Behind the Badge - Stories from Drayton Dam
Stories from Drayton Dam
District Game Warden Peter Miley
The end of an era and beginning of a new one
For those of you that don’t know, the dam at Drayton on the Red River is currently in the process of being replaced as part of the Fargo Flood diversion.
The dam, which is located just north of the of Drayton, is the last lowhead dam on the main river and the old dam is showing its years. In addition, it has proven to carry hidden dangers which have led to several unfortunate incidents resulting in losses of life.
Signs present attempt to inform anglers and sightseers of this but unfortunately aren’t always followed.
The new dam currently being placed is a rock rapid style dam which, besides hopefully being safer, will additionally allow fish passage throughout the river system year-round. How will this affect fishing at this location? Only time will tell. Either way, I will continue to enjoy wetting a line as the dam is what originally brought me to the area.
The fall of 2009 was my first time visiting the famous Drayton Dam. I had just finished college at Bemidji State University and completed the law enforcement academy at Alexandria Technical College but had yet to find full time employment.
With some free time, I came north to stay in Cavalier with some friends and spend time fishing the Red River. I still remember that trip as one of the best fishing trips to the river I have had to date.
The walleyes, sauger and catfish did not disappoint. Little did I know at the time that I would one day be the game warden covering this amazing fishery.
Over the years I have met some great people, shared fishing stories, and made numerous cases at “the dam.” Drayton Dam is renowned as one of the best channel cat trophy fisheries around.
Catfish up to 30 pounds are possible, which for a channel catfish, is an absolute giant.
Last year Abu Garcia placed the Red River as #4 on its top 100 places to fish in the United States (Devils Lake ranked #18).
With the slow growth rate, this fishery is managed to protect these catfish and strict limits are placed on the harvest of the older trophy sized fish that draw people from across the country.
One of the most memorable overlimit cases from the dam that has stuck with me involved using one of the most effective patrol methods game wardens have, plain clothes patrol.
On this day I was present at the dam blending in as a normal fisherman watching for violations. The fishing this day was steady but not great and many groups came and left.
Several hours after I would have normally left had I been fishing for fun, a boat returned to the access.
I was able to see the group of three anglers clearly as they began unloading large catfish from the boat into a cooler. Soon their large cooler was filled with more fish being placed onto the ground.
Being the sole game warden for this area, I contacted a nearby deputy and requested his assistance in checking this group so I could maintain my cover.
This changed quickly when the deputy who was knowledgeable in fishing regulations arrived and sent me a simple text message of “come over.” I packed up my gear and displayed my department identification.
When I arrived at the boat it was immediately apparent this was well beyond a simple overlimit.
Besides the now obvious violations including no fishing license and gross overlimit, the boat was off loading so the group could go out and get more fish.
By stopping this group now, we prevented the even greater theft of natural resources.
After sorting through the lies and lack of regulation knowledge with this group, my hand was cramping by the time I was done writing out paperwork.
The fish were loaded into my vehicle and taken to an evidence freezer to be held until court was concluded.
Years later, those fish are still frozen, and a warrant has been issued with fishing privileges being suspended across the country for one of the poachers.
So what will the future bring to the dam? How will the changes with the new dam affect fishing in the area? I wish I knew.
I get asked these questions frequently when talking to anglers.
That old lowhead dam has produced some great memories for many of us, as well as a few incidents no one wanted.
Hopefully the fishing and safety both trend the right direction. Only time will tell what this new dam’s era brings.