Waubay

[Eyes4life]

People these days think they can come to waubay and take a limit every time. On a weekend day at waubay you will find a least a thousand or 2 fisherman. Atleast half of them keep a limt of perch and walleyes. Do you people remember when lake oahe was the best walleye lake in the dakotas, and look at it now. Its okay to fish waubay but we need to let some of these fish go. Waubay perch have a terrible reproduction rate. Waubay is going to be known as the lake that use to be, please pass the word and let some fish go so other people can enjoy what we are right now.

[crappie jigga]

I agree with ya both, but the thing with Wabay is that it has become a landmark (lakemark) whatever???
Anyway, my point was this, you could drive 4 to 6 hours in almost any direction, jump out of the pick-up walk up to the closest fisherman and ask him if he has ever fished/ or heard of Wabay SD, I'll betcha he says, "oh, yeah I just got back from there/ or yeah, my buddies were just there and hammered the fish"....
When you have people driving from SD, ND, MN, WI, IA, NE, IL, MO, etc. to come and fish a lake, you know there is definately somthing special about it... The sad fact is that, w/ people coming those distances all year round to fish that lake, it's going to take a hellacious beating....
It sucks but, what do ya do?

I know what they should do, drop the limit from 10 to 5, north of HWY 212....
I realize, that I'll probably get chewed out for that comment but, if anyone has a better idea I'm all ears...
With the popularity that Wabay has recieved over the last 10 years, it's only a matter of time before it becomes a fished out memory... That will be a sad day!
Atleast, that might help to prolong the life of the lake...

I hope the Game and Fish comes up with somthing soon...

[Reel Inn]

If the rain follows the pattern the snow did, it will be a dry year, so Waubay could drop another 3ft or so then what. Remember it is only a bounce of flooded farm land from the heavy snows of the middle 90's.

[sloughshark]

I agree 100% I can remember the years when Waubay lake perch were pretty much every where in that lake you set up. It was more of a challenge to NOT catch a fish than it was to catch a fish. I only fish the lake for perch a couple times each winter and its only about a 35-40 minute drive for me, and each year it seems a little tougher to find them. I like the whole perch fishing thing, but it gets **** ridiculous having to listen to augers roaring all day long and dealing with the crowds. I go fishing more to relax and have some beers with the boys, often catching some fish is considered a bonus. Remember when Waubay was filled with large waleye? What happened to that? Fishing pressure fom all seven continents it seemed. If it keeps going the way it is, The great days of perch fishing are going to be a distant memory just as the great walleye fishing was. I wouldnt be against an even lower limit, I think it would do some bodies of water alot of good. But who am i to say? Just a person who loves to catch fish, thats all.

[Guest]

If it can be ruined, don't worry, there's people out there that will do just that. Go as far as to put a limit of fish one day in a snow bank........

[JIGSTER]

I remember seeing a post awhile back that a guy from Devils Lake went to Waubay to catch perch! Go figure,Devils lake is not the perch fishery it used to be either.I think ice fishin' has gotten way to easy.By that I mean atv's,portable shacks and gps.Also for the economy being bad people sure have a hell of alot of time to fish!!!Good fishin' and put a few back!! Jigster

[walk on water]

I'm glad a few people out there are starting to realize the impact greed has done to the fishing on some bodies of water.
If people don't start to get away from the take a "limit" or put a bag in the snow bank so I can go get more for my "posession" mentality our fisheries will be RAPED for long times to come. I would jump for joy if the GFP would put a posession limit of one day on alot of the these lakes. That way everyone could enjoy the bounty and still have a meal to take home. Just because you drive a hundred miles or more to fish doesn't mean you have to take home everything that will fit in a bucket or livewell. 75% of the fun is the fishing and commaraderie with friends the other part is the meal.

[deadminnowcatcher]

I would agree that it is all about the fun times spent with friends on the water and the ocassional meal. Also Walk On Water, it is not up to you what the limit is or should be. Also it does not give you any more rights to the fish being you live closer to the body of water than someone that drives thousands of miles to get there. It is people with these types of attitudes that gives our great state a bad name- It is not our fisheries that will be ruined, it will be our relationships with our neighbors.

