Well, folks, the 2026 walleye season is officially kicking off at Fort Peck, though Mother Nature clearly didn’t get the memo about “spring” being a single season. Between the sunburn-inducing heat and the sudden snow squalls, biologist Heath Headley and his crew have been playing a high-stakes game of weather-roulette just to get their nets in the water. Despite shifting locations due to lower lake levels and fighting off some classic Montana wind, the water is finally hitting that magic “let’s get moving” temperature. The boys are out in full force, and while the ladies are taking their sweet time to get the party started, things are looking promising for a productive spawn.
Here’s a report from April 12, 2026 via FWP 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.
Feature photo caption: Young but seasoned walleye spawn volunteers Jack Morehouse and Jaxson Kemp with some nice female walleye to start the season. (Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks photo.)