03-21-2016, 06:48 PM
[#0000FF]The rumor mill is alive and well regarding the DWR walleye spawning program at Willard. One report I got was that over 2000 walleyes had been electro shocked from the inlet...each of the past two Fridays. And the person who reported that also said they had heard that DWR was completely removing the fish from the lake and planned to replant them in Red Fleet.
Knowing that the plans for Red Fleet were to plant only sterile new walleye hatchlings I wondered how much of the other information might be "enhanced". So I sent an email to DWR biologist Chris Penne for some clarification and updates. He quickly responded...on a couple of points...and gave his permission for me to post his statements on our board. Thanks, Chris.
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Yes, sounds like some things got lost in translation. We started our collection of spawning walleyes last week with a skeleton crew to try and get our methods down to their most efficient before the big time this week when the large crews show up. We did very well, in fact, much better than expected and were collecting about 30 to 40 female walleye per day. This means we might even be half way done already with the egg collection. Anyways, yes since we've been getting mostly female walleye in the nets that we set out in the lake, we've been taking our electrofishing boat into the inlet and shocking up a few dozen male walleye each day. This is really all the males we need. I'm sure we've only been skimming the surface of whats in that inlet, as it gets pretty deep by the baffles and our electrical field is only effective to about 5 to 6 feet deep. And again, you are correct, we're not moving any adult walleyes to Red Fleet. We're simply taking the eggs and milt and creating sterile walleye for the stocking of that reservoir. All walleye caught are being returned to the water in Willard.
I would extremely surprised if 2,000 walleye had been taken from the inlet. While most of my activity has been out there during the day, I rarely see people catching any fish. As is usual, our conservation officers have been checking the inlet frequently, day and night, in plain clothes (undercover) and in uniform, and their reports are that angler success has been fairly hit and miss. There have been a few good days, but it seems like most days last week when they were out they only observed one or two walleye caught and on stringers. Based on that, I would say 2,000 is an extreme exaggeration.
I'll provide more info on the spawning as I receive more specifics from our hatchery guys. Right now they are working on keeping up with the number of eggs we are getting and making sure they are getting the sterilization process right. We know we're doing very good on egg numbers and while I've heard a few numbers thrown around, we haven't had time to verify yet so I'm afraid any number I would give right now will either change in a few days or make me look like a liar later, so all I will say is we appear to doing very well. Also, as an FYI, we've moved our center of operations to the South Marina and are doing a lot of the actual spawning in the campground there below the S. Marina.
As I'm thinking about it, one clarification I might add is that I'm sure there are plenty of male walleye out in the main lake right now. We just aren't seeing them in our nets because the size of the opening in the nets that we are using is geared at the larger female walleye and the males seem to be small enough to fit through the net and not get stuck. That's one thing we are looking to improve upon next year is getting some additional nets that have smaller mesh that will catch those male fish. That way, we won't have to take the extra time to electrofish the inlet each day or two to get our males.
Chris
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Knowing that the plans for Red Fleet were to plant only sterile new walleye hatchlings I wondered how much of the other information might be "enhanced". So I sent an email to DWR biologist Chris Penne for some clarification and updates. He quickly responded...on a couple of points...and gave his permission for me to post his statements on our board. Thanks, Chris.
[/#0000FF]
Yes, sounds like some things got lost in translation. We started our collection of spawning walleyes last week with a skeleton crew to try and get our methods down to their most efficient before the big time this week when the large crews show up. We did very well, in fact, much better than expected and were collecting about 30 to 40 female walleye per day. This means we might even be half way done already with the egg collection. Anyways, yes since we've been getting mostly female walleye in the nets that we set out in the lake, we've been taking our electrofishing boat into the inlet and shocking up a few dozen male walleye each day. This is really all the males we need. I'm sure we've only been skimming the surface of whats in that inlet, as it gets pretty deep by the baffles and our electrical field is only effective to about 5 to 6 feet deep. And again, you are correct, we're not moving any adult walleyes to Red Fleet. We're simply taking the eggs and milt and creating sterile walleye for the stocking of that reservoir. All walleye caught are being returned to the water in Willard.
I would extremely surprised if 2,000 walleye had been taken from the inlet. While most of my activity has been out there during the day, I rarely see people catching any fish. As is usual, our conservation officers have been checking the inlet frequently, day and night, in plain clothes (undercover) and in uniform, and their reports are that angler success has been fairly hit and miss. There have been a few good days, but it seems like most days last week when they were out they only observed one or two walleye caught and on stringers. Based on that, I would say 2,000 is an extreme exaggeration.
I'll provide more info on the spawning as I receive more specifics from our hatchery guys. Right now they are working on keeping up with the number of eggs we are getting and making sure they are getting the sterilization process right. We know we're doing very good on egg numbers and while I've heard a few numbers thrown around, we haven't had time to verify yet so I'm afraid any number I would give right now will either change in a few days or make me look like a liar later, so all I will say is we appear to doing very well. Also, as an FYI, we've moved our center of operations to the South Marina and are doing a lot of the actual spawning in the campground there below the S. Marina.
As I'm thinking about it, one clarification I might add is that I'm sure there are plenty of male walleye out in the main lake right now. We just aren't seeing them in our nets because the size of the opening in the nets that we are using is geared at the larger female walleye and the males seem to be small enough to fit through the net and not get stuck. That's one thing we are looking to improve upon next year is getting some additional nets that have smaller mesh that will catch those male fish. That way, we won't have to take the extra time to electrofish the inlet each day or two to get our males.
Chris
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] thanks for the update.
to hear anglers complain when the DWR uses wild stock to help other fisheries get a population going.