Nick Simonson
By Nick Simonson
Variety is the spice of life, and like lemon pepper on a walleye fillet, or blackened Cajun seasoning on crappies, it's also the spice of angling. With so many fish to catch and so many fun ways to catch them, the North Dakota Game & Fish Department (NDG&F) is offering up a third Fish Challenge this open water season to help anglers find the fun in all species, even if this year's targets are some of the more underappreciated ones in the state's waters, according the Cayla Bendel, R3 coordinator for the agency.
"We just thought it would be fun to add some value to species that people are otherwise sometimes disappointed to see when they catch," Bendel advises, adding, "this year is the Rough Fish Challenge, if you've already completed the other two, you have to catch a bullhead of any species, a carp of any species, and a sucker of any species, to complete the Rough Fish Challenge."
In addition to the original Classic Challenge from 2022 and the Sportfish Challenge of 2023, and this summer's Rough Fish Challenge gears anglers to go out and find new species and figure out ways to catch them. While rough fish – like the bullheads, carp, and suckers in this year's challenge – are often seen as a nuisance by anglers fishing for gamefish or panfish, they all can provide consistent action, and in the cases of big carp, incredible fights, and for that they can be appreciated.
"A lot of them are bottom feeders, so I think some live bait on the bottom could get you a good chance at several, if not all of them. Many of them inhabit our larger waters and rivers, especially the suckers. I think you'll find bullhead and carp in a lot of our smaller lakes and community fisheries too, but now might even be the time here early for the suckers as they're up smaller creeks or rivers to spawn," Bendel hints for anglers looking to check the Rough Fish Challenge off their list.
With more than 460 lakes to choose from and an easy way to search them online for their desired quarry, accessing statistics such as stocking reports and netting survey results, anglers are able more now than ever to know just where the species they are looking for reside in the state via the NDG&F "Where to Fish" tab. There anglers can set a radius from the town they're in and narrow lakes down to those containing certain species by entering the type of fish in the search bar. With a fishing rod and a bit of tackle, it's easy to get out this spring and summer and chase down each one needed for every challenge available.
"It will give you a list of lakes or water bodies that have those species. Then you can also click on the individual water bodies to get stocking reports or sampling reports if we've netted it, to see what's in there so you can get some starting points or places to try. It's definitely a really great resource," Bendel advises.
If anglers complete the Rough Fish Challenge, or simply want to complete one of the previous versions of the seasonal event, they can do any one or all three of them available at gf.nd.gov/fish-challenge. The Classic Challenge requires anglers to catch a northern pike, a yellow perch, a smallmouth bass and a channel catfish. The Sportfish Challenge entails anglers landing a bluegill, a walleye, a bass of any species and a trout of any species. By signing up and then inputting information and photos of their catches online which satisfy the requirements of each challenge, anglers earn a certificate and decal evidencing their success at connecting with the variety of each species in these events which run through August 15.
Simonson is the lead writer and editor of Dakota Edge Outdoors.
Featured Photo: Roughin' It. Carp are part of this year's Rough Fish Challenge put on the by North Dakota Game & Fish Department. Those fish, along with bullheads and suckers highlight some underappreciated species that provide fast action and good fighting qualities, but may not often be pursued by anglers. Simonson Photo.
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