RIVERDALE - Record low water levels on Lake Sakakawea should not sink good fishing this summer, but the situation could change in coming years if drought continues, wildlife officials say.

Jeff Hendrickson, a fisheries biologist with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said 8- to 10-inch walleyes should be plentiful.

"The population structure is pretty good right now in spite of what's happening" with the lake level, he said.

However, Hendrickson said the condition of predator fish such as walleye, northern pike and salmon is beginning to decline, an indication that the low water levels caused by years of drought in the Missouri River basin are affecting habitat and food fish such as smelt.

In the short term, fewer and smaller smelt mean hungrier fish, which could translate into more success for anglers, Hendrickson said.

Salmon are showing more drought-related effects than walleye, he said.

"The salmon have two things working against them - the (loss of) cold-water habitat and smelt," Hendrickson said.

He said that the average weight of salmon has dropped from 6 pounds in 2002 to 4 pounds last year.

The state filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2003, arguing that the agency's management of the Missouri River violated North Dakota's water quality standards. Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said that low water levels in Lake Sakakawea would warm the lake's deepest waters, putting its sport fishing industry in jeopardy.

A federal judge last month dismissed the lawsuit, saying the corps must operate the river to control flooding and maintain downstream navigation.

Hendrickson said that while populations of fish such as northern pike and smallmouth bass are good right now, in coming years the situation could worsen.

Game and Fish plans to put clerks at boat ramps this summer to ask anglers questions about how the low water levels are affecting them.

"It's an angler attitude questionnaire," Hendrickson said.

That information, along with a fish number survey, will help the department track the economic impact of the low lake, he said.

Officials also worry that problems with boat access to the lake will result in more people driving in shoreline areas where it is restricted.

"If there's not a road there, you shouldn't be driving there," said Ken Skuza, a district game warden.