BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A four-year study of Lake Oahe walleyes is halfway done and already yielding results.
Officials are gaining new information about how fish move, how long they live and what proportion of them are ending up on anglers' hooks. The goal is to use that information to further improve the quality of the popular Missouri River fishery.
Dakotas biologists are tagging 40,000 walleye over four years and asking anglers to report any of the fish they catch.
The first two years have revealed some interesting fish movement patterns. Officials also are finding that walleye conditions have improved since the 2011 flood.
Once researchers have another year's worth of data in hand, they'll start running computer models of the potential effects of various regulations and natural events such as declining prey fish.