Combining 5 summer surveys from 2014 to 2019 puts Lake Sharpe at 1.15 walleye per angler hour. Lake Oahe averaged 1.00 over 6 surveys. Both rates measure walleye caught per hour of all fishing, with hours from anglers after any species included. The median on the six Minnesota waters where walleye made up at least half the catch was 0.33 walleye per angler hour. Sharpe averaged 3.5 times that rate and Oahe 3.0 times.
IMissouri River Fishing
Sharpe and Oahe Averaged 3.5 and 3.0 Times Minnesota's Walleye-First Median
State agency creel surveys supplied the expanded catch and angler-hour estimates compiled in the U.S. Geological Survey's Inland Creel and Angler Survey Catalog. We calculated these rates by dividing catch by angler hours. Sharpe's pooled rate comes to one walleye for about every 52 minutes anglers together spent on the water.
The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks creel reports agree with the catalog's walleye catch for all five Sharpe summers and Oahe's 2017 and 2018 surveys. The hours printed in those reports agree for Sharpe in 2018 and 2019 and Oahe in 2017 and 2018.
IINear the Top
South Dakota Takes Five of the First Six Spots
We used open-water surveys lasting 60 days or longer that began between April and June and finished between July and October. Each water combines its qualifying surveys since 2000 and must have at least 50,000 surveyed angler hours, leaving 148 waters in 12 states. Upper, lower and whole-lake surveys of South Dakota's Lake Oahe are combined and treated as one water.
Lake Poinsett led at 1.49 walleye per angler hour, though that rate comes from only 2 surveys. Sharpe, Oahe, Bitter Lake at 0.88 and Francis Case at 0.82 give South Dakota its stretch near the top. Minnesota's only water in that group is Upper Red Lake's east side, with 1.13 over 5 surveys from 2006 to 2010.
Sharpe kept up that pace summer after summer. Its five surveys ranged from 0.97 in 2015 to 1.31 in 2017, with four above 1.0. Oahe's individual surveys varied more, ranging from 0.49 to 1.21. The 17 surveys on Sharpe, Oahe and Francis Case included 16 above 0.5.
Swipe table to see every column
| Water | State | Surveys | Years | Usual window | Walleye caught | Angler hours | Walleye per hour | Walleye share of catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Poinsett | South Dakota | 2 | 2017 to 2018 | May to Aug | 259,999 | 174,450 | 1.49 | 82% |
| Lake Sharpe | South Dakota | 5 | 2014 to 2019 | May to Aug | 1,678,936 | 1,459,887 | 1.15 | 80% |
| Upper Red Lake (east side) | Minnesota | 5 | 2006 to 2010 | May to Sep | 891,069 | 788,252 | 1.13 | 84% |
| Lake Oahe | South Dakota | 6 | 2014 to 2019 | May to Jul | 2,711,419 | 2,701,307 | 1.00 | 79% |
| Bitter Lake | South Dakota | 3 | 2016 to 2018 | May to Aug | 222,404 | 251,317 | 0.88 | 91% |
| Lake Francis Case | South Dakota | 6 | 2014 to 2019 | Apr to Jul | 2,767,417 | 3,378,276 | 0.82 | 80% |
| Stump Lake | North Dakota | 3 | 2007 to 2016 | May to Sep | 114,505 | 159,253 | 0.72 | 76% |
| Otter Tail Lake | Minnesota | 2 | 2006 to 2007 | May to Oct | 110,198 | 165,937 | 0.66 | 32% |
| Devils Lake | North Dakota | 5 | 2001 to 2016 | May to Oct | 2,495,478 | 3,907,441 | 0.64 | 64% |
| Lake Oahe | North Dakota | 4 | 2000 to 2009 | Apr to Oct | 391,831 | 645,707 | 0.61 | 79% |
| Missouri River | North Dakota | 4 | 2000 to 2009 | Apr to Oct | 661,148 | 1,237,215 | 0.53 | 86% |
| Lake Sakakawea | North Dakota | 6 | 2000 to 2015 | May to Sep | 3,456,312 | 6,556,693 | 0.53 | 86% |
| Rainy Lake | Minnesota | 10 | 2000 to 2010 | May to Sep | 1,173,488 | 2,378,258 | 0.49 | 75% |
| Lake Audubon | North Dakota | 5 | 2000 to 2015 | May to Sep | 177,417 | 363,912 | 0.49 | 78% |
| Calamus Reservoir | Nebraska | 5 | 2014 to 2018 | Apr to Oct | 226,501 | 467,148 | 0.48 | 41% |
IIIMostly Walleye
South Dakota's Median Was About Three Times Minnesota's
On Sharpe, Oahe and Francis Case about 80% of the fish caught were walleye. Walleye were 18% of all fish caught on the median Minnesota water in the open-water set. South Dakota's reports put the share of interviewed parties primarily targeting walleye at 73.7% on Sharpe in 2018 and 84.5% in 2019, and at 83.4% and 88.0% on Oahe in 2017 and 2018.
