Atlantic Salmon in South Dakota?

According to this press release anglers can expect Atlantic Salmon to be stocked in Lake Oahe as early as 2016. We’d be interested to know the biological advantages of stocking Atlantic salmon over the Chinook salmon that are currently stocked. Unfortunately that info isn’t provided so we’ll continue to monitor this item for additional info. We’ve never caught an Atlantic salmon so if this fishery takes off a trip west to target them will definitely be added to the bucket list.

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UPDATE :: Proposed Plan to Stock Atlantic Salmon in Lake Oahe in 2016

In April, the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) began collecting public comment regarding the potential stocking of Atlantic Salmon in Lake Oahe beginning in 2016. As mentioned early on, the primary objective for this potential stocking would be to increase angler use and consistency of the salmon fishery already present in Lake Oahe. Chinook salmon are stocked yearly in Lake Oahe and have been since the mid-1980’s. During that time, angler harvest of Chinook salmon has fluctuated greatly.

The goal of this potential stocking would be to stabilize salmon harvest through various aspects of Atlantic salmon biology. Licensed anglers from the past three years were sent an email in April asking them to view a brief informational video and provide opinions and comments via a survey link at the end of the video (http://gfp.sd.gov/agency/video.aspx). At the same time, a press release was distributed to statewide media to aid in informing the public of this effort and invite interested parties to view the video and provide us with their comments. The video received approximately 4,100 views and 2,258 comment forms were completed. An additional 53 emailed/mailed comments regarding the proposed stocking were also received.

In total, approximately 86 percent of respondents were in favor or neutral regarding this stocking and 14 percent of anglers were opposed to Atlantic salmon stockings for various reasons. Written comments not in favor of the Atlantic salmon stocking included a range of rationale from insufficient prey fish in Lake Oahe to hesitance regarding stocking a non-native species, requesting stocking efforts to be focused in other water bodies, the use of aquatic resources for native species (i.e., sturgeon), stocking of other sport fish in Lake Oahe such as muskellunge, largemouth and smallmouth bass or channel catfish as well as resource allocations in other parts of the agency.

Additional efforts are underway to gather public input as part of the 2014 summer creel survey on Lake Oahe. Once this survey is completed, angler opinions and attitudes will be summarized and a decision will be made on whether or not to continue to explore the option of stocking Atlantic salmon in the future.

Any questions or comments can be directed to the Ft. Pierre District Office fisheries biologists at 605.223.7681.

I got that same e-mail as I had participated in the initial survey. My thoughts are along the lines if the current stocking program has little effect on the balance of the lake (most of the time) what can the addition of another family of salmon do? I know this is brand new territory, and I know the current salmon fishery is hot and cold, mostly cold, but I hope this opens up a new avenue of revenue.

I believe one of the more significant biological differences between the Chinook and the Atlantic salmon is that the Atlantic doesn’t necessarily die after spawning. I doubt SD is counting on spawning success from either species as a way to augment the population so I wonder if the potential for the Atlantic to be a longer-lived species than the Chinook is the key difference the DNR is counting on here??

Atlantics are repeat spawners. They probably have a lifespan similar to steelhead (up to 10 years)

Are there many rivers flowing into Oahe other than the MO? The thought of standing in a river with a fly rod fishing for Atlantics, wow….. I’d walk to SD backwards and barefoot for a shot at that!

yes there are streams, kind of like a branch off of the main lake which are kind of like their own lake, but these streams don’t always run all year round. Also the salmon fishing is just down by the dam where the water stays cooler due to depth.

I’m pumped about this. I started fishing Oahe for salmon back in the 80’s with my uncle. We had one clamp on downrigger with one rod and a small handful of lures. My first trip out I caught a couple 2-3 lb fish. As the years past, we would hit the walleyes in the AM then throw out the canon balls come high sun times. Some of the best days of fishing on Oahe included limits of eyes and and fresh salmon.

here is the initial YouTube video. It will answer some of your questions!

I caught a couple of Atlantics in the Lester River near Duluth back in the 90’s while I was going to school at UMD. I took a picture of one and if I can dig it up I will post it later. They have since discontinued the Atlantic stocking program in Lake Superior.