09-08-2019, 11:28 AM
[#0000FF]It's difficult to say whether or not the Willard wipers are undermanaged, poorly managed or mismanaged. Granted, that lake is tough to figure out because of the vagaries of annual rainfall, water users' demands and other factors.
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[#0000FF]And then, wiper stocking numbers are predicated upon forage base...the shad population. And the shad population is even harder to predict than wiper numbers. There are so many variables in the beginning of the spawn, the length of the spawn and total survival of the newly hatched shadlets. There have been years when the shad numbers were huge and the wipers and walleyes were few. And there have been years when the predators cleaned up their available food supply (shad) quickly and then got hungry and skinny. Good for anglers but not for the fish.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Here are two comparative Willard Bay Reports from DWR...2013 and 2017. If you look at the tables for netting results you will note that wiper populations have declined since 2014. By the way, due to a change in DWR staffing there has not been a report completed since the 2017 report. I suspect the downward numbers for wipers would continue.
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[#0000FF]And then, wiper stocking numbers are predicated upon forage base...the shad population. And the shad population is even harder to predict than wiper numbers. There are so many variables in the beginning of the spawn, the length of the spawn and total survival of the newly hatched shadlets. There have been years when the shad numbers were huge and the wipers and walleyes were few. And there have been years when the predators cleaned up their available food supply (shad) quickly and then got hungry and skinny. Good for anglers but not for the fish.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Here are two comparative Willard Bay Reports from DWR...2013 and 2017. If you look at the tables for netting results you will note that wiper populations have declined since 2014. By the way, due to a change in DWR staffing there has not been a report completed since the 2017 report. I suspect the downward numbers for wipers would continue.
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