05-31-2009, 11:18 AM
WATERBURY, VERMONT - With walleye fishing season starting Saturday, May 2, in much of Vermont, the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is reminding anglers of a new minimum length and daily limit set by regulation.
A new fishing regulation designed to improve walleye fishing in Vermont took effect in January. The new fishing rules apply to all waters of Vermont except Lake Carmi, Chittenden Reservoir and the Connecticut River.
Walleye and sauger now have an 18" minimum length and a 3-fish combined in the aggregate daily creel limit. The open season is from the first Saturday in May to March 15.
The 18" minimum length limit increases the chances that female walleye will have at least one opportunity to spawn before being caught by anglers. The reduced creel limit may help spread the harvest more evenly among anglers. The statewide closed season will help protect walleye during the spawning period. The new regulation also protects sauger, which are increasingly rare in Lake Champlain.
Fishing rules on Lake Carmi, Chittenden Reservoir and the Connecticut River will not change in 2009. Lake Carmi's special slot limit for walleye was implemented because of the uniquely high productivity and high rate of walleye harvest in this lake, but fisheries biologists say this slot limit is not appropriate for most of Vermont's waters. Chittenden Reservoir has special walleye regulations in order to produce large walleye that can help control the over-abundant yellow perch population in that Reservoir and provide anglers with an opportunity to harvest a trophy walleye. New Hampshire is responsible for the walleye regulations on the Connecticut River.
Media Contact
Chet MacKenzie (802) 786-3864 or Eric Palmer (802) 241-3700
A new fishing regulation designed to improve walleye fishing in Vermont took effect in January. The new fishing rules apply to all waters of Vermont except Lake Carmi, Chittenden Reservoir and the Connecticut River.
Walleye and sauger now have an 18" minimum length and a 3-fish combined in the aggregate daily creel limit. The open season is from the first Saturday in May to March 15.
The 18" minimum length limit increases the chances that female walleye will have at least one opportunity to spawn before being caught by anglers. The reduced creel limit may help spread the harvest more evenly among anglers. The statewide closed season will help protect walleye during the spawning period. The new regulation also protects sauger, which are increasingly rare in Lake Champlain.
Fishing rules on Lake Carmi, Chittenden Reservoir and the Connecticut River will not change in 2009. Lake Carmi's special slot limit for walleye was implemented because of the uniquely high productivity and high rate of walleye harvest in this lake, but fisheries biologists say this slot limit is not appropriate for most of Vermont's waters. Chittenden Reservoir has special walleye regulations in order to produce large walleye that can help control the over-abundant yellow perch population in that Reservoir and provide anglers with an opportunity to harvest a trophy walleye. New Hampshire is responsible for the walleye regulations on the Connecticut River.
Media Contact
Chet MacKenzie (802) 786-3864 or Eric Palmer (802) 241-3700