Property owners stock thousands of Walleyes

[walleyemaxx]

Hi everyone,

Found this article in the SAWYER COUNTY RECORD

Property owners stock 6,000 walleyes in Big Chip
by Terrell Boettcher
News Editor
Proceeds of last June’s “Big Chip Fish Fest” fund-raiser were put to good use when members of the Chippewa Flowage Area Property Owners Association and the Lake Chippewa Flowage Resort Association on Oct. 20 stocked 6,000 extended-growth walleyes averaging eight to 10 inches long into the Flowage.

The walleyes were purchased for $1.55 apiece from Gollon’s Fish Farm at Dodgeville and trucked to The Landing, where the fat, healthy fingerlings were sluiced from the truck’s aeration tanks into the flowage. A few of the fingerlings measured 12 or 13 inches.

All of the walleyes swam away and there were no “floaters,” or dead fish. “I have never lost a fish,” said Gollon’s truck driver Nick DiCiaula. “They’ll reach catchable size in five years,” said local guide Ron Bergman as he watched the operation from his docked boat.

Also this year, the property owners and resort groups along with Walleyes For Northwest Wisconsin (WFNW) contributed financially to the rearing of 13,000 extended-growth walleyes at the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Fish Hatchery on Jasek Road. Those walleyes, averaging eight inches apiece, were stocked into the Big Chip in September.

CFAPOA and WFNW each contributed $4,000 and the LCFRA contributed $1,000 to purchase from Hayward Bait minnows that went into the tribal rearing ponds for the young walleyes. That way, the walleyes would grow fat and not cannibalize each other.

In 2008 and 2009, the tribal fish hatchery stocked 6,500 EG walleyes each year into the Flowage.

The motivation for all this stocking has been to help restore the adult walleye population in the Flowage following a “crash” in natural reproduction, or recruitment. With the lack of walleyes to prey on them, the largemouth bass population has greatly increased and has preyed on the young walleyes.

“Stocking is better than doing nothing,” said John Kaiser, vice-president of the CFAPOA and co-chair of the Big Chip Fish Fest along with Rick Marks.

The EG walleyes stocked in earlier years “are definitely showing up in the bag” of anglers now caught by anglers, Kaiser added.

Individuals assisting with the stocking of the large fingerlings on Oct. 20 included Rick Marks, John Kaiser, Marien Kaiser, Ruth Aaron, Randy Neumann and Dennis Reyes.

The Big Chip Fish Fest drew around 500 guests last June, with more than 100 businesses and individuals donating prizes and goods and working as volunteers. It is sponsored by the Lake Chippewa Flowage Resort Association, Chippewa Flowage Area Property Owners Association (CFAPOA) and Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Conservation Department, all of whom are working to restore a healthy walleye population on the Chippewa Flowage.

Besides the targeted stocking of extended growth fingerlings, the Big Chip Fish Fest sponsors also encourage anglers to harvest legal-size largemouth bass, catch and release smallmouth bass, and release walleyes under 15 inches to protect the majority of the existing spawning population and the extended growth fingerlings that are being stocked.

Good news for the Big Chip. Now get some good regulations for next year so we can further help the Walleyes rebound.

Walleyemaxx

[lost another anchor]

i would hope that what you mean by changing the walleye regs is that a slot limit be placed on them. That way the more aggressive middle aged fish would be protected to spawn and chase the bass around and the fishermen could still bag a few walleye to eat and possibly catch a trophy.I've been fishing the Flowage for forty years and you use to catch walleyes by accident but over the last few years unless you fish hard for them -good luck. Maybe the fish population would get a breather if perhaps the spear quotas could be adjusted for the chip at least for a couple of years- maybe everyone would benefit . Just thinking on how it use to be.

[walleyemaxx]

Hi L.A.A.

I remember about 45 years ago, there was a 13" size limit on Walleyes. The DNR did a study because of all the complaints from resort owners of small Walleyes. They found 12 year old Walleyes were 12" long! They were stunting just below the size limit. Now, my feeling is if they put on a minimum size again, it would just lead to more stunting.

When they realized the stunting problem way back when, they scrapped the size limit alltogether and decided to not have any size restrictions. That worked fine and dandy untill someone came up with the brilliant idea in the 90's of not lowering the water every winter 16 feet like was the practice since the 1920's. That one simple idea is what in my mind has ruined the Walleye fishery in the Chippewa Flowage.