[walk on water]

It is up to "us" what the limits are and "could" be. If people continually RAPE and PILLIAGE resources, those resouces eventually disappear. Look at the history of walleye limits in the state. I remember days of plentiful 8 fish per day limits and gradually that has been reduced with time due to over fishing and pressure. Look at Waubay from just a few years ago with the plentiful 2-3pound limits of 4 fish per day. That seems like it was decimated in one year. Now we have a 2 fish per day limit with tighter slot controls. Look at Chamberlain with all the tight slot limits and now 3 fish per day limits. The trends just seem to continue. So unless "WE" as sportsmen change our ways and start to respect our resources a little more, limits and slots will become tighter and tighter. I didn't imply that just because I may live a little closer I have more rights that anyone else. I was just trying to state an observation in the fact that the farther people drive and the more people spend to get their it seems to change their mentality towards limits and posessions. Take what I paid for mentality. As for relationships, you can't please everyone now can ya.

[Tritt22]

I agree, and thanks for posting that reminder. I have fished there numerous times the past few years, and my fishing partner and I make it a habit of keeping only the "jumbo" perch. We probably keep an average of one fish for about every 8-10 that we catch, and most of the fish we release are keepers by anyone's standards.

Unfortunately, I think the pressure and the numbers of fish kept out of there is already showing.

[aquafang]

Yeah, I think the Indians and early settlers also said---"we'll never shoot all them buffalo!"

[bobber_down]

Hind sight 20/20 right?

If the SD GF&P would have put a restriction on the walleyes and perch that were taken out of Waubay about 8 years ago, I don't think we'd see the problems we see today... With everyone taking their limit of walleyes over that 20" mark, and 25 perch per person, they took out alot of producing fish. But once again, the GF&P are TOO LATE!!! I give Waubay another 2 to 3 years and it will be the DEAD SEA!!!

And some of us fishermen, BOTH in-state and out-of-state, that thought that it was great to keep a limit of all those large fish, should think about what they are actually taking away from the lake. It takes a lot more time to rebuild a resource than destroy it...

I guess my point is, as sportsmen, we need to have some self control and think about the consequences of our actions... and that responsibility falls mainly on us, the sportsmen.

There IS such a thing as too much of a good thing... because before you know it, it's gone.

[JIGSTER]

I know this is the SD forum,but Walkon I feel the sameway you do!I have a place on Lake of the Woods and it gets hammered harder and harder every year.People feel I drove way the hell up here I'm taking my limit home and eating fish til I puke!!Also if I catch a 7 lber I'm sticking it on the wall.I think people get off on just plan bragging they got there limit.Check out the LOW forum you'll see what I mean.Good fishin' Jigster

[ifishsd]

The size limit was reduced to 14 inches on Waubay because the fish are growing slowly. There is too many walleyes in the 14 to 16 inch range and not enough feed in lake(small perch and minnows). Most of the walleyes in the lake were stocked in 1999. I have fished Waubay twice this year also. All the walleyes I caught were very skinny. Also caught a northern that was skinny. I believe the state is doing the right thing by lowering the size limit on the lake.

[crappie jigga]

Bobber down

I wouldn't put the blame soley on the Game and Fish, I believe they do a great job of managing the lakes...

It's too bad that Wabay got away from them but, I think they work hard doing surveys and nettings, etc... Eight years ago, I don't think anyone was expecting that lake too become as popular as it is today...

I live 15 miles from the SD border and everytime I hunt or fish in SD I think to myself, "I am a complete one-who-thinks-I-am-silly for not moving here"... I hope every dollar I spend there goes back into managing the resources, because I think the GFP's uses the money wisely....

I wish the MN DNR would get their $%#@ together and manage the way SD GFP's does it...

Just my 2 cents

[bobber_down]

I believe the SD GF&P do a good job... but sometimes it seems too little too late...

