Fort Peck Fishing with Bernie Hildebrand -- walleye, pike, Lakers, salmon, fishing report

Fort Peck Fishing

with Bernie Hildebrand

Phone: (406) 234-6342 E-mail: Bernie@MidRivers.com
Bernie's Fort Peck fishing report

The following are my fishing results for walleye in 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002 and 2001 listed for comparison.

Year 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001
Number of fish 198 95 124 104 143 110 109
Total in pounds 635 443 427 523 573 454 393
Average in pounds 3.21 4.66 3.44 5.03 4.01 4.13 3.61
Hours 410 375 377 409 373 416 362
Fish/hour .48 .25 .33 .25 .38 .26 .30
10-pound-plus 18 15 10 11 12 8 8

The number of fish category reflects walleyes over 14 inches. Those less than 14 inches weren't counted in the totals on the chart. For 2006, I also tabulated all the walleyes under one pound (14 inches) of which there were 91. For 2007, the walleyes under 14 inches totaled 170, an even bigger catch.

Several things stick out about 2007. The number of walleyes under 14 inches is up a lot as are the walleyes from 14 to 20 inches. It appears that there is a strong age class or two or the prey base has changed somehow to cause this size fish to be more aggressive. The average size is down because of the increase number of walleyes in the 14 to 20-inch size. The fish per hour is the highest since I've been keeping track. Also, last year was the second record year in a row for walleyes over 10 pounds!!!

Check out the latest Fort Peck water levels on WalleyesUnlimited.com's Fort Peck Reservoir elevations chart page.

Check out some of our recent catches in our Photo gallery.

Good luck in your fishing. -- Bernie.

If you're interested in booking a trip, contact us at (406) 234-6342
or send me an e-mail at: Bernie@MidRivers.com.