walleye and northern selective harvest

[Duffer]

what do u look for when chossing to keep walleye and nothern when do u throw it back? what are u looking for what size range ect.?

[Eric Wettschreck]

This is just me and my views do not represent the opinions of other FM'ers, staff, viewers, blah, blah, blah.

Northerns- I like em in the 3-5 pound range. Best for pickeling. The rest get a picture,if I remember my camera, and back in the water. Unless it's over 20lb. Then it's on the wall. For the record, I don't have one on the wall. It's my own personal goal.

Walleyes I like between the 2-3 pound range. To me they are be best eaters. All others go back in the water. Unless it's over 11 lb. Then it's on the wall. Once again, for the record, I don't have one on the wall.

Gosh, my walls are bare.

[Froggy4371]

I personally, Not to say that I am correct and anyone else is wrong!! Just my own views. I will not keep a walleye over 18 inches. I like my walleye in the 14-16 inch range for eating. I have thrown 9 back that have gone over 7 lb's and one over 10.5 lb and got a rep made. I just find that walleye over that 18 inch range are not quite as good eating at a 15 inch. Just my personal preference.

[Maximum12]

Northerns: 2-3 lbs.

Walleyes: 2-3 lbs.

That's not to say that I didn't keep a 4 1/2 pound walleye this fall when I was really hungry. But I've taken four fish out of the metro waters in the past twelve months & maybe another four out of the BWCA lakes, so I'm making much of a dent in the population.

[Bob_D]

I think the #'s you guys are posting are on the money. Selective harvest is a wonderful thing. Keep some of the smaller ones to eat and let the big ones go on to pass on those big fish genes.

[Farley]

I go with 15"-18" for walleye and a trophy over 10 lbs. But that is not set in stone.

Northerns I usually dont keep.

[riverrat56]

Walleyes-Depends on the lake, lakes like LOW in the winter anything that spans the top of the pail gets kept until we have a limit or if they are biting good anything over 14 inches, I can only get up there 2 times a year at most and its a 7 hour drive so i take what i can get, otherwise nothing over 20 inches mostly 15-18 unless the lake has lots of fish from 18-20 then i will keep a few.

Northerns, i dont keep many but the few i do are usually caught while icefishing for walleyes, 2-3 lbs

RR56

[Mark Christianson]

14-18 inches on walleyes 95% of the time, and I haven't kept a northern in years.

The other 5% of the time on walleyes might be a fish thats not going to live, or size structure in a given lake.

[McGurk]

"Catch and Release; into the grease"

Not my view, but read off the side of a spice container sold most anywhere. under 16" walleyes for eating.

"All northerns must die" on a frequented lake up north FULL of 14-16" Northerns. Seriously, you catch 80 hammer handles to every 3+lb northern. Pickle 'em all.