Opinion on Walleye in Ririe?

[BrianID]

I'm going to be one of the few who thinks walleye will be a good thing for Ririe fishermen. I've enjoyed catching walleye in other lakes and I'm sure I will target walleye at Ririe sometime in the future. However, I never agree with bucket biology. The guy that dumped walleye in there should get a large fine and loose his fishing rights for life.

At this point I think we are stuck with walleye in Ririe. Even if the F&G were able to get Ririe drained and then dump rotenone in it, some walleye would survive. In addition when the reservoir is getting drained some walleye would end up downstream and establish a population. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I don't believe rotenone has ever be used to eradicate a species of fish from a reservoir as large as Ririe.

I think it is just a matter of time before they show up in the Snake River by Idaho Falls and in American Falls Reservoir. It may take 10 or more years for them to show up but I think the walleye would likely be a nice addition to American Falls. There is a good supply of small perch, sucker minnows, carp minnows and chubs in American Falls for walleye to gorge themselves on.

I don't think walleye will establish themselves in the South Fork or Henry's Fork unless it is done by additional bucket biology. There is a network of canals that connects Willow Creek to the South Fork but most of them only have water during the irrigation season. I also think Rainbows are a much greater threat than walleye in the South Fork. Even if walleye were planted in the Snake River I don't think they would do very well. If walleye haven't ruined the trout fishing in the Oneida Narrows then they wouldn't do much to the South Fork if/when they get into the South Fork. That is just my opinion though.

I think walleye will end up adding another species to catch at Ririe without a great impact on the other species. There probably won't ever be a large number of Walleye caught at Ririe but I think it will support a fishable population.

I just hope someone doesn't decide to dump walleye in Henry's Lake. They could provide some additional opportunity at IP Res and Palies but I don't think walleye belong in either lake.
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