By Nick Simonson

Population jumps in walleyes and bluegills and a decrease in the surveyed number of bullheads in the North Dakota Game & Fish Department’s (NDG&F) late summer sampling of Lake Ashtabula in 2023 have made the reservoir on the Sheyenne River a destination for anglers seeking a variety of gamefish and panfish and the flow is poised for a fantastic open water season, according to BJ Kratz, NDG&F Southeast District Fisheries Supervisor.

“Based on our sampling effort last year in 2023, things are looking pretty good [on Ashtabula].  Bluegill for example during our electrofishing period were captured at a record rate last year,” Kratz stated, adding, “the perch and white bass have been sampled at numbers above the five-year average last year and then on the contrary – which everybody probably would like to hear – with the bullhead numbers it appears the trend has been generally down the last ten years or so.”

Double Vision
Walleyes sampled on Lake Ashtabula last year more than doubled the previous catch rate in the agency’s test nets, suggesting that this summer and the next several years should provide excellent fishing for anglers visiting the water.  The population index was so much higher that as it sits right now, the NDG&F is poised to hold off on stocking walleyes into the water in order to get a better handle on how much natural reproduction is occurring.

“During our 2023 survey, we captured walleye at a rate of about twice of what we typically have done in recent times, just comparing that to 2019, 2020 and 2021 surveys, we had an increase of about two-fold of what our normal catch rate is. So that was positive.  Over the last five years we’ve sampled walleye up to 30 inches, I think last year’s largest was probably 27, but there’s certainly large fish out there,” Kratz details on the burgeoning walleye population.

Bluegill Boom
Bluegill populations have found their stride, and where just a few years ago the popular panfish were an incidental catch by anglers, they’ve taken off around the reservoir and likely will become a popular pursuit on the lake in addition to schools of larger white bass that roam the basins of the water.  On top of those two panfish, yellow perch populations are on the rise, and while not quite as abundant as the other species, black crappies can be found with quality fish pushing the 14-inch mark on Ashtabula.

Super Smallies
In what continues to be a massive draw for bass anglers in eastern North Dakota, the smallmouth bass population is well established, with fish across multiple year classes and many topping 20 inches and five pounds providing both consistent action and the possibility of a trophy fish on any given outing this spring. 

“The population of smallmouth is strong in Lake Ashtabula and they’re very healthy, their growth rates are very good.  If everybody went out and angled [for smallmouth on Ashtabula], they’d probably realize that fish tend to nearly be as round as they are long in the system,” Kratz reveals.

Keep Casting
Meanwhile, muskellunge in both the pure strain and hybrid tiger type have been stocked in Ashtabula over the past several years and larger fish are starting to show up in angler catches on the reservoir and reported to the NDG&F.  Those notable fish being caught run up to 45 inches in length and are nearing that 48-inch mark of a true catch-and-release trophy in the water.  While not actively focused on in sampling due to the expense and specificity required to survey them, Kratz is confident that a good number of fish with bigger ones available for anglers is setting up on Ashtabula, and some taking up residence downstream below Baldhill Dam on the Sheyenne River as well.

“You almost have to focus a netting or sampling effort on muskies to determine their numbers in any meaningful amount.  Because of time restraints and other activities, we can’t really allocate those assets to that particular type of sampling, so I kind of rely on when we do our electrofishing for smallmouth and bluegill and then as well as angler reports.  Every year I get reports and pictures from people who are catching muskies in the main lake and last year was no exception,” Kratz explains.

Of note heading into the 2024 open water fishing season is the status of Lake Ashtabula and the Sheyenne River as infested waters, harboring both animal and plant invasive species in the form of zebra mussels, curlyleaf pondweed, and Eurasian watermilfoil among others.  Anglers are urged to clean, drain and dry their boat after leaving the reservoir to prevent the spread of these invasive species to other waters in North Dakota and outstate, and all watercraft users are instructed to follow suit – from jet skiers and kayakers to tubers and recreational boaters to stop ANS transmission.

Simonson is the lead writer and editor of Dakota Edge Outdoors.

Featured Photo: Muskies Amassing.  Muskellunge are becoming more present on Lake Ashtabula and the Sheyenne River downstream from Baldhill Dam which farms the reservoir.  In addition to the fish of 10,000 casts, anglers will find abundant walleyes in 2024 along with a huge population of smallmouth bass and a growing number of bluegills adding to the fishery’s options. DEO Photo by Ben Simonson