Apr 13, 2026
Fort Peck Walleye Spawn Update
2026 Walleye Spawn update 1, April 12th, 2026
By biologist Heath Headley
The walleye trap netting and egg-taking operation has commenced on Fort Peck Reservoir once again. It’s been an interesting start to the season with the weather – one day it’s unseasonably warm, the next day it’s cold with snow. And of course, wind, which has held us back from moving some of our equipment.
Compared to last year, lower reservoir elevations have caused us to relocate the operation further down the reservoir between the Nelson and McGuire Creek area. The good news is, we’ve observed a gradual warming trend in water surface temperatures over the last several days from 43 degrees to around 50 degrees while checking our trap nets today.
These temperatures have signaled a few walleye to start cruising the shorelines. As with the beginning of every walleye spawn, male walleye are typically more abundant. That pattern is holding true with some really good numbers of male walleye being captured. We have captured a few green (not releasing eggs) females and only a few ripe (releasing eggs) females. We have yet to collect any walleye eggs since it’s early, but hopefully we’ll collect a few in the upcoming days as temperatures are forecasted to remain warm.
