The 2026 spawning season at Fort Peck Reservoir has been a classic Montana rollercoaster, swinging from freezing gusts to sun-drenched glass in the blink of an eye. But according to biologist Heath Headley, the walleye don’t seem to mind the mood swings—as long as the thermometer is moving in the right direction.
With water temperatures finally hitting that 50-52°F sweet spot, the shallows are buzzing, the nets are heavy, and the hatchery team is working overtime. We’re officially on the home stretch of the 2026 spawn, and the numbers are nothing short of impressive.
The Numbers at a Glance:
- Total Eggs Collected: Nearly 44 million
- Today’s Haul (4/21): A massive 9.8 million eggs
- The Target: 50 million (and they’re closing in fast!)
One more warm window stands between the team and their seasonal goal before a cold front rolls in this weekend. Here’s the latest breakdown of the operation:
2026 Fort Peck Walleye Spawn Update IV, April 21
By biologist Heath HeadleyIt’s been an interesting past several days at the walleye spawning operation on Fort Peck Reservoir. Windy and cold one day, calm and sunny the next. Thankfully, we’ve been on the warmer side of things recently and walleye are back cruising the shallows as water temperatures increased to 50-52 degrees as of today.
Numbers of walleye captured in trap nets have been gradually increasing since the last update. A large portion of the female walleye have been ripe and ready to release their eggs. Because of this, we’ve managed to hold three more egg-takes since the last update. We managed to collect 4 million eggs on Sunday (4/19), 6.2 million on Monday (4/20), and 9.8 million today (4/21).
These three egg collection efforts pushed the egg total to almost 44 million walleye eggs for the season. It looks like we have one more day of warm and favorable weather before another cold front moves into the area towards the end of the week. Hopefully, we can hold one last egg-take and near our goal of 50 million eggs.