse, division of position placed and number of teams, % formula, i.e. 1st place out of 70 teams is 70 ÷70 = 1 x 100 = 100, 2nd place 69 ÷ 70 = .986 x 100 = 98.6, 3rd place 68 ÷ 70 = .971 x 100 = 97.1 and so on down the field.
• Prizes will be awarded at the end of the year from the $5 “series fee” assessed to each team at all of the events.
• Prizes will be awarded for Fort Peck Walleyes Champion, team champions, adult/child and mixed couples. Hopefully, there will be enough money to award the top three places in the respective categories.
• There is a possibility of the big fish award that would be awarded to the team that catches and releases the largest walleye out of the three events. We are looking for sponsorship for this award.
• This tournament opportunity is not intended to compete with the Montana Walleyes Circuit and anglers are encouraged to support both events. The intent is to promote walleye fishing, education, sportsmanship, and the mission of Montanan Walleyes Unlimited.
• Ted Toavs and Steve Harada will be doing the final scoring of these events.
2010 Walleyes Forever banquet
Click here to see the 2010 Walleyes Forever Banquet
sponsor list and photo gallery
Dale Gilbert coming to WF to present free seminar
Walleye pro Dale Gilbert will be coming to the 7 p.m. April 8 meeting of Walleyes Forever at the Elks Club to present a seminar on trolling techniques and what's new in electronics for 2010.
Gilbert, of Ulm, had a long and successful career in Montana Walleye Circuit events before turning pro and fishing the Professional Walleye Trail and FLW Walleye Tour. He is a Past State President of Walleyes Unlimited of Montana,
Past Chapter President of the Great Falls Chapter of WUM, made a member of the
Montana Walleye Hall of Fame in January 1996 and is part of
Walleye University - PRO Walleye T.E.A.M.
His sponsors include Lund Boats, Mercury, Navionics, Wave Wackers, Townsend Marine, Lowrance Electronics, St Croix Rods, Minn Kota Motors, Rapala, Odyssey Marine Batteries and Berkley/Pure Fishing.
The seminar is free and open to the public.
Ryan from Roundup, shown with club president Ron McClenning, was the tackle box drawing winner at the Walleyes Forever booth at the Great Rockies Show on Saturday. Hank Nilson won on Friday and Judy Lorenz was the Sunday winner.
Fall Classic moving to Fourchette Bay
The Fall Classic walleye tournament will be moved to Fourchette Bay in 2010.
The tournament will be held August 7Th and 8Th. The water is back and it
is time to move the tournament back to where it started. The plan is to
have it at Fourchette this year and move it back to Crooked Creek in 2011.
As you all know, Fourchette is a remote part of Fort Peck. We want to
make sure everyone knows, if you think you might need it (bring it)! Also
if you pack it in please pack it out,garbage facilities will be limited.
We are going to have fuel,ice,bait(leeches,night crawlers)and some
concessions. We are also planning a meal for everyone Saturday night.
Everything you have grown to love about Fall Classic will continue. We
are shooting for a 100% payout,paying 20% of the field based on sponsor
participation.We have cut back the entries for 2010 to 70 due to limited
camping space. This number will be back to 100 for the 2011 tournament.So
get in soon to insure your spot at one of the best fishing ares on Fort
Peck lake.
With camping limited, we are asking that if you are from the east side of
Fort Peck that you set up camp at Devils Creek. We will check boats in on
the water for your convenience. This will free up space at Fourchette bay,
so everyone can have a decent camping spot. There is room for 15-20 teams
at Devils Creek, and room for 55-60 at Fourchette.
We are also putting together a novice/family division. The entry will be
50 dollars, you can have up to 4 people in your boat. All other circuit
rules apply! Your boat will have a different looking decal and you will be
going against boats in your division only.Payouts will also just be from
your division. All boats will go out as normal everyday, you will just be
competing in a different division. This is a idea to maybe get more
families and new to tournament fisherman involved. The entries in Fish
Tales,and on the website will have a box to check if this is the division
you would like to fish. There will be more information to follow, if you
do have questions please give us a call!
This will be a fun and exciting tournament, that many folks enjoyed
fishing 10 years ago. The waters back and this awesome tournament
location is back. We hope to see you all there! - From Diane Brandt, Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture
FWP seeking comment on reservoir plan
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking public comment on a draft management plan and environmental assessment for three popular Upper Missouri River reservoirs.
"Canyon Ferry, Hauser and Holter reservoirs account for more than 200,000 days of fishing each year," said FWP’s Eric Roberts in Helena. "These waters are among the most popular fishing destinations in Montana. The draft plan establishes a management vision for the next 10 years for these waters and associated stretches of the Missouri River."
