SOUTH DAKOTA DEPT. OF GAME, FISH AND PARKS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2005
CONTACT: Jason Sorensen, 734-4547

PIERRE, S.D. – Changes to walleye regulations for lakes Oahe, Sharpe and Francis Case, the upper three Missouri River system reservoirs in South Dakota, were recently proposed by the Game, Fish, and Parks Commission at their October meeting.

As part of the proposals for Missouri River walleye regulations, the daily limit on Lake Oahe would decrease from six walleye to four, and the possession limit would be reduced from 18 to 12. The regulation that one walleye in the daily limit could be 20 inches or longer would not change.

"Daily limits greater than the standard, statewide daily limit of four were in place on Lake Oahe from 2001 through 2005 to reduce the high abundance of walleye less than 15 inches in length," said John Lott, a senior fisheries biologist stationed in Pierre. "The number of walleye less than 15 inches has decreased, and high harvest of these fish is no longer needed."

For lakes Francis Case and Sharpe, the regulation proposal includes increasing the daily limit from three walleye to four, and increasing the "one walleye over" length from 18 to 20 inches. The 15-inch minimum length limit regulation would be unchanged and continue to be in effect during all months except July and August.

"The walleye daily limit was reduced from four to three for 2004 and 2005 in hopes of reducing walleye harvest during a period of low walleye abundance," said Jason Sorensen, a GFP fisheries biologist in Chamberlain. "However, low walleye abundance resulted in low angler catches of walleyes during 2004 and 2005, meaning the three-fish daily limit had little effect. Raising the daily limit on Lakes Sharpe and Francis Case to four walleye would simplify regulations on a statewide basis and would not affect the quality of these fisheries."

Sorensen also noted that the "one over 18 inches" regulation has been in effect since 1999 and has not resulted in an increase in the number of walleye longer than 18 inches. "It is generally accepted that ‘one over’ regulations have little biological effect but are important social regulations. Increasing the ‘one over’ length to 20 inches would simplify regulations without sacrificing the quality of walleye populations." A "one over" length of 20 inches is the standard for other waters in South Dakota.

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