[sloughshark]

new restrictions arent gonna save the fishery when put into place after the lake has been cleaned out. Its just to bad the gfp cant get on top of things a little faster.
Some people just like to brag about a limit of fish a little to much, take a picture then throw a few back to catch again another day.

[walk on water]

The GFP does an awesome job, its the sportsmen doing a poor job managing their own resources. Often times its too late because of our own doing. Just because the bank says you have alot of money in the bank doesn't mean its an endless pit! The same goes for our natural resources.

[FishFondler]

Crappie Jigga,

So what is SD GFP doing so well and the MN DNR is doing so bad? Please elaborate. I happen to think the MN DNR does a really good job given that they have a zillion more people than SD to try and keep happy in MN.

[deadminnowcatcher]

I would be all for reducing the limit on waubay to whatever amount it would take so that the lake would remain as the world class fishery that it is. What I am against is bashing those that follow the laws. I am not an expert on how the system works here but I would hope that the state is monitoring the lake. I have fished the lake 2 times this year and both times was checked by a fisheries employee measuring fish and conducting a survey. I would hope that they are putting this information to good use. I also have noticed a reduction this year in the minimum length for eyes being dropped to 14 inches. Does anyone have any backround info on this. Why it was done? Lets get along with our neighbors. I know that my buisness would not survive without them

[honker23]

It seems a little funny with all the talk about not keeping anything, and yet there are TOO MANY 14-15.75 inch fish, which are starving. The lake may drop again, reducing the habitat and food again. With the amounts of small fish in the lake I think we should be able to keep more to thin them out a little and put a restriction on the 18-26 inchers. Just a thought.
By the way, I thought oahe was affected because the dam was opened during major smelt run, dumping all the food into FC and Sharpe = no food in Oahe, and a lot in the lower sections. Or was this just a story they told us while we were there.

[jr712]

Regarding what Waubay was 6-7 years ago fishing wise, we need to also realize that biologically, the lake will not be able to provide that quanity / quality in the future.

This is due to the "new" lake effect. As the lake grew, it flooded cattails, grassland, weeds and eventually tree areas which provided excessive food and allowed microlife to explode, which in turn provided food for minnow and gamefish fry populations to explode, which feed the growing adult gamefish population. The flooded habitat also provided excellent spawning habitat for certain fish, like perch. As a "new" lake ages and the flooded grass, weeds etc. decompose, the microlife populations decrease, sometimes dramatically, which reverberates throughout the food chain.

A given body of water can sustain a finite amount of life depending upon it's fertility just like a pasture can sustain a finite amount of cattle depending upon it's fertility (soil quality, type of vegetation, rain fall etc.) "Carrying capacity" is the term used to decribe a lake's fertility.

In Iowa, where a new articfical lake is built very few years somewhere, biologists have estimated that a lake's carry capacity during it's first 4-5 years can be twice or more what it will be after it matures.

Another issue with new lakes is the new lake "void" snydrome. As game fish populate either through reproduction or stocking, survivability of fry / fingerlings is artifically high becasue of a lack of predation from nonexisting adult fish poputlations. The void provides artifically high year classes populations that have higher than normal growth rates becasue of the lake's artifically high carrying capacity.

As Waubay grew, the first couple perch spawns brought off huge year classes because of the excessive spawning habitat. The lake's high carrying capacity provided ample microlife for the perch fry / fingerlings to feed on which increased survivability and provided fast growth. And there was fewer larger predators to eat them as they grew to adults. The young perch from these first few year classes, coupled with artifically high minnow populations, provided for the exceptionally large walleye populations and growth rates we enjoyed 5-6 years ago.

Unfortunately, G&F cannot dupilicate these biological events. The best they can do is attempt to "manage" the lake to provide the best fishing possible given the biological circumstances present. Harvest regulations and stocking are the only two tools they have.

A fisheries biologist friend frequently points out that lake management is often more like "a roll of the dice". A farmer can walk through his pasture and determine how many cattle to graze there, and if need be, change the number or supplement the food available. Fisheries managers can't do this.