An 18-member citizen workgroup, representing an array of angling, reservoir and river systems interests, identified, defined and recommended fish management and regulation approaches for the draft plan during eight months of meetings.
An accompanying environmental assessment evaluates the management alternatives, including making no changes, and analyzes predicted impacts on biological, physical, social, economic, cultural, and other factors.
Roberts said the documents will update a plan in effect since 2000.
The public can review and comment on the draft plan and EA through Oct. 23. Copies of the plan and EA are available online at fwp.mt.gov. Click " Upper Missouri River Management Plan ." For information call Beth Giddings at 406-444-7815.
Flathead WU members who helped on the project included,
left to right: Doug Green, Thad Briggs, Jerry Barker,
Trent Young and Bob Hickey.
Flathead WU helps with dock at Smith Lake
A greatly improved fishing dock will greet anglers this spring on Smith Lake west of Kalispell. The Flathead Chapter of Walleyes Unlimited contributed funds to add a refurbished dock that, along with the existing dock, will more than double opportunity for anglers at this popular lake. Chancy Jeschke and Frank Danner were the project leaders for FWU.
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) Fisheries Manager Jim Vashro notes that Smith Lake is one of the few places where shore anglers can catch perch and pike, but the existing dock was very overcrowded. The Flathead Chapter of Walleyes Unlimited paid for materials to refurbish an additional dock recycled from Whitefish State Park and add a T-extension at the end, more than doubling the number of anglers who can take advantage of the dock. The existing dock will accommodate wheelchairs.
"This is the kind of project that benefits everyone that likes to fish," says Vashro. "These docks especially provide good fishing opportunities for kids and people with disabilities. We really appreciate the Flathead Chapter of Walleyes Unlimited helping to expand fishing opportunity in the valley."
Bridgham selected as Fort Peck Hatchery manager
Charlie Bridgham |
GLASGOW, Mont. - Longtime biologist and scientific researcher Charlie Bridgham has been appointed as the new manager of the Fort Peck Multi-Species State Fish Hatchery.
Bridgham formerly served as assistant manager at the facility and was named acting manager after former Fort Peck Hatchery head Andrew Ollenburg left the position late last year.
“Charlie will be an excellent manager of the Fort Peck Hatchery,” said FWP Hatchery Bureau Chief Bob Snyder. “He has a lot of warm-water fish culture experience and is very familiar with the hatchery’s program and complex infrastructure. Charlie will provide continuity to the hatchery’s program, as the Fort Peck Hatchery staff has proven that they work effectively as a team. Under Charlie’s supervision, I expect this to continue.”
Bridgham, 45, grew up in a military family that frequently moved. He was born in Monterey, Calif., and his family lived in Southern California and Rhode Island for a time before settling in South Carolina. Bridgham graduated from Wando High School in Mount Pleasant, S.C. in 1981. He completed bachelor degrees in biology and geology at South Carolina’s College of Charleston in 1987.
Prior to entering the fisheries management field, Bridgham worked as a radiological technician at a South Carolina shipyard. In the early 1990s, he signed on with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, where he served in the agency’s Marine Resources Division.
Among other duties, Bridgham’s research team was involved with identifying candidate fish species for potential culturing. Much of the mariculture team’s work focused on red drum, a popular saltwater species commonly known as redfish or channel bass. Mariculture is the marine, or saltwater, branch of aquaculture.
Bridgham said red drum populations had been depleted from a variety of factors, including early commercial fishing and a later lack of sport fishing seasons and limits. Team members were tasked with determining the feasibility of stocking hatchery-raised red drum to augment natural populations. They also needed to look at the potential environment impacts of adding another artificially raised fish into the local estuary.
“Red drum is a relatively easy species to culture, but (full-blown culturing) never took off,” Bridgham said. One of the biggest challenges, he said, was determining whether red drum stocking programs were economically feasible.
“We knew we could raise and release the fish and they would survive,” he explained. “But the question was always: How many would survive?”
Along with red drum, Bridgham’s team conducted groundbreaking research on a variety of other fish species, including the endangered shortnose sturgeon, cobia, spotted sea trout, black sea bass, flounder, striped bass, white bass and striper-white bass hybrids. The work was split with time in the field studying the fish and their habitats and countless hours in the laboratory trying to manipulate their reproduction traits and behavior.
“I’ve worked with a bunch of different species,” Bridgham said. “It was all looking at spawning and raising fish.”
In 1997, Bridgham’s team received national recognition when it won the American Fisheries Society’s Outstanding Sportfish Restoration Award for their work on red drum.
In late 2004, Bridgham, an avid waterfowl and upland bird hunter, left South Carolina to become a fish culturist at FWP’s Giant Springs State Fish Hatchery in Great Falls. He was promoted to the Fort Peck Hatchery assistant manager position in early 2006.
Missoula angler catches
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.
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