The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s 77th annual spring breeding duck survey conducted in May showed an index of about 2.9 million birds, down from 3.4 million last year.

The 2024 breeding duck index was the 30th highest on record and stands at 17% above the long-term (1948-2023) average, according to Mike Szymanski, department migratory game bird supervisor.

Szymanski said the decline in breeding duck numbers has a lot to do with the loss of CRP and perennial grasses on the landscape used for nesting cover by ducks.

“There should be a pretty good nesting effort by ducks this year in what upland nesting habitat is available,” he said. “Wetlands are in much better shape now and there should be a really good renesting effort for those birds that had nests destroyed by predators.”

Szymanski cautions waterfowl hunters about reading too much into survey numbers just yet. He said that while the mid-continent duck populations aren’t what they once were, more will be known once the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service releases its survey results in late August.

Bait regulations

Live white suckers are not legal baitfish in North Dakota, except in the Bois de Sioux and Red rivers.

Anglers can use live white suckers on the Bois de Sioux and Red rivers, and tributaries up to the first vehicular bridge; however, they are illegal elsewhere. Fathead minnows, sticklebacks and creek chubs are the only legal live baitfish outside of the Bois de Sioux and Red rivers.

The transportation of live white suckers, other than in Richland, Cass, Traill, Grand Forks, Walsh and Pembina counties, is illegal.

In addition, it is illegal for anglers to import minnows and other forms of live aquatic bait, such as leeches and frogs, into North Dakota.

When purchasing live aquatic bait, anglers must buy from a licensed North Dakota retail bait vendor. Bait vendors can properly identify species and ensure all bait is clean of any aquatic nuisance species.