Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
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(Provided by MDNR)
Volunteers Help Michigan Grow Bigger WalleyesFall is harvest time in Michigan, and while most may be thinking of picking apples or plucking pumpkins, Michigan DNR fisheries crews are thinking about walleye.
Specifically, they're collecting the last of the walleye fingerlings that are raised in rearing ponds for stocking and getting the fish to where they want them to be.
For the most part, walleye are reared for a short period of time in ponds and stocked as spring fingerlings - most at less than 2 inches in length - in high densities. But fisheries biologists know that fall fingerlings can be stocked at much lower densities and produce better results than spring fingerlings.
Recently, DNR technician supervisor Ed Pearce brought his crew (technicians Mike Wilson and Matt Smith) to the state's walleye ponds near Belmont in Kent County to get the walleye out of the ponds and into a couple of southern Michigan lakes.
A dozen or so members of the West Michigan Walleye Club, who spent the summer babysitting the ponds, assisted the crew in the operation.
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Dr. Jason Halfen
The Technological Angler
Strategies for Late Fall Walleyes
The signs of impending change are all around us. The last dry maple leaves are falling from the trees. Frost covers the windshield as the truck warms in the crisp morning air. Boat lifts and docks are high and dry, adorning the shorelines in anticipation of winter’s arrival.
This is also a time of change for walleyes in northern lakes and reservoirs, as they transition from the fall feeding buffet to typical winter habitat and activity levels. While their environment cools, walleyes must nevertheless continue to feed, both to sustain themselves through the winter and to develop their reproductive tissues that will be exercised during the spring spawning run. Savvy late fall anglers can enjoy walleye success until skim ice starts to encroach on the boat ramp, employing mobile presentations that focus on covering water and picking off active fish during late fall’s brief feeding windows.
Recognize that your favorite lake has two different types of high percentage, late fall walleye locations: steep breaks that lead toward deeper water, and mid-depth flats that still support green weed growth. These types of areas will be easy to identify using a combination of digital cartography, sonar and Aqua-Vu underwater cameras.
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By Louie Stout
Michigan River Walleyes Are Reproducing
Veteran walleye anglers have contended for years that walleyes always have reproduced naturally in the St. Joseph River.
While there might be some of that in Indiana waters, Hoosier biologists say they have yet to find very many.
They know this because they do young-of-the-year surveys every fall while assessing how previous stockings have gone. They encounter fish they have stocked but no additional youngsters.
The situation must be different in Michigans lower St. Joe waters.
Michigan DNR studies conducted the past couple of years reveal a growing number of naturally produced walleye in Michigans section of the St. Joe.
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(Provided by IDNR)
If DNR plans move forward, Shriner Lake, north of Columbia City, could be stocked with 1,200 walleye fingerlings this fall.
The walleyes will measure 6-8 inches long and will be skimmed from a stocking of 6,690 walleyes at Sylvan Lake in Noble County.
If successful, the transfer could be permanent.
"We have developed a very dense walleye population at Sylvan Lake and think we can scale back the stocking program there without affecting the quality of walleye fishing," said Jed Pearson, DNR fisheries biologist. "Doing so frees up some fingerlings that we can stock in other lakes."
By stocking Shriner Lake, Pearson hopes to expand walleye fishing opportunities into Whitley County. Other DNR walleye stockings occur at Pike and Winona lakes in Kosciusko County.