PIERRE - Years of drought in South Dakota haven't deterred anglers from their pursuit of fish.

New data released by the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department notes that anglers in South Dakota spent an estimated 2.2 million days fishing in 2006. According to surveys, residents accounted for 84.5 percent of those days of fishing.

The material for this year's reports was gathered from 7,083 questionnaires filled out by anglers and compiled by Larry Gigliotti, planning coordinator/human dimensions specialist for GFP.

"We had a return rate on the surveys of almost 70 percent," Gigliotti said. "A return rate that high is a pretty good indication of how important fishing is to South Dakotans and to the anglers who visit this state."

According to the surveys, an estimated 1.6 million walleyes were caught in 2006. Anglers also reeled in an estimated 1.1 million yellow perch, 237,000 bass, 217,000 trout and 154,000 northern pike. Residents and nonresidents spent a combined $4.8 million on fishing licenses in 2006.

The survey also measures angler attitudes toward catching fish. "This is a complex process," Gigliotti said, "but if we have an accurate understanding of anglers it helps us manage the resource."

A series of six reports about the angler surveys, with a special emphasis on fishing in the Black Hills, can be found at the GF&P Web site at this address: http://www.sdgfp.info/Wildlife/fishing/Index.htm.