Hours from anglers after other species are part of the denominator, so the all-fishing rate can understate what a walleye angler catches. The effect matters most where walleye are a small share of the catch. The rate is not always lower. South Dakota's season figures put the all-angler rate above the rate for anglers primarily targeting walleye on Sharpe in 2018 and 2019 and on Oahe in 2017. A closer comparison uses walleye-first waters where walleye made up half or more of the catch. South Dakota, North Dakota and Minnesota had 6 such waters each. The walleye-first median ran 0.94 walleye per angler hour in South Dakota, 0.57 in North Dakota and 0.33 in Minnesota. Upper Red Lake led the Minnesota group at 1.13, with Rainy Lake a distant second at 0.49 and Namakan at 0.37.
Among 40 distinct open-water surveys on Minnesota's six walleye-first waters, only 4 matched or beat the 0.97 from Sharpe's slowest summer. Those four were all from Upper Red Lake between 2006 and 2009. Mille Lacs in 2002 had the best single survey on the other five waters at 0.75.
Swipe table to see every column
| State | Waters | Median walleye per hour | Survey years | With winter surveys added (waters at median) | Walleye-first waters (waters at median) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Dakota | 8 | 0.852 | 2014 to 2019 | 10 at 0.544 | 6 at 0.944 |
| North Dakota | 7 | 0.534 | 2000 to 2016 | 7 at 0.493 | 6 at 0.571 |
| Nebraska | 8 | 0.229 | 2014 to 2018 | 8 at 0.229 | none |
| Minnesota | 35 | 0.181 | 2000 to 2016 | 49 at 0.113 | 6 at 0.330 |
| Iowa | 2 | 0.115 | 2016 to 2019 | 3 at 0.154 | none |
| Texas | 1 | 0.108 | 2005 to 2010 | 1 at 0.089 | none |
| Wisconsin | 1 | 0.055 | 2011 to 2011 | 57 at 0.083 | none |
| Utah | 2 | 0.042 | 2010 to 2018 | 3 at 0.062 | none |
| Illinois | 4 | 0.028 | 2001 to 2008 | 14 at 0.020 | none |
| Michigan | 78 | 0.026 | 2000 to 2021 | 112 at 0.024 | 2 at 0.341 |
| Kentucky | 1 | 0.010 | 2015 to 2015 | 5 at 0.010 | none |
| Vermont | 1 | 0.001 | 2015 to 2016 | 1 at 0.001 | none |
Broader comparisons make the ratios larger, overstating the gap for a walleye angler by including lakes where walleye are a small share of the catch. Sharpe ran 6.4 times as fast as the 0.181 median across all 35 open-water Minnesota waters. Including winter and full-year surveys brings ice fishing into the comparison and lowers the median to 0.113 across 49 waters, putting Sharpe at 10.2 times that rate. Minnesota surveys from 2010 on put the median at 0.247 over 13 waters and Sharpe at 4.7 times that rate.
IVMonthly Pace
June Reached 1.10 or Better in All Four Sharpe and Oahe Seasons
The 2018-2019 Sharpe report and the 2017-2018 Oahe report also give monthly rates for four seasons, plus a separate season rate for anglers primarily targeting walleye.
June is the most consistent choice. In all four seasons it ranged from 1.10 to 1.44 walleye per angler hour and never ranked as the slowest month. July was fastest on Sharpe in 2019 and Oahe in 2017 but came in at 0.92 and 0.91 in 2018. Each rate has an 80% confidence interval printed in the reports, and July's overlapped June's in both seasons when July led.
The department's season rate for anglers primarily targeting walleye ranged from 0.98 to 1.17 walleye per hour. In those same reports the all-angler season rate ranged from 0.99 to 1.28. The measures are close, making the all-fishing rate a fair guide to what walleye anglers caught on Sharpe and Oahe in those seasons.
