A Ten Pound Walleye?

Have you ever wondered how many ten pound walleyes there were out there? I can tell you there are not many. The journey from egg to ten pound trophy is a long and hazardous one and very few fish make it to that goal.

In the spring, female walleyes move into areas that have a good gravel bottom and current to lay their eggs. A healthy female will lay about ½ million eggs. One problem that sometimes happens is that the female lays her eggs in high water conditions and by the time they are ready to hatch, they are on dry ground. If the eggs are in a place where they will be underwater, they take between 12 and 30 days to hatch depending on water temperature.

On the average, about 90% of those eggs that hatch will not survive to adulthood. The baby fish that do make it to adult will have a perilous life. Some will be eaten by bigger fish, some caught by fishermen and some just will be injured and die. Less than 1% will live long enough to become a 10# fish. It takes a combination of good genetics, luck and a good habitat to get a fish that big, and that combination is rare.

So next time you go out and happen to catch a big fish, walleye or any species, remember that you’re holding a very special critter. If you want to have a trophy to remember your fishing trip, by all means take it and have it mounted. But if you’re just going to chop it up and eat it, think about letting it go. That fish had all the right stuff going for it and it didn’t get to trophy size easily. Let it pass its luck and genetics onto the next generation and take some little ones home for eating. It’s a cool thing to watch that beautiful fish swim away, knowing that it will live on and make many more fish for you to catch in the future.

post by: Dan Bomkamp
 
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Ice Fishing is Nearly Over

The nice sunny days have taken a toll on the ice. While it’s not gone yet, it won’t be long until the ice will be too rotten to fish on. Some places are fine yet. If you have a favorite lake that is sheltered with some trees and gets a little shade it should be fine. Those lakes right out in the sun and those with a lot of springs are getting a bit treacherous.

The first step onto the ice is the worst in most places. The ice gets thin next to the bank where the sunlight warms up the mud and sand and melts the ice. Once you get across that first few feet the ice is usually pretty good. But that first step can be a little scary.

Take a plank or a short ladder along and lay it across that long step and you’ll be safe to get out to the good ice. And it’s worth it. The fishing for the next week or so will be as good as it has been all winter, and the fun of sitting out on a nice spring day is just what we’ve been waiting for.

post by: Dan Bomkamp

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High Water Woes

As usually happens, just when the walleye fishing was getting good below the dams, the water began to come up and the gates were raised. When that happens, the current gets fierce and the fish get blown away. This happens nearly every year and especially in years when we have a lot of snow like we had this year.

The only thing a fisherman can do is look for places where those fish have gone. They are out there somewhere and if you search long enough, you may find them. You want to look for places where the fish can get out of the strong current, feed and rest. Often side channels are good places to look. Check out slack water behind islands and anything else in the water that makes an eddy. The fish will get into those slack places and wait for an easy meal to swim past.

Also look for places where the water temperature may be a bit warmer. Check out side streams and below power plants where the warm water discharge runs into the river. On both the Wisconsin River and Mississippi, there are lots of places for those fish to hold, and if you find them, you’ll find a bunch of them. It’s worth the time to go looking.

Post by: Dan Bomkamp

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