If the weatherman is correct, Mother Nature appears to have finally decided to settle into winter. With future forecasts showcasing negative temps, anglers will be anxious to hit the hard water and try their luck at ice fishing.
We have had numerous reports of anglers already finding success on the ice, and we want to share a few reminders about ways anglers can be respectful out on the hard water.
Easy ways to show respect are:
- Always clean up trash left on the ice;
- Discard fish cleanings properly and never leave fish on the ice;
- Maintain adequate fishing distance between anglers/shacks; and,
- Avoid blocking approaches, driveways, or other areas of travel adjacent to waterbodies you are fishing.
South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Coordinator, Tanner Davis, is also reminding anglers it is against the law to dispose/dump your live bait down the ice hole. It is also illegal to move bait in lakes, rivers, or streams of water. Please dispose of bait properly off the water.
In preparation for area lakes freezing over, state boat docks were removed prior to ice up, and local aquatic and parks staff inspected docks for any new zebra mussel populations. While inspecting docks at Lake Poinsett, parks staff detected a zebra mussel at Prestrude’s boat ramp on the east side of the lake.
With this confirmation, following an additional suspect mussel previously, the Lake Poinsett/Dry Lake Complex is now deemed positive for zebra mussels. It is up to everyone to slow the spread of AIS in South Dakota. Everyone needs to do their part and Clean, Drain, Dry when recreating on South Dakota waters throughout the entire season.
For more information related to AIS, please visit sdleastwanted.sd.gov. Here, you can find AIS laws and regulations, species information, view our interactive AIS map which shows all positive waters, as well as report any suspect AIS found on the Citizen Monitoring page.
As a reminder, if you find a suspect AIS, please take a clear photo with report the suspect AIS to your local GFP office, and a trained staff member will follow up. Please do not transport the suspect AIS.
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