Jamestown Reservoir crappie fishing strong as anglers head outdoors

Jamestown Reservoir in Jamestown continues to produce strong crappie numbers, with recent survey netting showing “good numbers of 10.5- to 11-inch crappies,” ND Outdoors host Mike Anderson reported while fisheries crews worked the shallows. The on-the-water assessment is part of an annual monitoring effort that informs how the reservoir is managed for anglers across Stutsman County.

State fisheries managers credit changes in regulations for stabilizing the fishery after boom-and-bust cycles. Kratz, fisheries supervisor for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department in Jamestown, outlined the limit history: “In 2002, we went to 35, and then in 2006, down to 20. And finally, in 2014, we went to ten. And the reason we did that was some of the data that we collected suggested that we had good survival of crappies, not good recruitment. They’re successful every year in spawning, for the most part, it’s the first winter that they have difficulty making it through.” Kratz said lowering the limits made Jamestown Reservoir more of a consistent fishery rather than a boom-and-bust fishery like it used to be.

Angler pressure and harvest reflect that consistency. The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s 2022 winter creel survey estimated anglers harvested about 30,000 crappies and caught roughly 50,000 during winter, with an estimated winter average size of about 11 inches, or approximately three-quarters of a pound. The department notes crappie is the top species pursued by winter anglers at Jamestown Reservoir, with walleye second and perch also producing recently.

Habitat and history help explain the fishery’s performance. Kratz said Jamestown Reservoir “is kind of unique because it produces a lot of plankton in the summer. Although our growth rates after about age six start to suffer, and they start to plateau out because plankton is good for smaller fish, but it takes a little bigger forage to grow fish quickly to bigger sizes. That in combination with the spawning substrate that we have here.” Earlier stockings seeded the population: “In 1978, some fish were brought over here from Patterson Reservoir out by Dickinson. And then back in the 1980s, some more adult fish came from Bowman Haley, and then a few came from Nelson Lake as well. So overall, about 3,000 adults were put in here in the course of about four years to start the population,” Kratz said.

Population structure on recent nets shows multiple cohorts. “We have right now three age classes for sure, but there’s probably remnants of the fourth age class, and those would be the ones that are that 13-14in. Those fish now would be about 13 years old. The 2018 class is now getting pretty nice, too. So we’ve got a bunch of different sizes, but on the average, you’re looking at nine and a half to ten and a half,” Kratz said. He added that “May and in June, when those fish move up shallow, they’re very susceptible to shore angling and shore fishing, folks can catch those pretty easy as they move up to reproduce and spawn,” which makes late spring a prime time for shore anglers across Jamestown’s parks and access points.

Field crews have routinely set survey nets in the shallows of Jamestown Reservoir for more than 15 years, and departmental imagery from the reservoir shows seasonal work such as Kaitlyn Miller, a seasonal fisheries technician, preparing to release crappies back into the water. For more information about regulations or the agency, contact the North Dakota Game and Fish Department at 100 N. Bismarck Expressway, Bismarck, ND 58501-5095, phone 701-328-6300. Lowered limits, productive plankton-rich habitat and multiple age classes leave Jamestown Reservoir positioned to keep drawing anglers as ice-out and the May spawn bring fish within easy reach of shore and boat anglers.