Swipe table to see every column
| Month | Sharpe 2018 | Sharpe 2019 | Oahe 2017 | Oahe 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May | 1.32 (0.49) | 0.81 (0.38) | 0.82 (0.52) | 0.70 (1.12) |
| June | 1.39 (0.40) | 1.44 (0.35) | 1.10 (0.49) | 1.12 (0.31) |
| July | 0.92 (0.20) | 1.71 (0.44) | 1.25 (0.71) | 0.91 (0.46) |
| August | 0.89 (0.17) | 0.88 (0.17) | not surveyed | not surveyed |
| Season, all anglers | 1.15 (0.18) | 1.28 (0.19) | 1.11 (0.37) | 0.99 (0.35) |
| Season, anglers primarily targeting walleye | 1.11 (0.18) | 1.17 (0.30) | 0.98 (0.18) | 1.04 (0.29) |
VMixed Hours
All-Fishing Hours, Uneven Years and Different Months
Using all-fishing hours understates walleye anglers most on Minnesota's mixed-species lakes. South Dakota's qualifying surveys covered 2014 to 2019, while Minnesota's stop in 2016. South Dakota's surveys stretched from April or May into July or August. Most Minnesota surveys ran from May to September or October, adding late-summer and early fall weeks. We have not compared the Minnesota figures with printed reports. On the nine Wisconsin lakes we checked, the catalog's catch was about twice the Wisconsin DNR's printed totals on all but one. We removed 35 survey rows that listed walleye harvest without catch, including one on Lake of the Woods. We left out 1,259 surveys covering winter, full-year or other windows.
VITrip Plans
Start With Sharpe and Oahe and Aim for June
Our read is that a walleye angler after numbers should start with Sharpe and Oahe and plan for June. Sharpe stayed at or above 0.97 walleye per angler hour in its five summer surveys through 2019, and June reached 1.10 or better in all four Sharpe and Oahe season reports. Among Minnesota's waters in these surveys Upper Red Lake's east side alone is in that class at a pooled 1.13 walleye per angler hour with 4 of 5 surveys at 0.97 or better, though its surveys ended in 2010. For lakes where walleye are a minority of the catch, our rule is to use the all-fishing rate as a floor and ask the area office what share of anglers fished for walleye.
NOTES AND SOURCES
- Source: U.S. Geological Survey, Inland Creel and Angler Survey Catalog (CreelCat), 2024 release.
- Scope: Angler intercept creel surveys compiled by USGS from state agencies. walleye catch and angler hours. surveys from 2000 to 2021 that ran 60 days or longer with 2,000 or more estimated angler hours. open-water windows (starting April to June and ending July to October, not ice surveys). grain is one water, pooling all qualifying surveys of that water. waters need 50,000 or more pooled hours.
- Method: Walleye per hour = sum of agency walleye catch estimates / sum of estimated angler hours for all fishing on that water (DERIVED). The hours include anglers seeking any species. Catch includes released fish. Walleye share = walleye catch / catch of all species on the same surveys. State figures are medians across waters. Walleye-first waters are those where walleye made up half or more of all fish caught, a like-for-like check on where anglers mostly fish for walleye. Lake Oahe in South Dakota pools three section codes (upper, lower, whole lake) that never overlap in a year.
- Limits: Each rate divides walleye caught by every hour anglers fished, including hours spent after perch, bass or crappie, so it understates what a walleye angler catches. On South Dakota's big reservoirs walleye made up about four of every five fish caught, but on the median Minnesota water they made up fewer than one in five, so the all-water comparison overstates the gap for walleye anglers.
- Limits: States surveyed in different years. South Dakota's reservoir surveys run from 2014 to 2019, while Minnesota's qualifying surveys end in 2016.
- Limits: Survey windows differ. South Dakota's reservoir surveys run April or May into July or August, while most Minnesota surveys run May to September or October, which adds late-summer and early fall weeks.
- Limits: Wisconsin is almost absent because its creel surveys run from May through the ice season and cannot be split into open-water months.
- Limits: CreelCat compiles agency estimates. South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks printed creel reports match CreelCat's walleye catch on Lake Sharpe for its five summers and on Lake Oahe's 2017 and 2018 surveys, and its angler hours for the four seasons those reports cover (Sharpe 2018 and 2019, Oahe 2017 and 2018). Minnesota waters were not checked against printed reports. On eight of nine Wisconsin lakes we checked, CreelCat catch ran about twice the Wisconsin DNR's printed totals.
Fully Drawn Research is an independent data analysis desk, not affiliated with any state wildlife agency, transportation agency, mapping provider or outfitter. Fully Drawn Research is an independent data and analysis desk. This paper reports FDR's own analysis of public agency and survey data. Harvest, catch and survey figures describe what hunters and anglers reported or what agencies counted or estimated, not how many animals or fish are present, and they reflect regulations and hunter or angler choices as well as wildlife numbers.
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