Tribe bounty program studies pike migration

COEUR d’ALENE — The Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s northern pike study on Lake Coeur d’Alene just began a few weeks ago, and researchers already have a good number of specimens.

The “Catch for Cash” program was launched by the Tribe at the beginning of October as a way to encourage anglers to catch pike as part of the Tribe’s cutthroat trout predation study, according to Heather Keen, a spokeswoman for the Tribe.

“We are only two weeks into it and it looks like we have about 50 fish turned in,” Keen said. “The first weekend we had nine anglers turn in 25 pike, and this past weekend we had another 25 turned in.”

The Tribe is offering $5 for each pike that anglers turn in at a check station at Heyburn State Park Headquarters at 57 Chatcolet Road. It is part of an ongoing research effort by the Tribe to study native cutthroat trout and how they are affected by an expanding pike population in the southern part of the lake.

Keen said tribal staff will examine and collect data on the stomach contents of the harvested pike and then donate the remains to the Birds of Prey Northwest raptor rehabilitation facility in St. Maries.

The program caught many anglers and Idaho Department Fish and Game off-guard when it was launched on Oct. 1, but some of their concerns have now been addressed.

IDFG Fisheries Manager Andy Dux said his agency has met with the Tribe to discuss its concerns with the program.

“As the program rolled out, we didn’t have any information on the project,” Dux said. “Now we have been told it is a temporary research effort, and it is not a suppression effort."

Dux said IDFG has been working with the Tribe on a separate three-year study to catch pike in gill nets on Windy Bay in the southern portion of the lake and transport the surviving fish to Cougar Bay on the north end of the lake.

Dux said that study is designed to track the migration patterns of the pike to see if they will eventually return to Windy Bay. He said the Tribe is concerned about the native cutthroat trout in Benewah and Lake creeks.

“We are only in the first year, so we won't know if they are moving until we do some subsequent netting,” Dux said, adding IDFG has tagged the fish it moved. “The Tribe’s study is a separate program.”

Keen said the Tribe fully intends to continue working with the IDFG on that relocation program, but the new study was needed to track some of the seasonal behaviors of the pike.

The study will run from October through April for the next three years, she said.

“They want to gather information on the abundance of pike,” she said. “And find out where they are living.”

Keen said some of the data collected in the cutthroat predation study prompted researchers to gather more data on the seasonal behaviors of the fish.

She said researchers have found the fall and winter months are when the pike tend to interact more with the cutthroat trout.

She said the data gathered during the seasonal study will help the Tribe map out a more informed fisheries management plan for the cutthroat trout, which will include co-management of the pike.

In order to participate in the Catch for Cash program, all anglers must have a valid fishing license, including a tribal fishing license. Only the first 1,000 northern pike harvested from the target area in tribal waters on the southern part of the lake will be eligible for the reward monies.

Anglers will be asked to record the approximate location each fish was harvested and will receive $5 per fish. There are several fish that have been marked with a uniquely numbered tag and anglers who catch one of these fish will have the opportunity to receive between $50 and $500.

According to Keen, the tags in those fish are not visible and anglers will not be able to recognize one of the special reward fish upon capture, so it is suggested that anglers turn in all eligible fish and completely fill out a report on each pike harvested.

Pike harvested outside the target area are not eligible for the reward and any anglers found guilty of falsifying records for the purpose of obtaining funds fraudulently will be prosecuted and will not be eligible for further participation in the reward program.