The large '99(?) walleye year class that has had such slow growth rates is an example of how difficult management is. Natural reproduction provided very weak year classes the previous two years. Either the eggs didn't hatch or fry didn't survive. The cause could have been water temp issues (weather) or predation related (too many hungry perch, etc.), or a combination of both. At any rate, G&F decided (correctly) to do a supplemental walleye stocking only to find out a year later that the lake also apparently had very successful natural reproduction. The next question I am sure they had is whether there would be enough food to feed this year class? How susccessful will minnow and perch reproduction be the next couple years? How many more walleyes would natural reproduction bring into the mix? How will fishing pressure affect this? Or the lake's ever changing carry capacity?

As it turned out, food for them was in low supply and growth was slow. And this year class probably had much more to do with present lower perch numbers, along with changing carry capacity, than angling pressue has.

Yes, fishing pressure has impacted Waubay and will continue to do so. I love to eat fish but most of what I eat is store bought. I seldom harvest a daily limit of any species. Haven't frozen a fish in several years. I much prefer catching fish over harvesting fish and in this day and age, we can't have both to any great degree.

And I think the SD G&F does a great job. I especially admire thier willingness to alter harvest restrictions and thier willingness to move towards site specific regulations and devlopment of various management goals for individual lakes to satisfy the various expectations / wants we have as individual anglers. I have a working relationship with fisheries depts. in several states and feel that SD provides the most proacitve and realistic management by far.

[honker23]

Well said, I agree totally!

[crappie jigga]

FishFondler

Here are my thoughts on MN vs SD....
I'll focus on walleyes....

1. MN needs to drop the limits!
We don't need 6 walleyes... When a lake gets HOT, what happens? It gets hammered hard...
People come from miles around and leave with limits of fish, BUT (they bought a lisc. it's their right) well, if they would lower the limit to 4 fish, people could still go home feeling GOOD because, they got their limit...
Believe it or not, alot of fisherman judge thier success on weather they catch a limit or NOT..... They could still get a limit and not damage the population as bad...

2. SLOTS,SLOTS, and MORE SLOTS!
They need to place slots on all speices, but I'll talk about walleyes.....
16"-20" and 1 over 20
Too many people keep those walleyes that are from 13"-15".. They never have the chance too reach their potential... If we were forced to release that size of fish, they would have a chance to make it to 16",18" or even 20 plus inches... Everyone is preaching "Selective Harvest" the SD GF&P enforces it!!!!!! They say, "if it's not a quality fish, it is returned to the water."
Another thing is this, "when you fish a lake in SD you better know what the rules are for that particular body of water, because the regulations might change from lake to lake"...
The reasoning is this, "they have done studies/tests and realized what a specific lake can handle and what it cannot"... That's why on one lake you can have 2 walleyes from 14"-20" and the next lake you can 4 walleyes from 16"-20" Now to me, "That's Managment"
Not to mention the 20 fish you will catch while trying to fill your slot... Talk about fun!

3. MN needs to do more Surveys!
20% of the time I fish in SD, there is some guy standing at the boat launch taking measurements and counting fish... I have never seen that happen on a MN lake yet... Maybe they do it, but I haven't seen it...

I don't believe it would be too hard to please a zillion people if they were catching MORE and BETTER quality fish...
I think we have enough lakes over here to support the people (about 10,000 lakes should do the job)

I don't know if all of this would help every lake in MN but, I'd be willing to bet it would help the smaller lakes forsure.....

MY 2 CENTS

[goose89]

crappie jigga, WOW. i think you hit it right on the head!. i wish you view was more widespread. i agree that SD does a better job of mananging their fishery than MN sofar.
Your point that many fisherman judge their success by "catching their limit" is so true. it wouldn't matter if it was 6 or 4. many only want to say they caught their limit. i'm guilty of that same mentality years ago. i've changed many of my ways, and hope others will follow.
thanks for you reply(s). keep it up.

later,

goose