NORTH DAKOTA OUTDOORS MAGAZINE

Fingerlings in the Millions

Ron Wilson

Let’s start with some numbers.

The working relationship between the North Dakota Game and Fish Department and Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery reaches back more than 60 years.

In 2024, the hatchery produced a record of nearly 12 million walleye fingerlings that were released in about 180 lakes across the state.

In his 28 years of focusing his efforts on walleyes at Garrison Dam, Jerry Tishmack, U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service fisheries biologist, has raised about 245 million fingerlings, which is equal to 40-plus tons.

Some perspective.

During Tishmack’s tenure, more walleye fingerlings have been raised and shipped out of the hatchery near Riverdale than any state or province in North America.

While there is some natural reproduction going on in North Dakota waters, you could speculate that maybe half of the walleyes caught by anglers over time originated in the hatchery, further solidifying its significance to meeting the expectations of walleye anglers across the state and beyond.

“Even if you were to say half — half that are naturally produced and half came from the hatchery — that’s still a crazy contribution from this hatchery,” said Jerry Weigel, Department production/development section supervisor, who, along with other Game and Fish personnel, have for years driven about 1,000 miles for every million fingerlings stocked.

“The other thing is the overwhelming majority of the 200-300 new lakes that we’ve added over the last several decades didn’t have fish in them.

So, if it wasn’t for the hatchery and the ability to stock and get some fish established, there wouldn’t be any walleyes in those lakes.”

Jerry Weigel (left), Game and Fish Department, and Jerry Tishmack, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Jerry Weigel (left), Game and Fish Department, and Jerry Tishmack, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, watch as walleye fingerlings are emptied into stocking tanks readied for transport.

Tishmack, a Raleigh, N.D. native, started at Garrison Dam in 1992 after spending a few years as a Game and Fish Department fisheries technician in Devils Lake.

“Jerry took over all pond production in 1996 and for many of those years he was the sole person in charge of filling, stocking, fertilizing and draining all 64 ponds,” Weigel said.

“As the growth of fishing waters occurred across North Dakota, so did the demand for more walleye fingerlings.

Each year a new record would be set at 10 million fingerlings, then 11 million … the bar to ask for more kept increasing.

“This being a government operation, we run kind of lean as there’s not a great big team of people who are involved with this process,” he added.

“Because Jerry hasn’t transferred to other hatcheries and moved around, coupled with expanding need for more fish, you create an environment for somebody to be a part of raising an incredible number of fish over those three decades.”

The walleye spawn is where it starts. Eggs taken from female walleyes are raised in the federal fish hatchery.

With 430-plus managed waters on North Dakota’s landscape, Tishmack said the request from Game and Fish to raise more and more walleyes keeps increasing, giving hatchery personnel a reason to max out the capacity at the hatchery.

“In the past 12-15 years, we’ve been raising every walleye we can here basically, because everybody loves walleyes and everybody wants them,” he said.

Aside from the hard-earned knowhow and science of raising fish, a contributing factor in the hatchery meeting demands and setting a new record for walleye produced is that two-thirds of the 64 hatchery are ponds lined with fabric.

“We ran into issues where these earthen ponds started leaking, so the solution was to put geo-fabric liners to stop the leaking.

And what we found was that we don’t necessarily raise more fish versus an unlined pond, but we raise larger fish,” Weigel said.

“But more importantly, we got rid of the variability.

There were times where an earthen pond returned very few fish.

Not sure why.

We almost never see that with a lined pond.

This has been an evolution over the last several decades to get to this point.

Once all the ponds are lined, the potential to break 12 million is pretty good if we have the request and need for that many fish.”

Even so, the stars have to align to raise walleye fingerlings into the millions.

“Everything has to line up.

This year we had over 70% survival and that’s absolutely phenomenal.

Are we ever going to see over 70% survival again? I’m not so sure we will.

Our average over the past 10 years is 60%.

And when I started this program, our average was below 50%.

So, our survival is increasing,” Tishmack said.

“Is it because we’re learning? Is it because of the liners? I’m not so sure about that, because the liners don’t make better survival, they make healthier, larger fish.

I don’t think that’s contributing to our survival increase.

Considering we had 70% survival this year, it’s going to be tough to beat that.”

Knowing that 180 waters were stocked with walleye fingerlings this year alone, Tishmack understands the value that has across a state where walleye is king.

“Think about the economic impact of that.

In all reality, the money it does cost the government, federal and state, to raise these 12 million fish to stock in 180 lakes, the economic impact is so much greater,” he said.

It’s only a guess if this nice Devils Lake walleye is the product of natural reproduction or raised in the hatchery. It likely doesn’t matter either way to this angler.

“Think of the boat fuel, tackle, fishing gear, bait, all that contributing to the local economies of this state.

I don’t know what the ratio is, but they’re probably easily quadrupling their dollar for the money it costs to raise these fish here.”

With more managed fishing waters than ever scattered across North Dakota and a continued interest by anglers to explore the many fishing opportunities, Weigel understands the importance the Game and Fish Department and Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery play in making good while the getting is good.

“Game and Fish staff, as well as the folks here at the hatchery, are anglers and we like to enjoy the end product of what we do and we’re so fortunate in North Dakota because having the fish is just one of the components,” Weigel said.

“The other is water.

And we’re just so fortunate that this wet period keeps going.

We have lakes that are still getting larger, still rising, and have a crazy amount of food.

“There’s never been more walleye fisheries and fishing opportunities in North Dakota than there is today.

It is the best of times,” he added.

“I’m not saying this is as good as it gets.

It could still continue to get better, but it’s pretty darn amazing.

A big part of it starts right here at the hatchery.”

Return to North Dakota Outdoors October 2024 Edition