Fishing Forum

Recently heard a rumor that some small walleye have been caught recently in the Snake River Arm of CJ Strike. My first thought was that they had caught Pikeminnows [Squawfish] and didn't know what they had. But then another part of the rumor was that a F&G Officer had also checked a walleye caught by fishermen.

It will be interesting to see how this scenario plays out.
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I talked to the guy that owns that little tackle shop in Bruneau. He said he has seen several come through. That could be devastating to all the fish in there. If the Walleye would target suckers and carp more power to them. I have a feeling that the crappie, perch, trout, and even the Sturgeon would also take a hit. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. Ron
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So far there has been 1 confirmed walleye from Strike, and it was a 21+ inch 3 pounder caught last year. The Fish and Game officer I spoke with stated that if they ever find out who planted them, they would never fish in any of the 30 states comprising the wildlife violators compact again.

If there was an illegal dump of walleye, then it will eventually impact the entire Snake River system, and once they get into the Hell's Canyon reach (through Lower Granite - and below)they will hammer the steelhead and chinook smolts (like they do in the Columbia). That could well end up closing that section to salmon and steelhead fishing if the wild component population drops too far. Talk about a train wreck, say doubling the numbers of anglers on the Clearwater and Salmon, with less returning adults.

But hey, I could walleye fish 15 minutes from my house... Maybe it is time to focus on them for a while and see if they really are in there?
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I talked to my buddy who is the RCO for region 4. He also said yes one fish was confirmed. He didn't say what size. Ron
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Very . It's probably only a matter of time but it will devastate the entire fishery.
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I was also told by my RCO buddy that they suspect that Walleyes have been planted between Twin Falls and Shoshone Falls. I didn't have the time to ask much about it but he thinks it has happened there too. Ron
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Approximately 20 years ago (+-) when Salmon Falls flooded out Salmon Falls creek it was reported that some walleyes made it to the river then and there have supposedly been several caught by Thousand Springs area
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I don't see why they think walleye cant be in the snake. goose creek drains into the snake when water isnt being used for irrigation. But I would think it would be an illegal dumping in cj and doesn't salmon falls creek run in down in hagerman ?
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I'm not so sure that it will devastate the fishery. That being said I have no science to back it up, but I have seen little to back the other side up either, especially in similar areas like Ririe Res. I just know that there are fisheries in other states that have trout, bass, crappy and walleye in them and they do fine. Only time will tell the true outcome.
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Salmon Falls Creek isn't all that conducive to walleye passage, even in flood stage. That being said, I have never heard of any walleye reported to a Conservation Officer from anywhere in the Snake except the fish we saw last spring at Strike. (There is a picture of it hanging up in Jumbos in Bruneau if anyone is curious...) It is most likely that some bucket biologist is responsible for distributing walleye outside any lake they were originally stocked in. There are reasons the original lakes were chosen by IDF&G, number 1 is passage (or lack thereof).

We have seen non-native species do a number on many fisheries in the state. Inevitabley they flourish right off the bat and everyone says "See htye are great! IDF&G should have planted them here years ago..." then there is the levelling off and eventual degradation of the native fisheries, and the new species falls off as well. One thing to note, the smallmouth bass and walleye in the Columbia do much more damage to native salmon and steelhead than the Northern Pikeminnow, yet there is a bounty on them. IMO, there should be no limit on perch, walleye, and bass in the lower Snake (below Hell's Canyon Dam), and Columbia - as long as the rate payers in the PNW are funding the pikeminnow bounty program. Hell expand it to predatory non-native species as well.

I do not hate these species, in fact I like catching and eating them. I just think there is a place for them, and uneducated people trandplanting them because of their own selfish desires is counterproductive. It costs the IDF&G a ton of money every year, money that could be spent on better things.
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Well written thoughts Mojo1. I agree completely.
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I'm not as dumb as I look...[]
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