North Dakota has seen an uptick in the number of fishing licenses.
Around 170,000 licenses have been sold so far this year.
"That's about 23,000 licenses above last year," said State Game and Fish Department Fisheries Chief Greg Power. "And that's just from residents."
Power said there are a couple thousand more non-resident licenses than normal.
"We're in pretty good shape," Power said.
Power said he thinks the COVID-19 pandemic has had a lot to do with it.
"People have had more time on their hands," Power said. "We still have relatively high unemployment, as we did a few months ago, and that plays into it."
Power also said North Dakota's fishing resource is in pretty good shape.
"Some people are recognizing that and utilizing that," Power said.
Power said last fall, the state had record rains. He said prior to that, for about two to three years, things were starting to dry out, and the lakes were starting to experience winterkill and summerkill.
"That certainly changed last fall," Power said. "Now we're at all time record highs."
Power said there’s still a lot of time to get out and throw a line in the water.
