Walleye Bounty

Walleye Bounty

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Walleye in bodies of water in much of the West are non-native and , certainly in Idaho, have a bounty on their head. In certain tagged walleye, an angler can get a $1000 bounty if they catch and turn in the fish to Fish and Game. F & G official explains why.

Rewards are issued through the submission of fish heads at designated Fish and Game freezer stations, located throughout Bonner County. The lake trout reward program remains the same as in past years. The pilot walleye reward program is new for 2019. Rules vary for each species, please review the following information before submitting fish heads.

Walleye Lottery

A number of walleye have been marked in the head with microscopic tags and released. Anglers will not be able to determine if fish are marked. All submitted heads will be scanned for these tags. A $1,000 reward will be issued for each tagged head that an angler harvests and submits to the program.

There will also be a random monthly drawing for ten $100 rewards. Each walleye head submitted during a single month provides the angler one change in this drawing (i.e. 5 heads = 5 chances).

Heads must be submitted during the same month they were harvested to be included in the drawings.

In the case that less than ten heads are submitted by all anglers during a particular month, the number of awards issued will be limited to the number of heads submitted.

Only lawfully caught walleye harvested in Idaho from Lake Pend Oreille, the Pend Oreille River upstream of Albeni Falls Dam, and their tributaries are eligible for this program. This includes the Clark Fork River downstream of Cabinet Gorge Dam and the Pend Oreille River tributaries upstream of Albeni Falls Dam, including the Priest River.

Walleye implanted with radio or acoustic transmitters or external tags are not considered marked for the purposes of the $1,000 reward but can be entered for the monthly drawings and the return of this equipment is appreciated.

Employees from Idaho Fish & Game, Hickey Brothers Research LLC, Avista Natural Resources, and Straight Arrow Tax and Accounting are not eligible to receive rewards from the walleye program.

Previous ReportWhere are the mule deer
Next ReportBarnacle X