BROOKINGS The Brookings Wildlife Federation will host South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks fisheries biologists Dave Lucchesi and Mark Ermer at its monthly Infolunch on May 2.
The GFP visitors will update the locals on new rules and regulations, fisheries management programs, angler access developments and stocking area lakes.
The meeting will be at noon in the Brookings County Outdoor Adventure Center, 2810 22nd Ave. S. A light buffet lunch will be available for a free will donation.
Everyone wants to see the GFP test-netting results, which help identify good fishing lakes this year. Each spring, lake fish like walleye, perch and northern pike are netted in trap nets for artificial spawning and, when needed, adult fish are transferred to other lakes. For example, when fish are over-abundant in one lake, they may be transferred to small lakes where youth and family fishing is popular, like the lakes at the Outdoor Adventure Center.
The state fish, the walleye, gets special attention. The walleye spawning program requires the biologists to set nets in various waters throughout the state as soon as the ice goes off. Walleyes in spawning condition can usually be stripped, meaning that the eggs and sperm can be expressed from the fish into containers where fertilization takes place.
The spawned walleyes are returned to the lake. The fertilized eggs are taken to Blue Dog Fish Hatchery, where they are hatched and reared for restocking. The young fish fry are restocked by the millions as 6-day-old fry, or as 3-inch-long fingerlings after they grow in hatchery ponds.
This year, walleye anglers will have a special task if they chose to accept it. The Midwest Walleye Challenge sounds like a contest but it isnt. The event is hosted by Anglersatlas.com and the MyCatch app asks anglers to report their catch from April 1 to June 29, as part of a multi-state research project aimed to assess the walleye fishery across the Midwest.
It costs $25 to participate, but when an angler submits their first data, they get a $25 gift certificate to Discount Tackle.
The visiting biologists will also speak about a GFP program to slow the spread of the invasive zebra mussel, called an aquatic nuisance species. The little mussel with the zebra-striped shell can become so abundant that it changes a lakes ecosystem in ways that ultimately changes the water quality and fishery. Zebras can also impact water infrastructure. For example, a recent issue of the Kingbrook Rural Water System magazine told of clogged water intakes and chemical treatment programs needed to keep pipes clear.
The BWF is affiliated with the South Dakota Wildlife Federation and the National Wildlife Federation.
The BWF is in its 45th year of supplying conservation information and activities to the Brookings community. For more info contact BWF President Bob Kurtz at 605-695-1361.
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