"The shocking crew"

Hi everyone,

Last night I crossed another item off my bucket list. I rode with the DNR fisheries crew shocking miles of shore line. First order of business was to establish the safety guidelines as they deal with high voltage probes in the water to temporarily stun the fish so they can be netted into the boat in a big tank to be identified, measured and released alive back into the lake.

I observed at first and then had my chance to man one of the dip nets to scoop up the stunned fish before they came to their senses. Have to be quick as the boat moves along at a fair clip. We saw many different species of fish and we did capture many walleyes up to 19". Of interest is an almost complete lack of 16"-17" walleyes. That year class disappeared. But many walleyes from the small 8" up to 19" and everything in between except the one year class. Lots of panfish and rough fish and even stunned a lot of minnow species showing a good forage base. Scott also netted a carp estimated at 30 pounds. It was an awesome night. Thanks to The fisheries biologist Max Wolter and his techs,Scott, and Russ. I enjoyed it tremendously. I look forward to riding with "the shocking crew" in the fall. God luck fishing everyone.

Walleyemaxx