Walleye Question?

[IceEyes]

How fast do the walleyes in Waubay grow? 3-4 inches a year? Have there been walleyes stocked or is it being left to reproduce on it's own?

[ifishsd]

I believe most of the walleyes are stocked. The walleyes have a had time reproducing in Waubay. Thus the two fish limit for walleyes. I think they said waubay won't be stocked again till 2005.

I don't how fast they grow. I think it takes 3 to 4 years to get a 14 inch walleye in a normal lake.

[Guest]

Because waubay is a very fertile lake, the fish grow quite a bit faster then a normal lake. I read an intersting study last two years ago that compared this. I can not remember the size of fish they were comparing but it amounted to this....the walleye in Waubay reached a certain size two years quicker then a walleye from Enemy Swim. I believe they were looking at a 16" fish. So, getting to that size two years quicker is a major difference. The article was in the SD Conservationist I believe. Scott Steil

[First Ice-Mike]

I would imagine most of those 15" walleyes will be over the slot this summer - then the 2 walleye limit will really pay off.

FI

[jr712]

This address will take you to a SD DNR page that has survey info for many of the N.E. lakes:

http://www.state.sd.us/gfp/fishing/NELakes/NEfishsamples.htm

If you click "fishing" at the bottom of the page you can also find S.E survey info.

Not sure how accurate these gill net surveys are. Have seen other SD surveys where they were only sampling once per year. 3-4 times would be better.

Assuming they are accurate, it looks like Wauby's total walleye population increased app. 13% (+4 fish per net) between 2001 and 2002. The population >15" increased app. 40% despite whatever was harvested in the >15" groups.

So looks like that annual growth is remaining good given the strong population in the lake. During the 90's growth was excellent and the study that Scott refered to was done from '97 - '99 I think. Some of that strong growth rate then was undoubtedly attributed to the "new lake" effect, experienced in new reserviors or quickly expanded waters like Waubay. But at any rate, Waubay is still a very fertile lake and should exhibit good growth rates from year to year, depending upon the overall predator population and forage reproduction.

Note the Lynn lake survey results. Huge population expansion and what appears to be great growth rates. The new length / harvest limits on Waubay are also in effect on Lynn, I think. Great future there. Also check out Lynn's crappie surveys.

Yes, site specfic regulations are great. Unfortunately, many state DNR's lack the staff to do consistant annual surveys and analysis. Here in Iowa, each field biologist has 30-40 lakes assigned. There is generally strong support among DNR fisheries personel for site specific regulations but a concern about the staffing requried to do it right. Enforcement personnel and the DNR hiearchy are concerned about the potential confusion and resulting bad PR the site specific regs may create.

My thought is that anglers need to be responsible. However, the high number of very occasional, very casual anglers will be rather oblivious and / or resentful of site specific regs. And thier license fees are important to all of us. This is another example of fishing education needs.

[This message has been edited by jr712 (edited 01-28-2003).]

[This message has been edited by jr712 (edited 01-29-2003).]

[jr712]

I corrected the link in the above post.... if anybody had tried it earlier. - Jeff

[IceEyes]

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[IceEyes]

Alright....I forgot my password again.

That's too bad to hear that natural reproduction hasn't taken off on Waubay. Are there any annual walleye surveys done on the lake by the Game and Parks/Game Wardens besides creel surveys (which can be far from accurate). It would be interesting if those eyes really put on some inches and make it over the slot. Similar to what happened to many walleyes in Mille Lacs Lake in MN. Most people I know complain about slots, but I just grin and be glad that slots kept enough fish there that you could enjoy catching 25-30 walleyes a day over 20 inches just about anyday you could get on the water in the spring of 2002. It's fun to catch nice quality size fish....more fun than just frying them all.

[Scott Steil]

Jeff, thanks for the link. I had not seen those yet. Hmmmm...Lynn Lake Interesting!