NORTH DAKOTA OUTDOORS MAGAZINE

Generational Change

By Greg Power

Parker Rash

The accompanying photos displaying happy anglers last summer on a number of different North Dakota prairie lakes is a positive outcome that is relatable for many.

With 75-plus of these prairie lakes created in the past 20 or so years, coupled with the state’s traditional waters — Sakakawea, Oahe and Devils Lake — fishing in recent years has likely never been better.

Smiles such as these have become commonplace.

If you closely observe the photos, you will note they are all boat anglers.

Likewise, similar photos of happy anglers with walleye, northern pike or yellow perch could be taken from various lakes while ice fishing this past winter.

Boat and ice fishing have become highly popular in the past 50-plus years.

These two fishing styles have been the recipient of the myriad of changes in technology as well as dramatic increases in creature comforts over time.

In contrast, the fundamentals that make up the other main style of angling, shore-fishing, has changed very little.

A deeper dive into how North Dakota anglers’ fishing styles have evolved reveal a stark contrast in participation trends.

Let’s take a look back at what has changed and what it may mean for the future of fishing.

Times are a changing and if you’re, say, a lifelong North Dakota angler in your 60s or 70s, you’ve witnessed this firsthand when it comes to boat and ice fishing.

All the advancements in more and better “stuff” — from 20-plus-foot fiberglass boats to 450 horsepower outboards, to fish houses with all the luxuries, to track ATVs, to incredible electronics, to the list going on and on — and society’s affluence, which allows many of us to purchase this “stuff,” have cumulatively given the boat and ice angler a tremendous advantage compared to a half-century ago.

Madden Skunberg

Thankfully to date, fisheries biologists and managers have generally been able to keep up with the higher fish harvest rates of the better equipped anglers with their own use of advancements and a better understanding of the aquatic world.

However, many have questioned how it will end?

Advancements in the fishing industry have been good for those involved in fishing as well as North Dakota’s economy.

For example, an economic survey conducted by North Dakota State University in 2017, revealed angler expenditures in North Dakota totaled nearly $788 million, the vast majority originating from boat and ice anglers.

State tax collections directly related to fishing totaled nearly $40 million.

Alice Gangl

Compare to today’s $788 million in statewide angler expenditures to 1965, when only $5 million was generated, certainly highlights the growing importance of fishing.

However, there is a growing concern that many who consider giving fishing a try believe they need to be equipped with all the latest gadgets to catch fish.

This has likely resulted in anglers who don’t have deep enough pockets to afford a boat to reduce their time fishing or quit altogether.

Then there are those who think fishing is too expensive to even start.

Comparing an “average” angler now versus then is quite revealing.

Going back in time (50-plus years), most fishing in North Dakota occurred from shore.

Boat ownership was just beginning, and ice fishing was still a bit of a novelty for most.

Shore-fishing was the common practice of the time and finding adequate shoreline access was always priority one.

Shore-fishing was, and still is, a mostly laid-back affair, involving casting a couple lines, sitting in a lawn chair and waiting for the friendly sounds of ringing bells to indicate, perhaps, “fish on.” This style of fishing was, and remains, certainly low impact and did not require much for equipment.

Beginning in the mid-1970s, boat sales started increasing, in part due to the new and booming walleye fisheries on lakes Sakakawea and Oahe, and over time, boat ownership and boat fishing became common.

In recent years, 70-80% of North Dakota anglers report fishing from a boat annually and this is reflected in the record number (78,000-plus) of registered motorized watercraft.

Likewise, beginning in the late 1970s, driven by the boom in the Devils Lake perch fishery, interest in ice fishing grew dramatically.

This interest continued to increase, especially since the mid-1990s, with all the new walleye, perch and pike lakes available on North Dakota’s landscape.

(Of note, in some years with open winters and good access, ice fishing can account for 25% of all annual fishing effort.)

To create even further interest in both boat and ice fishing, manufacturers have provided an almost untold number of devices and adaptations to assist the boater and angler.

The 16-foot aluminum boat with a 40 or 50 horsepower motor and the infamous Lowrance green box (fish locator) common in the 1970s and early 1980s, have been replaced with bigger and better.

Likewise, hand augers and ice shelters, often nothing more than plywood and a flimsy, vinyl tarp are virtually obsolete today, being replaced by high output electric augers and RV fish houses that, in some cases, include fireplaces and satellite TV.

Meantime, shore-fishing has seen very little change in the past 50 years.

Bernard Bailey

The same lawn chair, the same rod holder, the same bell used in 1974 could still be used in 2024.

The same stringer, the same terminal tackle (often a bare hook or floating jig), and often the same rod/reels are still being used today.

At one time shore-fishing was the gateway to locking someone into being a lifetime angler.

Although reliable statistics are not available for the early 1970s, it’s likely safe to say that two-thirds of all fishing effort occurred on our shorelines.

Today, it’s less than 10%.

What is clear today is this entryway to a lifetime of “hooked on fishing” that shore-fishing once served has become a lot weaker.

Nowadays, most new young anglers are likely introduced to fishing via a boat or an ice fishing excursion.

That’s simply the sign of the times as “fish catchability,” affluence and personal decisions have driven these changes to fishing styles.

Looking into the future, what remains unclear is if we can continue to recruit substantial numbers of anglers to fishing who only know boat (and ice) fishing ways.

Kohl Kratz

Regardless, whether talking about yesterday, today or tomorrow, perhaps that is the beauty of fishing, the diversity of ways of going about this recreational activity.

Fishing can be simple and relaxing, and shore-fishing offers all that.

However, for others, fishing may mean “catching,” driven by a fast-paced, all-out competition facilitated by a large toolbox of the latest technologies, and full livewells.

Just like the great transformation of fishing styles experienced in the past 50 years, what will the face of fishing look like in the next 50 years remains to be seen.

It’s likely it will look far different than fishing does today.

However, the one constant that will likely weather the changing times are the smiles so inherent to fishing.

Return to North Dakota Outdoors March-April 2024 Edition