Every winter when they lowered the water, lots of Bass and Blugills died because they were not smart enough to follow the water down. The niche left by the lack of those species was filled by the Walleyes. When the water was lowered, it also killed a lot of weeds.Especially the invasive specie types. Since the DNR over protects the Bass and Blugills are just naturally very prolific, with the increase of weeds to hide in for those species, and the fact that everybody keps every Walleye they catch, the Walleye fishery is on the verge of collapse.

The regulations that I see as neccesary to begin the saving of the Walleyes are,
1-Put on a 1-over 14" size limit on Walleyes, or a slot size of no Walleyes between 14"-18" can be kept, and only 1 over 18".
2-Liberalize the Blugill bag limit.
3- Start the bass season with the general opener in May and get rid of the size limit.
4- and this is the biggest way to save the Walleye population quick, LOWER THE FLOWAGE 16 FEET EVERY WINTER.

Every one of these ideas would cost the DNR nothing!

If you need proof that lowering the water level is good for the Walleyes, just look at Moose lake. It is loaded with Walleyes and has very few Bass and Blugills. They lower the water level around 12-16 feet every year.

I believe the DNR owes it to the sports people of WI. to do all they can to restore the Big Chip to the Walleye factory it once was because the Chippewa Flowage is historically Walleye water. Walleyes are a river fish, and the Big Chip is a flowage with the damming of the Mighty Chippewa river and lots of smaller rivers and creeks dumping into it.

Anybody have any opinion on my suggestions, please feel free to post.

Walleyemaxx

[lost another anchor]

Its funny you should mention a draw down on the chip as i just read an article on pond management and it said to contol the crappie population in a pond you draw it down so the bass can find the crappies easier. I dont know if that would effect a large body of water like the chip but if it does then the draw down would lower the crappie to increase the walleyes-kind of like a catch 22. I agrre with your slot limit proposal and i to remember all the stunted walleye

[walleyemaxx]

Hi L.A.A.

Lowering the water is the fastest way to increase the Walleye population back. But It would also create one big stinking mess in the first year. It would kill Bass, Blugills and Crappies. I know that will never happen and in fact I like the fact that we have a better multi species fishery. BUT, I still would like to see the DNR work hard to restore as much of the Walleye population as possible.

Lets face it, the DNR has completely dropped the ball with their Walleye management. For years they have been telling us about low numbers of YOY walleyes showing up in the fall census work. An alarm was ringing and they IGNORED it. But they put on unreasonable over protecting regulations on the Bass.-Raised the size limit to 14" and delay the keep season untill the end of June.

When the draw down ended, the DNR should have been keeping a close eye on the dynamics change that would happen. The biggest is the weeds growing out of control. That gave the panfish more hiding places, so they shot out of control with very little predatory control on them. And the Crappies are cyclic, so their populations are always going up and down. The Musky populations suffered too. That is why there is a 50" size limit on Muskys right now.

My feeling is that with some protective regs on the Walleyes, they will make a good comeback. I know you like the slot limit, but here in Vilas county where we have both the slot and 'one over' limits, the 'one over' works better. Some lakes that were really hurting, were saved in about a five year stretch with that simple regulation. Some lakes that had the slot limit, had Walleyes stunting just under the top end of the limit. The biggest example is the Three Lakes chain. They had a slot limit in place for aroung ten years now and it was a big failure. The DNR finally woke up and put a 'one over' regulation on it.

If they would liberalize the Bass regulations to no size limit and open it at the general opener in May, maybe the Walleyes could compete enough with the Bass to rebound to good numbers again. Less Bass would mean a better size structure on them too, so it's a win-win solution. With a better size structure on the Bass and more and bigger Walleyes and Muskys, they will just naturally control the numbers of Blugills no matter how many weeds there are.

Nice thing about tweaking the regulations is that it doesn't cost anything. Sounds so easy as I sit here drinking my coffee haha. Oops, out of coffee. Time to go reload.

Walleyemaxx

[lost another anchor]

Have enjoyed our dialogue on the walleye situation I would hope others would take notice and participate . I could only hope that the D.N.R would also open a dialogue and correct the problem (wishful thinking). The Chip is one of Wisc greatest fisheries but the D.N.R must not allow one species to take over the lake and they must adjust the regulations accordingly on a yearly basis. Isnt that what they get paid for-to insure that the resources are maintained for now and the future. Enough said- Happy fishing

[walleyemaxx]

Hi L.A.A.

I hope any body else with an opinion would share it with us. Stocking these extended growth Walleyes does a lot of good, but is really expensive. Hopefully we will see what the regulation proposals will be soon.

If you see me out on the water next year, stop and say hello.

Walleyemaxx