Eye on walleye for big cash payouts
For most fisherman, the notion of getting paid to fish is a pie-in-the-sky dream.
For five lucky anglers on Lake Pend Oreille, however, the dream recently became reality.
Through May and June, each of the five caught and turned in a reward-tagged walleye from the lake, earning them $1,000 apiece.
Chris Lewandowski from Bonners Ferry has fished for walleye on Lake Pend Oreille for almost a decade. His first walleye trip of 2023 yielded more than just a gallon bag of fillets.
“I had a feeling I was going to win something, but when I got the call that I had won $1,000, I was in disbelief and shock, to be honest,” Lewandowski said.
Lewandowski’s winning fish was one of six he caught that day. “I love to fish, especially with my family. When you can catch a really great-tasting fish and win money on top of that, that is a pretty good deal,” he said.
Lewandowski learned about the angler incentive program a few years ago and has turned in lake trout heads before, so he knew the drill.
“It’s really cool that anglers on Lake Pend Oreille get to actively be a part of managing the different fisheries in the lake, including walleye," Lewandowski said.
He hasn’t spent his winnings yet, but he has been considering getting a new pontoon boat, so the money will likely go toward that purchase.
The scoop on walleye
Walleye fishing has been picking up lately, and it should continue to provide good opportunity in the weeks ahead. More walleye heads were turned in during June than in any other month since the incentive program started in March 2019. The number of heads turned in by anglers during June easily surpassed the total number of heads turned in from January to May 2023. In the past, the highest number of heads have been turned in during July, so right now is the time to get out and chase some walleye!
More than half of reward-tagged walleye are caught in the north end of the lake. All five winning fish in May and June came from those waters.
Fish and Game biologists provide regular updates on known walleye locations in Pend Oreille to help get anglers and walleyes to cross paths. Make sure to check for walleye location updates on the Fish and Game website at idfg.idaho.gov.
Catching that lucky reward-tagged walleye isn’t the only way to win big. For every walleye head turned in, an entry is earned to a monthly drawing for 10 rewards worth $100 each. Think of it as a raffle, where each walleye head is a raffle ticket. The more tickets, the more likely participants are to win.
To learn more about walleye fishing in Lake Pend Oreille, the walleye angler incentive program and general information about walleye in the lake, IDFG has plenty of resources to help at idfg.idaho.gov.
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T.J. Ross is the regional communications manager for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
