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Fish and Game offering $1,000 for anglers who catch walleye in N. Idaho lake

A select number of walleye have been marked with microscopic tags and released into Lake Pend Oreille.
Credit: IDFG
A walleye caught in Lake Pond Oreille

BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is offering a big reward for anglers who harvest a walleye from Lake Pend Oreille.

The agency says a number of walleye have been specially marked in the head with microscopic tags and released into the lake. Any fisherman who catches one of these will receive a $1,000 reward. Fish and Game says anglers will not be able to determine if the fish are marked.

All submitted fish heads will be scanned for these tags. The pilot walleye program is new for 2019.

Even if you don't catch one of the specially marked walleyes, you could still be eligible for a $100 reward.

Fish and Game says there will also be a random monthly drawing for ten $100 rewards.

Only lawfully caught walleye harvested in Idaho from Lake Pend Oreille, the Pend Oreille River upstream of Albeni Falls Dam, and their tributaries are eligible for this program. This includes the Clark Fork River downstream of Cabinet Gorge Dam and the Pend Oreille River tributaries upstream of Albeni Falls Dam, including the Priest River.

RELATED: Prize money offered to thin South Fork rainbow trout

There still is a $15 bounty for each lake trout submitted to this program. There is no bag limit on lake trout or walleye in Lake Pend Oreille.

Rewards are issued through the submission of fish heads at designated Fish and Game freezer stations, located throughout Bonner County.

Fish heads can be submitted at any of the following Fish and Game freezer locations:

  • MacDonald's Hudson Bay Resort, 17813 E Hudson Bay Rd, Bayview
  • Fish & Game Field Office, 16805 Limekiln Rd, Bayview
  • Garfield Bay Boat Launch, 61 W Garfield Bay Rd, Sagle
  • Glengary Boat Launch, Marina Rd, Sagle
  • Peck Landscape Supplies & Farm Store, 468215 US-95, Sagle
  • North 40, 477181 N Hwy 95, Ponderay
  • Arnie's Conoco, 32131 Hwy 200, Kootenai
  • Holiday Shores Resort and Cafe, 46624 Hwy 200, Hope
  • Hope Marine, 47392 Hwy 200, Hope
  • Bonner Park West, 500 Railroad Ave, Priest River
  • Fish & Game Regional Office, 2885 W Kathleen Ave, Coeur d'Alene

Fish cleaning stations are not available at most freezer locations.

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